CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
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
"I am standing right here," she snorted. His eyes cut to hers and expecting to see humour, she didn't, she saw worry and anger. "What is it?" She frowned.
"I didn't mean you; I meant there's a witch here."
Her eyes widened slightly and then she nodded in understanding. "That could explain the sudden illnesses and freak accidents."
"You didn't touch it did you?" He asked, taking her arms in his hands and pulling her to him, his eyes sweeping over her quickly in search of any injuries or symptoms of illness.
"No," she shook her head.
He sighed in relief. "We need to get rid of it before it causes you any damage; it was obviously intended for you since it was in your desk. How long has it been there?"
"I don't know, it wasn't here this morning, it must've been around lunch time."
He took off his jacket and folded it, using it to pick up the hex bag and he threw it to the floor. "Can you burn it without setting off the alarms?"
"I don't see why not," she frowned in thought, several spells running through her mind as she tried to choose the best one.
She pulled her wand from her sleeve and walked around her desk stopping in front of the hex bag. She cast a Ventilation Charm in the room to immediately clear the smoke and then she set it on fire. The vivid blue flames burst outwards and Dean pulled her back quickly before she could be hurt. Within in seconds the hex bag was no more, as was Dean's jacket. She banished the evidence from the ground and turned to face him.
"It's done."
He pulled his phone from his pocket and speed dialled Sam.
"We've got a witch...Hermione found a hex bag in her desk...No she didn't touch it, she's fine," his eyes swept over her face. "We need to get into those kids lockers...We'll wait for you." He snapped the phone shut and put it back into his pocket. "Who has access to this room?"
"It would be easier to ask who doesn't," she spoke. "From process of elimination we narrowed it down to having something to do with the seniors. You say it's a witch, so it must be a senior, too, which would explain the personal feel to the case. I've been targeted for a reason; logic says it's someone from my senior class."
"You're not coming back tomorrow, you can call in sick."
"I don't bloody well think so," she scoffed at him, making him angry that she was willingly putting herself in danger. "If we don't figure out who this is tonight, then I need to observe my students, now that I know what I'm dealing with, I may be able to cast a few diagnostic spells to guide me to the source. You go back to your office and go through the files, see if there's anything regarding a confrontation between a student and Harrow, I'll do the same here." She nodded to the cupboard at the back of the room.
He didn't look pleased at the idea of leaving her alone.
"Meet me here in half an hour, Sam should be here by then, go on, if anything happens, I am not a witch to be messed with."
The corner of his mouth twitched before he turned and left.
~000~000~000~
"Did you find anything?" Dean entered the room and she popped her head out of the cupboard.
"Possibly, you?"
"Possibly," he replied, holding up several files in his hand to show her. She stepped out of the cupboard, also holding several files.
They walked over to her desk and placed the files on the surface, flicking through them and explaining to the other what they had found. They looked up when Sam entered the room.
"So we're dealing with a witch," he commented and they nodded. "Is it our witch or yours?" He asked Hermione.
"It's definitely yours, my kind would never use hex bags; we have wands. And it's illegal to practice magic underage and outside of school grounds. Although the age of adult hood in my world is seventeen, judging by the time of year, all possible wizarding folk are still in school. Those that are homeschooled have to pass their exams before they are allowed to use magic outside of their homes. If it was my kind, there would be a magical trace that would alert The Ministry to underage wizardry."
"Just wanted to make sure," he shrugged. "What's the next step?"
"We're going through some files which could be helpful, we need to search their lockers; there could be something useful in there."
"How did you know not to touch the hex bag?"
"My wand had a bad reaction to it, and Bellatrix's the opposite, coupled together that told me everything I needed to know," she shrugged.
"Maybe you should come with me then, in case there's something hidden."
"Okay, there's still students and staff wandering around, I can use a few charms so that people won't notice us," she agreed.
"You two go ahead, I'll stay here and see if there's any connection between Wellers and Harrow," Dean spoke.
Hermione cast the charms over herself and Sam and he led the way to Poldark's locker. Hermione watched amused as he struggled to open it and she pointed her wand and whispered, "Alohomora."
Sam blinked when he heard a 'click' and he was able to pull the locker open. "Why didn't you do that before?"
"It was amusing, and I'm sure you would've gotten there in the end, but the charms on us will wear off eventually," he scowled and she chuckled.
Hermione's wand didn't react to the locker and Sam searched through it, handing her things that she should look through.
"I've got something," Hermione commented, flipping open the small note.
"What?" He turned his head.
"You'll pay for what you did to me. Soon you'll realise that you messed with the wrong person," she read aloud.
"That's promising, have you found anything else?"
"No, you?"
"No, onto Frier's locker then."
They put everything back and moved to the next locker, Sam asking Hermione to open it to save time. They searched through it and found the same note as they had in Poldark's locker. They moved onto Kristy's and they found the same note, only it was worded differently and the note was more malicious than the previous two.
