Chapter 31

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, 10th January 2012

Several days passed since Bobby's arrival at Hogwarts, and it caused a bit of an issue, to say the least. The first few days were spent explaining the inner workings of Hogwarts to Bobby, and all the while restarting classes with the students. They were still wondering how in the hell Bobby got there in the first place. They looked at various possibilities, even contacting Cas and asking him. When the Angel said no, they gave up trying to explain it.

Bobby and John joined the staff table at all the meals much to Snape's ire. But Dumbledore must have explained to him that it was probably in his best interests to leave it alone. Sam and Dean threw themselves back into work for classes. Bobby even joined in on one or two of them, adding in his knowledge and expertise. It seemed to make John a little on edge that his boys still didn't trust him.

Dean would have been lying if he said he didn't take any satisfaction from watching John squirm just a little bit. John, to his credit, bit his tongue. It was still tense between John and his sons, neither brother wanting to talk to their father much. After the argument between them over the classes, they kept a bigger distance from John. After all, Dean said they would forgive John eventually, but it would take time. Sam still stood by the conversation he had with a younger John when they'd gone back in time to the late 1970s. He understood why John did what he did, but he was not in charge anymore.

Teaching had to be placed on the back burner for now, the bigger problem was Eve. If she was creating new creatures, it probably wouldn't be long before Voldemort tried to reach out and recruit her for his army. Bobby told them that Rufus spoke of a 'Mother' while possessed by the Khan Worm before his death.

In July, before Dean and Sam had even come to Hogwarts, a case hunting Dragons led them to discover the first mention of the Mother of All, in Bobby's house.

"It basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty." Bobby read from the book in his hands.

"Monsters?" Sam asked.

"It's monster land. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm thinking you know Purgatory." Bobby frowned.

"Purgatory? Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about purgatory?" Dean snorted.

"Oh, no, no, no. They're reading an instruction manual." Bobby shook his head.

"What?"

"Yeah. If you're nuts enough to want access to a place that gnarly, this book will show you how to open a door." Bobby turned a page.

"Door to purgatory. Well, I know a demon who would have loved to have known about that. So, how do you open the door?"

"Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got that page. It gets worse." Bobby pointed to a passage.

"Worse?" Sam asked, dreading the answer.

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door to let something in," Bobby replied.

"Bring something here. What?" Sam asked, curious.

"I'm working on it."

"Could you give us something?" Dean demanded impatiently.

"I got a name. Mother." Bobby

"Mother? Mother of what? Mother of dragons?" Sam snorted, thinking of Daenerys Targaryen in A Song of Ice and Fire.

"I wish. It says it a few times here. 'Mother of All.'" Bobby pointed to a title.

"What the fuck does 'Mother of All' mean?" Dean frowned.

"I don't know."

So now they began their search. It was obvious Eve was brewing something big. So, they needed something to find, trap and kill her, and they needed to do it fast. This meant long nights researching and lots and lots of coffee. They even took a brief trip back to the U.S. via Portkey, raiding one of Samuel's old lockups, hoping to find something interesting. They brought some things of interest back to Hogwarts. John was shocked to learn of Samuel's resurrection. He was starting to believe that Dean was right about the world being different from when he was alive.

They began pouring through books. Sam, Dean, John, and Bobby were in the Demonology classroom late into the evening, books strewn on each table. Sam and Dean were reluctant to let John help, but they eventually relented. They took the divide and conquer approach. Bobby tried going to the library once to grab more books on the occult but got freaked out by the restricted section. He was a little leery of the magical happenings in the castle but kept an open mind. He seemed to like the refillable coffee mugs though. Bobby suddenly spoke up after hours of research.

"Bingo. Either of you jokers ever heard anything about a Phoenix?" Bobby asked.

"River, Joaquin, or the giant flaming bird?" Dean joked. Sam shot him a look, obviously not in the mood for games at 3 am.

"It says here that the ashes of a Phoenix can burn the mother." Bobby read.

"The Mother of All?" Sam asked for clarification and Bobby nodded.

John sighed as he put down the book he was looking at, grabbing a cup of coffee. "It couldn't be something simple like an incantation over a sacred blade?"

"It's never that easy," Sam replied.

"Great. So, where do we get one?" Dean smacked his hand on the table.

"You got me. I thought it was a myth." Bobby shrugged. "It's not like we can just find one lying around somewhere."

