THE FAMILY BUSINESS: TEN
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
Are we ready for Hermione and John's first meeting? I had so much fun writing it. It's another massive chapter, and I couldn't wait to give it to you, hence why I'm posting another chapter so quickly.
Q&A
Shayde - Not gunna lie, I was tempted to use that exact same pun. I live by the motto 'it's not funny if it isn't punny.'
BlackBanshee – Use away, I do love it when people enjoy my strange one liners and insults. And the insults I write are typically something I'd say in real life.
Coffeecoffeecoffee04 – I have to admit, it's the exact same way I behave when someone gives me a scrap bit of bubble wrap and I swear, I'll sit there for hours doing nothing but popping it.
Page count: 28
Three days later...
"Where'd Hermione disappear to?" Sam asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, his eyes darting about the room before he crossed over to the table, opening up his laptop and switching it on.
Unfortunately, they were sharing once more and Dean had been in a bit of a mood the last few days because it meant he and Hermione hadn't had any time alone together in just over a week.
"Where do you think?" Dean responded, looking up from Sam as he cleaned his weapons. "It's before nine in the morning. She was starving and you were taking too long in the bathroom, so she left to get breakfast."
"It's my turn,"
Dean shrugged. "You forfeited your right to choose when you made her wait. You know what's she's like when it comes to food. She's worse than I am." Their attention was pulled when Dean's cell phone rang. "It's probably Hermione, you get it," he said, gesturing to the ringing device that was closer to Sam than it was to him.
Sam reached over to the other side of the table and picked it up, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear.
"I seriously can't believe you were that hungry you couldn't wait for me to get out the bathroom," Sam spoke and Dean snorted, his eyes falling back down to the gun in his hand before they snapped up at Sam's next words. "Dad?" He breathed out, Dean dropped his gun to the bed and crossed over to the table, pressing his hands against the surface and leaning forward, watching Sam's surprised expression.
"It's a long story," he muttered. "Are you hurt? Where are you? What are you doing? We've been looking for you for weeks? Why haven't you been answering our calls or texts?"
Dean motioned for him to give him the device so he could talk to his father himself, wanting answers, but Sam shook his head.
"We're fine. What do you mean it's too dangerous? Are you being serious? Of course I'm angry with you. No, I won't do it... What do you mean, why? You disappeared and we haven't been able to get a hold of you, Bobby's just as worried as we are. Oh, well makes everything alright then," Sam scowled. "Fine," he muttered, looking to Dean. "Get me something to write with," he said.
Dean crossed over to the bedside table where a note pad and pen sat and he passed them to Sam, as he pressed the cell phone between his ear and shoulder, picked up the pen and began writing.
"I've got it, now where are you?" Sam's scowl deepened and he snapped the cell phone shut, dropping it onto the table in a huff. "He hung up on me," he muttered.
"And? What's going on?"
"He wouldn't say and he wouldn't tell me where he is either, he just told me to write down these names and to go to a town called Burkitsville."
Dean frowned but otherwise nodded. "Then we should head there when Hermione gets back."
"Are you being serious? We haven't heard from him in months and out of the blue we get a call from him telling us what to do, and you want to follow his instructions, just like that?"
"There's a reason he wants us there, Sammy."
"And why wouldn't he tell us where he is? He's keeping things from us. We should find out what it is, we should look for him. We know he's up to something, he just admitted it during the call."
"I'm gone all of half an hour and you're already arguing," Hermione said as she stepped into the room, closed the door behind her and walked over to the table, setting down their breakfast. "What's it about now?"
"Dad just called," Sam said.
Hermione dropped her beaded bag to the ground in surprise, her eyes widening, her mouth parting and her gaze darting between them.
"And? Where is he? What did he have to say for himself? I hope you gave him a bollocking," she said.
"He didn't apologise, of course, because why would he?" Sam scowled, looking to Dean. "He told us to stop looking for him, gave us a list of names and told us to check it out."
"And we should," Dean argued. "We know he's fine now that he's called, there's a reason he wants us to go to Burkitsville, so we should. We leave after breakfast, no arguments."
~000~000~000~
"We really shouldn't have left him, Dean," Hermione said, her eyes looking over her shoulder and out the back window, Sam becoming a small dot the further they drove away.
"He made his decision, Hermione, and you're supposed to take my side on this," he replied.
"I'm not taking either of your sides because you both have valid arguments, you're both right. You're right that we should do as your father said because this is likely a case he wants you to work and it could stop people from dying in the future, but Sam's right, too. Your father's keeping things from you and it's obvious he's up to something. He didn't even apologise for all the worry he's caused you, for making your life revolve around searching for him these last couple of months. He had no right to do that to you, and he has no right to just contact you after all this time with orders for you to do what he wants. You're a grown man, you can make your own decisions and you don't need your father running your life for you."
He pursed his lips, knowing that she was right and he begrudgingly admitted that Sam did have a point, too. But it was too late now; he wasn't turning around and going back for Sam. He'd made the decision to climb out the car in the middle of the highway.
"But ignoring all of that, we shouldn't have just left him alone. I know he can take care of himself, but anything can happen to him in the middle of bloody nowhere."
Dean sighed before reaching into his pocket to remove his cell phone and he handed it to her. "Call him, make sure he's alright," he said.
She took it from him and speed dialled Sam, pressing the speaker against her ear.
"It rang three times before the call ended," she said, handing it back to him.
"He's fine," he said. "He saw the caller ID and declined the call so we know he's not dead yet."
She reached over and smacked him on the back of the head and he scowled at her. "Fine, once we're done with this potential case we'll find him."
"We better, or it's your arse," she warned, before she reached over the seat, tore off a large section of bubble wrap and set to popping each air pocket individually.
~000~000~000~
"Dean, we have a problem," Hermione said quietly from her place beside him and he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.
"And that is?"
"I can't do this," she whispered.
"Because?" He asked.
She took a deep breath and his gaze followed her, landing on the ugly ass scarecrow that wasn't that far in front of him.
After they'd arrived at Burkitsville they'd met with some of the locals, trying to find out more information about the names his father had given him. It wasn't until they came across a young woman who happened to be the niece of one of the couples, who had apparently been spotted leaving town and heading for the highway. With that being the only information they'd found, apart from the mentioning of a tattoo on one of the missing couples, he and Hermione decided to leave town and head for the highway, looking for any trace that may have been left behind.
They hadn't been on the road long when both his EMF reader and Hermione seemed to pick up a strong signal from an orchard they were passing. Deeming it suspicious, they pulled over at the side of the road before going for a hike and shortly after, they'd found the scarecrow.
"I don't like scarecrows."
"Come again?"
"Scarecrows, they freak me the hell out. My three biggest fears are flying, drowning and scarecrows. They don't just give me the willies, they give me nightmares."
Dean looked to the scarecrow and back to Hermione, amused. "Flying and drowning I get," he said, and he did. He hated flying as well and he knew she couldn't swim so drowning was a logical fear for her to have. "But scarecrows?"
"Make fun of me all you want, but I had a bad experience with them when I was a child."
