Chapter 26

Sam and Dean maneuvered through the hallways, taking their pace at a brisk walk as to not draw any unwanted attention. Soon enough they began to hear students' voices come from every direction. They came to the floor their rooms were on and rounded the corner to find themselves face to face with Severus.

"And just what are you two up to?" he drawled.

Dean took the lead and began to weave a tale about how Remus was feeling a bit under the weather and so they had pulled him aside to see if they could help. When he wasn't feeling any better they went for a walk so he wouldn't be ill in front of the kids.

Severus appeared unconvinced. "And I suppose the food you took from the table was for yourselves?"

"Well I tried to tell Remus that pie cures everything. But he wasn't havin' it." Dean forced a burp that came out as more of a deep belch. "Ooo. I am so sorry." He held onto his stomach for emphasis. "I may have eaten too much."

Sam jumped into the story. "I told you not to."

"What are you, my mom?" he retorted. His stomach growled in protest at the lack of food and the release of pressure. Dean pulled a face. "Oof! I think I need to be excused." he said and shuffled past Severus hurriedly. "I'll see ya tomorrow!" he called as he ran to his door. He unlocked it as quickly as he could, making a show of it. As he disappeared through the door, Severus turned slowly back to Sam.

"Well, maybe now he'll learn his lesson." Sam said with a chuckle.

"Indeed." Severus agreed. "No doubt he'll be asking me for a potion in the morning to relieve his symptoms."

"There's a potion for that?"

"No." he said simply. "I suggest a bicarbonate."

Sam laughed softly, but an uncomfortable silence began to build soon after. "Oh! Hey, um. Back to what Dean was saying before. Remus is really in a bad way right now. I think he is going to take some time off to recover. Is there any way that maybe you can take over his classes for a few days?"

A deepening scowl appeared over his already unapproving expression. "If our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is, as you say, under the weather, I shall speak with the Headmaster about it."

"Thanks, Severus. I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Sam said, patting him on the shoulder as he moved around him. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Sam reached into his pocket and made a show of jingling his keys.

"And Sam?" Severus added darkly.

He paused, his key an inch from the lock. He looked over and used his best poker face. "Yes, Severus?"

"I will see you directly after lunch tomorrow for your private lesson. Though you have proven your aptitude in several subjects, your potions are . . . lacking."

Sam nodded his head. "I know." he said simply. "But I'll get it, I swear."

"For your sake, I do hope so. You will be brewing antidotes. Goodnight, Mr. Winchester." he finished, and disappeared around the corner.

"Oh boy." Sam said aloud as he entered his room.

He closed the door behind him and immediately grabbed a potions book off the shelf and threw himself on the bed to study. He knew Severus wasn't above poisoning the students intentionally to test their antidotes. There was no indication that he wouldn't do the same to him.

Dean paced his room. The Mark hadn't stopped its grip on him. It had tasted fear, desperation, and fury in the air and was pressing his mind. Dark thoughts flashed, his own anger rising to the surface.

"Come on, Dean! Get a grip, man!" he scolded himself as he punched his own open palm. "You can't do this here."

He was able to keep it under control until now. Keeping on the right path, staying away from temptation. Well, until today. He pushed his building urges down. The Mark protested and pushed back. He ran to the sink in the little bathroom and threw the cold water tap wide open. He splashed his face several times, then just resorted to cupping the water and wetting his entire head, dowsing himself. Turning the water off, he didn't dare look at his reflection, so he closed his eyes and gripped the old porcelain sink and focused on the coolness of it beneath his hands. He breathed deep.

"This is ridiculous." he said to the air. He left the bathroom and laid down on the bed. He wasn't there a minute before he rolled over and grabbed one of the pillows putting it over his head as if to keep his own thoughts from escaping. He forced his thoughts to the bag of candy he had purchased earlier that day, and the time he had spent with Madame Rosemerta. He let those thoughts lull him off to sleep.