Sam frowned, something was bugging him, like some obvious solution to their problem was within reach, but he couldn't think of what it was.

"All right, great. Well, let's see if we can find something out about a Phoenix."

Everyone grabbed a book again and started reading. The time seemed to drag by, especially for Dean. He dragged another book off the pile and opened it, not expecting much, but he got a thrill of excitement as he spotted the word 'Phoenix' in a very old leather-bound book.

"Guys. Guys, check this out." Dean joined Bobby, John, and Sam at the table and began to read from the book in his hands. "'March 5, 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. Gun killed a Phoenix today. Left a pile of smouldering ash.'"

"Really? Whose gun?" Sam looked interested.

"Colt's," Dean answered with a grin. "Obviously."

"Colt? Colt like –" John's eyes widened.

"Like the Colt. From…" Dean held up the book, grinning. "… Samuel Colt's Journal."

"What?!" Sam grinned "That's his?"

"Yeah." Dean's grin matched his brothers as he looked down at the book like the pages were made of gold.

"Dude, no fucking way," Sam laughed.

"Dude, yes fucking way." Sam grabbed for the book. "Well, let me see it." Dean held it away from Sam. "Shove off, get your own."

"Cut it out." Bobby hit him on the head with another book. "Well, what else did he say about the Phoenix? What does it look like? Has it got feathers?" Bobby asked.

"It just says 'Phoenix.'" Dean shrugged, examining the page one more time.

"Apparently Samuel wasn't one for being long-winded," John replied, reading over Dean's shoulder.

"So, get this, from what I know about Phoenixes, they can never die. They are always reborn from their ashes," Sam explained.

"Did he say where he tracked it?" Bobby looked at Dean. Dean shook his head.

"All right, so I guess we got to find one of our own." Sam sighed.

"I know where we can find one," Dean grinned. "March 5, 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. We'll 'Star Trek IV' this shit. We hop back in time, we join up with Samuel Colt, we hunt the Phoenix, and then we haul the ashes back home with us." Dean smiled at the thought of meeting his hero: Samuel Colt.

"Time travel?" Bobby rolled his eyes

"Yeah," Dean replied like it was the sane option.

"You realize you're in a magical school, right? Where you're surrounded by thousands of magical objects? There's probably a hundred better options."

"Don't see you suggesting any," Dean snapped.

"You've been here for a couple of months now; you didn't think to check?" John retorted. "We didn't even know Eve was a thing!" Dean glared. Here we go… Sam thought.

"Would you both just shut the hell up?" Bobby slammed a book shut. "We won't get anywhere arguing you idjits."

"You're right Bobby, I'm sorry," Dean replied, ignoring John. Silence fell.

"So, does anyone know how we can get back to March 5, 1861? And no judgments." Bobby warned.

"Time travel…" Sam mused to himself. "Wait, there's something Hermione said once. She had something one year that allowed her to travel in time."

"What was it?" Dean asked.

"She called it a Time-Turner," Sam replied, still in thought. His face fell. "Shit."
"What?" John asked.

"They were all destroyed last year," Sam frowned. "She told me. I forgot."

"Awesome, back to square one," Dean grumbled, downing a shot of Firewhiskey. "What now?

"Oh Fuck… doesn't Dumbledore have a Phoenix?" Sam asked, realizing. "Why the hell did I not think of this before?!"

"Son of a bitch…." Dean grinned, "Let's go ask him if he's got any of its ashes."

Sam and Dean rose to their feet at once, moving towards the door.

"You two, stay here. Don't kill each other," Sam instructed. The brothers left at once, making their way toward the Headmaster's office. "Do you think he would keep something like that?"

"I have no clue, but we have to try."

The two brothers moved through the various corridors and moving staircases until they reached the giant gargoyle statue.

"Éclairs," Sam guessed. "Toffee apple, Lemon drop, mint humbug." He started reeling off all of the British candy he heard of on TV over the years. Suddenly, the gargoyle started to move.

"Awesome. Well done, Sammy," Dean congratulated. They walked up the stone staircase and knocked on the door. A moment passed before it opened with a quiet creak.

"Sam, Dean, what can I do for you at this late hour?" Albus asked, peering through his half-moon spectacles at them, smiling. The wizard was dressed in purple pyjamas, and a pointed matching nightcap.

