THE FAMILY BUSINESS: SEVEN
Summary: Hermione's peaceful, yet boring life is disrupted when notorious hunter, Dean Winchester, walks into her book shop. Dean's life is completely changed when he meets, Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of her Age. But maybe that's just what they both needed. A series of one-shots based on their lives together. Mostly Dean's POV. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Supernatural. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic.
AN
Alright, this is where I start messing around with the timeline. The episode Hell House was originally S01E17, but I'm going to have it happening right after S01E04, Phantom Traveller. I have a massive chapter of 13,000+ words and I hadn't intended to write so much for this one, but I did promise no cliff hangers, so a huge chapter you will get.
Q&A
CallaRose4ever – I'll be having her ex making a short appearance, but I don't know when yet.
Meldz – The muse for 'TER' is being very stubborn but I haven't given up, especially since it's nearly finished and there's just a few more chapters to go I reckon, depending on the length that is.
AmethystRoseMalfoy - Me either, it's going to be fun writing that meeting.
Page count: 27
One month later...
"Shit! Hermione! Are you alright?" Dean asked, coming to a stop at the end of the pier and looking out at her as she resurfaced from beneath the water, gasping for breath and he noted that she was splashing about far too much, in fact, she looked terrified.
"Dean! I can't swim!" She screamed.
"Fuck!" Dean cursed.
Panic filled him as he threw off his leather jacket and dived off the pier into the lake, making quick work of getting over to Hermione and pulling her back to land before she drowned. As she coughed and spluttered, he helped her climb back up the ladder and she collapsed onto the wooden planks with him rubbing her back, hoping it would help to calm her. Not caring in the slightest that it was actually quite cold in the evening breeze, he wrapped her up in his arms and she clung to him tightly as she worked to her get breathing back under control.
"Please tell me the arsehole's gone," she said after a few minutes, looking a lot calmer as she pulled back from him.
"The watch went up in flames," he nodded.
"Good, I hate vengeful spirits," she muttered. "Why do they always target me?"
Dean couldn't answer that even if he wanted to because they did always seem to target her first. He didn't know if it was because they thought her to be the weaker of them both, which he knew was wrong, or if it was something to do with her magic calling out to them.
"Let's get out of here," he said, standing and helping her to her feet and he was grateful when she pointed her wand at him, muttering beneath her breath and his hair and clothing dried, as did her own.
Picking up his leather jacket, he took her hand in his and they made their way away from the condemned lake house and back to the Impala, knowing they'd finished yet another case.
For Dean, he couldn't believe how fast the weeks were going. Since their return from London, they'd barely had chance to breathe let alone doing anything else, going from one case straight to another. Whilst in London Hermione had shown him the world she'd come from and it had been a shock to his system. After seeing the hospital and how ordinary it looked, he'd expected the same from the rest of her world and that couldn't have been farther from the truth.
Whilst she'd taken him shopping in a magical town and he'd seen that witches and wizards had the same needs as regular humans, he'd also seen that despite them being similar, they were also very different, too. He'd seen the magical candy and foods they ate, he'd seen the strange clothing they wore and he'd seen the strange items they sold and bought.
But he'd also seen the strangely shaped buildings, the moving windows displays and the bright colours; the children running through the streets and laughing as the adults shopped with their bags levitating behind them. He'd seen the joy magic brought to the world and he honestly believed that true born magic was a blessing. He could admit that whilst the darkness did exist, too, it was outshone by the light.
And whilst it was a lot to take in, especially on his first visit, he hadn't wanted to leave and he'd only done so because Hermione had promised they'd return for another visit. The little magical town had made him feel relaxed and free and joyous, it had made him feel like a child again and he'd barely stopped himself from acting as such.
And during their visit to the little town, he'd been introduced to another of Hermione's brothers, George, the owner of a magical pranks store. Upon seeing the clashing orange and purple of the outer building and hearing the loud explosions coming from inside, he'd been the one to drag Hermione into the building and they'd soon been greeted by a tall redhead.
While Dean got the feeling George was protective of Hermione, it was to nowhere near the extent Harry and Ron had been and George had listened to what Hermione had to say before shaking his hand, giving him the warning -and if he were being honest, George scared him more than the others had- and then offering him a tour of his store. He'd almost walked out with a bag of free goodies but Hermione had put a stop to it and he wouldn't admit it, but he'd pouted for a solid ten minutes before getting swept up in the magic that surrounded him.
They also ran into another of her brothers when they'd visited the magical bank and he'd almost drawn his gun and caused a scene when he saw it was being run by goblins -actual goblins! Bill, the eldest he'd learned, had been bright and friendly despite the large scar that covered half his face and made him look intimidating. He'd done much the same as George and threatened him with dark and powerful curses and then shook his hand. He hadn't met the woman and man that had taken her in, one being at work and the other not being well and he hadn't met her other brother Charlie as he lived in Romania or Percy as he'd been at work. But he had met Ginny and hell; he'd needed a drink afterwards to help with the headache.
He'd never met someone who could talk so much without taking a single breath or pause in-between sentences. He never received a warning from her; she'd preferred to just send Hermione suggestive looks when she thought he wasn't looking. After spending some time with the kids, Hermione had known he'd had an overwhelming day and declined the offer to join them for dinner and they'd returned to their hotel where they'd ordered room service and watched TV and the next day they returned to America, getting straight back on the road and Dean back to his comfort zone.
"I didn't know you couldn't swim," he said aloud.
She shrugged her shoulders. "My parents never had time to teach me as they were always busy working and before I knew it, I'd gone away to Hogwarts. I hadn't really been afraid of the water, not until I was fifteen and placed in a magical sleep beneath a creature infested lake where I was to be rescued by one of the champions of the tournament. I almost drowned the both of us when the spell wore off and we resurfaced and I've hated large bodies of water since."
"I'm going to have to teach you," he replied.
She snorted. "Not happening, not only will I not be able to get near a body of water large enough without freezing, even with Calming Draughts in my system, but I wouldn't be able to focus. I'm past the point now where I know I'll never be able to swim so I tend to just avoid anywhere that I may need such a skill. I wasn't expecting to literally be thrown from the house into the lake despite the distance between them."
Reaching the car, they climbed in and started off on their journey back to their motel knowing, they needed to check on Crookshanks as he'd been on his own since they'd left that morning.
"Before we leave in the morning, we need to stop somewhere so I can buy new towels," she said and he saw the glare she sent him from the corner of his eye.
She'd been far from happy when he'd used her towels to clean himself up after tinkering with the Impala and getting himself covered in oil.
"Just use the provided ones like everyone else."
"I don't think so, I'd rather not catch diseases from others. Would you use a stranger's toothbrush? Or wear someone else's underwear?" He grimaced at the thought. "Exactly, I don't want to be using a towel that's touched someone else's bits."
He snorted at her. "They do wash them, and I use your towels."
"It's not as if you keep your bits to yourself."
A smirk pulled at his mouth as he turned to look at her. No, he really didn't.
~000~000~000~
Three days later...
