Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter.

January 2007.

Hermione paced around her apartment nervously, constantly looking between the clock and the door. Both Bobby and Charles were due to arrive any minute, and she could only hope that it would be Charles to arrive first, and not her father.

When Hermione mentioned a couple of days ago that her father was coming to visit, Charles didn't hesitate in agreeing to meet him. Hermione had spent all of her free time since to make sure her apartment was in a state for visitors and preparing the guest room for the unlikely event Bobby would want to stay the night.

The only thing she didn't expect was Bobby finishing his hunt sooner than usual and arriving a full day before he said he will. Apartment-wise, it didn't mean much, but as Hermione wanted Charles to already be there when her dad arrived, her boyfriend was currently making his way from the other side of town.

A knock on the door made her jump, and she sighed in relief when she opened the door to see Charles standing there.

"Come inside," she said, all but pulling him in as she shut the door behind him. "Sorry for the short notice. I didn't pull you out anything important at work, did I?"

"Don't worry about it," Charles calmed her down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "After the last deal I made, my boss can't complain about me asking for a day off every now and then."

"Yes, but on such a short notice…"

"Don't worry about it," he repeated. "How long until your dad arrives?"

"Any minute," Hermione said nervously.

"Shame," Charles mused. "I rather hoped we'd have some time to make good of my unplanned day off."

"Charles!"

"It was just a suggestion, Herms," Charles laughed and Hermione couldn't help but smile softly at him.

If it were any other person who'd have called her 'Herms', she'd have thrown them off the twentieth floor by now. But coming out of Charles' mouth, somehow the pet-name didn't sound so bad.

She wrapped her arms around Charles' neck, about to pull him into a kiss when the doorbell rang and the two of them jumped a good couple of feet away from each other.

"That'll be..." Hermione started.

"Probably," Charles nodded.

"I should…"

"Yeah."

Hermione sent Charles a nervous smile as she headed to the door, opening it to the sight of her father looking at her expectantly.

"Are you just gonna let me stand here all day long?" he asked. "Ain't as young as I used be, you know."

"You were young?" Hermione asked with a teasing smile. "Why didn't anyone ever let me know?"

Bobby glared at her for a few moments before his face broke into a smile and he pulled his daughter into a tight hug.

"I missed you, Mya," he said. "You don't visit nearly often enough."

"You saw me last week, Dad," Hermione replied, laughing. "It really hasn't been that long."

"Too long," Bobby said, walking inside and taking in the look of her apartment. "Did you redecorate?"

"You always ask that," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I didn't redecorate since I moved in here."

"Must be because you don't invite me often enough."

"I invite you all the time!" Hermione protested, her eyes finding Charles, who was smiling softly at them. "Um… Daddy, there's someone I'd like you to meet," she said, walking to stand next to Charles.

Bobby's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "And who might that be?" he asked.

"This is Charles," Hermione replied. "I told you about him, remember?"

"Yeah," Bobby nodded. "The guy I have to threaten, apparently."

"Daddy!"

"Just kidding," Bobby said, thought the look in his eyes said differently.

"Okay, let's just try this again," Hermione sighed. "Daddy, this is Charles. We're dating and I'm very happy with him so please don't threaten him. Charles, this is my dad, Bobby."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Singer," Charles said, reaching out his hand for a shake.

"Wish I could say the same," Bobby said with a smile as he grabbed the other man's hand tightly.

"Daddy!"

"Alright, alright," Bobby said, a smile finding its way to his face for the first time since he noticed Charles was in the room. "Nice to meet ya. And call me Bobby, 'Mr. Singer' makes me feel old."

"Well, you are old," Hermione commented, and all of the tension was gone from the room.

"Watch your mouth, young lady," Bobby warned, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Dad, I'm 27."

"And still not old enough for a boyfriend, in my opinion."

"Are all of your conversations like that?" Charles asked, clearly trying to hide a smile.

"Oh, I went to a boarding school halfway across the world," Hermione sighed. "You have no idea."

"So, Charles," Bobby started as he made his way to the fridge and pulled out three bottles of beer, "What do you do for a living?"

"I work at the sales department for a company that sells car parts all around the world," Charles replied. "Made quite a big deal with the French a couple weeks back, actually."

"Guess your boss really likes you, then," Bobby commented, handing out bottles for Hermione and Charles.

"Well, I hope," Charles smiled. "You?"

"I'm a hunter," Bobby replied shortly. "But I'm also a part-time consultant, whenever people need."

"Consultant for what?" Charles asked.

"Stuff."

"Dad's helped a lot during the War," Hermione said, relieved that she already told Charles about being a witch and the war so that she could use it to show him the kind of things her dad did without having to tell him that monsters were real. "He saved the lives of a lot of Muggleborns."

"It really wasn't that much –" Bobby started.

"It really was," Hermione replied, making the three of them fall into an uncomfortable silence for a couple of moments before she spoke again. "So… I made shepherd's pie for lunch."

All conversation was quickly forgotten in the face of freshly cooked food placed on the table, and Hermione smiled.

February 2007.

Hermione and Bobby sighed as they looked at Dean and Sam.

The two brothers called them earlier that day – Dean called Bobby and Sam called Hermione to help the two of them with a case. A case that, apparently, made the two of them even more unbearable than usual as they constantly annoyed each other.