"And that is?"
She took a deep breath and he saw how she'd pulled her wand from her sleeve and she gripped it in her hand tightly.
"When I was little, before my grandparents died, I was four when I stayed at their house for the night. They took pride in their garden and had a scarecrow to keep the birds away from their prized pumpkins. My Grandfather told me that if I touched any of the plants, the scarecrow protecting them would come for me. He thought it was funny, my Grandmother not so much. Anyway, I was playing in the garden and they were in the house. I don't remember what happened exactly, only I know I found my way into the shed and it locked behind me. I couldn't get out and there was a second scarecrow stored in there and I was trapped with it. I wasn't found until after it had grown dark because they'd both fallen asleep. My parents never let me stay the night again and I had nightmares even after I went off to Hogwarts."
Well, that was a story and a half, he thought.
He reached out for her hand, wrapping his around hers and he gave it a squeeze. "If I can fight a phantom on a plane, you can walk past a scarecrow."
"I can't," she disagreed.
"Of course you can, you're the strongest person I know. Are you really going to let something stuffed with straw stop you from solving this case?"
"Yes, yes I am," she responded and she made to turn and walk back to the car but he tugged her back to him.
"Come on, you'll be fine," he told her softly, tugging her forward.
She put up a fight but he was stronger than her and when she realised that she gave in, gripping her wand tighter and her eyes closed. Dean briefly stopped in front of the scarecrow and looked up at it.
"Dude, you fugly," he commented and Hermione, still with her eyes closed, smacked at his shoulder and he chuckled.
He made to walk off only he stopped when he noticed that something about the scarecrow didn't seem right. Something was just off.
"Why aren't we moving?" Hermione asked.
"Something's off," he explained, before he let go of her hand and stepped closer, his eyes tracing every inch of the scary ass straw being.
His eyes landed on the arm holding the sickle, and beneath the ripped fabric of the shirt sleeve he saw something that had no business being on a scarecrow.
"You want to climb this thing for me?"
"No, why the hell would I want to do that?" She asked.
"I've seen you climb a twenty foot tree without issue," he answered.
"That was to rescue a child's kite. I don't have an issue with heights, but I do have massive issues with scarecrows. Sorry, Honey, but you're on your own."
"Chicken," he commented, darting out of the way when she tried to kick him behind the knees and if she had, he would've hit the ground face first.
Chuckling, he spotted a ladder off to the side and he retrieved it before climbing the steps so he could get a better look at the arm. Shifting the tatty shirt sleeve aside, he frowned before removing the folded up papers from his back pocket, finding one of the male victims that had a tattoo just like the one the scarecrow had, and the pieces fell into place.
"Err, Hermione, Baby, I don't know how to tell you this, but..."
"Oh for Merlin's Sake, what now?" She scowled, her eyes still closed.
"I need you to see this for yourself."
He looked down at her and she looked far from pleased, but she found the courage to take a deep breath and open her eyes. Her brown orbs landed on the photo he held in his hand and they reluctantly moved up to the arm of the scarecrow and he held the shirt sleeve open for her to see.
"Oh, Hell!" She sighed.
"Yeah, exactly," he agreed.
~000~000~000~
"I have a bad feeling about this?" Hermione muttered.
After finding what they did with the scarecrow, he and Hermione both knew they had to return to the town in order to find the answers they were looking for. In the process of that, Dean had met a young couple in the town's cafe and whilst Hermione had gone to the bathroom, he took the time to speak with them.
After hearing the story of their 'broken' brake line on their car and that it wouldn't be fixed until nightfall, Dean had become suspicious and offered to help them. Unfortunately they'd turned him down but he hadn't felt comfortable leaving it at that, and after being chased out of town by the sheriff, who Hermione swore was 'dodgy', they found themselves back on the highway, parked by the orchard.
"I really don't like when you say that," he spoke and it was the truth, he really didn't like it. He thought his instincts were good, but Hermione's were off the charts and had yet to fail them.
"How long are we staying here? I don't mind sleeping in the car; I just know Crookshanks and Sadie haven't had a proper chance to stretch their legs yet. Aside from the couple of bathroom breaks they've had, they've been in the car most of the day."
"We'll give it another hour and if nothing happens by then we'll see if we can find a motel for the night and return in the morning," he said.
He reached up to pet Sadie on the head as she was once against curled up against him on the back of his seat, her head resting on his shoulder and her tail wrapped around his neck. Hermione had her legs stretched out and resting in his lap whilst Crookshanks had sprawled himself on her knees, laying on his back with his legs in the air, his bushy tail swishing back and forth as Hermione scratched at his stomach.
If the cats had mostly been in the car all day, he didn't think they minded. With the balls of yarn and cat toys they'd bought over the months to keep the cats happy, the food and water bowls on the floor behind the seats and the Ventilation and Cooling Charms Hermione had placed on the car so it didn't get too warm for them, he suspected the cats were more than happy, especially when they could sunbathe and sleep all day.
Hermione let out a tired sigh and shifted to get more comfortable, her back pressing against the door and titling her head to rest against the back of the seat.
"Tired?"
"Hmmm," she hummed in response, her eyes fluttering closed. "We've had a busy few weeks," she commented.
He could see she was very close to dozing off and he was more than happy to let her whilst he kept watch, unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Sudden screams sounded from the orchard and Hermione startled, Crookshanks letting out a meow of irritation before jumping onto the back seat. He shared a look with her before they both jumped out of the car, Dean making sure that Sadie didn't try to follow him and he retrieved a shot gun from the weapons case as a precaution.
"Split up?" Hermione suggested.
"No," he shook his head. He didn't like the thought of being separated from her.
"Dean, we have to, it's too difficult to tell where the noise is coming from. We'll have a better chance of finding them if we take different routes."
"I really don't like this," he said, but he knew she was right. "Just be careful,"
"I always am," she responded, giving her wand a little wave before she darted off into the orchard, taking a right and followed after her, taking a left.
He continued to do his best to follow the sound of the screams and it was him that found the couple he'd been speaking to at the cafe, and unluckily for him, they weren't alone. Dean was just glad he'd been the one to find them and not Hermione, as a sickle weaving scarecrow charged straight at him.
He fired off several shots, hitting his target each time but it didn't stop the scarecrow, it didn't even slow it down.
"Shit," he muttered, before turning and running in the opposite direction, making sure the young couple were following after him and he darted behind a tree, hiding behind it.
The scarecrow ran straight past them but didn't allow his guard to drop until he knew they were definitely safe. Quickly and quietly he guided the young couple back towards the Impala and just as he stepped out of the orchard, Hermione did, too.
"I'm fine," he told her. "There's something definitely not right about that scarecrow, the damn thing was alive and chasing us."
"Of course it bloody was," she muttered, sparing a brief glance to the understandably frightened couple.
"If it makes you feel any better, I now understand your hatred for the ugly bastards."
"I did tell you," she grumbled. "What do we do about them?" She asked, gesturing to the young couple.
"Find them a ride out of this crazy town and we figure out what we're dealing with."
~000~000~000~
"Sam thinks it might be a manifestation of a pagan god."