"Heard from the arsehole?" Hermione asked as she stepped out of the bathroom in her pyjamas and towel drying her hair after having taken a shower.
He snorted at her as he locked the door behind him and avoided tripping over the fat cat that came to greet him. She no longer referred to his father as such and rather just called him an asshole. He really shouldn't but he found it funny.
"No," he responded, picking Crookshanks up and putting him on the bed as this one was higher than usual and giving his weight, he found it difficult to jump that high.
"You're worried aren't you?" She said knowingly.
Dean sighed, pulling out a chair from beneath the table and taking a seat. He thought about denying it but knew there was no point. Hermione was the only person he'd met that could not only read him like one of her much loved books, but that he couldn't lie to either.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
She frowned and dropped her towel on the bed, making her way over to him and as soon as she was close enough, he snagged her around the waist and pulled her to sit on his lap, his face going straight to her neck and breathing her the fresh scent of apples as he nudged aside her damp hair with his nose.
"It's been a few weeks, maybe it's time," she told him.
He knew she was right, something was definitely wrong and he knew his father was keeping things from him, just as he was doing the same. When Bobby had told him his father was acting strange, Dean had contacted him and waited a few days until he received a reply. Giving it was barely a few sentences he thought his father to be fine, being used to short responses. He'd made sure to text his father a few times a week despite only receiving a reply to one of them. But now it had been just over three weeks since he'd last heard from his father.
"You think we should go looking?" He said knowingly.
She shrugged her shoulders. "He's your father; is it like him to go so long without contacting you?"
"Not usually this long, two weeks at most."
"I don't want you to be distracted by this," she said.
"You just want to meet him so you can punch him in the face," he snorted.
"That, too," she said shamelessly and he chuckled. "We'll head out in the morning, any idea where he might be?"
"If he's gone this long without contacting me it can't be good, I'm hoping he's just injured and he's holed up somewhere and laying low. He's got a few safe houses, we'll check them first."
"Where's the first one?"
"Bobby's," he answered.
"And we know he's not there which crosses that off the list. Where else?"
"I'll tell you in the morning, but right now, I need a distraction," he muttered, his mouth placing butterfly kisses to the skin of her neck and shoulder.
She let out a sigh and her hands came up to his hair, gently tugging on the strands and her nails lightly scratching at his scalp.
"So that's all I am to you? A distraction," she teased.
"No, you're everything to me," he found himself muttering and he meant it.
She really did mean the world to him. Without her, he would've died months ago. Without her, he wouldn't have the light that kept him sane and gave him reason to continue fighting every day. Without her, he would be lonely and drunk and numb. She gave his life meaning; he fought every day to not only protect her, but to protect others that were like her. She gave him companionship and laughter. She made him happy. He felt cared for, important, like he mattered.
She did mean the world to him. He couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt or of losing her, especially to another man. He didn't want to be separated from her for longer than necessary. He loved taking care of her, sleeping with her curled up in his arms, even just watching her reading, seeing the way her facial expressions changed as she read through the pages. He loved showing her parts of the US she'd never seen before and introducing her to new experiences.
Her constant presence and magic was comforting and warm. He just loved being with and around her and he honestly didn't know what he'd do without her.
What did love feel like? Was this it?
"You're really sweet when you want to be," she sighed.
"I'm not sweet," he muttered.
"Like honey,"
He stood from the chair with her in his arms and he carried her over to the bed, dropping her onto the mattress and attacking her ribs with his fingers as squeals and laughter pealed from her.
It was a pure and joyous sound that he always felt like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders when he heard it. He loved to see her laughing, being happy and bright like the big ball of sunshine that she was.
He loved everything about her; from her insults towards his father, to her annoyance at supernatural beings for trying to kill her; from her endless appetite to her complaints of being hungry; from her strength and fierceness to her kindness and compassion. She'd suffered terribly in her youth yet he'd never once heard her complain, he'd never once heard her say she wished it had never happened to her.
Looking down at her, he couldn't take his eyes off the way her head was tilted back as she laughed, as her eyes screwed shut and tears of laughter threatened to fall, as her body wriggled and squirmed trying to get away from his assault. She really was beautiful.
Was this love?
Did he love her?
~000~000~000~
A loud, annoying beeping sounded in the room and it woke the both of them up. Dean groaned and rolled onto his back, slowly peeling an eye open to see the time on the alarm clock and it was not long past six in the morning; far too early to be up.
Dean turned with the intention to pull Hermione back into his arms and falling back to sleep for a little while longer, only she wasn't there. The lights in the room suddenly switched on and he blinked as it hurt his eyes, before he sat up in bed and frowned at the way she'd darted over to her magical bag and she was rummaging around inside of it as if her life depended.
In the end, she tipped the bag upside down, various items of clothing, wash products and food falling onto the ground in a mess. He found himself frowning at the way she dropped onto her knees and her hands and eyes raked over the items, looking for one in particular.
"I can't find it, I can't find it," she said, her voice taking a hysterical tone and it had him climbing out of bed and crouching down in front of her.
He didn't know what she was looking for but he did his best to help her find it, moving the items she'd already pushed off to the side further away and moving the larger items as he guessed her to be looking for something small.
She let out a cry of frustration and he felt himself growing worried; he'd never seen her so panicked, worried, frightened. The shine of something golden caught his eyes and not knowing why, he moved the few items that covered it out of the way and picked it up in his hand, feeling it growing hotter the longer he held it. From what he could tell, it looked like one of the strange golden coins Hermione had used for currency in her world and although his knowledge of magic was limited, he knew this was no ordinary coin.
He blinked when it was ripped from his grasp and Hermione held it in her palm, looking down at it with her teeth gnawing at her lip and her breathing picking up.
"No," she whispered, a tear leaking from her eye and running down her cheek.
"Hermione?" She ignored him, still staring down at the coin. "Baby? What's wrong?" He asked, trying to keep his voice gentle and calm but it was very difficult at seeing her so unlike herself.
She blinked and slowly raised her eyes to his. "Harry," she whispered. "We only use these in life and death situations," she explained, her eyes darting back down to the coin and then moving back to him. "He's in the hospital, they don't know if he's going to make it."
Dean felt his stomach twist in knots and his heart clench; he couldn't imagine what she was going through, knowing that if something like that ever happened to his brother he wouldn't know how to cope.
"You have to go, you need to be with him," he told her gently.
He hated the thought of being away from her, but he had to find his father and she needed to be with her brother.
"But your..."
He shook his head. "You need to go, your family needs you and mine needs me."
She took a deep breath and gripped the coin in her hand tightly and the other came up to wipe at her face before she stood and grabbed her wand, packing everything away into her bag. She put on the first pair of jeans she could find and didn't bother changing out of his t-shirt that she'd worn to bed. She pulled her hair up into a knot on her head and slipped on her shoes before turning to face him.
"Be careful," she said. He gave her a lopsided smile. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I can and if you haven't found your father by then I'll help you look. As you know, you won't be able to contact me when I'm in my world, so please be careful."
"I'll be fine," he said, but even he heard how unconvincing that was.