"Sorry for waking you up this late Professor, but we have an important question to ask. We need your help." Dean asked. Albus stepped aside and allowed them to enter.

"What can I do for you?" Albus asked.

"You have a Phoenix, right?" Sam asked.

"I do," Albus smiled curiously. "Fawkes is his name."

"Professor, we received word from home that there is a danger to not just the States, but everyone. A creature named Eve was risen from Purgatory."

"Purgatory?"

"We don't know much about it, but apparently it's where monsters go after they die. According to our research, Eve is the mother of all monsters. There have been outbreaks of new monsters that hunters have never seen before. One of which has killed some of our friends." Dean looked away, thinking of Rufus.

"We believe that Eve is behind it," Sam explained.

"How may I help you with this?" Albus asked them. "And my condolences."

"We were researching and came across Samuel Colt's Journal," Dean told him, handing him the book. "Colt is a man that created a gun that was thought to kill just about anything. But, back in the 1800s, he killed a Phoenix with the gun. Phoenix ashes are the only thing that we know of that can kill Eve. We were hoping you had some of the ashes from Fawkes." Dumbledore looked at the page Dean showed him.

"Am I right in saying that Phoenixes can be reborn?" Sam asked as Albus spoke Fawkes's name. A small bird with scarlet and gold feathers flew onto a perch near Dumbledore's side. It chirped happily as it cuddled into Dumbledore's hand.

The boys were a little underwhelmed by the creature sitting before them, it was definitely smaller than they thought it would have been. It looked like it was still a hatchling. Dean was expecting to see this magnificent firebird with a long, beautiful tail. This just looked like Tweety Bird, but red, and magical.

"Yes, they can. It's a shame that this Samuel Colt struck down such a glorious creature. They really are remarkable birds. But what is in the past cannot be undone. It just so happens you have caught Fawkes a few days after a Burning Day. He was reborn again two days ago. I have some ash," he smiled. "It's a good thing you caught me when you did. I was about to have the house-elves sweep it away. The ash is beneficial to the health of a reborn Phoenix."

"Could we have some?" Dean asked.

"If you don't mind," Sam added.

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled.

It seemed like no time at all that Sam and Dean were walking toward the Demonology classroom with a large vial of grey ash and even larger smiles on their faces. They burst through the door. Bobby and John looked up.

"Any luck?" Bobby asked. Dean grinned and held up the vial.

"Good job boys," John smiled.

"Now, how do we summon this bitch?" Dean asked.

"That is an excellent question." John frowned down at the book he was reading before they came in.

"I think I found something here. The ingredients seem simple enough," Bobby said, shoving his book toward them.

"Right. Now we just need a place to put her…" Sam frowned. "We can't risk the students."

"You're missing a prime opportunity to get them hands-on experience," John grumbled.

"Don't start damn it," Dean glared. "They'll be torn to pieces!"

"Hold on… what was that place Harry told us about? The room of need or something."

"Room of Requirement." Sam corrected.

"Whatever." Dean waved off his brother.

"How do we find it?" John asked.

"Harry told us it's a room that changes itself according to what the person needs. It's on the seventh floor. You need to walk by the entrance three times thinking of what you need," Dean explained. "Sounds good for a trapping a Purgatory bitch."

"Hang on, do you think we could use some backup?" Bobby asked. "Calling Cas might not be a bad idea."

"Cas?" John frowned.

"The Angel that pulled me out of Hell, remember?" Dean reminded him. John noticed his son's hand went to his shoulder absent-mindedly.

"Okay… Cas? You got your ears on? We need your help. We got a lead on Eve, and we can kill her." We'd appreciate some Angelic backup."

Nothing happened.

"Damn it Cas, we need your help here," Dean called.

"Are you sure he isn't deaf?" John smiled. Dean glared at him.

"Dean," A voice sounded from right behind Dean. Dean turned, hand to his chest, heart pounding beneath.

"Goddamn it, Cas!" Dean panted. "Stop sneaking up on us!"

"My apologies," Cas replied. "You have a lead on Eve?"

"Yeah, we figured we needed some help," Sam replied.

"Of course." Cas nodded.

"So, this is what an Angel of the Lord looks like?" John appraised the Angel.

"Hello John Winchester," Cas replied.

"Okay, introductions over, let's go," Dean said hurriedly.

The five men walked through the Castle, reaching the seventh floor quickly. Sam and Dean both found the spot Harry had told them about.

