Chapter 36

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, 14th February 2012

Valentine's Day rolled around faster than expected. Dean stirred and opened his eyes. Jo was across the room, slipping a bra on.

"Mmm," Dean grinned. "I like the view."

"Don't objectify me, Winchester," Jo snapped, but she was smirking. She wiggled her butt teasingly and laughed.

"So, Valentine's Day," Dean began, looking at the calendar on the wall.

"Don't tell me you buy into that stuff," Jo looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't?" Dean asked, although, mostly not surprised.

"I worked in a bar," Jo reminded him. "Drunk hunters drooling over me all day? No, thank you. A girl has standards. Although… gotta admit, they've got a bit low lately…"

"Hilarious," Dean rolled his eyes as he crawled out of bed. He stretched, yawning.

"What have you got planned for today?" Jo asked him as he pulled his robes on.

"Something easy," Dean shrugged. "The kids deserve a break." He winced slightly as he pulled the cloak on. The stab wound was almost completely healed, but sometimes he found it hard to move.

The castle seemed bright and full of life as they moved through the corridors.

"What the hell?" Dean mumbled as he looked up. Little pink paper aeroplanes were zooming around them, jabbing people in the face in a way that looked almost on purpose. One turned in mid-air and zipped toward him, Dean and Jo both ducked, and the aeroplane hit the wall right behind where Dean's eye would have been. A familiar cackle reached his ears.

"Peeves…" Dean scowled.

"Oh, ho ho!" Peeves cheered gleefully. "So scared of the Muggles," he taunted.

"You will be when I trap you in salt," Dean threatened. Peeves just cackled madly. Dean suddenly had a lightbulb moment. "Or I'll drag you to Dumbledore." Peeves' eyes went wide, and he flew away.

"What was that about?" Jo asked.

"Albus is the only person Peeves respects," Dean replied.

"Oh, okay," Jo nodded.

"C'mon, I'm starving," Dean put a hand to his stomach. They continued the walk down to the Great Hall.

"Hey," Sam greeted as they sat down.

"Hey," Dean smiled, grabbing some bacon. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "Late morning?" He smirked. Dean dropped the bacon he was holding with a look of disgust.

"Fuck… forget I asked," Dean frowned, holding back a shudder. Jo tried to hide her laughter. Dean looked down at his food, preferring not to think about what Sam had just said.

"Oh, lighten up," Ellen admonished. "Those two haven't seen themselves in almost thirty years."

Speaking of Ellen, she made it clear her stance on their relationship. "Jo is an adult, and she can and will do what she wants, even if I object," she had said. "But you make sure you take care of her Dean," Dean promised her that yes, of course, he would take care of Jo. He wouldn't let anything like Carthage happen again.

"I know, doesn't mean I wanna hear about their sex life," Dean replied.
"Says the guy who had a very visible hickey the morning after his birthday," Sam muttered.

"You're just jealous." Dean shot back. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Stop fighting you two," came the sound of Mary Winchester's voice as she and John came out of seemingly nowhere. They sat down and started to fill their plates.

"Any romantic plans?" John asked with a smirk as he looked at his eldest son. There was still some work to be done in the bonding department between him and his sons, but they were on their way. Mary being back certainly helped, as she told the three of them to quote 'grow a pair and make up,' unquote.

"Not really," Jo shrugged in response. "We're not crazy about Valentine's."

"Dean used to call it 'unattached drifter Christmas'," Sam snorted. Dean shot him a sharp look.

Soon the hunters were walking toward the Demonology classroom. The students murmured as they came in. Dean had just finished extracting the memories into the Pensieve.

"Hey guys," Sam smiled. "Today's gonna be a little different."

The students put down their books warily and eyed the hunters suspiciously, knowing in the Winchester classroom that 'a little different' usually meant a lot different. Harry Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione looked curious and eager, as usual. The excitement was still high after the Apparition classes the day before. It was a nice change from the fear they sometimes saw in the students' eyes. Their world was slowly becoming unravelled. They needed something to take their minds off it.

Sam stood up, "So we've been pushing pretty hard lately."

"So, we figured today could be a nice break for you guys," Dean took over.