"I'll use my magic to track you so be on the lookout for me."
He watched as her hands came up to her necklace and she removed it, holding it out to him. He blinked in surprise, knowing how important it was to her and that she was giving it to him.
"This will give you some protection should you happen to run into a witch whilst I'm gone. It'll deflect most common hexes and curses and it'll alert you to dark magical auras, namely supernatural witches. With this, you'll always have a piece of me with you as my magic is literally attached it."
"I won't lose it," he promised her, taking it from her hand and gripping it in his own.
He reached out and pulled her into a hug, not knowing how long she'd be gone or when he'd next see her and she snuggled into him, her nose brushing his bare chest and her arms wrapping around him tightly.
She pulled back from him and seeing as she'd given him something, he felt he should give her something in return, something that would remind her she wasn't alone and despite him not being with her in person, he was with her in spirit.
Looking about the room for something suitable, he caught sight of the single ring that sat on his right ring finger and he didn't know why, but he thought it perfect. He quickly slipped it off his finger and held it out to her, seeing her blinking slowly as she stared at it.
"Be careful with it, it's my favourite beer bottle opener," he told her.
A small laugh sounded from her before she took it from him, holding it in her clasped hand. "I'll guard it with my life," she promised.
She stepped closer to him, reaching up on her tiptoes and pressing a chaste but meaningful kiss to his mouth and she pulled away from him before he even had chance to reach for her and keep her to him for a little while longer.
"Crooks, let's go," Hermione said.
As Hermione busied herself with collecting her coat and bag, the fat cat jumped down off the bed and walked between his parted legs a few times, brushing up against him. Crouching down, he scratched the ginger fluff-ball behind the ears.
"Keep an eye on her," he muttered and he received a very telling look in response, namely Crookshanks thinking him stupid for even daring to say such a thing to the familiar of a witch; it was their purpose to protect and guide them.
He stood up and Hermione picked Crookshanks up in her arms, holding him to her tightly. She tried to smile at him but he could see right through it; she was worried for his safety just as much as she was worried about her brother. She opened her mouth to say something and her eyes welled with tears.
"I..." Shaking her head, her mouth closed before she spun on her heel, disappearing with a 'crack.'
Dean just stared at the empty spot she'd previously occupied, being unsure of what to do next. After being with Hermione all day and every day for the better part of six months he knew he would struggle to get used to being by himself again, especially as he relied on her to cover his blind spots and keep him safe.
Letting out a sigh, Dean looked down to the necklace gripped in his hand before he headed for the bathroom, switching on the light and standing in front of the sink. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he watched himself reach up to fasten the silver chain around his neck and he blinked in surprise when it resized itself so it better fit him, the little otter sitting in the centre of his chest and just above his amulet.
Warmth and comfort surrounded him and he felt his mouth twitching at the corners when he realised that it felt like Hermione. He could feel her magic even though she wasn't with him and that just made her offering all the more special to him. Not only had she given him something of extreme sentimental value, but she'd given a piece of herself over to him, something he'd always have with him and something that would protect him. It was almost as if she hadn't left at all.
Leaving out the bathroom and stepping back into the room, he stared at the empty bed. He knew he would find it difficult to sleep now. He'd gotten so used to her warmth and the softness of her body as he held her close, he'd gotten so used to her freezing feet seeking warmth from him and her scent of apples always surrounding him, that he just knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until she was back with him.
He thought it strange that he missed her already and she'd barely been gone five minutes, but he did. He missed not only her, but Crookshanks, too.
Running a hand through his hair and looking back to the clock, it had barely been half an hour since he'd been woken and he saw no point in going back to bed, not now that he was wide awake and he no incentive to want to climb back into bed now that Hermione was gone. So, he decided to ready for the day, head out for an early breakfast and begin his search for his father.
~000~000~000~
Two days later...
After a couple of days and reaching out to a few of his father's old sources, he'd learned that not only had they not heard from him, but that he hadn't been by any of the safe houses in months.
His worry for his father only grew and he didn't have Hermione to help distract him and keep him sane and he honestly hadn't realised how much he'd come to depend on her but since her leaving to go to her brother's side, Dean's life had changed. It was as if she'd taken all the joy and brightness with her and he hated it. He hated being on his own and he could really do with her being by his side and helping him with his search but he knew he couldn't be selfish and she was needed elsewhere.
He knew he couldn't do it by himself and he only had one more option available to him. He'd spent half a day travelling to Stanford University knowing it was where his little brother would be found.
He really didn't want to drag him into everything as he'd made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with the hunting lifestyle or their father, but Dean needed his help and he was hoping that some part of his brother did still care for their father. In the three years, he'd been gone, Dean had never once condemned Sam for his choices, and he'd never once tried to convince him to return or force him to do something he didn't want to do. He'd given Sam space to live his life how he wished and he hoped that it would work in his favour and help to convince Sam to aid in his search for their father.
By the time he arrived at Sam's apartment, it was well into the early hours of the morning and he'd shut off the engine and headed for the front door. After knocking several times and not receiving any acknowledgement of his presence, he picked the lock with ease and slipped inside, blindly navigating the building until he reached the kitchen, admittedly making more noise than he wanted to when he crashed into the fridge and knocked a chair over.
Feeling a presence behind him he instinctively blocked the blow that aimed for his stomach and a fight broke out before he pinned the large man to the ground, a laugh of surprise leaving him as he stared down at his little brother in the darkness of the room.
"Easy tiger," he grinned.
He couldn't believe how much Sam had changed in the time he'd been gone. God, he'd grown to be several inches taller than him and he'd finally grown into his ears. He looked a lot more like their father, too, and Dean thought he needed a haircut to tidy up his mop of hair.
"You're a little out of practice," he said, before he suddenly found himself being flipped over and slammed into the ground. "Or maybe not," he said through a groan before pulling himself to his feet, staring up at his little brother and it was going to take some getting used to as he'd always been the taller one growing up.
"What are you doing here, Dean?" His brother asked, looking equally as shocked as he did annoyed.
"We need to talk," he responded.
"Ever heard of a phone?"
"Would you have answered if I called?" Dean said and Sam remained silent, giving him his answer.
The light suddenly switched on and he blinked before turning towards the voice that called out his brother's name, an eyebrow raising at the sight of the pretty and half-dressed blonde that stood in the doorway of the bedroom, looking between him and Sam confused. Dean admitted she was pretty but he thought Hermione to be prettier, but then he was biased in his opinion.
"Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," Sam said and Dean's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline at the news, but he tipped his head in greeting.
"Nice to meet you, but you mind if I borrow your boyfriend, private family business?" He said, but he didn't give her the chance to respond, grabbing Sam by the arm and pulling him into a separate room. He saw Sam about to argue so he was quick with his explanation. "Dad hasn't been home in a few days," he said.
"So, he'll stumble back drunk like always," Sam said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He's on a hunting trip," he said, his eyes darting to the doorway where he caught sight of Sam's girlfriend eavesdropping. "I haven't heard from him in weeks and he hasn't been by any of the safe houses."
