Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related affiliates thereof belong to JK Rowling. Supernatural and all related affiliates thereof belong to Eric Kripke. This is purely for entertainment purposes only, no profit is being made. In other words, please don't sue me! Recognizable quotes are from Supernatural's episode "No Exit". I got the transcripts from TwizTV. I also don't own the songs!
AN: Sorry for taking so long to update, anyone who has ever worked with kids knows that spending a week with them is draining. I was too tired to do much of anything by the end of the week. If this keeps up, I might switch to updating on Saturdays instead of Thursdays but we'll see. Hopefully this chapter is agreeable to everyone. I haven't had a chance to get back to reveiws but several made valid points that I want to reply to; I hope this chapter does that anyway. THanks to everyone who reveiwed, they were generally positive about Ginny and for those of you worried about her becoming a main character, she's won't be. She has a purpose for being here but you won't find out what that is until the end. Thanks to Kirallie for going over everything. I'm working on the next part but don't know when I'll get it to you. That's about it, enjoy!
Summary: Harry Potter has always wanted a family that cared about him, that loved him in the proper way a family should. He'd long since given up hope his dream would one day become a reality, content that the dream was enough. A startling discovery on his seventeenth birthday will change all that, sending him to America where he will meet a man and his sons no one knew existed. How far will Harry go to protect his new found family? How will the Winchesters react to a family member showing up on their doorstep just as the hunt for the demon is heating up? They're all about to learn that family is everything, no matter how messed up it is.
0~*~*~0
"I'll flip you for the sofa," Jo said once they'd brought in all the bags. Harry was showing Ginny how to disassemble, clean and reassemble a gun. He wasn't about to show her how to shoot one but he figured if she wanted to help them hunt, she could help take care of the weapons. Jo was carefully laying out the research she'd acquired since meeting with the brothers at her mom's restaurant while Sam and Dean pulled out the weapons they either wanted on their person or wanted cleaned.
Dean looked up at Jo's statement, raising an eyebrow. "Does your mother even know you're here?"
"I told her I was going to Vegas," Jo replied. Ginny's brown eyes flickered up and a small smile graced at her face. Harry glanced at her confused.
"You think she's gonna buy that?" Dean responded.
"I'm not an idiot," Jo said, her stance becoming defensive. "I got Ash to lay a credit card trail all the way to the casinos." Ginny's head swiveled back and forth between the two as her smile grew. Dean turned away from the older woman, returning his attention to his handheld.
"You know, you shouldn't lie to your mom. You shouldn't be here, you shouldn't put ideas in their heads," he finished glancing at Harry and Ginny. The younger boy rolled his eyes while Ginny simply smiled innocently before looking back down. She didn't really know what credit cards were but she had her own ways of ensuring she didn't get caught. Jo glanced at Sam who shrugged in response before turning towards the teenagers. Harry held up his hands in the universal sign for I'm-not-involved while the redhead didn't notice, being absorbed in her work once again.
"Well, I am, so untwist your boxers and deal with it," Jo said. "You didn't have a problem bringing your cousin and his girlfriend," she added, leaning towards Dean and lowering her voice. She didn't want them to think she was angry with them – so far the kids had been helpful and Harry was trying to make her feel included as well as Ginny; she just wanted to point out the hypocrisy to Dean. Sam broke in before his brother could reply.
"Where'd you get all that money from anyways?"
"Working at the Roadhouse," Jo replied evenly; Dean scoffed lightly.
"Hunters don't tip that well."
"Well, they aren't that good at poker either." Dean and Jo appeared to be at a standstill; both refusing to give in and admit the other may have a point. The sounds of a rock song suddenly blasted through the silence emanating from Dean's pocket. The older man pulled his phone from his pocket and without looking at the caller display, answered.
"Yeah?"
"Is she there with you?"
"Oh, hi Ellen," Dean replied a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. The others looked up at him and Jo hurried around the table, a harsh glare on her face.