"And how do you know that?"
"I spoke to him while you were in the shower, and we kind of apologised to each other and got everything out in the open."
"Good, I'm proud of you," she said. "And he's fine?"
"Says he is," he nodded. "But we need to do a little digging into this theory of his."
"Sleep first though," she said. "And food, I'm starving."
~000~000~000~
They'd spent all morning doing research on the topic of pagan gods until Dean came across a local professor that was an expert on the topic. It hadn't taken much to convince Hermione to go with him and they'd learned about a Norse God that was said to get his energy from a sacred tree, and with this information, he and Hermione had left the office only to be captured, but due to not expecting it, neither he nor Hermione had been able to prevent it. The sheriff has knocked him out with a blow to the back of the head, and the deputy had done the same to Hermione.
When Dean had come to, his hands and feet were tied making movement difficult and with the smell, cold and damp in the dark room, he thought them to be in a basement or cellar. Hermione was laid on the ground beside him, her eyes closed but her breathing seeming to be normal.
"Hermione," Dean called, trying to wake her. "Hermione!"
A groan sounded from her and he let out a sigh. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting in the darkness until she found him. "What happened and why does my head feel as though a heard of hippogriffs have taken up tap dancing in my brain?"
"You were right about the sheriff," he said.
"Of course I was, I know a dodgy person when I see one. He's the reason we're... where are we exactly?"
"No idea," he responded. "I'd guess a basement or cellar. The town's people, they're in on this. And given that we've been digging around and sticking our noses in, they know we helped that couple escape."
She sighed. "We're their sacrifices then."
"Think so," he nodded. "Can you get us out of here?"
"No, I either dropped my wand or they searched us for weapons and took it from me. Fantastic," she muttered. "We'll have to come up with something and the only way to stop all this is to destroy the tree."
"Did you hear that?" He asked.
She frowned and strained her hearing. "Footsteps, someone's coming."
"Great, don't wind them up."
"Excuse me?" She said in indignation. "You're just as bad as I am."
"You've got a temper on you and I can't imagine you being happy right now."
"I'm hungry,"
"Thought you might be," he said amused despite their current situation.
The door opened and several men stepped in, looking to them blankly before they were both hauled off the ground and tape was placed over their mouths to keep them from speaking. Hermione glared at them furiously whilst he watched them carefully, looking for any weakness they may have that he could use against them. His feet were untied to allow him to walk but Hermione was lifted and thrown over the shoulder of the largest man, her cries of outrage being muffled. He tried to break free of the hold on him and get to Hermione, but they were too tight.
"I'd be careful if I were you," one of them spoke. "Wouldn't want something terrible to happen to her, would we?"
Dean vowed to kill the bastards.
~000~000~000~
Dean wasn't sure what to expect but it certainly wasn't being tied to a tree for the last hour, or to be bored out of his mind. Hermione was tied to the tree beside him and he knew her to be pissed, her tense body and the way she was furiously glaring at the tree opposite her, as if she could set it alight with her gaze alone, was very telling.
He knew they had to find a way to get free, but with them both being tied to the trees, Dean having no weapons and Hermione not having her wand, they were pretty much screwed and they needed a miracle.
"Dean! Hermione!"
Both their heads snapped up and they looked to each other with wide eyes displaying their surprise and relief, for they both recognised that voice.
"Hell, what happened?" Sam asked, his breathing being heavy from him running through the orchard in search of them and he came to a stop in front of Dean. He ripped the tape off his mouth and Dean winced as Sam set to untying him.
"Long story, what are you doing here? How'd you find us?"
"Neither of you were answering my calls so I got worried and knew I had to make sure you were fine. I found your car but the EMF reader picked up the signal surrounding the area, I've been looking for you for ages," Sam explained, and when Dean was free, he moved over to Hermione.
"The town's people, they're in on it. We're the sacrifice," Dean said.
"Sounds about right," Sam said. "And I have something for you," he told a furious Hermione, before digging into his back pocket and pulling out her wand.
"Thank Merlin," she sighed, taking it from him and pulling him into a hug. "Thank you," she said, pulling back from him.
"I found it on the ground not far from here."
"We better go, the scarecrow will probably be here soon and I don't think I can handle it." Sam raised eyebrow. "My three biggest fears in life: flying, drowning and scarecrows."
"Huh?" Sam said, looking at her as if she were crazy.
"Long story," she sighed.
The three of them were quick to make their way to the exit of the orchard where Sam had parked the Impala by the highway after driving over. With Hermione's magic, she'd made all three of them copies of the keys so there'd always be a spare and Sam had never been more grateful; Dean would've killed him if he'd hotwired the car.
Their attempt to escape was stopped by some of the town's people, and unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the way you looked at it, the scarecrow made an appearance, killed two of the town's folk and allowing them to escape as everyone fled.
"We need to find that tree and destroy it; we can't risk waiting another day."
"Can you find it?" Dean asked her.
"Maybe, I have a fairly good idea of what the energy field surrounding this orchard feels like so I may be able to use that to lead us straight to the tree."
"Then you're in charge."
~000~000~000~
Two Weeks Later...
"I'm never going to be able to un-see this," Hermione spoke, looking at him with a grimace on her face. "I swear, I don't think I'll ever be able to have sex with you again. We're going to have a sexless relationship."
Dean snorted and looked down at himself. He admitted, never in his life had he thought he'd be posing as a priest in order to get information for a case.
It was only the day before when Sam had come to him and Hermione, confessing that he'd had another vision in which a man is murdered but is made to look like a suicide. Hermione had given Sam one of her magical calmers to help him relax and get some sleep, whilst they'd both stayed awake most of the night, talking about their worry for his brother and what they could possibly do to help him.
For the third time, Sam had been right but they hadn't made it to the man's house in time to prevent his death, and so, they were officially on the case.
"Don't be like that," he said, giving her a grin and she took a step back from him when he took a step forward.
"Seeing you wearing that is just so wrong."
He darted forward and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't escape. He laughed at her grimace and lowered his head, burying it in her neck. Despite her words, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a sigh when he kissed and nipped at her skin. He lifted her off the ground, her legs wrapping around him as he crossed over to the bed, laying her down on the mattress and hovering over her.
"I feel like I'm corrupting you."
He pulled back and smirked down at her, lowering his head so his mouth brushed against hers when he spoke. "You can corrupt me any time you like," he muttered, deliberately pressing his hips forward against her.
She let out a huff and brought her hands in-between them, covering her face.
"I'm scarred for life," she said, her voice muffled and he chuckled at her. "I'm serious; we're never having sex again."
"I don't believe you," he said amused, unfolding himself from around her when there was a knock on the door, and after opening it, it revealed Sam.
"This is so wrong," Hermione repeated, her eyes darting between them.
"I agree," Sam said.
"We have different reasons for thinking so," Hermione replied, a grimace on her face as she looked at Dean.
Sam looked between him and Hermione, a grimace of his own pulling at his face. "This is something to do with sex, isn't it?"