Sam's arms dropped by his sides, his eyes widened and his mouth pulled into a thin line.
~000~000~000~
Two weeks later...
It'd taken a little while for Dean to get through to the kid but he'd finally figured him out. The kid was a select mute, not having spoken since the death of his father and honestly, he couldn't blame him. He'd lost his mother when he was a few years younger than Lucas and if he hadn't have had his father or his brother, it may have very well happened to him, too.
Dean knew the kid knew more than he was letting on and the adults that surrounded him wanted to protect him and while he could understand that, it was also hindering their investigation. He'd tried to get the kid to talk and had been unsuccessful, but he'd been in his motel room watching TV when a thought struck him and now he and Sam were heading over to the Sheriff's Station where they knew the kid and his mom to be.
It'd been two weeks since he'd gone to Sam for help and it had taken one hell of an argument before Sam finally agreed to help him with the search for their father, though he stressed it was only for a few days. After catching a case they believed to be tied to their father and them both having to deal with a spirit that killed unfaithful men, Dean dropped Sam back off at Stanford with the intention to leave him to his life and he'd continue with his search by himself, only it hadn't happened that way.
Sam had witnessed his girlfriend's murder the same way he'd witnessed their mother's when he was just a baby and that had been the final nudge that pushed Sam back into the hunting lifestyle, searching not only for their father, but the demon that had killed their mother over two decades ago.
Dean hadn't known what to do or say to his little brother because God knew that if that had ever happened to him and Hermione was taken from him, he wouldn't rest until he'd killed everyone even remotely tied to it. Dean wasn't exactly sure how Sam was dealing, if anything he seemed too calm about it all and he'd fallen right back into hunting as if he'd never left, but it had taken Sam a little while to get used to actually being back in the game. And Dean knew he was certainly surprised by the changes in him, mainly that now that he never wandered off with a woman and that he was much more cautious, all of it being Hermione's doing.
Dean hadn't told Sam about Hermione, not because he was ashamed of her but because he hadn't known how to bring it up. Before it hadn't mattered as Sam's intentions had been to return to Stanford and they probably wouldn't have seen each other again for a few years, but after his girlfriend was murdered, Dean hadn't had the heart to tell his brother about his own relationship with the little witch, and God, he missed her so much!
In the weeks she'd been gone he noted he didn't laugh as much, he didn't have as much fun driving for long periods of time and he certainly didn't enjoy the thrill of the hunt without her by his side. He didn't sleep as much as he used to and he often found himself lying awake at night, listening to his brother's loud snores and when he did finally manage to fall asleep, he always woke well before Sam and he'd caught sight of quite a few sunrises since.
He missed her laughter, her comforting scent and presence; her complaints of being hungry and when heading out for food, it had taken him a week to get over the fact he didn't need to order for Hermione despite the words being on the tip of his tongue when he reached the counter. The number of times he'd almost ordered tea rather than coffee for Sam was actually shameful.
He hadn't heard from her since she'd left and when he didn't have the distractions of working a case and tracking his father, his mind always strayed to her, wondering how she was doing, if her brother was fine and if she was safe and sleeping. He wondered if she thought about him and if she was as worried about him as he was her.
"Is that cat hair?"
Dean shook his head and turned his eyes towards Sam, seeing him looking behind him to the back seat and a single ginger hair sat on the leather seat.
"Maybe, maybe not," he answered, neither admitting nor denying it. He didn't want to lie to Sam but he didn't want to tell him the truth either, not yet at least, not when everything with Jess was still fresh on the mind.
"Why is there cat hair in here?"
"Transference maybe," he shrugged.
"And when have you been around a cat?"
Dean shrugged. "You'd be surprised."
"But you hate cats," Sam said.
"I don't hate them," he muttered. Well, he didn't hate Crookshanks but he wasn't technically a cat, he was part cat and part magical cat. It didn't count. "Oh, we're here, great," Dean said, pulling up to the Sheriff's Station and climbing out of the car.
"What are we doing here again?" Sam asked.
"The kid knows more than he's letting on and I want to see what I can get out of him."
"He won't talk to anyone."
"I know, so I'm trying something different."
"If his mom can't get him to talk, what makes you think that you can? You have no experience with kids, you hate them."
"I don't hate them, kids love me," he argued, thinking of Hermione's nephews, James and Albus, but he had yet to meet the children of her other siblings.
"Name three children you know," Sam spoke.
That was easy, James, Albus, the newborn Rose, and her older brother Hugo despite not having met him yet, but Dean was saved from answering when they stepped into the station.
It didn't take much to convince the Sheriff and Lucas' mother to let him speak to him and he stepped over to the desk where the kid was sat, staring out of the window.
"Hey, Lucas, how you doing?" He said, but the kid didn't look at him or respond and he didn't expect him to. "Listen, I need your help to stop these bad things from happening."
Dean reached over for some paper and the stationary organiser that sat the pens and placed them on the desk beside the kid.
"Do you think you can help me?"
Lucas turned to look at him before his eyes fell down to the desk and he slowly reached for a pen and the paper. Dean remained silent until he was finished and he picked up the drawings to see a house and a lake. While it didn't mean much to him, he was sure the kid was trying to point him in the right direction.
"Thanks," he said, ruffling the young boy's hair and leaving him alone as he made his way over to Sam. "A lead," he said, pressing the drawings into his brother's hands and walking away, leaving behind a surprised Sam.
~000~000~000~
One week later...
"I thought we agreed on a truce," Dean said, sending a glare to Sam as he wiped away the sugary liquid from his face and he noted it smelled faintly like lemonade.
Another week had gone by and although he really did miss Hermione, having Sam with him helped to make him feel less alone. They were slowly mending the rift in their relationship that had been caused years ago and despite them arguing and squabbling, they were getting along better than they had in years. But he still couldn't wait to have Hermione back with him and he was gearing up to tell Sam about her. Sam had already noticed his new necklace and asked him about it several times and Dean had been able to steer the conversation somewhere else, but he couldn't do it for much longer.
A few days ago they'd taken a case which had him boarding a plane and trying to identify and destroy a phantom during mid-flight before it had chance to kill anyone else and Dean had never been more fearful. He could've definitely used one of Hermione's Calming Potions that day but a few drinks had had the same effect.
Dean and Sam were now currently in Richardson, Texas and dealing with a supernatural being that had been born purely out of belief. In order to amuse himself, he'd pulled a prank on Sam during the drive over and as a result, a prank war had broken out. Dean wished Hermione had allowed George to give him those magical prank products as they would've come in very handy.
After he put itching powder in Sam's clothing, put salt in his coffee and sugar on his fries, Sam had super-glued his hand to his beer bottle, changed the music in the Impala and woken him up during the night with a scary ass clown mask, they'd called a truce. But now here he was, stood in the middle of his motel room soaked from head to toe in what he thought was lemonade, after walking through the door and tripping a wire that tipped a bucket of the stuff over his head.
"We did, I swear it wasn't me," Sam responded, holding his hands up in surrender and although he laughed, he did look a little confused, but Dean wasn't sure whether to believe him or not.