"I'm sure I've seen this hand writing before," Hermione mused as they headed to the last two lockers of Stewart and Glasper, which happened to be next to each other. "It's definitely someone from my senior class."
They came to their lockers and Hermione opened them both and they each took one after she deemed them free of anything harmful.
"I know this girl, she's in my English class," Hermione commented, showing the photo she found of two girls together, smiling wildly and laughing. In the photo was the victim, Hayley Stewart, and Jane.
"There's a note book here, filled with messages passed between Glasper and someone called Jane," Sam said.
Her eyes snapped to the note book and she took it from him, reading a few of the messages, of which were of a romantic and sexual nature.
"Jane, she's the one in this photo."
"Do you think they were sleeping together?" He frowned, reading some of the messages over her shoulder.
"No, you said that Stewart and Glasper hadn't been dating long, these messages are dated for two months ago, so it was before they got together. By the way these messages read Jane and Glasper were in a relationship at some point. And judging by the photograph I found, and it's not the only one, Hayley and Jane were friends."
"Check her locker?"
"Read my mind," she replied, closing the lockers and Hermione lead the way since she knew where Jane's locker was.
They looked through it and found photos of her and Hayley, as well as photos of her and Glasper.
"So, Jane and Glasper dated, they broke up and he got with her best friend," she winced. "She broke girl code; that must've pissed her off."
"So we've found a connection between Stewart and Glasper, what about the others?"
"If I'm reading these messages right, the victims did something that earned them these threats and almost dying," she frowned. "Maybe we should check student records and see if there are any isolated incidences including our victims that may have caused this."
"Sounds like a plan," Sam agreed and they quickly made their way to the principal's office. Seeing it empty they snuck in and proceeded to go through the files, finding out the files of their victims and they quickly read them over.
"Found anything?" Hermione asked Sam.
"Yeah, Kristy was disciplined a few months back for bullying another student. There are several instances recorded, but the one that stands out the most is Kristy stealing another student's clothes and leaving them stranded in the showers."
Hermione looked at him horrified. "What is wrong you people? If we have a problem with someone in wizarding school, we likely jinx them or embarrass them by making them dance uncontrollably or making them grow antlers, but we would never stoop that low, that's horrific."
"That's high school," Sam sighed, looking apologetic as if he could apologise for every bad thing that ever took place during those years of a student's life. "Not everyone is a bully, but you get the odd person that takes things too far. Have you found anything?"
"Frier was disciplined a few months ago also, he stole another student's project and handed it in with his name on, of course the teacher knew it wasn't his work."
"Anything on Poldark?"
"No, nothing that I can see, is the student named?"
"Yeah, it's..." He looked down at the paperwork, "Jane Fielding."
"Mine too, that's four of our victims connected to Jane, we should pull her file."
Sam agreed with her and after putting the other files back, they pulled hers, reading through it together. They looked at each other when they found something, and they put the file back and headed back to her classroom.
"Did you find anything?" Dean asked, lounging in the chair with his feet on the desk, a smug expression on his face.
"Yes, we may know who's responsible. We've found a connection between four of our teenage victims. Kristy was disciplined for bullying, Frier was disciplined for stealing another's work and handing it in as his own. Glasper and Stewart were dating, after Glasper broke up with his previous girlfriend, who just so happened to be Stewart's best friend," Sam explained and Dean made a face at his words.
"I found a connection to Wellers and Harrow," Dean gloated.
"Let me guess, they both had complaints filed against them by the same student," Hermione spoke.
"How did you know?" He frowned, sitting up in his seat and putting his feet back on the ground.
"We pulled the suspect's file, Jane Fielding. She filed a complaint against Harrow since he was failing her in PE and she filed a complaint against Wellers since he always gave her lower grades than she expected. She needs to pass PE and get the grades in her other subjects in order to be accepted into college."
"Jane? Isn't she the one you had trouble with in class?" Dean frowned.
"Yes," she nodded. "I wouldn't allow her to work on Wellers' analysis project since Walters asked me to give them a different project, in order to give them a break from Wellers' difficult class plans. She refused to do the work set and she disrupted the learning environment of the other students, and after insulting me I sent her to the principal's office."
"She's connected to everyone, including you, it must be her," Dean said.
She nodded. "I think it is, but we don't know how Poldark fits into all of this," her forehead crinkled. "But the other students might, do the football team have practice tonight?"
"I think so, why?"
"From what I've heard Poldark was friends with Blake, if he's still here I can talk to him and see if he can shed any light on the situation."
~000~000~000~
"I'm sorry to bother you, Coach Owen," Hermione said with a friendly smile, noticing that the mid-forties man eyed her up with his brown eyes.
"No bother at all, Miss. Hart, what can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if I may have a quick word with Blake for a moment, it's regarding his English project. I won't keep his attention long, five minutes at most." He looked at her strangely but he called over Blake and nodded to her.
She smiled in thanks and walked further away so no one would overhear them.
