The Woes of Mrs Weasley

John hurried out and nearly walked straight into Mr Weasley. 'Cleared,' he said at Mr Weasley and Harry's questioning looks.

Mycroft bent to whisper something in Mr Weasley's ear, then walked away.

'Thanks for your help,' John called after him, and got a wave of a hand in response.

Mr Weasley beamed at him. 'Excellent news!' he said. 'Fantastic!'

Harry grinned at him, looking more relaxed than he had done all summer.

The courtroom door opened again, and the Wizengamot began to file out. John watched them in silence, all of them refusing to look at him. Some of them seemed scared to look him in the eye, as though he could read everything about them just from a look. John shivered. Maybe one day he would be able to do that, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to.

They waited for the last of the Wizengamot to leave, then Mr Weasley beckoned to John and Harry. 'I'm going to take you straight back so you can tell the others the good news,' said Mr Weasley, climbing up the steps to Level Nine. 'I'll drop you off on the way to that toilet in Bethnal Green…'

'So, what will you have to do about the toilet?' Harry asked, still grinning, suddenly finding it very amusing.

'Oh, it's a simple enough anti-jinx, but it's not so much about repairing the damage, it's-'

Mr Weasley broke off mid-sentence. They had reached the ninth-floor corridor and Fudge was standing a few feet away, talking quietly with Lucius Malfoy.

'Well, well, well… Underage magic,' said Malfoy fixing his cold, grey eyes on them.

John bit his lip. The last time he had heard Lucius Malfoy's voice was when he was watching Voldemort's return, in the graveyard. Harry too clenched his fists.

'The Minister was just telling me about your lucky escape,' Malfoy drawled. 'Quite astonishing, the way you continue to wriggle out of very tight holes… snakelike, in fact.'

'Yeah,' said Harry, 'I'm good at escaping.'

John bent slightly, the pain his chest returning. He clutched at it, and leaned against the wall. He breathed deeply, waiting for it to subside, but it didn't. 'Can we go?' he said, voice strained.

'What are you doing here anyway?' Harry asked, talking over John.

'I don't think private matters between myself and the Minister are any concern of yours, Potter,' said Malfoy. 'Really, just because you're Dumbledore's favourite, you must not expect the same indulgence from the rest of us… shall we go up to your office, then, Minister?'

'Certainly,' said Fudge. 'This way, Lucius.'

They strode off together, but John paid them no heed, the fire spreading across his ribs again. The hallway went dark and hissing filled his ears. He shook his head and tried to see through the darkness, but the pain was too much. He squeezed his palm, forcing the vision to ease off. He came around, shaking and sweating, but still upright.

Mr Weasley patted his back sympathetically, and led them back to the lift.

The Atrium was deserted when they arrived back there, and stepped out of the lift. Just as they were walking back past the fountain, John was tripped up by yet another vision of the fountain breaking into pieces. He yanked himself away, getting irritated. He put his hands over his ears. I just want to go. Leave me alone, he thought.

Mr Weasley took them back to the house the same way they'd come, but John stopped before he walked through the door. He knew the moment he went in, the house would press down on him again. He shuddered at the thought.

'Inside then,' said Mr Weasley.

John bit his lip and pushed himself through the door.

Sherlock was waiting for him on the other side and held him tightly, keeping him steady through the house's onslaught. Once he'd got a hold of himself, John started up the stairs, dragging his feet.

'You don't want something to eat?' Sherlock murmured.

John shook his head, feeling quite sick, but determined to get to bed. As soon as he reached their room, he felt a bit better, but immensely more tired, so he flopped down on his bed. Sherlock joined him and John grabbed his hand, glad to be touching him again.

'Hold on,' he frowned, sitting up again. 'Those beds weren't here before.'

Two more beds had been shoved into the room, opposite John and Sherlock's.

'Well noticed,' Sherlock smirked.

'Who're they for?'

'I don't know. I tried to listen in on them earlier, but they charmed the door. I couldn't even get an Extendable Ear under.'