Dean frowned before heading for the bathroom and picking up a towel, wiping his face dry and running it through his hair.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked Sam, after walking back into the room to see Sam staring out the window.
"Nothing, I just could've sworn I saw a cat," Sam replied.
"A cat?" Dean raised an eyebrow before shrugging off his leather jacket and wiping the lemonade off it.
"Yeah, but I swear, it looked just like the one I saw earlier."
"Have you been drinking?" He asked and Sam sent him an annoyed look over his shoulder.
"No and I'm not losing my mind, I definitely saw a cat."
"If you say so," Dean said, eyeing his brother carefully before he turned and headed over to his bed, putting the towel down on the mattress and reaching up to tug his t-shirt off, leaving him shirtless and just as a knock sounded at the door.
Looking over his shoulder he saw Sam eyeing it warily before heading over to it, unlocking it and pulling it open and Dean turned back to his bed until he froze at the sound of the voice that flittered to his ears, a voice he'd recognise anywhere.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm staying in the room down the hall and my shower's broken, would you mind if I used yours?"
"Err..." Sam spoke in surprise.
Dean whipped around so fast he made himself dizzy and he couldn't stop the way his stomach seemed to drop, the way his heart seemed to skip a beat or the way a smile spread across his face at the sight of his beautiful girlfriend stood on the other side of the door. She was dressed differently to how he was used to seeing her, but he always thought her to be beautiful. Instead of the jeans, boots and a t-shirt, she was now wearing a pretty white sundress with a pink cropped cardigan over the top and she had pink flats on her feet. Her hair was left to fall down her back as usual, only now it was done in a half-up half-down style.
Her eyes moved from Sam and over to him, the friendly smile that was on her face softening and her eyes locked with his.
"Hermione?" He breathed out.
"Honey, I'm home," she sang softly, her eyes shining brightly.
He took a deep breath and took a step forward before realisation dawned on him. How did he really know it was her? And he didn't even have to voice his question as she answered before he could.
"I don't suppose you've eaten yet, have you? I haven't eaten in a couple of hours and I'm starving," she said.
A laugh of surprise left him before he took a step towards her, only she'd darted past Sam with her smaller frame and she ploughed into him, almost knocking him off his feet. His arms automatically wrapped around her to keep her to him and he buried his face against her neck, the strong scent of apples invading his nose. It was definitely her. Even if there hadn't been a demon trap she'd just crossed over, he knew no one would be able to mimic her comforting scent.
"I missed you," she breathed out in a whisper, burying her face against his chest.
"I missed you, too, Baby," he muttered, placing a kiss to the skin of her shoulder and then one to her neck, a slight sigh leaving her.
She pulled back far enough to look up at him and she raised an eyebrow at seeing his damp hair, not to mention she could probably smell the lemonade on him. He opened his mouth to explain but a sudden giggle left her and not only did she look amused, but she also looked guilty and he stared at her.
"Did you do this to me?" He asked.
"Yeah," she admitted, her giggles turning into laughter. "I've always said you're sweet,"
"I'm not sweet," he argued and she snorted at him.
"Like honey, Honey," she replied and he tried to scowl at her only he couldn't, being too happy to have her back with him and he pulled her back into a hug.
"Err... Sorry to interrupt but who are you and what the hell's going on?" Sam spoke up.
Dean sighed and released Hermione from his hold but he didn't allow her to move away from him, instead tucking her into his side.
"I wanted to tell you, but after Jess..." he trailed off and Sam frowned in confusion. "Hermione, this Sam, Sam, this is Hermione, my girlfriend."
Dean actually thought Sam was going to faint, his jaw fell slack, his eyes widened and he swayed on his feet slightly.
"Girlfriend?" He spluttered.
"Girlfriend, we've officially been together about four months."
"Plus the two months he spent trying to win my affection only I made him work for it," Hermione said amused and he barely stopped himself from pinching her in warning.
"I need to sit down," Sam muttered, moving to sit on his bed and his eyes darting between him and Hermione.
"How's your brother? What happened?" He asked Hermione as he pulled her over to his bed and sat down beside her.
"He was injured during a raid. He was cursed and Bill and I spent a week and a half trying to find a cure. He was released from the hospital after two weeks and I stayed with Ginny to help care for Harry and the kids while he was on bed rest. We had a bit of a party for him today as he was officially given the all-clear and returned to work, hence why I'm all dressed up," she answered, gesturing to her clothing.
"I'm glad he's alright," he said and she smiled at him.
"Me too, I don't know how Ginny coped but the stress can't have been good for the baby. I was worried it would send her into an early labour and James and Albus didn't much help with their behaviour either."
Sam clearing his throat drew their attention. "I have questions," he said.
"Thought you might," Dean nodded.
"How did you meet? How did you know we were here?"
"I met Hermione while working a case, she owns a book store and she helped me with the research, saved my life, too, literally. I would've bled out if she hadn't found me and patched me up. Bobby knew her beforehand and he's very protective of her, when he found out we were together he threatened to kill me, wouldn't even let me stay in the same room as her when we visited a while back," he said and Hermione snorted in amusement. Sam blinked slowly in response and Dean had expected it.
"How much does he know?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing, I never told him about you..."
"So he doesn't know about my special abilities?"
"Definitely not," he shook his head. "Can I tell him?"
"Will he kill me?"
"I won't let him anywhere near you," he promised before turning his attention to Sam, seeing him looking very confused. "Sammy, keep an open mind and remember that she's under Bobby's protection and he loves her like a daughter, because what I'm about to tell you is unbelievable."
~000~000~000~
"I...I...Well shit!" Sam breathed out, running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, exactly," Dean said, gripping Hermione's hand in his tightly.
Between the two of them, they'd explained the basics of Hermione's magic and her world as well as how they'd met and how they'd come to be together. Sam had just sat and listened but Dean was glad to see that he seemed to have taken a logical approach and hadn't immediately started to throw around insults or weapons, especially after Hermione had demonstrated what her magic was capable of, proving she wasn't evil.
"Never thought I'd see you with a witch."
"A true born witch, we're very, very different," Hermione said.
"She's special," Dean shrugged. "And she's saved my ass more times than I can count. I've come to realise her magic's a gift."
Sam turned his eyes to Hermione. "So you used to be a magical hunter?"
"Technically, I was with my partner for almost five years, something happened and I needed a fresh start so I retired from my job and moved from Britain to Colorado. I met Bobby in the process of house hunting and after helping him with a case, he learned my secret and we became close. If there was something he needed help with he'd ask me as I'm an expert in magical beings and creatures, as well as languages, mainly Latin and Ancients Runes, with some French, Spanish and Mandarin on the side. Dean asked me to hunt with him when he discovered I missed my old life, it was all I'd known. I've been his partner since and I haven't looked back," she explained, looking up to him with a smile. "We'd planned on searching for your father but the morning we were set to leave I received word my brother was in the hospital and the healers weren't sure if he was going to make it, so I rushed over to Britain and now I'm back."