Ron smiled. "No class or homework then?!"

"Brilliant!" Harry grinned.

"Not exactly." Sam's remark was cut off by a chorus of boos. Dean started laughing.

"Cut 'em some slack Sam." Bobby grinned at him. John and Mary grinned from the corner of the room.

"Okay fine. No homework at least. But the class still goes on." Sam relented. Whoops sounded around the room from some of the students.

"So, we're gonna show you some more light-hearted sides of the job today," Dean took a step forward. "And some of the strangest…"

"Kind of like a blooper reel I guess," Sam added.

There were a lot of confused looks from the students at that.

"Crap," Dean muttered. Sam cleared his throat. Apparently, they didn't have those in the Wizarding World. "Anyway. So, since it's Valentine's Day, we thought we would cover Cupids," Sam smiled.

"Now, we've only met a Cupid once. We were on a case where couples started to kill each other. These were couples marked by Cupid's Arrow. So, it was strange, to say the least."

"A Cupid is a minor class Angel. They match people together," Sam explained. Lavender raised her hand.

"Yes?" Sam asked.

"So, he really isn't any different from a love potion?"

"It's a little more complicated than that," Dean replied.

"I don't see how…." She grumbled
"It's more permanent, and genuine," Sam explained. "That's where the idea of soulmates comes from." Out of the corner of his eye, Dean could see Ron's ears turning pink.

"You okay there Mr Weasley?" he asked. Sam elbowed him. "What? It's a legitimate question…"

"M'fine…" Ron mumbled.

"Anyway," Sam cleared his throat. "Everyone line up, and we'll view the memory now."

The students lined up and entered the Pensieve. They landed in a run-down storage room. A man was a short distance away from Sam, Dean, and Cas.

"So, where is he?" Dean asked. The Cupid appeared suddenly and grabbed Dean in a hug.

"Here I am!" he announced.

"Help!" Dean exclaimed.

"Is he-?"

"Yup." Dean popped the 'p'.

"And he's wearing a-."

"Oh yeah." Sam nodded.

"And he's basically feeling you up?" Ron grimaced."Blimey, that's lovely," he said sarcastically.

"Pretty much, yeah." Dean blushed a little at hearing Jo snicker. "Okay, it was uncomfortable for everyone involved."

"Oh, help is on the way." The Cupid smiled. "Yes, it is. Yes, it is." He spotted Castiel. "Hello, you!" He dropped Dean and walked to Castiel. The Cupid picked Castiel up as he hugged him.

"This is Cupid?" Dean asked.

"Yes," Cas nodded.

"And look at you, huh?" the Cupid looked at Sam and approached, arms outstretched.

"No," Sam turned away, but Cupid appeared in front of him, hugging him too.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" he grinned.

"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" Dean asked, thoroughly confused.

"This is… Their handshake," Cas explained.

"I don't like it," Dean frowned.

"No one likes it," Cas stated.

The kids snickered, Dean noticed Malfoy and his cohorts grinning in the corner.

"What can I do for you?" the Cupid smiled.

"Why are you doing this?" Cas asked.

"Doing what?"

"Your targets — the ones you've marked. They're slaughtering each other," Cas told the Cupid.

"What? They are?" The Cupid's eyes were wide.

"Listen, birthday suit, we know, okay? We know you been flittin' around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other!" Dean exclaimed.

"What we don't know is why," Cas glared.

"Ooh, the Angel is getting pissy…" Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Language Mr Malfoy," Sam scolded.

"You think that I," the Cupid gasped, shocked. "Well, uh… I don't know what to say." He started to cry and walked away.

"Should… Should somebody maybe… go talk to him?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Give 'em hell, Cas," Dean smirked. He patted Cas on the back.

"Um… look. We didn't mean to, um… hurt your feelings." Cupid pulled Cas into a hug. Cas stayed stiff, looking uncomfortable.

"Love is more than a word to me, you know. I love Love. I love it! And if that's wrong, I don't want to be right!"

"He's barking mad…" Harry remarked.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I, uh… I have no idea what you're saying," Cas frowned.