"She left a note she's in Vegas. I don't believe it for a second." Ginny, Harry and Sam watched as Jo got in Dean's face and they had a silent argument. Ginny's mysterious smile returned and Harry waited for Dean's decision. He knew his older cousin was slightly afraid of Ellen but right now, he'd be more afraid of Jo. It was exactly the same as with Molly and Ginny. "Dean?"
"I haven't seen her," Dean responded a bit dejectedly as he realized he was between a rock and a hard place.
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Dean said as he rubbed his hand down his face warily, turning from the others as he essentially lied to Ellen.
"Well, please, if she shows up, you'll drag her butt right back here, won't you?"
"Absolutely," he said trying to dredge up some enthusiasm.
"Okay. Thanks, hon." Ellen hung up and Dean turned to face the others, Jo giving him a large winning smile. Harry smirked and turned to face Ginny, raising an eyebrow. She raised her shoulders in confusion before turning back to the table as he shook his head. Of course, she didn't understand…
"What's poker?" Ginny asked innocently. Jo turned to face her and both brothers gave the older woman a look, something to do with corrupting the youth. Harry's the one who ended up responding.
"It's a card game in which there's gambling involved," he said lightly. She nodded slowly.
"So it's like Exploding Snap?" she asked.
"Yeah," Harry said slowly before elaborating. "In that they're both card games that can involve gambling."
"And drinking," Ginny added with a fond smile on her face. Harry looked at her confused. "When I was younger, during Christmas, Bill and Charlie used to get completely pissed playing it. It always provided a good laugh." Sam rolled his eyes. So much for the innocent act. Though he had to admit, this girl was good.
"Who are Bill and Charlie?" Jo asked conversationally as she set out the papers she'd gathered on the case that she didn't give Sam and Dean.
"My brothers," Ginny replied her brown eyes darting over the documents. "Bill's a curse breaker, used to work in Egypt but now he has a desk job in London. Apparently Fleur, his wife, worries less. Charlie works on a dragon reserve in Romania."
"Dragons?" Jo choked in shock. Ginny nodded before continuing to read the papers diligently. Jo glanced at the brothers before turning to Harry who shrugged his shoulders.
"They're not as cool as you might think," Harry said evenly. "Much too interested in eating people if you get too close."
"Wait," Dean said pushing the gun Harry was holding towards the table. "When were you ever close enough to learn that?" Harry's green eyes widened a little before glancing at Ginny who was refusing to catch his eye.
"Well, Charlie told me about them," Harry said taking back the gun hurriedly. "He got loads of burns and he'd tell us about where they came from. There was this one dragon, a Norwegian Ridgeback, who everybody thought was a boy but was really a girl. It was a big shock when Norbert ended up pregnant." Harry laughed slightly as he remembered the teddy bear Norbert ripped to shreds. "Actually she was—"
"Bull," Dean said breaking through Harry's ramblings. The younger boy glanced towards Sam hoping he'd derail his brother but no such luck. The youngest Winchester looked like he wanted the answer as much as Dean did. Harry sighed heavily. He hated that the brothers always jumped to the wrong conclusion about his past; sure, he faced a dragon but it really wasn't that bad.
"Look," Harry started. "There were some dragons at my school during my fourth year. They were carefully controlled by handlers and none of the students were in serious danger." Nobody looked convinced, least of all the brothers. "Can we get back to the case, please?" Dean opened his mouth to reply but Jo stomped on his foot. He glared at her but she merely shifted through the information.
"This place was built in 1924. It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago," Jo began, looking at each of the others in the room, making sure to include Harry and Ginny as well. She knew what it was like to want to be a part of something and people purposely try to keep you out. Jo habitually twirled a small knife in her hand as she spoke.
"Yeah?" Dean interrupted pacing behind them. "What was here before 1924?"
Nothing," Jo replied. "Empty field."
"So, most likely scenario," Sam said before his brother and Jo could get into it further. "Someone died bloody in the building, and now he's back and raising hell."