"Finally," Dean muttered, ignoring the strange look Sam sent him.
"If you have a girlfriend, why did you flirt with other women?"
Dean didn't know what Sam had expected from Hermione but he knew it definitely wasn't her response.
"Did he buy them a drink? Touch them in any way that's not appropriate or otherwise? Did he say anything suggestive? Or leave with any of them?"
"No," Sam answered.
She turned to look at him. "Were you attracted to any of them?"
"No," he answered honestly.
"Why?"
"I have you," he replied.
She turned back to Sam. "Dean's a flirt; I knew it the moment he walked into my book shop. I don't get jealous because I know I'm the one he wants and I'm the one he falls asleep with. Not to mention, him being a flirt actually comes in handy when we need to sweet-talk information out of someone. Any more questions?"
"A few," Sam replied.
"They can wait," Dean muttered. "Where's the ginger fur-ball?" He asked Hermione.
She rolled her eyes before standing and heading over to the door, opening it and letting out a whistle and he soon heard a little bell jingling, alerting him to Crookshanks presence. He stepped into the room, meowing loudly and he walked straight over to him, jumping up onto the bed and climbing onto his lap. Dean chuckled and scratched the fat cat behind the ears.
"I missed you, too," he mumbled.
"That's it! That's the cat I saw!" Sam said, gesturing to him wildly. "He's why there's cat hair in the car, isn't he?"
Dean shrugged. "He's a magical cat, very different from regular cats. He can sense when Hermione's in danger and he can alert us to shape-shifters, as he's already done. We were just walking down the street when he took off, leading us straight to one."
"And I got you a present," Hermione spoke up and Dean looked to her, wondering why she was still stood with the door open.
"What is it?" He asked warily.
She grinned at him and stepped out of the room before returning a few moments later and he blinked at the sight of a small cat being nestled in her arms. It was too big to be a kitten but it didn't quite look old enough to be considered an adult. Its fur was pure white with a single black spot on the nose and two black ears, and it had large, bright blue eyes. Whilst it was nowhere near as fluffy as Crookshanks, it wasn't far off and it certainly didn't look as scruffy or fat.
"Crookshanks adopted himself a stray kitten and refused to leave her behind," she explained, closing the door behind her and walking over to him, taking a seat beside him on the bed. "From what I can tell she's part kneazle, too, and around six months, give or take a few weeks. She's already had all of her vaccinations and she's been treated for fleas and ticks. Now, she's yours."
He blinked in surprise when she placed the little cat in his hands without any warning.
"What?" He blurted out, blinking slowly.
"She's yours," she shrugged. "If you form a bond with her the way I have Crookshanks, she'll alert you to danger and protect you just as Crookshanks does me. She'll be your familiar, just without the magic part of course."
Dean honestly didn't know what to say to her and he couldn't believe she'd literally brought a cat back from Britain and given it to him as if it was an everyday occurrence. One cat he could handle, but two? And a young one at that?
"Crookshanks will watch out for her when we leave them alone and he'll make sure she behaves when in the car," she told him. "So, she's yours, what's her name?"
Dean looked down into the bright blue eyes and the little cat meowed at him before reaching out to bat at his chin with a little paw. Dean admitted that she was kind of cute.
"Sadie," he said.
"Sadie?" She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a Beatles song, Sexy Sadie?"
He grinned at her, he just loved how she knew just as much about old rock as he did; she'd caught on right away and without him having to explain.
"Yeah," he said. "It's perfect, don't you think so?" He said, holding the little cat up to his face and she meowed in response and butted her head against his nose. "Alright, you can stay, but don't even think about doing your business in my car," he warned.
Hermione laughed at him before it suddenly tapered off and her eyes darted down to his stomach. His own eyes followed and he winced upon seeing what she saw, a newly formed bruise that he'd gotten the night before.
"What the hell is that?" Hermione demanded to know, springing to her feet and watching him with a narrowed gaze, her hands coming up to her hips and her foot about ready to start tapping.
"You see... Well..."
"I'm waiting," she said, her tone not hiding her anger.
He winced once more and put the little cat down on the ground, allowing her chance to explore and Crookshanks followed after her. He turned his eyes to Sam, glaring at him upon seeing the amused and surprised expression on his face.
"We're working a case," he started.
"Obviously, I tracked you here a few hours ago. I told you to keep a lookout for me returning but you never noticed that I was only a few steps behind you, watching. We really need to work on your observational skills," she scolded. "But why are you injured?"
"We're dealing with a tulpa," he answered.
"A what? I've never heard of it," she frowned.
"Something I know that you don't," he teased and she scowled at him. He reached out and snagged her around the waist, tugging her onto his lap. "A Tibetan Spirit that is materialized through thought. You create a myth or legend and if enough people believe in it, it becomes real. That's what we're dealing with and since it's not a typical spirit, it's not afraid of our salt rounds."
She bit her lip in thought. "So if you find a way to change the legend and enough people believe in it, you can defeat it?"
Dean grinned at Sam smugly when he blinked slowly at her question.
"Exactly," he said, before turning to Sam. "She's really smart," he said proudly.
"I can see that," Sam spoke before shaking his head. "We've already made changes to the website that contains the myth. We're going back to the house tonight to deal with it."
"You want me there?" She asked Dean.
"Maybe you should sit this one out, I know you've had a busy few weeks and you need your rest. We won't be gone long," he promised.
She nodded before summoning her bag and Sam let out a noise of surprise when she dug around inside and her arm disappeared up to her elbow, before pulling out some healing supplies which she plastered his stomach with whether he liked it or not.
"Did we not mention I'm technically a magical paramedic and nurse, too?" She asked Sam and he shook his head slowly. "Oh, well I am, and it comes in handy given our chosen profession, especially as magical healing is far more advanced than non-magical. Though I must say, this is the first time I've seen you injured like this since we started hunting together."
"Sammy's a little out of practice," Dean shrugged. "And I didn't have you to watch my back and that took some getting used to," he admitted.
"I'm sorry I had to go, Dean," she said, looking guilty.
"Don't be," he smiled at her and pulled her back onto his lap when she'd finished wiping the paste from her hands. "Your family needed you."
"But you needed me, too," she sighed.
"They needed you more," he said softly. "Besides," he muttered into her ear, "I've got my little brother back now."
"I'm glad you're talking again," she said quietly in response. "And I suppose they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder," she sighed.
He reached up and tugged on the silver chain that hung around her neck and had his ring attached to it.
"It suits you," he mumbled.
"Oh, I forgot," she said as she reached up to take it off.
"Keep it," he said.
She looked surprised but a smile pulled at her face and she hugged him tightly, making him chuckle and he placed a kiss to her shoulder. His laughter grew louder when he saw the look of disbelief on Sam's face.
She pulled back from him and dug around in her bag once more, this time pulling out a stack of papers and she handed them to him. He flicked through them curiously and was surprised to see they were children's drawings, some being scribbles and shapes and others looking like cars and houses.
"They're off James and Albus," Hermione said. "They practically demanded that I give them to you," she said amused.