'That's a shame.' John briefly considered getting out his crystal ball, but his pillow called to him, so he let sleep take him.

A few days later, John was still sitting in his room, avoiding scrubbing out some mouldy cabinets on the third floor, when the door banged open, causing Mrs Black to start screeching.

'Oops,' Dean cringed, dropping his trunk by the bed furthest from the door.

Sam came in behind him and closed the door gingerly. 'Oh hey, John,' he smiled when he saw John.

'What are you two doing here?' John asked, surprised.

'You don't know?' asked Sam.

John shook his head. 'This house dulls my power somehow. Probably from being inhabited by horrible blood purists.'

'Wow, I didn't know houses could do that. Is it like a poltergeist? Or is it more like the house itself?' Sam said with great interest.

'It's more like… all the negative energy from the people that lived here is bleeding through the… walls, I suppose?' John rubbed his head. 'It's really difficult to explain.'

'That's pretty cool.'

John smiled. Sam's enthusiasm always made him feel better.

Dean sat down on his bed. 'Is everybody here?'

'Hang on.' John looked up at the ceiling, briefly contacting Sherlock. 'Here they come.'

The door opened again, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sherlock all came into the room, hugging Sam and Dean as they did, except Sherlock who came to sit next to John.

'It's so good to see you!' Hermione exclaimed. 'But why are you here? John said he saw you safe at home.'

'We were safe at home,' Dean grumbled, flopping down on his back.

'It's no big deal,' Sam said. 'Our dad got some threats from some Demons, so he asked Dumbledore to put us somewhere safe.'

'Like I said, we were somewhere safe. So what if Demons made threats? When don't they? Ugh.' Dean scrubbed his face with his hands, then sat up again. 'I got your owl by the way, thought I'd just talk to you in person, what do you mean no one's heard from Cas?'

'He hasn't responded to our owls, or sent us any. What about you, have you heard from him?' John asked.

Dean frowned. 'Nothing. He was supposed to come and visit, but he never showed up. I thought he was just mad at me, or something. Do you think something's up?'

John shrugged. 'I don't know. He's at home, so how much trouble could he be in?'

Dean's eyebrow twitched. 'He's at home? Are you sure? He's not in… Hogsmeade or anything?'

'No, he's definitely in Wales… Why would he be in Hogsmeade?'

Dean looked around furtively. 'He made me promise not to tell… He was supposed to move there with Gabriel.'

'Oh,' John said in surprise, 'that's weird. I can't really see him, he's so far away, but he hasn't moved far from his house, I don't think.'

'Do you think you can try again?' Dean asked. 'I'm real worried about him.'

'Yeah, me too.' John groped under the bed for his crystal ball. He blushed self-consciously under the eyes of everyone in the room. He rolled his shoulders and hunched over the ball, staring into the mist.

Nothing happened at first, just the fog swirling lazily. Then it started to twist lethargically. John blinked and rubbed his eyes. It was difficult to concentrate.

'What do you see?' Dean asked anxiously.

John shook his head. 'Nothing much,' he said. 'This looks like wings. What do you think that means?'

'I thought you were the expert?' Ron snorted.

'No, he is,' John said, gesturing at Sherlock. 'Or, he's supposed to be anyway.'

Sherlock rolled his eyes.

'He's just so hard to focus on him.'

'Isn't there anything we can do?' Hermione asked.

'Actually…' Sam said thoughtfully. 'I think there is. Everybody sit on the floor.'

John glanced at Sherlock, then put the crystal ball away and climbed off the bed, sitting on the floor with everyone else.

'Okay, so John's powers work best with skin contact, right?' said Sam. 'So if we all sit in a circle and hold hands-'

'Come on, Sam,' Dean scoffed.

'Just hear me out! This is how Pamela used to do it too.'

Dean clamped his mouth shut.

'I think if we all think about Cas, we can help boost John, what do you think?'

John shrugged. 'Can't hurt to try.'

'Awesome, so the people with the strongest connection to Cas should sit closest to John - so Dean goes here,' Sam said, sitting Dean directly beside John.