"Here goes nothing," Dean sighed. Both he and Sam passed the door three times, thinking intently of their need for somewhere to trap Eve. Bobby and John watched them sceptically (at least that was one thing they could agree on; that Sam and Dean had a few screws loose). Cas seemed to be impassively curious but made no comments. After a few attempts, a large door appeared in the stone before them.

"Cool," Sam muttered. "Thanks, Harry." Everyone walked inside. The room was mostly empty, sigils appearing on the walls.

"Protective sigils," Cas explained as he examined them.

"This room is awesome," Dean grinned. "Already juiced up with protection."

The men got to work setting up the spell. Bobby mixed the ingredients in a bowl and began the incantation. Bobby soon finished and ignited the concoction.

The figure of a woman appeared in the centre of the room. She was beautiful, with long brown hair down to her mid-back, and blue eyes. She looked upon the people before her and smiled. Suddenly, Cas, Bobby, and John vanished.

"Don't worry," the woman said. "Your friends are safe. We need to talk. Alone."

"Let me guess. Eve." Sam stated.

"Pleasure." Eve smiled.

"Why don't we step outside? Chat?" Dean asked.

"Why? This is private." Eve was still smiling. She sniffed the air. "Phoenix ash. I'm impressed. I bet you had to go a long way for that."

"You have no idea." Dean shrugged. Instantly, their guns started to burn red-hot. Sam and Dean dropped them. They watched in horror as the guns melted into nothing but a useless lump of metal.

"Relax. I'm not here to fight." Eve said as if trying to soothe a small child.

"No? Just to rally every freak show on the planet, bring in Khan Worms and half-assed spidermen, and dragons. Really, sister? Dragons?" Dean glared at her.

"So, I dusted off some of the old classics. I needed help." Eve shrugged.

"With what?" Sam scoffed. "Tearing apart the planet?"

"You misunderstand me. I never wanted that. Not at first," Eve said. Dean scoffed. "I liked our arrangement," she continued.

"What arrangement?" Sam asked.

"The natural order. My children turned a few of you, you hunted a few of them. I was happy." Eve answered.

"Okay, so what changed?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"My children. No, thanks to you, started getting kidnapped and tortured. Even my firstborns. I was pushed into this. After all, a mother defends her children." Eve replied.

"Really? You're gonna use the Mother of The Year defence? You?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"It happens to be true. Know what? Maybe you'll believe it if I look a little more like this." Eve said and suddenly, her figure changed. Her hair became blonde, and her facial structure changed. Suddenly, Mary Winchester stood before them. Sam and Dean's expressions hardened.

"Oh, you fucking bitch." Dean spat.

"She died to protect you, didn't she? See. You understand a mother's love. I am no different from her," Eve stated simply.

"Alright, you know what?" Dean threw his hands in the air. His anger at the fact that some monster decided to use his mother's face as a bargaining chip, was boiling over. "This conversation's over. If you're gonna kill us, kill us."

"You? No. It's Crowley I want dead." Eve replied, her voice deadly serious. Sam and Dean almost laughed.

"Well, you're too late there. That little limey mook got roasted months ago," Dean replied. "Guess you didn't get the memo."

"Crowley's alive," Eve smiled. Something about her expression told them she was telling the truth.

"That's impossible." Sam scowled.

Eve scoffed. "I see his face through the eyes of every child he strings up and skins. Any idea why he's hurting my babies?" she asked.

"He wants Purgatory, right? Location, location, location." Dean asked, trying to get past the surprise of Crowley being fucking alive.

"Is that what he told you?" Eve laughed. "It's about the souls."

"What about 'em?" Sam scoffed.

"Their power, you simple little monkey," Eve mocked. "Fuel. Each soul a beautiful little nuclear reactor. Put 'em together, you have the sun. Now think what the King of Hell could do with that vast, untapped oil well. How powerful he'd be. Now, Crowley wants to siphon off my supply, and torture my children to do it? Okay, fine. I'll quit playing nice. I'll turn you all. Every soul, mine. Let's see how hot his Hell burns when everyone comes to me. He asked for it." Threatened Eve.

"You know, last I checked, there were a few billion of us. That plan might take a while." Dean shrugged. "Good luck."

"What exactly do you think I'm doing here?" Eve asked. "I'm building the perfect beast."