He turned one of the pages over and written on the back in crayon was 'To Uncle Dean, Love James and Albus.' It was clear it had been done by a young child and they'd had help, too, as he could see the pencil marks beneath the crayon where someone else had written the message first. He felt strangely touched the kids had wanted him to have them.
"They said and I quote, 'when can we see Uncle Dean and will he take us out in his cool car again?" Hermione said. "Harry's a little put out they've taken to you so well as he wanted to hate you for a little while longer."
He snorted and shook his head. "As soon as we've found my dad we'll take some time away from hunting and we'll take them out again," he said and she grinned in response.
"Wait? You've met her family?" Sam spoke up in disbelief.
"Most of them," he said. "And her nephews think I'm awesome," he said smugly. Sam blinked slowly. "That's how I knew how to get through to that kid, Lucas."
"My parents are dead and my friend's family practically raised me once I discovered I was a witch. I've got one non-biological sister and seven non-biological brothers, but one of them died six years ago. Dean's met everyone but the parents, the wives of my brothers and two of my brothers as one lives in Romania and the other was at work and we'd only gone to London for a couple of days as my brother's wife went into labour."
"You hate flying," Sam frowned, looking at Dean.
"So do I," she told him, "We took magical travel, we arrived in London in under five minutes of travel time. Now, that's enough for now, is anyone hungry?"
Dean snorted. "When are you not hungry?"
"When I'm eating," she responded. "I'll head out and get something," she said, standing from his lap, grabbing her bag and she took her wand in her hand and spun on her heel, disappearing with a 'crack'.
Sam made a noise of surprise and jumped back, staring at the now empty spot in the room with wide eyes.
"She can teleport. Isn't she awesome?" He said proudly.
"My head hurts," Sam whispered.
"It's only gunna get worse, you don't know about her past or the war she fought in as a child."
"War?" He echoed.
"War, my girl's a War Heroine."
"I need some aspirin."
~000~000~000~
It hadn't been as easy to vanquish the tulpa-spirit as they thought it would be but they'd managed to do so without gaining any more injuries which would keep Hermione happy.
After returning to the motel they stepped into the room, Hermione's sleeping form coming into his view. The covers were pulled up to her waist and he could see she'd stolen one of his t-shirts as usual and both Crookshanks and Sadie were curled up close to each other and pressed in the crook of Hermione's bent legs.
After eating dinner they watched a bit of TV and Hermione had fallen asleep not long after, but he'd known she was exhausted, he'd seen it on her face despite her trying to hide it with her magic. He and Sam had left soon after but when they had she'd still been in her clothing so he knew she must've woken at some point and changed into her pyjamas before falling back asleep. He didn't know if she did have her own room or not, but he had no plans on moving her as he didn't wish to wake her or spend another night without her by his side now that she was back.
As Sam closed the door behind him and Dean shrugged off his leather jacket, Hermione's cries started and Dean wasted no time in kicking off his shoes and taking off his jeans, before climbing into bed behind Hermione and wrapping her up in his arms.
Her cries grew louder and the muttering of pleas started and Dean whispered Hey Jude into her ear and ran his fingers over her stomach beneath her clothing, knowing from experience that it calmed her and it worked like a treat as she soon quieted down. Looking up, Dean saw Sam sitting on the end of his bed and watching him carefully in the darkness.
"What?" He muttered. "She's had a traumatic past and suffers with nightmares; it's the only thing that calms her."
"I still can't get over the fact you have a girlfriend," he responded, his eyes darting between them and the way Dean was holding Hermione tightly, lovingly. "And that she's a witch, magical or not."
Dean shrugged his shoulders. "You want to know about her past, it looks as though she's left out the book she gave me," he gestured to the table with a tilt of his head. "Everything you need to know is in there and don't question her about it, she doesn't like talking about it."
"But you know,"
"Everything I know she told me willingly. I earned her trust. And I'm going to give you a few warnings."
"Alright," Sam frowned slightly. "And they are?"
"Don't ever touch her food; I've never met someone who eats as much as her." Sam looked to him pointedly and Dean could understand why, he did eat a lot of food, but Hermione outshone him in that regard. "She eats more than I do, and don't call her fat or even think it for that matter, I'm convinced she can read minds," he muttered.
"Okay,"
"Don't underestimate her," Dean said. "She may seem small and weak but she's far from it. She's got one hell of a right hook and her magic certainly packs a punch, too. Those things she showed you earlier are things she'd do to entertain her nieces and nephews but when she's working a case, she's fearless and she's deadly. I've seen her take a vampire's head clean off with a single wave of her wand, I've seen her throw shape-shifters halfway across a warehouse and I've seen her deflect dozens of knives and weapons. Put it this way, I'm glad she's on our side as I'd hate to go up against her."
"Don't pick a fight with her, got it," Sam cleared his throat.
"If you see her reaching for her wand or her behaviour just seems off, be ready. Her magic helps her to sense when something's wrong and the majority of the time it's because there's a supernatural being nearby. And you should probably keep your laptop away from her, too."
"Why?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Technology seems to get frazzled when she's around. Her magic either renders it useless or it explodes, I learned that the hard way," he replied, just thinking about the mess they'd left in the library all those months ago.
"Keep my laptop away from her," Sam nodded. "Anything else?"
"If she's driving, don't fall asleep," he warned.
"You let her drive the Impala?" Sam questioned, his surprise evident.
"She loves that car more than I do, in fact, you should've seen the fit she had when it was covered in mud and I refused to stop at a car wash."
Sam shook his head. "And why can't I fall asleep?"
"She sometimes forgets we drive on the right, not the left. I nearly had a heart attack when I woke to see her driving in the wrong lane."
Sam let out a snort. "No napping in the car if she's driving," he nodded. "Is that it?"
"Just one more thing. Dad, she doesn't like him."
Sam blinked in surprise. "She's met him?" He said, his voice rising slightly and Dean sent him an annoyed look when Hermione shifted in her sleep.
"No, but Bobby never kept his opinions about dad to himself, especially when Hermione was around. After what she's learned from Bobby and what I've told her about him, she really doesn't like him. If you hear her referring to someone as 'asshole', she means dad. She plans on breaking his nose upon their first meeting."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "And will she?"
"No, she'll probably break his nose and his jaw," he said and despite knowing he really shouldn't find it funny, he couldn't stop his mouth from twitching into an amused smile as he looked down at her sleeping face.
"I think that's sealed the deal, I like her," Sam commented.
Dean snorted at him. "Thought you might, she's a lot like you in the sense she's smart and she prefers the research side of working a case. You're going to have to earn her trust. She said something happened, the reason she moved over here is that her last partner really messed her up, he veered from their plan and got himself killed as well as the victims that were being held as hostages and she blames herself for their deaths. She always has a plan of action and she hates walking into situations blindly. She's very cautious and won't let me enter a building until she's done a perimeter search beforehand."