Dean shot him a glare, but blushed as he took John's hand.

Sam arranged everyone around the circle, then sat down himself. 'Okay, now everyone think about Cas as hard as you can.'

Everyone closed their eyes, thinking hard.

John could feel all of Dean's concern, and the way his heart pulled whenever he thought of Castiel. John bit back a smile, and everyone else's thoughts of Cas flooded through him.

'Okay, Cas, show me what you're up to,' John whispered, turning towards his bright glow.

Sam's idea appeared to be working, and it was a lot easier to push himself towards Cas, but the glowing didn't ease as he got closer. It grew brighter and sharper in his eyes, and they began to water, but John wasn't ready to give up, bolstered as he was. He took a moment, shook his head, and squeezed Dean and Sherlock's hands harder. He couldn't see much other than bright, white light now, but he was so close.

John, Sherlock's voice whispered.

Not yet. John squeezed so hard he could feel Dean's discomfort. I'm so close.

Cas's glow pulsed, burning John's eyes, and he was suddenly gripped by an all-encompassing terror. Cas's eyes blazed blue, and flared, blinding John.

John let go of Dean and Sherlock, yelling, 'I can't see!' Panic swelled in his chest. 'Oh my God, I can't see!' He rubbed his eyes, but it didn't help, and he grabbed the front of Sherlock's shirt.

Someone shouted for Mrs Weasley.

'John, calm down!' Sherlock held him by the shoulders. 'You're all right, just calm down.'

He struggled to control his panicked sobbing, his vision completely white.

'You're still connected to Castiel, you need to stop.' Sherlock squeezed John's palm for him, pulling him away from Cas. 'Breathe, John.'

Tears streamed down John's face, but the pressing on his palm helped ground him. There were raised voices all around him, and he thought he heard Mrs Black again.

'Ignore them,' said Sherlock. 'Focus on your breathing, in and out.' Sherlock slowly and carefully held John away, blocking out everything else for him, until it was just John and Sherlock in his mind. Finally his breathing slowed, and the whiteness began to dissipate.

John blinked a few times, bright spots still floating in his field of vision, but he could see again. He heaved a great sigh of relief, leaning heavily against Sherlock. He couldn't tell which one of them was shaking harder.

Mrs Weasley was there, her wand drawn.

'It's all right,' Sherlock murmured. 'He's going to be all right.'

'I need some water,' John said weakly. Mrs Weasley obliged, conjuring a goblet full of water for him.

John gulped it down, the cool water calming his nerves. He sighed again when he was finished, and noticed Dean's expression.

'Did- did you see anything?' Dean asked anxiously.

'No, but…'

'But what.'

John hesitated. 'He was scared. He's really frightened of something.'

'Of what?'

'I don't know, I couldn't see…' John shuddered and closed his eyes again.

Dean ran a hand through his hair. 'Then we have to go get him,' he said, standing up.

Mrs Weasley put her hands on his shoulder. 'I know you're worried, but you can't leave here. It's not safe.'

'Do I look like I care?' he said. 'I've been in plenty of danger before.' He tried to move past her, but she blocked his way. 'Can't any of you go and get him, then?'

'I'll ask Dumbledore,' she said. 'But we might not have anyone to spare.'

'Fine, then I'm going.'

'Where does he live?' Mrs Weasley said.

Dean shrugged. 'I don't know, on a mountain somewhere.'

'There's only one mountain in Wales,' said Hermione, standing up as well. 'He's probably on Snowden somewhere.'

'Don't be ridiculous, you can't all go off tramping around a mountain,' Mrs Weasley snapped. 'What will you do if there are protective spells or concealments around his house? None of you are of age yet, and we have had enough hearings for underage magic already.'

'We have to do something!' Dean cried.

'I will ask Dumbledore,' Mrs Weasley said firmly. 'You are not to leave this house, do you understand?'

Dean's shoulders slumped, but he nodded.

'Good. Dinner will be ready soon.'

Mrs Weasley left, and Dean sat back down again.