"I was just on my appointed rounds. Whatever my targets do after that, that's nothing to do with me. I was following my orders. Please brother. Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see." Cas stepped forward and concentrated for a moment.

"He's telling the truth," Cas stated.

"Jiminy Christmas. Thank you," the Cupid exclaimed, relieved.

"Wait, wait. You said you were just following orders?" Dean asked, confused.

"Mm-hmm," the Cupid confirmed.

"Whose orders?"

"Whose?" the Cupid laughed. "Heaven, silly."

"Why does heaven care if Harry meets Sally?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, mostly they don't. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh, like yours."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester. Very big deal upstairs, top priority arrangement."

"Are you saying that you fixed up our parents?" Dean asked.

"Well, not me, but… Yeah. Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them, a perfect couple."

"Perfect?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," the Cupid smiled.

"They're dead!"

"Really?" Jo asked.

"Yeah…" Dean frowned. "Our lives were being controlled even before we were born."

"I'm sorry, but… the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh…meant to be," he smiled and started to sing. "A match made in heaven- heaven!" the Cupid replied. Dean punched Cupid in the face and doubled over.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean groaned as he clutched his hand. The Cupid vanished, looking upset.

"Smart move," Malfoy muttered.

"Where is he? Where'd he go?!" Dean looked around.

"I believe you upset him," Cas stated.

"Upset him?!" Dean exclaimed.

Sam was in his room. Dean and Jo had already left for the Great Hall, planning to go to Hogsmeade afterwards for a drink. He was happy for his brother, glad that he had someone to look after him. His head continued to thump painfully. It was like that since the morning, never letting up. He didn't want to worry Dean. He frowned, rubbing his temples as he pulled open his dresser drawer and started looking for some painkillers. Sam surveyed the empty packet with a groan. Were wizards ever going to invent paracetamol…? He pulled out his wand. "Accio Tylenol!" Nothing, well it didn't hurt to try.

He sat on his bed. The pounding in his head getting worse

"Damn it…" He frowned.

Maybe he should have talked to Dean before he left… told him what was going on. But he would have worried the crap out of him. He didn't want to do that to him. Maybe it would be fine to just skip Hogsmeade today.

He knew he'd accidentally done it before it hit. When it did, everything went black. He barely noticed himself fall to the ground. His whole body was thrashing this way and that, face screwing up in pain. He was shaking with an intense pain running through his body. All the while he could see the fires of Hell behind his eyelids. He heard Lucifer's voice in his head, laughing and jeering, just like in the Cage. His muscles shook with pain, but eventually, it subsided. It seemed like a lifetime. His body slumped, limp. He lay on the floor for a long while, breathing heavily. His chest was heaving, lungs starved of precious oxygen. Heart pounding and with shaking hands, he pulled himself up on the bed and just sat there. He cracked the wall, again. Shit.

As the next while passed, he tried to think of a way to fix this. He couldn't keep having these seizures until the wall broke, completely reducing him to a puddle. He received a text from Dean asking where he was. After replying, saying he was going to have a rain check on the Hogsmeade visit, claiming sickness, he used Jess and sent a quick memo. It wasn't long before he got a reply.

Soon, Sam paused in front of the golden eagle that was the entrance to the Headmaster's office. He said the password and started ascending the stairs. Albus was waiting for him in his office.

"Please have a seat, Sam." Albus gestured to the open seat in front of the professor's desk.

"Thank you for meeting me, Professor Dumbledore," Sam smiled as he sat in the seat opposite Dumbledore. "I'm sure you are wondering why I asked you to meet me in private."

"I'm sure there are many reasons, but I have a guess." Albus inspected Sam with his eyes peering over his half-moon spectacles. "You want to know if you can extract memories and forget them completely?"
Sam stared at him, dumbfounded. "How do you know?"

"I have often wondered that myself." Albus walked over to his personal Pensieve. "I, like yourself Sam, have many things from my past that I wish that I could forget. There are certain spells that can alter a person's memory. Obliviate being the only one I know of guaranteed to work. The spell is used to hide a memory of a particular event." Albus noticed Sam's expression. "One which may be of use to you, I assume."