"Yep," Hermione said. "Anyway," she spoke, sitting up and standing from the bed. "You boys go and do your impersonations of holy men and I'll head to the library and do some digging around the family and the house itself. I'll grab dinner so it's here when you get back."
Nodding, he and Sam stepped out of the room and headed for the car, setting off on their journey to the house.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about something," Dean spoke, reaching over to turn down the radio which gained Sam's attention.
"About?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Me and Hermione, it doesn't bother you, does it?"
"Why would it bother me?"
"After what happened with Jess, I don't want you to think that we're..."
"I'm stopping you there, I don't feel uncomfortable or disrespected about your relationship with Hermione or how you behave and interact when around me. I highly doubt you changed in the time I went off to college, but I do know that since I've come back, you've changed and I know it's because of her. I'm not sure what it is that's different about you, but there is something. You just seem...Happier, I guess."
"She makes me happy," he admitted.
Sam nodded. "You were lucky with meeting her. A woman like her is rare to find and regardless of her magic, she's special. I don't want either of you to have to worry about my feelings whilst you're together. I lost Jess, but with Hermione's help I'm dealing with it. She's good for the both of us. I love that girl and if you mess things up with her, I'll put a bullet in you."
~000~000~000~
"Sam!"
Hermione darted off the bed and over to Sam as he collapsed to the ground on the way to the door. Hearing Hermione's shout, Dean jumped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and ran from the bathroom, moving until he was crouching down beside Hermione and his brother.
"It hurts," Sam grunted, his hands pulling at his hair as his head bowed forward, it almost touching the carpet.
"Accio Pain Potion," Hermione called, a vial shooting out from her bag on the table and she caught it in her hand, pulled out the stopper and held it out to Sam. "Drink this, it'll taste awful but it'll help with the pain. It's basically magical morphine."
She was able to coax him into lifting his head long enough to drink down the potion and his head bowed once more, Hermione reaching out to run her hand through his hair in the same way she did to him when he needed her comfort and support. Before long Sam's body relaxed and he stopped in his rocking, slowly lifting his head and locking gazes with Hermione. He didn't speak but he didn't have to, Hermione understood and gave him a soft smile.
"What the hell just happened?" Dean demanded to know.
"I... I just had a vision. Roger, he's going to die."
Hermione's eyes darted up to his wide ones and they locked gazes. "Power progression," she muttered quietly and Dean took a deep breath and nodded.
"When?"
"Tomorrow maybe," Sam answered.
"Okay, then we'll head out early and try to stop it from happening, but right now you need some sleep."
"I'll get you a Dreamless Sleep," Hermione spoke, standing from the floor and crossing over to the table while Dean helped Sam to his feet. "Two mouthfuls for every hour you wish to sleep," she instructed, handing him the vial. "And if there's anything you need, just knock on the wall and I'll be right in."
"Thank you," he muttered.
"We'll figure this out," Hermione assured him softly. Sam nodded but he didn't look like he believed her.
The moment the door closed behind Sam, Dean turned to her. "Power progression?"
"Power progression," she confirmed. "He's gone from visions whilst sleeping to visions whilst awake, and because we know this has no magical aspect to it whatsoever, we're running blind. For all we know, this may progress further. And unfortunately, this thing I feel that's going to happen, whatever it is, it's getting closer."
~000~000~000~
Dean honestly didn't know what he was thinking allowing Sam to handle things with the psychic/psycho kid that was Max, but his brother had all but begged him.
They'd been unable to save Roger, him not taking their warning seriously and when they broke into his apartment to save him, he'd died before they reached him. After doing some more digging into the family, they'd discovered the motive behind the murder in which it was revenge for having beaten Max for most of his life. Dean could sympathise with the kid, but not to the point of committing murder.
And not only had he been freaked out when Sam had another vision right in front of him, witnessing the murder of the step-mother, but at having learned that Max seemed to have powers, too.
And Dean honestly thought that Hermione was onto something about there being something around the corner. He didn't believe in coincidences and after hearing that Max's mother had died the same way his mother had, that he had psychic abilities, too, and that they had manifested around the same time Sam's had, Dean's worry only grew.
If it hadn't been for Hermione he'd probably be dead right now. They'd arrived at the house in time to stop the step-mother from being killed, and Max having seen Dean's gun, locked all the doors telepathically, preventing them from leaving. Sam had been able to convince Max to speak with him alone and while he had taken the step-mother into the bathroom, he'd made a call to Hermione.
Before he knew it she arrived at the house, magically unlocked the back door and she snuck inside and up to the bathroom. She'd been about to cast a spell to help them get out undetected when the door slammed open and Max appeared, Dean's gun being controlled telepathically and aiming at his head.
Hermione, being camouflaged into her surroundings, had gone unnoticed by the troubled kid and he felt her sidle up beside him, her hand wrapping around his and he was vaguely aware of a pulse of magic washing over him, him recognising it as one of Hermione's shields.
Max had fired the gun but the bullet rebounded off the shield so quickly, he didn't see it happen. At that point Sam had arrived, doing his best to talk down the kid and with a move that no one saw coming, not even Hermione had time to prevent the kid from killing himself.
With Alice safe and Sam devastated he'd been unable to help the kid, they'd left the house and returned to their motel, all settling into his and Hermione's room with Crookshanks and Sadie picking up on Sam's turmoil and moving to curl themselves up against him in an offer of comfort, as he sat himself on the end of the bed.
"It wasn't your fault," Hermione said softly. "He was a very troubled kid. You may not have been able to save him, but at least you tried and that's what counts. You cared enough to try and help him when no one else did."
"He was just like me," he muttered. "I know dad's an asshole, but if it weren't for him, we might have ended up like Max, me in particular."
"That's true, he kept your family together, but he is still an arsehole," she said, making Dean snort and a smile finally pulled at Sam's mouth.
"I'm worried," Sam admitted. "Max, he locked me in a cupboard and I'm not sure how, but I opened it... Telepathically."
Dean and Hermione shared a worried look.
"We'll figure this out," Hermione promised. "Now, stop your moping, I'm hungry and it's your turn to buy dinner. But I swear, if you even dare to bring back something vegan or vegetarian, I'll turn you into a mouse and Crookshanks will have hours of fun chasing you."
Sam laughed nervously as he stood from the bed and left out the room, closing the door behind him.
"Power progression," Dean muttered.
"In only a day, if I wasn't worried before I certainly am now. We need to keep an eye on him."
Dean nodded. "I think you're right, about something happening."
"I hope I'm wrong but I rarely am," she sighed.
"It's not a coincidence that Sammy and Max met, it can't be."
"You think it has something to do with the thing that killed your mother, don't you?" She asked knowingly.
"Yeah, and I've got the feeling this is what dad's keeping from us. He knows we'd want to help him."
"So by keeping his distance he's trying to protect you, that makes sense," she nodded. "I'm still punching him when I meet him, though."
~000~000~000~
One week later...
"That was a lovely sight," Dean said sarcastically.
Sam hit him in the arm in warning. "The woman was cut into pieces and had her heart torn out, have some respect," he said.