'What could he be that scared of?' Hermione said, once Mrs Weasley was gone.

'I don't know. Demons maybe. His sister's leading them now.'

'Do you think she's come back?' said Sam. 'Last Dad heard she was hanging around in Illinois somewhere.'

'It's always possible.'

John dragged himself back onto his bed to lie down.

'Tell us about them,' Harry said after a moment's silence. 'Tell us about the Demons.'

Dean didn't speak at first, he just stared down at the ground. 'They were wizards once,' he said eventually. 'A long time ago. They gave themselves up to evil, so they could raise Lucifer from Hell.'

'Why would they want to do that?' Hermione gasped.

'They think humanity is a stain on the Earth. They want to destroy everything…' Dean looked away and Sam took over.

'They were never much of a threat. Their numbers were so low, but then Azazel started stealing kids and corrupting them, to boost their army. That's how our mom died. He burned down our house trying to kidnap us.'

'They still look human though,' said Dean. 'They can pretend… Sometimes their eyes appear black, but the only real way to tell is to try to force them to conjure a Patronus. They can't do it, they're too evil. It just backfires. Sometimes it kills them.'

'Some people think they're what turn into Dementors, but that was never proved,' Sam said.

'And Lucy is in charge of them now? No wonder Cas is scared,' Hermione shivered.

'Great, so now we have Demons as well as Death Eaters to deal with,' Ron groaned.

'I wouldn't worry,' Dean said, plastering an unconcerned smile on his face. 'I doubt they know or care that any of you guys exist.'

'Do you think Cas is okay?' Hermione said quietly.

'We'll ask him when we see him,' John mumbled, his voice muffled by his pillow.

Dean perked up. 'He's coming back to school?'

'Mhmm.'

'That's good,' Dean nodded. He rolled his shoulders and winced.

'What's wrong?' Hermione asked.

'It's nothing,' said Dean. 'It's just the scars on my back are a little tight. That's what I get for being so buff, I guess.'

'Whatever you say, Dean,' Sam laughed, throwing a pillow at him.

'What the hell is this place anyway?' Dean asked, lobbing the pillow back at Sam.

'Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix,' Hermione told him. 'A secret society that Dumbledore runs. They're trying to find out what You-Know-Who's up to.'

'Nice. Love a good secret society. Would have picked a different house though, this one's kinda gross.'

'Trust me, it was a lot worse a few weeks ago. You're lucky Mrs Weasley isn't making you help us clear out the rooms upstairs.'

John listened to Hermione explain to Dean what had been going on, and the sound of their voices lulled him to sleep.

By the end of the holidays, everyone was more than ready to go back to Hogwarts. Dean had thrown himself aggressively into cleaning and helping Mrs Weasley cook, just to have something to distract himself with, but their Hogwarts letters didn't arrive until the very last day.

'About time,' Fred said, tearing his open at the kitchen table. 'Thought they'd forgotten.'

'Oh lovely, I'll pop over to Diagon Alley this afternoon then,' Mrs Weasley smiled

'What's wrong, Ron?' Harry asked, spotting the slack look on Ron's face as he stared at his letter.

Ron shook his head, then tipped up the envelope. There was a metallic clink, and a badge dropped out onto the table.

'No way!' George exclaimed. 'That is not what I think it is!'

Ron picked up the scarlet and gold badge.

'Awesome,' Dean grinned.

'There has to be some sort of mistake,' said Fred. 'No one in their right mind would make Ron a Prefect.'

Just then, Hermione burst into the room and shrieked as she saw the badge. 'Me too!' she said, waving her letter and badge around.

Mrs Weasley fawned over the both of them. 'I'd best get going. You'd all better pack your things, there won't be time in the morning.' She hurried out of the house and the rest of them went back to their rooms to pack.

Dean and Sam had never really unpacked, so they occupied themselves by playing an increasingly precarious game of catch while they waited for everyone else to finish.

Mrs Weaslet returned at six o'clock that evening and came upstairs to give everyone their books. 'I want all of you downstairs,' she said, giving Ron a pat on the cheek.