"I do have… certain things in my past that I would rather forget," Sam admitted his time in Hell would be one of them. It was certainly the biggest one.

"It can backfire if done incorrectly," Albus warned. "One of our previous Professors suffered a nasty accident with Obliviate… his memories were completely and permanently wiped. He is currently residing in St. Mungo's Hospital."

"Yeah," Sam frowned. "I don't want to go that extreme. Just certain things."

"There is also the Pensive that you are using. There's debate about whether or not you make a copy of the memory, or if you take the memory out of your head altogether." Albus mused, coming back to his desk.

"But is there a way to pull the memories out and keep them out?" Sam was interested in Obliviate, but he didn't want the memories gone permanently. Albus pointed to the shelves of bottles behind the Pensieve. "Those are personal memories that I have collected, some are my own, and others are copies of other people's memories that have been given to me. I am still not sure how it all works. We could spend months going over every little detail about this issue. All I can tell you is to experiment with it, pull out a memory and see if you can remember anything about it." He laced his fingers together and placed them under his chin. "But before I send you away, I must ask you why."

Sam looked down at his hands.

"I just want the pain to go away, the memories, the nightmares, all of it." He felt like the weight of his memories were pressing down on him literally.

"I understand Mr Winchester. I do hope you will be successful in your endeavours. And please let me know what you find out."

"Thanks," Sam said gratefully, and he left the office.

"Come on, Dean, I could drink more than that," Jo challenged as she downed her Firewhiskey. "Don't be a pussy."

Dean frowned. "What?"

Jo pushed the bottle of Firewhiskey toward him. "You know." She smirked.

"Maybe I don't."

"Are you going to sit here and dick around or are you gonna take a shot?" Jo laughed as she grinned. "Or have you gone soft?"

"Look at you, two penis jokes in a row," Dean grinned as he downed his shot. "Gold star for you."

"I learned from the best." She winked.

"True, true," Dean smirked.

The two of them were in the Three Broomsticks for the evening, figuring a drink was in the cards. Or many, many drinks.

"I can drink you under the table, Winchester," Jo scoffed.

"Are you sure about that?" Dean grinned, kissing her. "Cause I know a few things I can do better. Making you scream for instance," he muttered saucily. Jo frowned as he nibbled on her ear. "I know how to make you scream too." She smirked as she pinched his nipple hard.

"Ow… Anyway," Dean began, changing the subject. "What do you think of all this stuff?"

"It's trippy," Jo replied, sipping on her beer. "But it seems interesting."

"They're good people," Dean agreed.

"The chick at the bar keeps looking over here at you." Jo nodded over to the barmaid. "She's pretty."

"Don't tell me you're jealous," Dean smirked.

"I don't know, do you think that she's pretty?" She looked into his eyes.

Dean had to think quickly, not wanting to spend Valentine's Day in the doghouse, or worse, in the friend zone. "You're the prettiest thing in this bar babe."

"Good," Jo smirked. "You better believe it." Their lips met in a kiss again.

"That was fun last night," Dean trailed a finger along Jo's arm. "I'd like a rerun."

"That could be arranged," Jo laughed. They continued to drink for a few moments before Dean spoke again.

"It's so different," he began. "Having you all back."

"I can imagine," Jo replied.

Mary and John walked in at that moment. They spotted Dean and Jo.

"Hey, you two, we wondered where you got to," Mary smiled.

"Hey, any sign of Sam?" Dean asked.

"I thought he was with you?" John frowned.

Dean pulled out his phone and sent out a quick text to Sam. "No, he said he would meet us here."

"Is there a reason to be worried?" Mary's concern grew at the worried look in Dean's eyes.

"I just texted him," Dean replied. His phone pinged. He looked at the screen and read. "Rain check? Not feeling well."

Jo frowned, "Should we head back? I kinda feel like an ass being out here if he doesn't feel well."

"He did mention something about feeling tired this morning," Dean replied. "Maybe he's just feeling a bit run down."

"Maybe we should go back." Mary looked concerned for her son. "If he's sick, I should be there taking care of him."

"Okay sure," Dean nodded. "Let's go."