"Or she," Harry muttered. He looked up when no one made a comment. "C'mon, it could be a girl ghost. Maybe it's a jilted lover and now she's perpetually taking her love's chosen woman." Sam and Jo considered his words for a minute and nodded while Dean paused in his pacing.
"True," Dean conceded before he began pacing again.
"Either way, man or woman, I already checked," Jo broke in. "In the past eighty-two years, zero violent deaths, unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor." She glanced behind her and leveled a hard look at Dean. "Would you sit down, please?" Harry suppressed a smirk as Dean exchanged a look with Sam who shrugged before taking a seat.
"So have you checked the police reports? County death records?" Dean asked as Jo rolled her eyes.
"Obituaries, mortuary reports and seven other sources. I know what I'm doing," Jo said.
"I think the jury's still out on that one," he said. "Could you put the knife down?" Jo eyed him before setting the knife on the table deliberately.
Giggles broke through the staring contest and the three older adults glanced towards the redhead. Ginny covered her mouth with her hand to stem the laughter as her dancing eyes shifted to Harry.
"Do they remind you of anyone?" she asked playfully. Harry tilted his head in confusion before understanding dawned on his face and he smiled. All the little smirks and smiles suddenly made sense.
"You've got to admit," Harry replied. "They're not nearly as bad though."
"Not nearly as bad as who?" Dean demanded, his hard glare focused on his cousin. Harry caught Ginny's eye and they both smiled deeper.
"No one," they said in unison. Sam, Dean and Jo waited for either to elaborate but neither said a word. Jo and Dean looked particularly interested and both appeared as though they would do anything to get the answer. Sam cleared his throat before the pair could attack the younger kids.
"Okay," he said glaring at his brother and friend until they backed off. "So it's something else then. Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought the spirit with it."
"Not again," Harry muttered, hanging his head in frustration. He was sick and tired of freakin' needle searches.
"We've gotta scan the whole building. Whatever we can get to, right?" Jo asked while Ginny's jaw dropped.
"Really?" she asked. "Sounds a bit like the horcrux search."
"Horcrux?" Jo asked.
"Nothing," Harry said giving Ginny a hard look. "They're nothing."
"Right," Dean said recognizing his cousin shutting down and refusing to talk about something. "So, you and me – we'll take the top two floors. Sam, Harry and Ginny can take others."
"We'd move faster if we split up," Jo said.
"I agree," Harry said not at all happy. Normally he wouldn't mind searching the floor with Sam but with Ginny, it made more sense to split up further. He could take care of himself and Ginny while Sam dealt with another floor.
"Oh this isn't negotiable," Dean said.
Harry huffed in annoyance. As they got to the stairs, Dean tried to catch Harry's eye but the younger boy ignored him, grabbing Ginny's hand and brushing past him. Sam caught up with them easily and walked beside Harry.
"You know," Sam started conversationally but with a bite in his voice. "Dean couldn't cut you any slack in front of Jo. It would have undermined him. I was going to let you two go on ahead but not if you're going to act like a child."
Harry's green eyes flickered to Sam's face before he sighed heavily. He hadn't felt this chastised since Mrs. Weasley had sent that howler to Ron about driving the car to school and almost getting Mr. Weasley fired. He felt bad for slighting Dean but they didn't understand; he could take care of himself and he could take care of Ginny. Sure she didn't know much about hunting, hell he didn't know much about hunting, but he was good at improvising and he wasn't about to let anything happen to her. They just needed to understand he was used to leading and not following. Granted, it was nice to be taken care of and not have to lead but still; it was the principle of it!
0~*~*~0
"So are you gonna buy me dinner?" Jo asked after they'd split up from the others. Dean had been following her pretty closely for the past hour and the younger woman was sick of his chauvinism. She was happy he didn't tell her mother about her being here but this was ridiculous.
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked oblivious as he glanced at the meter in his hand.
"It's just, if you're gonna ride me this close, it's only decent if you buy me dinner," Jo responded. Dean paused and glared at the back of her head.