Down in the basement Mrs Weasley had hung a scarlet banner over the heavily laden dinner table, which read:

CONGRATULATIONS

RON AND HERMIONE

NEW PREFECTS

'I thought we'd have a little party,' Mrs Weasley beamed.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after the bottles of Butterbeer were opened.

John grabbed himself a sandwich, and found himself face to face with Kingsley, who gave him an indulgent wink.

'I've been checking in on your mother,' he said, and John groaned loudly.

'I don't want to know.'

'She's absolutely fine. No further Death Eater activity in the area, and she makes a fantastic brownie.'

'I am not having this conversation.'

Kingsley laughed, and John took an overly large gulp of his Butterbeer, almost choking on it.

Sherlock sniggered, and John smacked him on the arm.

Sam, who had only just met Tonks, was questioning her excitedly, determined to find out more about Metamorphmagi.

'How is this one not in Ravenclaw?' she said. 'Not that I'm complaining, we could use more good people in Hufflepuff.'

Dean wandered around the table, until he found some pastries that he liked the look of. He bent down to take one, but his scars caught again, forcing him back. He hissed through his teeth and rubbed his shoulder, the closest he could reach.

'Hello, Dean. Are you all right?' said Lupin, watching him sympathetically.

Dean grimaced. 'Yeah, I'm fine. They're just pulling a little, that's all.'

'I could take a look, if you like. I'm quite practiced at easing these sorts of things by now.' Guilt was clear in Lupin's eyes, as it was him in werewolf form that had given Dean the claw marks on his back.

'Nah, it's all right. I'll wait 'til we're back at Hogwarts and let Cas look at them. He needs the practice.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah, he's going to be a Healer.' Dean smiled, a warm feeling spreading through him that wasn't entirely from the Butterbeer.

'Well, if you're sure…'

'Yeah, don't worry about it. I can make it one more day.'

Dean didn't stay at the party for much longer after that. He ate a few sandwiches, but didn't feel much like speaking to anyone, so eventually made his way back upstairs, trying not to worry about Castiel. Just as he was passing the drawing room, however, he heard sobs coming from inside.

He pushed open the door and found Mrs Weasley inside, and the body of Ron in front of her. Dean blinked. It couldn't be, he'd just seen Ron downstairs.

'R-riddikulus!' Mrs Weasley sobbed, pointing her wand at Ron's body. There was a crack and suddenly it was Bill's body instead of Ron's. 'Riddikulus!' Mrs Weasley tried again, but this time it turned into Mr Weasley. She pointed her wand once again, but it just turned into Fred and George, then Percy, then Ginny, and Mrs Weasley got more and more distraught.

Dean ran into the room and knelt down in front of her. 'It's all right, Mrs Weasley,' he said. 'It's just a Boggart.'

She shouted, 'Riddikulus!' again, but this time her sobbing stopped in surprise.

Dean turned around and saw that the Boggart had focused on him this time, and was showing him Sam, lifeless and empty-eyed. Dean swallowed. He couldn't get rid of it himself, he was still underage. 'Come on, Mrs Weasley, you can do it,' he said in his best encouraging voice.

Mrs Weasley raised her wand one last time. 'Riddikulus!' The Boggart vanished in a puff of smoke. She dissolved into shuddering sobs again. 'I'm j-just so worried about everyone,' she stammered.

'I know,' Dean said gently. 'I get it. It's okay.'

Just then, Mr Weasley, Lupin, and Mad-Eye ran into the room, and Dean left them to comfort her.

He quietly changed into his pajamas and got into bed. The curtains were open just a sliver, letting a thin beam of moonlight stream through. He could hear the murmuring of voices down the hall, wondering how he'd managed to get himself caught between two wars. How could he keep Sam safe? He rolled over in bed, pulling the pillow over his head. He'd see Cas tomorrow, he told himself, and put everything else out of his mind. They would figure it all out once they were back at Hogwarts.

Welcome back everyone! Thanks to Morgan Teri Befan and ConstantineHolmes for the reviews! See you again soon!