"Calm down," Dean rolled his eyes, before he caught sight of something on the carpet. "You seeing this?" He asked, bending down and pointing to the strange marking he could see.
"Not really, it's not clear enough," Sam responded, so Dean removed some tape from the tool box he'd been carrying and used it to make the marking clearer.
"It's a symbol,"
"I don't recognise it," Sam said.
"Me either, but maybe Hermione will," Dean said, removing his phone from his pocket and snapping a photo of it to later show to Hermione.
"This is the second murder in two months, right?"
"Yep, so we better have a look around and see what we can find."
~000~000~000~
"It looks familiar," Hermione said, reaching for some paper and a pen so she could draw the symbol on a much larger scale. "I'm not sure if I know what it is or means, but I think I may have seen it at some point in my life, I just can't place where from."
"We'll leave it with you then, seeing as you're the expert on these things," Dean said. "We're going off the assumption this is a spirit, the EMF reader kicked up a fuss when we were searching the place."
Hermione nodded. "What's the plan now?"
"The victim was a bar tender, so we're going to head over and see what we can find out."
"Does this bar sell food?"
"Probably," Sam answered amused.
"Great, I'm starving, let's go now."
"What a surprise," he said.
"Well," Hermione huffed. "I was going pick up the tab for this evening, well not anymore, you can buy your own beer, Samuel."
~000~000~000~
"So the victims have nothing in common?"
"No, not appearance, ethnicity, schools, dry cleaners, nothing. It appears completely random," Sam said, but then his eyes darted off over Dean's shoulder and he turned to see what he was looking at; a pretty blonde with a pixie cut, and Sam was staring at her.
"Close your mouth, you're drooling," Dean said, reaching for his beer and taking a swig from the bottle.
"Dean, I know her." Dean raised an eyebrow. "When we split in Burkitsville, I met her hitchhiking and we got to talking. She was supposed to be going to California."
"And?"
"Don't you think it's weird that she's here the same time we are?"
Dean shrugged before turning his eyes back to the notes in front of him, seeing how Sam stood from the stool beside him and crossed the bar over to the woman. He hadn't known how to react when she'd come over to him, introduced herself to him and later berated him 'for dragging Sam around the country'. And if Hermione had been with him and not in the bathroom, he suspected the blonde would've ended up with a broken nose.
"I'm telling you, Dean, something's not right," Sam said after the young woman had left out the bar.
"If you say so."
"I'm going to keep an eye on her."
"I bet you are, you perve," he responded and Sam scowled, before walking away and following her out of the bar.
"Why's Sam a perve and where's he gone?" Hermione asked, slipping onto the stool beside him and reaching for her beer.
"I'll tell you later," he replied. "But I think we've gotten everything we can from here, you ready to go?"
"Yep," she nodded, downing the last of her beer and she stood from the stool, stilling in her movements when she caught sight of a slip of paper Dean hadn't noticed. "What's that?" She asked.
"No idea," he shrugged his shoulders.
She pursed her lips and reached for it, opening it up to reveal a phone number having been scrawled across the paper.
"Oh," he muttered, his eyes darting to the two bar tenders and landing on the redhead who gave him a wink, obviously being the one that had slipped him it without him noticing.
"Did you ask her for it?" Hermione asked.
"Of course I didn't," he replied. "I'd chatted up the blonde like you'd asked me to, I haven't even spoken to the other bar tender."
"Is that so?" Hermione spoke with a scowl, before she stepped away from him and crossed over to the other end of the bar, stopping in front of the redhead.
"Can I help you?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
He watched as Hermione put the paper on the counter and slid it back over to the woman before leaning against it with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I suggest you ask whether or not someone has a partner before giving them your number. It causes far less problems for yourself and others. If I didn't trust my boyfriend so much, things could've ended very differently when I saw that."
"I wouldn't trust him at all if I were you, he's been flirting with Sarah most of the night," the redhead responded.
Hermione smiled sweetly. "And so you decided to slip him your number despite it not being you that he took an interest in? Seems logical," she mused. "He flirted with her because I asked him to. You see, we're law enforcement and we knew that in a place like this, we wouldn't get the information we needed by flashing our badges. My boyfriend's very charming and I trust him so much, I don't mind when he has to use that to his advantage to get us the information we need. And I suggest you work on your penmanship, my six year old nephew has better control over a pen. Have a nice night."
Hermione left the counter and headed over to him, taking his hand with possessive eyes and she dragged him out of the bar and to the car.
It wasn't often Hermione got jealous. She had no issue with him flirting with other women to get them the information they needed, but she didn't like it when women would approach him and flirt with him, even more so if they did it right in front of her. And seeing as it wasn't often she got jealous, whenever she did he always got enjoyment out of it, especially since he knew his night was going to be very interesting and he wouldn't be getting much sleep.
~000~000~000~
"I'm telling you, Dean. That's what I saw," Sam said.
Dean wasn't that impressed with his brother, right now. He and Hermione had taken a very enjoyable shower together and Dean had been far from finished for the night, but they'd been interrupted by a knock on the door.
They'd both quickly dressed and Dean had opened the door, Sam stepping into the room without noticing Dean's murderous expression, and he explained what he'd seen in regards to Meg and what she'd done at an abandoned warehouse.
"You think she's the one responsible?"
"Yes!" Sam exclaimed. "She's built some kind of altar and she was talking to someone. And I saw the same symbol that we found at the crime scene."
"Alright, we'll check her out in the morning but until then, get out."
"What?" Sam blinked.
"Get out," Dean repeated.
Sam frowned and his eyes darted between him and Hermione, noticing that Hermione's hair was rumpled and her skin still a little flushed and she only wore one of his t-shirts, whilst Dean himself was only dressed in his boxers.
"I interrupted something, didn't I?"
"Yes, now get out."
"Alright, I'm going," Sam said, holding his hands up and exiting the room with a grimace on his face.
~000~000~000~
"I've found the connection between the victims," Dean said.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"They're both originally from Lawrence, Kansas," he answered and Sam's head snapped to him.
"That's not a coincidence."
"I don't think so, no," Dean agreed.
"Well, everything's come back clear for Meg," Sam informed him, looking frustrated.
"Well I have some good news," Hermione piped up from being sprawled out on the bed, laying on her stomach with papers and open books surrounding her. "I know what the symbol is."
"Enlighten us," Sam said, sitting back in his chair and running his hand through his messy hair.
"It belongs to the Zoroastrian religion which is one of the world's oldest religions that is still active. That symbol basically means Demon of Darkness."
"Awesome, just what I wanted to hear," Dean said cheerfully and she balled up a piece of paper and threw it at him. He easily caught it before throwing it into the nearby bin. "Keep going," he encouraged.
She scowled at him but did so. "It's also known as a Daeva, they're shadow demons but unlike most demons, they're not capable of human possession and they can only appear in the darkness. They're used as demonic pit-bulls due to them being invisible killers, but in order to use them, they must first be bound by a specific spell to prevent it from attacking the one that had summoned it."
"What are its weaknesses?" Sam asked.