"Oh, that's hilarious," he replied sarcastically. "You know, it's bad enough I lied to your mom, but if you think I'm letting you out of my sight – I don't know if you noticed, but you're kind of the spirit's type." Jo rolled her eyes.
"Exactly." Dean looked up at her in confusion and shock.
"You wanna be bait?" he asked incredulously. No way in hell was he going to let that happen; he'd made a promise to himself if not to Ellen that he'd take care of her.
"Quickest way to draw it out and you know it…what?"
"I'm so regretting this," he muttered. Unfortunately Jo heard him and stopped in her tracks, turning to glare at him.
"You know, I've had it up to here with your crap," she said as he paused, raising one brow.
"Excuse me?"
"Your chauvinist crap," Jo explained her hands resting on her hips. "You think women can't do the job." Dean shook his head in exasperation and looked her in the eye. They really didn't have time for this but if she wanted to do this here and now, he wasn't going to say no.
"Sweetheart, this ain't gender studies," he said. "Women can do the job fine. Amateurs can't. You've got no experience. What you do have is a bunch of half-baked romantic notions that some barfly has put in your head. And don't even think of brining Harry into this. He's been on plenty of hunts and we've ridden his ass on each and every one of them."
"And now you sound like my mother," Jo said turning back to continue on.
"Oh, and that's a bad thing?" Dean asked shock evident in his voice. "Cause let me tell you—" He broke off suddenly and trudged forward.
"What?" Jo asked pulling his arm so he faced her. He appeared to consider her for a minute but shook his head.
"Forget it," he said.
"No, you started this," Jo said pressing the issue.
"Jo, you've got options," Dean began trying to make her understand. "No one in their right mind chooses this life. My dad started me on this when I was so young; I wish I could do something else."
"You love the job," Jo countered and Dean smiled a little as he tilted his head to the side in agreement.
"Yeah but I'm a little twisted."
"You don't think I'm a little twisted, too?" Jo asked. Dean turned serious once more and turned her to face him.
"Jo, you've got a mother that worries about you, who wants something more for you. Those are good things. You don't throw things like that away. They might be hard to find later." He walked away before she could respond.
0~*~*~0
Harry fell back to walk beside Sam and Ginny smiled slightly. He couldn't stand to have people angry at him that he actually liked so it was only a matter of time before Harry tried to make amends with Sam and Dean. His older cousin didn't say a word and silence except for the beeping of the meter filled the halls. Harry glanced up at the taller man and cleared his throat. Sam still didn't look at him but Harry knew his cousin was listening to him.
"I'm sorry," Harry said quietly.
"It's not me you need to apologize to," Sam replied. Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"It's just…it's not fair," Harry burst out suddenly. "If Jo weren't here, Dean wouldn't be acting like this. He's treating me like a child."
"You are his child," Sam responded, the words rolling off his tongue as easily as they had his father's. Several months ago those very same words had nearly infuriated Sam but now he understood them. His father was making so much more sense now that Harry was riding with them and the yearning to talk to him, to apologize, one last time grew daily within the youngest Winchester. "Dean sees you as a child under his care, no matter how old you get. He does the same thing to me." Harry raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Sam laughed. "Really, when I was seventeen, my brother drove me to school every morning despite the fact that I was six foot and more than capable of taking care of myself."
"Yeah that does sound like him," Harry responded.
"Look," Sam said stopping them both and turning Harry towards him. "Dean knows you're more than capable. He just…has a funny way of showing it sometimes. Okay?"
"Yeah, alright," the younger boy said knowing Sam was right. Dean was the one who made sure he ate something at every meal – even if it was only a bite or two, made sure he slept – even if it meant creating an excuse to drive around in the Impala at night, made sure he knew how to defend himself – even though Harry gave him a hard time about it. Dean was the first one to show him what it meant to be part of a family. Harry felt like he had when Sirius was alive, like he had someone taking care of him, almost like a parent.