"I won't keep you long, Blake," Hermione spoke. "I was just wondering if you could help me with something?"
"What?" He frowned.
"I need you to tell me if there's any reason someone would wish to hurt Justin Poldark, from what I can gather you're friends."
"Why do you need to know that?" He leaned back slightly. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and she sighed.
"Look, Blake, I don't need to tell you I'm not like the other teachers."
"You're better," he shrugged and she laughed lightly.
"That's kind of you to say, given I'm not actually a teacher."
"What do you mean?"
She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out her ID, showing it to him. His eyes widened when he saw what she wanted him to see. "I am Hermione Hart, an undercover agent for the FBI." He stared at her, his mouth hung open.
"But...But..." He cleared his throat and shuffled on his feet. "What about Mr. Chester? Isn't he your boyfriend?"
"He is also an undercover agent, he is my partner and yes, he is still my boyfriend. When we were placed here, we were given the task of finding the person that is responsible for the injuries to your classmates."
"They were freak accidents, and the others are just ill."
"I can't say much, but I will tell you that evidence has arisen that suggests foul play and I am investigating. I believe we have a suspect, but before anything can be done, I need to know if there is someone who would want to hurt Justin. I thought seeing as he's your friend, you might know."
"He was my friend, not anymore." The look she gave him encouraged him to continue. "A few weeks ago he asked a girl out on a date and he took her to dinner. The next morning he was bragging that he'd gotten laid. The girl confronted him and accused him of slipping something into her drink and raping her."
"Did he?"
"I don't know, I was there when she confronted him in the parking lot. When I heard what she said I wasn't sure who to believe, but being caught in a situation like that wouldn't have been good for my record, so I left them to their arguing. I haven't spoken to Justin since, and then he had the accident."
"What is the name of the girl?" She asked and he looked conflicted. "Blake, I need you to tell me her name, so that I can clear her of being a suspect."
"Jane Fielding," he answered.
Hermione's suspicions were confirmed, she was tied to all seven victims now.
"Thank you, Blake, I think this goes without saying, but don't tell anyone of Mr. Chester's true identity and the same goes for me. No one but you is aware of the investigation and that includes other staff members as well as Principal Walters."
He nodded. "If this FBI thing doesn't work out, you'd make a great teacher," he commented.
"You're not the first person to say that to me," she chuckled, and then she turned and disappeared, heading back to her classroom where Sam and Dean waited for her.
"So?" Sam prompted.
"Jane accused Poldark of slipping something into her drink and raping her, when he took her out on a date." They blinked in shock.
"Did he rape her?" Dean asked.
"I don't have any evidence either way, but I can't see someone hurting a person in such a way as this, if they hadn't have wronged them so. In my opinion, I think he may have and it's what made her go off the deep end. Her boyfriend breaking up with her and then moving onto her best friend, the head cheerleader bullying her, the captain of the baseball team stealing her project, her teachers failing her, and being raped by the captain of the soccer team," she counted off each point on her fingers. "And she came after me because she felt I had wronged her by not allowing her to work on her project."
They all shared looks and then Sam's phone rang. He frowned and stepped out of the classroom to take the call.
"How do you want to play this?" She asked Dean.
"Normally we'd end up killing the one responsible, but we're dealing with a troubled teenage girl that's been wronged." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What would you do?"
"I honestly don't know," she confessed.
Sam entered the room and the look on his face told them something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" They both asked together.
"It was the hospital. Harrow's and Weller's condition is worsening; they say they only have until the morning at best. Stewart and Glasper aren't doing too well either. Poldark died fifteen minutes ago."
There was not a sound in the room.
Hermione turned to Dean. "We're dealing with a murderer now, it's your call."
His eyes searched her face, watching for any sign of disappointment. "Is there anything you can do other than killing her?"
Sam's eyes widened in surprise at what he was hearing. Dean was willingly open to other options than killing? Hell, that was something he never thought he'd see in his life.
"I might be able to take her to The Ministry and they can decide her punishment. Although she's a muggle, she has exposed magic to the world, whether it be our kind or the kind from hell, that's a crime and it won't go ignored."
"We'll catch her and you can take her." Dean said and her entire face softened, making Dean's insides flutter. He cleared his throat. "Since the illnesses haven't worn off it means they still have the hex bags near them in the hospital."
"Or that the illnesses have infected their system and it isn't able to fight it off," Hermione countered and he nodded seeing her point.
"Is there anything you can do for them? If there are no hex bags and their bodies are shutting down, can you help them?"
She bit her lip and frowned. "I won't know for sure until I see what the damage is, I'm not a magical healer but I'm fairly decent at counter curses. I can't take them to St. Helga's so I'm on my own on that front. How would you normally reverse the effects?"
"The witch can remove the curse, the hex bag is destroyed or use a spell to break it," he answered.
"We'll try and get Jane to remove the curse first; afterwards I'll do my best for them. We only have until the morning to get this case solved. Lives depend on it."