"From what I can gather, they're invisible to the human eye and can only be seen by their shadows which appear to be human like. They may or may not have the power of flight, but at the very least they can levitate, and they have superhuman strength which is stronger than most demons, as well as long, sharp claws, which explains how the victims ended up the way they did. As for their weaknesses, there's the spell that binds them to the caster's will preventing them from harm, and also light. They are literally demons of the night and are only able to move via shadows, so an extreme source of bright light can banish it, and as long as light is present, it can't materialise. As for killing it, I haven't found a way, yet."
"Do you think you can find the spell? It might come in handy if you were able to bind it to you," Dean said.
"I don't know, supernatural and magical spells are very different, one requires a blood sacrifice and chanting for a start. The supernatural has no power over trueborn magic, which means that even if I were able to find the spell I need, it may not work due to my magic interfering with it."
"That's out then," he sighed, pushing his hand through his hair.
"But you can just as easily break the spell. Destroy the altar and Meg won't be protected either."
"Okay, we'll head over to the warehouse and see if there's anything Sam missed before we destroy the altar. You stay here and see if you can find anything else that may be useful and if we need you, I'll call you."
~000~000~000~
"Dean, Dean wake up!"
Dean felt his head pounding and his neck aching from being laid at an odd angle for too long. Opening his eyes, he let out a groan as his eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding him and he found himself tied to a wall with Sam beside him.
"The bitch hit me," Dean said in annoyance.
"It's a trap; she's not after us, not really."
"Then who?"
"Dad, she knows he'll come to help us."
Dean grumbled beneath his breath and rolled his neck, trying to rid himself of the ache. "We could really do with Hermione right now," he sighed.
"She emptied our pockets," Sam said.
"If she copped a feel, I'm hitting her, I don't care if she's a girl," he said and Sam rolled his eyes.
"We need to get out of here before she comes back."
"Do you know where she put our things?"
"Over there," Sam gestured to a small overturned crate on the other side of the room.
"Great," he grumbled, giving his head a shake. "Do you think you can get it?" Sam looked at him as if he were stupid. "You said you freed yourself from a locked cupboard using telepathy, do you think you can get my phone to me? I can call Hermione, she'll track me and have us out of here before that crazy bitch comes back, but we have to be quick."
"I don't think..."
"Yes, you can," Dean interrupted. "You're my little brother, there's never been anything you couldn't do. Dad said you couldn't go to college and get out of this life, but you did. When that kid picked on you for not being able to read, a week later you stood in front of the class and read an extract from a newspaper. When I said you wouldn't be able to get your hands on those test answers, you broke into the school and hacked the teacher's computer, just to prove me wrong. You've done this before and you can do it again."
Sam blinked once in surprise before staring at him.
"Sammy, you can do this, I know you can."
"Okay, I'll try," he said, turning his eyes to the crate over on the other side of the room.
Dean was worried that he'd hyped Sam up for no reason and they were helpless, as several minutes passed and Sam had done nothing but stare off into the distance. That was until he saw the crate shake, before it tipped over, their weapons, car keys, wallets and phones hitting the ground and Dean felt his eyes actually widen in surprise. It was one thing to encourage Sam to do it, but it was another to actually see him succeeding at it.
Sam made a grunting sound and he turned his eyes to him, seeing sweat beginning to form on his forehead and his breathing grew heavier.
"Sammy, if it hurts you stop it, we'll figure something else out," Dean said, but Sam ignored him.
Dean turned his eyes back to their belongings, surprised to see that his phone was slowly being levitated from the ground and it bobbed about in the air as it made the journey to him. Opening his hand, he was able to catch the phone when Sam dropped it over his shoulder and it fell down his back. Looking over to his brother, he was panting and had his head titled back as he recovered from using his new found ability.
Speed dialling Hermione, she picked up on the second ring and he set the phone on loud speaker.
"Where the hell are you!" Hermione hissed down the speaker and Dean winced at her tone. "You've been gone hours."
"Really?" Dean said surprised, he thought they'd been no more than two.
"Really," she said, not sounding pleased.
He cleared his throat before speaking. "We've got a problem and we need your help as soon as possible because the crazy bitch will probably be back soon."
"I'll need to lock onto your location so I'll be about five minutes and for Merlin's Sake, don't get yourselves killed," she warned before ending the call.
"Hermione to the rescue," Sam said tiredly with a smile pulling at his face.
"That girl of mine sure is life saver," Dean agreed, trying to slip the phone into his back pocket and hiding it from view in case Meg came back before Hermione arrived.
Exactly five minutes and three seconds later, Hermione stepped out from the freight elevator and scowled at seeing the sight of them tied up to the wall before she let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.
"I honestly don't know what you two would do without me," she muttered, approaching Sam first and cutting the ropes from his hands, and moving over to Dean, doing the same, but as she did this, they heard footsteps.
"Hide yourself away, she doesn't seem to know about you so that's our advantage," Dean said and Hermione nodded before tapping her wand to her forehead and making herself invisible.
Meg walked into the room with a cruel smile on her face when she saw them awake and watching her with narrowed gazes. She walked over to the altar, did God knows what and then approached them, coming to a stop in front of Sam. From that point she explained her plan of using them as bait to lure their father into a trap, something they'd already deduced beforehand and Dean found himself getting a headache.
When she mentioned there were Daevas in the room, his eyes searched for Hermione despite knowing he wouldn't be able to see her, and wondering why they hadn't attacked both him and Sam, and Hermione when she'd entered. But at the moment that didn't matter as Sam lunged for Meg, knocking her down to the ground and Dean darted over to their weapons, picking them all up in his arms and Sam moved to stand beside him. They saw the shadows on the walls alerting them to the Daevas heading for them, only the altar was suddenly set ablaze and he felt Hermione's hand wrap around his arm, before the familiar feeling of a tug in his stomach followed and he found himself stood outside the warehouse and by the Impala.
"Nice job," Dean praised, Hermione once more becoming visible and she rolled her eyes at him.
"We better go, there's no assurance that they won't come after us," she said and as she did so, the sound of glass shattering was heard and Meg was thrown out the window by an invisible force, landing on the ground in a heap of limbs.
"Good riddance," Dean muttered, climbing into the car without a second glance.
"We better get back, I didn't leave a window open and Sadie and Crookshanks have been out for a while and probably want letting back in."
~000~000~000~
"That's incredible, Sammy, I'm proud of you," Hermione praised as they made their way to their room and her eyes darting about in search of their pets, but not yet seeing them.
"It was nothing," he waved her off.
"Of course it's something, what you did could've saved your lives."
"I'm sure you would've come looking for us had we been gone too long."
"Yes, I would've," Hermione agreed. "But by then it may have been too late," she argued. "You go on in; I'm going to see if I can find the cats, they should've been back by now."
Hermione walked straight past their room while Dean opened the door and Sam followed him in, despite having his own room.
"Seriously, you did good, Sammy," Dean said, stepping into his room but coming to a dead stop, Sam walking into the back of him. "Dad?"
The figure in the room slowly turned around, his hands in his pockets and a half smile pulled at his face showing a few more wrinkles.