0~*~*~0
Jo watched as Dean walked on ahead of her. She knew she was lucky to have her mother taking care of her but being coddled wasn't going to save her forever. One day she was going to have to live her own life despite what her mother might want for her. She started forward but stopped when something caught her eye. Looking down, she noticed there was nothing there besides an old air vent.
"What?" Dean asked.
"I'm not sure," Jo responded almost whispering. Something had been there, there was something that had made her take notice but it was just out of sight.
"You smell that?" Dean's voice broke through her thoughts and she sniffed the air lightly. A strange sweet scent filled her senses and she shook her head.
"What is that? A gas leak?"
"No, it's something else," Dean responded as he continued to smell the air. "I know it. I just can't put my finger on it." Jo bent to inspect the vent and the EMF meter in her hand shrieked. Dean smiled at her. "Mazel tov! You've just found your first spirit." She looked back up at him.
"It's inside the vent." Dean crouched down next her and gave her his flashlight. Holding it steady, she watched as he unscrewed the vent and then shined it inside. Dean's face scrunched in confusion.
"There's something in there," he muttered before sticking his hand inside carefully. Dean moved his hand around until his fingers caught on something. Tugging, Dean pulled out the length of hair and held it up for Jo to see. It was blond and bloody with a bit of scalp still attached.
"Somebody's keeping souvenirs."
0~*~*~0
Dean had slept on some incredible uncomfortable surfaces in his twenty-seven years of life, some of the motels had beds that he was sure had been made of two-by-fours, he'd spent a night or two "camping" on the hard dirt and then there was that memorable night he slept in the car during an Arizona summer night. But the worst place to sleep was a chair, even a couch was better. There was no place to move, to properly stretch out and his back always hurt in the morning.
Groaning, Dean glanced towards the table where Jo was sitting. Last night, he'd lost the debate – rock-paper-scissors – to Sam for the couch which meant he'd been relegated to the chair. Jo smiled once she caught sight that he was awake.
"Morning princess," she said a little too brightly for his liking.
"Where're Sam and the kids?" Dean asked groggily.
"Sam went to get coffee," Jo said as she looked back down at the research spread out before her. She was twirling that damn knife again. "I think the other two are still in the bedroom." Dean's eyebrows rose comically as he sat up suddenly.
"Harry!"
"What?" came the yelled response from the next room.
"Get your ass out here." Footsteps were heard padding towards the door before Harry entered the kitchen, his messy hair sticking up violently in all directions and his face pinched from sleep. He shot Dean a look, confusion on his face.
"What?" He was wearing long sleep pants and a t-shirt of Dean's. Now that the door was open, Dean could hear the shower running.
"You've had enough beauty sleep, squirt," Dean replied, reverting to humor to cover up his worry. Jo smiled while Harry rolled his eyes. He grabbed the box of cereal sitting on the counter and opened it up, eating right out of the box as he sat beside Jo at the table. Dean made to stand when pain shot through his back.
"Ugh, my back. How'd you sleep on that big, soft bed?" he groaned to his younger cousin.
Harry smiled impishly, his cheeks puffed up full of cereal. "Absolutely amazing." Stretching his back, working out the kinks, Dean made his way towards his bag, grabbing a larger knife. He handed it to Jo as he took a seat next to her, taking the box of cereal from Harry.
"What this for?"
"It'll work a hell of a lot better than that little pigstick you've been twirling around," he said around a mouthful of cereal. Jo handed him her smaller knife and he made out three letters etched into the blade: W.A.H.
"William Anthony Harvelle," she said sadly.
"I'm sorry. My mistake," Dean said as he handed her back the knife.
"What do you…what do you remember about your dad?" Jo asked as she took a handful of cereal and began to put a few pieces in her mouth much more daintily than the boys had done. "I mean, what's the first thing that pops into your head? C'mon, tell me." Dean slowly chewed his food, the first time Harry had seen him do so since meeting him, and considered his next words carefully.