Normally, it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but after Dean supposedly hid Sam's laptop and Sam retaliated by cutting Baby's wheels, the two of them became even more of a dysfunctional team than usual.

"Do you want to…?" Bobby asked quietly and Hermione shook her head.

"No, you can have the honor," she replied, and Bobby turned to the boys.

"I'm surprised at you two," he said. "I really am. Sam, first off, Dean did not steal your computer."

"But I –"

"Does it look like he's done talking?" Hermione asked and Sam looked down. "Go on, Dad."

"And, Dean," Bobby said, "Sam did not touch your car. And if you two bothered to pull your heads out of your asses it all would've been pretty clear."

"What?" Dean asked, confused.

"What you're dealing with."

The two brothers glanced at each other, deep in thought before turning back to the father and daughter.

"I got nothing."

"Me neither."

Bobby sighed. "You got a Trickster on your hands."

"That's what I thought," Dean immediately said.

"What?" Sam asked. "No you didn't –"

"Oi!" Hermione called out. "Shut up."

"Well, I gotta tell you," Bobby said, "You guys were the biggest clue."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Hermione?" Bobby said, and the woman in question took a step forward, looking between the two.

"Tricksters create chaos and mischief," she said. "As easy as breathing. And it's got you so turned around and at each other's throats, you seem to outright refuse to use your bloody heads."

"The laptop," Sam said in understanding.

"The tires," Dean sighed in defeat.

"It knows you're onto him," Hermione said.

"And it's been playing you like fiddles," Bobby concluded.

"So, what is it?" Dean questioned. "Spirit, demon, what?"

"More like demigods, really," Hermione replied. "And that's a nasty bunch if I ever met one. I met a couple last Halloween, they got away but I gathered enough to realize there's dozens of them."

"They're immortal and they can create things out of thin air," Bobby added. "Things as real as you and me."

"Make them vanish just as quick," Hermione added in a tone that said she knew from experience.

"You mean, like an angry spirit," Dean said, "Or an alien, or an alligator."

"The victims fit the MO, too," Bobby said. "Tricksters target the high and the mighty. Knock them down a peg, usually with a sense of humor. Deadly pranks, things like that."

"Wait," Dean said, "What do these things look like?"

"Whatever they wish, really," Hermione replied. "But human mostly."

"And what human do we know who's been at ground zero this whole time?"

The next night found the four of them planning a trap for the Trickster. Sam and Dean faked a fight right outside the university he was pretending to be a janitor at – the university which was the common ground for all of the cases.

Dean snuck inside in search for the trickster while Sam brought Hermione and Bobby as backup so that the trickster will only prepare for one opponent, but will encounter four.

He was walking through the corridors when he heard music coming out of the auditorium. He wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting when he walked through the doors, but two scarcely-clad women with their eyes only for him was definitely not it.

"We've been waiting for you, Dean," one of them said.

"You…" Dean started, trying to snap back into his senses. "You guys aren't real."

"Trust me, sugar," the other told him, "It's gonna feel real."

"Come on," the first muttered, moving closer to him. "Let us give you a massage."

"Wha…" Dean swallowed hard, trying to fight the urge to give in with the thought of what Mya would say if she walked in and saw him with those two. "You know, I'm a sucker for a happy ending," he said. "Really, I am… but I'm gonna have to pass."

"They're a peace offering." Dean turned around to see the Trickster sitting on one of the chairs in the auditorium, looking at him. "I know what you and your brother do," he said. "I've been around a while, run into your kind before."

"Well," Dean said, "Then you know that I can't let you just keep hurting people."

"Come on," the Trickster rolled his eyes. "Those people got what was coming to them. Hoisted on their own petards. But you and Sam, I like you. I do. So treat yourself, long as you want," he said, marking at the girls. "Just long enough for me to move on to the next town."

"Yeah, I don't think I can let you do that," Dean replied and the Trickster smiled.

"I think I can see why Hermione likes, you," he said, and something flared inside of Dean.

"Don't you dare –"

"Relax," the Trickster huffed. "I'm not going to hurt her. I don't wanna hurt you, either. And you know that I can."

"Look, man," Dean said. "I gotta tell you, I dig your style. All right? I mean… I do, I mean," he glanced at the girls behind him and sighed, making the Trickster smile. "And the slow-dancing alien?"

"One of my personal favorites," the Trickster laughed.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "But I can't let you go."

The smile slid off the Trickster's face. "Too bad," he said. "Like I said, I liked you. Sam was right," he added darkly. "You shouldn't have come alone."

"Well," Dean smiled. "I'll agree with you there."

The sound of two doors opening and closing had the Trickster tur around. From one side of the auditorium walked Sam, holding a stake much like the one Dean was currently hiding in his jacket. On the other side were Bobby and Hermione, in similar states of action.

As soon as the father and daughter saw the Trickster, he stood up, looking ready to run away right there and then. Bobby raised his stake higher, an angry look crossing his every feature, but Hermione looked mostly heartbroken as she uttered a single word.

"Charles?"

A/N: I swear, half of the reviews about last chapter were either about hoping Charles isn't a demon/monster/supernatural creature or about wondering which demon/monster/supernatural creature Charles was...

~sigh~ you guys know me so well...

And, no, I'm not sorry in the least.