"Boys," he greeted.
Dean, without even realising it, crossed over to him and pulled him into a hug, relief filling him at seeing that his father was alright and without injury. He was still pissed he'd been avoiding them for so long and ignoring their calls and texts, but for the time being he was just happy to actually see his father.
Dean pulled back from him and his father smiled at him, bringing his hand up to pat him on the cheek before Dean stepped back and Sam took his place, pulling him into a hug and his father looking surprised at just how much Sam had grown in the three and half years since he'd last saw him.
"We know what you're doing," Sam said, pulling back from him. "We know you're looking for the demon that killed mom."
Their father tilted his head and he smiled slightly. "I knew you'd figure it out eventually, but this is something I have to do by myself. This demon, he's dangerous and he's powerful and I don't just intend to exorcise him, I'm going to kill him."
"That's not possible,"
His mouth twitched in response. "You've grown, Sammy," he changed the subject.
"That does happen," he responded, shrugging his shoulders and slipping his hands into his pockets awkwardly.
"Dean, I can't find them, should I be worried?" Hermione's voice flittered to their ears and she stepped into their room, coming to a sudden stop when she noticed the third member present and Dean felt his breath leave him.
"Hello, and you are?" His father asked with a raised eyebrow, his eyes briefly flickering over to Dean's wide eyes and Sam's tense form.
"You're John, aren't you? Their father," she replied, her eyes narrowing and her lips pursing.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," he responded.
Dean held his breath when he saw Hermione smile sweetly and her hand balled into a tight fist.
"Oh, sorry, that's terribly rude of me," she said politely, before her hand suddenly came up and she slugged his father across the face, hitting him square in the nose.
His father stumbled back in surprise, he heard Sam let out a noise of surprise from beside him and Dean wasn't sure if he should tell her off, laugh, or applaud. He had to give it her, she was a woman of her word and she'd done exactly as she'd promised, she'd punched his father in the face. And while Dean knew his father was capable of blocking such an attack, the only reason he hadn't done so this time was because Hermione had taken him by surprise; she'd literally sucker punched him.
"Marry her," Sam muttered into his ear.
His father wiped at the blood that gathered from his nose and slowly lifted his head, his eyes falling to Hermione in surprise, and in a move that Dean hadn't expected, she slugged his father across the face again, this time hitting him in the mouth and splitting his lip.
"Marry her, right now," Sam muttered once more.
His father raised his head once more, spitting out the blood from his mouth and surprisingly he didn't look angry at Hermione's actions, he just seemed to be surprised.
"That one was from Bobby. He demanded that I deck you one if I met you before he next saw you."
"Message received," his father muttered and he stood in the middle of the room, having a staring match with his girlfriend. "I still don't know your name."
"Hermione, Hermione Granger, I'm Dean's girlfriend."
His eyebrow raised and he turned his eyes to Dean. Dean took a breath before crossing over to Hermione, taking her hand in his and checking it for injuries before carefully grasping it, and Sam came over to stand on the other side of her.
"Girlfriend?" His father questioned, his gaze locking with Dean.
"Girlfriend," he confirmed.
"This is a fling, right?"
Dean frowned, unsure if he should take offence to that. Of course his father knew of his past ways, but did he really think he was incapable of being in an actual relationship?
"No, we've been together around six and a half months, plus the two months she was my partner before we started dating."
His father raised an eyebrow and his eyes moved to Hermione curiously. "Why'd you hit me?" He asked, wiping at his nose to clean away the blood that still trickled from the wound.
"Do I need a reason?" She responded. "You're an arsehole and I'm not the only one that thinks so."
"You're the little firecracker Bobby told me about, aren't you? He never mentioned you by name, but he did tell me to duck and run if I ever met you."
"Who do you think taught me to sucker punch you?" She said and Sam snorted from beside her before covering it with a cough when their father sent him a look of warning. "I've always had a good arm on me, Bobby just helped me to improve it."
"I admit, I have some respect for you."
"You do?" Him, Sam and Hermione replied in complete disbelief.
"Bobby mentioned you're an ally to Hunters, and I'm not entirely sure why you hit me, but I have the feeling it has something to do with Dean."
"And Sam, I won't have anyone messing with my boys, not even their father."
He smirked at her, his eyes darting between him and Sam.
"Fair enough," he tipped his head.
"I'll leave you alone before I have the urge to punch him again," she said, looking up at Dean, before she turned and left out the door, closing it behind her.
"I wasn't expecting that welcome," his father commented.
Dean slipped his hands into his pockets, unsure how to respond, unsure if he should apologise for Hermione having hit him, not once but twice, and no matter how much he enjoyed seeing Hermione willing to defend him, it was still his father.
"I'm sorry about that," Dean said, avoiding his father's gaze.
"Don't be," his father replied, pulling his attention. "You've got a woman that's willing to defend and protect you, even against me, and that's rare. I'd keep my eye on her if I were you, because with a woman like her, there's always going to be someone that tries to take her away from you."
"That's why I carry extra ammo," he said and his father snorted at him. "I think it's about time you came clean, don't you?"
His father nodded and sighed, before moving to sit at the table, Dean doing a quick scan of the room to make sure Hermione hadn't left any of her books out.
~000~000~000~
Twenty minutes later found Sam sitting on the bed, and him and his father sat at the table, silence surrounding them as they all processed what they'd each revealed, but that silence was broken when the door opened and two meowing cats entered the room, the little white fluff-ball that belonged to him heading straight for him and rubbing herself against his leg.
"I haven't even been gone that long," he said, reaching down to pick Sadie up and setting her down on the table as Crookshanks jumped up onto the surface beside her.
Dean watched the way the orange fur-ball regarded his father carefully before giving a sniff and flopping down onto his stomach, rolling onto his back expectantly. Dean snorted before complying with the fat cat's wishes and rubbing at his stomach, whilst Sadie rolled onto her back, too, and she kicked at his hands and nibbled him playfully as he rubbed her stomach.
"Okay..." His father said slowly, Sam letting out a snort of amusement at the bemused look on his father's face.
"Fat one's Hermione's, Sadie's mine," he said, wincing when Crookshanks nipped him for the name calling. "She was a stray and he kind of adopted her so Hermione gave her to me," he explained.
"You hate cats," his father said and Dean just shrugged in response, not knowing how to explain that these cats were technically magical without revealing Hermione's secret. He knew his father was filled with so much hatred for the supernatural that he'd kill her without giving them chance to explain.
"Boys, I hope you don't mind another addition to our little hunting party," Hermione's voice called from outside.
"Why's that?" Dean asked and he raised an eyebrow when Hermione stepped into the room with a blanket bundled up in her arms, before hearing a little meow.
"I found them and they just happened to find a..."
"Don't say it," Dean interrupted, already knowing what she was going to say.
"A stray kitten," she said with a smile, shifting the blanket to reveal the small head of a young kitten, it having a white face with a black spot around one eye and two black ears. "It's why they've been gone for so long, and they refused to leave her, so we have another mouth to feed now. I reckon she's about eight maybe nine weeks so we'll have to take her to a vet in the morning and get her all her jabs."