"I was six or seven. And, uh…he took me shooting for the first time. Bottles on a fence – that kind of thing. I bull's-eyed every one of 'em. And he gave me this smile, like…I don't know." Dean's green eyes shined with memory before he shook himself and took back the cereal box.
"He must have been proud," Jo said fondly.
"What about your dad?" Dean asked.
"I was still in pigtails when my dad died, but," Jo began, smiling as she thought of her father for the first time in what felt like years. "I remember him coming home from a hunt. And he'd burst through that door like…like Steve McQueen or something. And he'd sweep me up in his arms, and I'd breathe in that old leather jacket of his. And my mom, who was sour and pissed from the minute he left – she started smiling again. And we were…we were a family…You wanna know why I wanna do the job? For him. It's my way of being close to him. Now, tell me, what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing," Dean responded quietly.
" How about you Harry? What's your first memory of your parents?" Jo asked turning towards the younger boy. He glanced up from the box of cereal he'd snaked from Dean and swallowed deeply. He appeared to consider it for a minute before speaking.
"My first memory? It was…" His eyes got round and he looked away. "Nothing. I was too young to form memories when they died."
Silence enveloped them. Jo appeared quite taken aback.
"I'm sorry," she said. He shrugged in response.
"It's alright, you didn't know." Silence enveloped them except for the crunch of the cereal as the box was passed back and forth. It was broken by Sam hurrying in, his breathing a little heavier but his hands empty.
"Where's the coffee?" Dean asked.
"There are cops outside," he responded. "Another girl disappeared."
0~*~*~0
As they were climbing the stairs from talking to the police and checking out the girl's apartment, Dean turned to Harry. "You wanna tell me the real story?" Harry glanced up at him confused. "You fed Jo a load of bull earlier. I know you remember. You can tell me if you want." Harry stared straight ahead and for a minute Dean didn't think he'd respond.
"I remember their deaths, that's my first memory of them," Harry said quietly, almost too quietly for Dean to hear. "I remember my dad screaming and my mom pleading for my life. And laughter. I remember laughter after it happened."
Dean did something he rarely if ever did, though he seemed to be doing it more since meeting Harry; he pulled him into a one armed hug. Not only did the younger boy not flinch or draw back in teenage rebellion, he leaned into it. And Dean realized something vitally important about his cousin. He needed contact, physical contact, most likely due to his childhood. Unlike Sam and Dean who hadn't had the most caring childhood, they at least had each other. Dean held Sammy after a nightmare or comforted him when their father didn't make it home for a holiday. But Harry had no one but himself for ten years.
The older man pulled back, clearing his throat and staring straight ahead after his startling revelation. Harry caught his eye and smirked slightly at him. Dean shook his head before grabbing him into a headlock and roughing up his hair. Harry pushed uselessly at him, his laughter filling the hall. Dean pushed open the door. Sam, Jo and Ginny glanced at them; small smiles graced their faces while Sam added the predicted eye-roll as well. He eventually released him and Harry darted away, unnecessarily attempting to smooth his hair.
"Teresa Ellis," Dean said still smiling. "Apartment 2F. Her boyfriend reported her missing around dawn."
"And her apartment?" Jo asked.
"Cracks all over the plaster," Harry replied as he took a seat next to Ginny. "Walls, ceiling. There's ectoplasm too."
"Between that and that tuft of hair, I'd say this sucker's coming from the walls," Sam said.
"Yeah but who is it?" Ginny asked. "Nothing you lot have told me about ghosts is pointing definitively to anybody. No violent deaths have happened in this building."
"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place," Jo said as she looked over a photo. It was of the empty field that had been here before the warehouse.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked as he sat across from her.
"Check this out." She slid the photo over to him and the brothers both looked it over.
"An empty field?" Sam asked not seeing the relevance.
"It's where this building was built," Jo explained before pointing out what had caught her eye. "Take a look at the one next door. The windows."
"Bars," Sam said under his breath. Dean narrowed his eyes as he saw what the others saw before lifting his head and glancing around the table at the others.
"We're next door to a prison?"