"Wait a second, all those — all those things we've been finding." Sam realized,

"Call it beta testing." Eve smiled.

"Well, I think your formula might be a little off. They're imploding all over, from what we hear," Dean told her. He could have kicked himself for not being back in America to stop this from happening, but he realized that there was nothing to be done about it for now.

"Oh, there were a few unfortunate failures. But I eventually got it right. Quiet, smart, inconspicuous. It can spread through a whole town in under a day. There's nothing you can do about it now." Eve shrugged. "So, let's talk."

"Nothing to say," Sam replied.

"Well, that's where you're wrong," Eve countered. "I have an offer to propose. Crowley. As you know, not so easy to find. So, here's the deal. You find him, bring him to me… I let you live."

"Pass." Dean frowned, not wanting to be a supernatural being's lackey. Sam looked to his brother.

"Dean," Sam argued.

"Sam, no. The answer is no." the older brother snapped back.

"You say that like you have another option." Eve smiled.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Dean shrugged.

"You think?" Eve asked.

Bobby John and Cas suddenly appeared in the room.

"What the hell…?" John muttered, seeing the creature impersonating his late wife. "Mary?"

"Not even close. Well, so much for your plan B." Eve grinned and turned to look at Cas. "And you, wondering why so flaccid? I'm older than you, Castiel. I know what makes Angels tick. Long as I'm around, consider yourself unplugged." She turned back to Sam and Dean. "Work for me. It's a good deal. Bonus, I won't kill your friends."

"Alright, look. Before we came here, we were working for an evil dick. We're not about to sign up for an evil bitch. We don't work with Demons. We don't work with monsters. And if that means you gotta kill us, then kill us!" Dean took a step forward,

"Or I turn you. And you do what I want anyway." Eve smiled.

"Beat me with a wire hanger, answer's still no." Dean frowned. Eve suddenly grabbed Dean's shoulders and placed her head next to his. A shiver ran through his spine. John stepped forward to help his son, but Bobby stopped him.

"Don't test me," Eve warned.

"Bite me." Dean challenged. Eve sank her teeth into Dean's throat. Dean winced as red-hot pain shot through his neck.

"No!" Sam and John exclaimed. Bobby's eyes went wide.

"Dean!" Cas yelled. Eve suddenly staggered backwards, looking at Dean in horror. Her hand went to her throat. Dean smirked.

"Phoenix ash." he grinned. "One shell, one ounce of whiskey before I came in here. Down the hatch. Little musty on the after-burn. Call you later, Mom." Dean mocked. A blinding light shone from Eve's chest. Her form changed back into the beautiful brunette woman. She continued to cough, choke and clutch her throat. Dark liquid started to pour out of her mouth and nose. Her body hit the floor, dead.

Sam sighed in relief, internally cursing Dean for not letting him in on the plan. "Hey Cas, um, Dean's bleeding pretty good."

"Yeah, I think she turned me into something weird…" Dean winced in pain. "Could you clear that up too?"

Cas put his hand on Dean's shoulder. The hunter pulled his hand away from his throat, and the skin was untouched like it never happened.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean sighed.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?!" John roared as he grabbed Dean and pulled him over to the side.

"Dad?!" Sam yelled. Bobby pulled Sam back. "You need to let this happen, son."

"What's your problem?" Dean growled. "I ganked the bitch, I thought you'd be happy!"

"She could have killed you! I could have lost you…." Suddenly the anger in John's voice was replaced with grief, then relief. "I'm not ready to let you go just yet." He wrapped his arms around his son. Dean looked back at Sam and Bobby, a shocked look on his face. He recovered just enough to add, "What, you thought I came in here with no plan? Come on old man. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve."

It wasn't long before everyone was in their respective rooms. Cas left pretty soon afterwards, needing to return to Heaven to assist in the war with Raphael. It left Sam, Dean, Bobby, and John in the boys' room, sharing a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"So, another big bad of the list," Dean smirked.

"Yeah, but now we have Crowley to worry about," Sam frowned. "We burned his bones. I don't get it."

"I don't either." Dean brooded over his Firewhiskey, wondering if there was some connection… It couldn't have been a coincidence that John and Harry's Godfather came back from Purgatory just days before the mother of all monsters decided to show up. Maybe she was going to use them as a bargaining chip to help away Sam and Dean's decision? Or did they slip through one of the back doors Crowley was trying to find to get into Purgatory?