Dean let out a groan and titled his head back, looking up at the ceiling. Two cats he could deal with, but three?
"Baby, you can't just adopt every stray kitten you see on the street," Dean said.
"I could if I wanted to," she disagreed. "But this was more Sadie's doing than Crookshanks', your cat's to blame this time, not mine."
"Give me strength," Dean muttered before he sent a scowl to his father when he saw his amused expression as he sat back in his seat and crossed his arms.
"Can't win an argument?" He asked.
"No, never, not even Bobby's done than yet," he responded.
"Just like your mother," he said, a fond smile pulling at his face.
"Well, Sammy, congratulations, you've just gotten yourself a kitten," Hermione said, kicking the door closed and removing the kitten from the blanket, placing it in Sam's arms before he could protest.
Now that the blanket was no longer covering it, Dean could see that the cat's body, legs and tail were black, but its paws and stomach were white.
"So, what's her name?"
Sam blinked at her, his eyes darting down to the cat and then up to her. "I don't want a cat."
"Tough luck, this is not about what you want, this is about protecting and saving the life of this helpless little kitten."
"Then why can't you or Dean have it?"
"I've got Crookshanks and Dean has Sadie, I don't want to risk either of them becoming jealous, so by default she's yours. Don't be so heartless, look how sad she looks. She just wants to be loved, so love her, Sammy, love her like I know you can."
"I don't want a cat, Hermione," he responded.
She sighed. "Alright, I promise not to cut your hair when you're sleeping, no matter of the fact you have mop and loo brush babies for hair. And you can sleep through an earthquake and there's not a place I can't break into, so we both know I'll be in and out before you wake."
"You'll stop picking on my hair?"
"For a week? Sure,"
"Forever,"
"A month? I can do that," she nodded.
"Forever," he repeated.
"Two months, but that's going to be hard," she said, looking pained.
"Forever, Hermione,"
"Fine, forever," she scowled.
"Are they always like this?" His father asked.
"No, they're usually much worse," Dean said and his father snorted.
"Just like when you were kids," he shook his head.
"She needs a name, Sammy, don't keep her waiting," Hermione said.
Sam sighed and looked down to the little kitten laid out in his arms and she titled her head back and meowed up at him. "Patches," he said.
"That's a rubbish name," Hermione commented instantly.
"It's my cat, I pick the name."
"Yeah, but not a rubbish one, put some thought into it," she said.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Oreo,"
"No,"
"Checkers,"
"Please," she scoffed.
"Boots,"
"I like Muffin,"
"Of course you'd name a cat after food," Sam said.
"I like it, what you do think, Dean?" Hermione asked, turning to look at him and his father chuckled when his eyes widened at being dragged into their argument.
"You can't ask him, he named his cat after a Beatles song," Sam said.
"It's a great song, too, don't you dare diss The Beatles," she said, pointing a threatening finger in his face. "I like Domino; I think it suits her, don't you?"
"How is that any different to Checkers?"
"Easy, it's better," she said as if it were obvious.
Sam sighed. "Domino," he agreed and Hermione smiled smugly.
"I knew..." She trailed off.
"What?" Dean asked.
"They're here, I can feel them."
"What?"
"Daeva's, they're here," she said, darting over to the window and she looked out of it, seeing the shadows on the ground.
"Shit," Dean mumbled, coming up beside her. "They've got us trapped, we'll never get out in time. We need a source of light, can you do anything?"
Hermione's eyes darted over to his father and up to him. "Yes, my otter," she answered.
Dean was confused for a few seconds before it all clicked in his head, and the pieces fell into place as he remembered her little otter that she used to fight off dark creatures.
"Dad, get in the bathroom," Dean instructed.
"Excuse me?" He said, also peering out the window from beside them.
"Get in the bathroom, they're here for you."
"I'm not going to let you fight my battles, Dean."
"Get in the bathroom or I'll deck you again," Hermione threatened. "And this time I'll make sure to break something."
His father blinked slowly, his eyes moving between Sam, Dean and Hermione.
"She can get us out of this, she's very good at Hunting, but I need you in the bathroom out of the way," Dean explained.
His father was reluctant to do as asked so Sam put his hand on his shoulder and guided him into the bathroom, pressing the little kitten into his father's hands and waiting for both Crookshanks and Sadie to enter before he shut the door.
Hermione pulled her wand and backed up towards the bathroom with the brothers standing on either side of her and she took a deep breath.
"Whenever you're ready," Dean said, seeing the shadows getting closer.
"I just need to centre myself," she responded, her gaze locked on the windows. Barely seconds later the windows were blown open and the shadows entered the room.
"Expecto Patronum," Hermione called, her wand gripped tightly in her hand and she stumbled back under the force of the spell leaving her wand and Dean steadied her.
"Wow," Sam breathed out, seeing the blue-silver otter dancing about the room.
"Shut your eyes and don't open them or it'll blind you," Hermione instructed.
A ball of light appeared in the centre of the room and grew brighter and brighter as the seconds ticked by, it being so bright they could see the light beneath their closed eyelids and through the fingers of their hands that were shielding their faces.
When the light died down, they all removed their hands from their faces and opened their eyes, searching the room to see it empty.
"They're gone, hopefully for good."
"Nicely done," Dean praised, slinging his arm around Hermione's shoulders.
The bathroom door opened and his father stepped out, still with a kitten held in his hands, and looking about the room with narrowed eyes.
"What the hell was that?" He asked. "I saw how bright that was from beneath the door, that shouldn't have been possible."
Hermione smiled innocently. "I used the flares the boys have with them, add a few extra chemicals and it changes the colour of the flame," she lied.
"She's really smart," Dean said proudly.
"I heard you say those strange words," he said suspiciously but Hermione's smile didn't waver.
"Just me cursing in Latin, I almost set my hair on fire," she lied once more and Sam snorted from beside her so she elbowed him in the ribs.
"What's your otter?"
"Code words for the experiment I just did," she answered.
"As much as I hate to say this, I think you better go in case they come back for you. Not only are they targeting you, but they're using us as bait because we're your biggest weakness," Dean spoke. His father pulled his eyes from Hermione and nodded in agreement. "And if you need anything, just give us a call and we'll be right there."
Hermione stepped aside as the brothers walked out of the room with the father and after sharing a hug and some whispered words, Sam took the kitten back in his hands. As his father made to walk away, Dean spotted Hermione stood in the doorway, looking at his father pointedly.
"Don't be even more of an arsehole than you already are, yeah? Text one of them at least once a week, no matter how busy you are, just so they know you're safe and not to worry about you. Don't give me a reason to punch you the next time we meet," she spoke.
His father smirked at her. "I'll be ready next time," he assured her.
"I doubt it, you haven't been on the receiving end of my uppercut, Bobby was so dizzy he had to take a nap, and when he woke up he couldn't stand without falling over."
"I look forward to it," his father said amused, tipping his head towards her before turning and walking away.
"Only dad would approve of a woman that hit him in the face," Sam rolled his eyes, before he stepped back into the room along with him and Hermione.