Dean looked away from Sam and down to Hermione, seeing the way her mouth twitched and her eyes moved beneath her eyelids, making him curious as to what she was dreaming of. A sigh sounded from her and she turned in his arms to face him, jostling both Crookshanks and Sadie but neither of them woke. Her face buried in his chest and her hand came up to grip the fabric of his t-shirt and unable to stop himself, he placed a kiss to her forehead, being more than aware that Sam's eyes were on him.
"Can I ask you a question?" Dean asked.
"What?" Sam asked cautiously as he bent over to remove his shoes.
"How did you know you loved Jess?"
Sam suffered a coughing fit and Dean sent him a murderous glare as Hermione made a noise in her sleep and shifted.
"Sorry," he said, patting himself on the chest and reaching for the bottle of water on the bedside table that separated their beds. "I just wasn't expecting that question."
"Forget it," Dean muttered.
"No, I won't. You want to know so I'll answer. Jess, she wasn't embarrassed by me or ashamed of me. She didn't hide herself away from me, she let me see her flaws, she let me see her weakness and vulnerabilities. I've seen her at her worst and at her best and she allowed me to. She didn't keep secrets from me. She made me laugh, she made me feel normal. She believed in me and she made me happy. I knew I loved her because I couldn't see her not being a part of my life."
Dean made a humming sound and reached up to brush a curl back from Hermione's face and she shifted into his touch. Even in her sleep she sought him out and wanted to be with him, to be touched by him.
"Do you love her?" Sam asked curiously.
"She means the world to me," Dean muttered. "And if anyone ever lays a finger on her, I'll not only kill them, I'll make sure they suffer first."
~000~000~000~
Dean woke to the sound of purring and he felt soft fur and a lightweight being on his forehead. Frowning slightly, he looked up and tilted his head, only to see his new pet, Sadie, being asleep on his pillow with her head and front paws resting against his forehead, but he also felt a heavyweight on his legs; knowing it to be Crookshanks he rolled his eyes, barely stopping himself from snorting.
He brought his hands up to rub at his face, realising that Hermione wasn't beside him and he was alone in bed. He looked towards the bathroom, seeing the door being closed but he could see the light peaking from beneath it. He was careful not to hurt his new little pet as he shuffled from beneath her and sat up in bed, looking to the clock.
While it was still early, he'd certainly slept longer than he had been for the last few weeks and he knew it was because he had Hermione back. Looking to Sam asleep in bed, Dean knew he wouldn't be awake for a while yet so he shifted out from beneath Crookshanks, climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
He stepped inside to the sound of the shower running and seeing Hermione's figure from behind the shower curtain. A smile tugging at his mouth, he quickly removed his t-shirt and underwear and stepped in behind her, a sigh leaving her when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him.
"I really did miss you," Dean muttered.
"I missed you, too," she promised, her hands coming up to hold onto his arms. "So, would you care to explain what I've missed in the few weeks I've been gone?"
"I found out my dad hadn't been to any of the safe houses and no one had heard from him so I went to Sammy. I convinced him to help me look for him and it was only supposed to be for a few days."
"But?" She said knowingly.
"I had every intention of dropping him at Stanford and leaving him to his life, but when we got there, his girlfriend was murdered in front of him and by the same demon that killed our mom."
"Merlin," she gasped, turning around his arms to face him. "That's awful. How's he doing?"
"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "He seems too calm about it all so I don't know if he's dealing or just bottling it all up."
She bit at her lip and her eyes darted away from his in thought.
"What is it?"
"Maybe we shouldn't flaunt our relationship in front of him," she said. "Not after what he's been through."
"I have no intention of acting as though I'm ashamed of you, Hermione. We shouldn't have to hide away so we don't upset Sammy. If he feels uncomfortable and awkward, he'll tell me and we can do something about it then, but from what I've seen and heard so far, he's not bothered by our relationship, if anything I think he's more surprised that I have a girlfriend than he is about you being a witch."
She laughed at him and shook her head. "So, what cases have I missed?"
"Not many to be honest, I found my dad's journal and we've been using it to track him. We've had a couple vengeful spirits, a wendigo..."
"Thank Merlin I missed that one, wendigos freak me the hell out," she shivered and he snorted.
"Our last case had us dealing with a phantom that killed people on flights."
"I take it back, I'd prefer the wendigo over a plane," she said and he chuckled. "You got on a plane?"
"Not by choice," he replied.
"I'm proud of you; you faced your fear to help protect others."
"It wasn't easy,"
"Facing your fears never is but you still did it," she said, her hand coming up to fiddle with the little otter that rested against his chest.
"I could feel you," he said. "It was like you were here, but you weren't at the same time. I could feel your magic, your presence."
"That's why I gave it to you, so you wouldn't feel alone. I know you've gotten used to me being with you and it would've taken some time for you to adjust. It's also how I tracked you, I locked onto my magic inside the necklace and it led me straight to you."
"How was your time in London?"
She sighed and her head fell forward to press against his chest. "I've never seen him like that, Dean. They kept him in a coma for a week, the curse he'd been hit with was something we'd never seen before and it attacked his organs, his cells, shutting them all down. It took both myself and Bill to identify it, but there was no cure so we had to make one ourselves. It took a few days to do that and Harry was released but put on bed rest. I've barely slept whilst being away and I was staying awake purely due to the Invigoration Draughts I've been ingesting. Between the research and the worrying and the looking after Ginny and the kids..." She sighed and he held her tighter. "When I did have a moment of peace to myself, I couldn't sleep, not only due to you not being with me but because I was worrying about you being on your own."
"I wasn't alone,"
"I didn't know that," she shrugged. "I wasn't expecting you to reconcile with your brother, but I'm glad you did and he's back in your life, even if it is due to terrible circumstances. I know how much you missed him."
"Go easy on him, I don't want him fainting at the sight of you being all angry and terrifying when someone tries to kill you."
"Can't promise that," she said amused.
"And let him win at poker, at least the first few times before you start cheating."
"Can't promise that either."
~000~000~000~
Dean had barely shut the car door behind him when Hermione's feet found purchase on his lap and he looked to her amused. She just shrugged her shoulders and ran her hands through the fur of the ginger cat sat in her lap and the little white cat that sat on her chest, batting at her chin with its paw in playful affection.
"You ready, Sammy?" Dean asked, looking behind him to where Sam sat in the back seat and he hadn't complained he'd been demoted either. Dean wouldn't have cared if he did. The seat beside him would always be for Hermione, having her by his side was where she belonged.
"For what?"
"For working your first case with Hermione."
"Why would I need to be ready for that?" He questioned confused.
He and Hermione shared an amused looked before he turned back to Sam, a smirk pulling at his mouth.
"You'll see," was all he said before switching on the ignition. "You wanna do the honours, Baby?" He asked Hermione.
She nodded and removed her wand from her boot, whispering a 'Point Me' before it levitated off her palm, spun in circles and came to a stop, pointing in the direction they needed to go. Dean looked to Sam, seeing his eyes were wide and focused on the gently bobbing wand.
"Our own personal navigator," he shrugged, before turning back around. "Good luck, Sammy, you're going to need it," Dean said, before pulling away from the curb and moving off down the road.