Once again, Dean found himself in Hogsmeade. Looking through the sea of excited students for that red headed kid. All the candy and treats on the shelves looked larger than life and he made his way over to a shelf. He picked up a package and tried to read it. The tantalizing wrappers were colorful and inviting. When he turned the package over in his hands he noticed a tear, and something else was underneath the label. He tugged at the tear and words appeared, along with a tiny picture of a skull and crossbones. He ripped the remaining portion of the label off and saw one word written across the package that read, "POISON."

The shop suddenly filled with silence and the change was startling. Dean whirled around and saw that every single student had dropped dead where they had stood, their now blank eyes staring into oblivion. Dean roared with rage. He woke up yelling into his pillow which he quickly threw off of himself.

"Dammit! I can't even sleep? Come on!"

He was still in his clothes so he decided to take a walk. It was now past curfew and all the students would be in their dorms fast asleep. He wandered through the halls aimlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going. He was lost in thought. He needed to figure something out or he wasn't going to make it through the year. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but the violent urges were floating just beneath the surface.

He leaned against a wall and thought hard. He could go hunting in the forest. There were plenty of nasty monsters out there. . . And a nest of human-eating spiders he reminded himself. Wendigos and Vampires he could handle. But spiders the size of a VW Bug? Pass.

He started pacing again. He couldn't stay here, he couldn't go out and hunt in the forbidden forest. What the hell was he going to do?

He stopped.

In the middle of the wall he had just been leaning on there was now a door. He turned toward the door and looked both ways down the hallway trying to get his bearings.

No. He had definitely been leaning against this wall.

Intrigued, he turned the handle and stepped in. As the door opened he was nearly blinded by the sudden hazy washed-out light inside. He blinked against the light as the hallway had been quite dark. As his eyes focused he saw trees. The ground was dirt and stone and blood. The whole placed smelled like death. He knew the place in an instant. Purgatory.

He saw a small boulder partially buried in the ground. Sitting atop the boulder was a blade fashioned from an animal's jawbone. It was The First Blade.

Dean smiled and shut the door behind him. This was exactly what he needed.

Sam was jostled awake by a knock on his door. Groggily he rolled off the bed, which wasn't hard to do as text books and parchment took up ¾ of the mattress top. Yawning, he opened the door and found Remus standing there. He looked about the same, although he had changed his clothes and the soft light filtering through the hallway suggested it was very early morning.

"Good morning, Sam." he greeted him.

"Remus. Hey. What time is it?" he yawned again.

"It's 5:00. Listen, where is your brother?" Remus pressed.

"Huh?" the question had caught him off guard. "What do you mean?" Sam said, suddenly very awake.

"You need to see something." Remus said and exited the room, Sam on his heels. Just across the hallway Remus pointed at Dean's door. The doorknob was covered in a sticky combination of red and black.

Sam's jaw clenched. He ran back into his room and grabbed his wand. Returning to the hall in a flash, he glanced around the hall making sure nobody else was about. Confident, he crouched down and inspected the doorknob.

"Well it's definitely blood. . . but what is -" he recognized the black substance and his eyes went wide. "And Leviathan blood."

"Leviathan?" Remus asked, confused by Sam's discovery.

Sam stood quickly and pointed his wand. "Scourgify! Alohomora!" The mess disappeared without a trace and Sam pushed his way into Dean's room.

Inside, the room was a mess. The curtains had been pulled halfway off the window treatment and were caked in blood. Books scattered the floor, and the desk chair lay on it's side in the opposite corner of the room. The bed sheets were crumpled and the comforter had been pulled off the bed and tossed into a crumpled heap on the floor.

Remus surveyed the room. "This was not a struggle, Sam. This was rage."

"He is loosing his grip, Remus. He -" Sam stopped short when he saw a bloody hand print on the door frame to the bathroom. "DEAN!?" Sam called and ran across the room. "Dean?"

Sam switched on the light to find a bloody mess. Dean's clothes were in the bathtub, soaking in murky, red tinted water. The faucet was smeared with black and red, as was the wall. Hand prints on the sink, red stained the inside.

Remus joined him in the doorway. "Merlin's Beard!" he exclaimed at the sight, his hand cupping his mouth. "He isn't here. No sign of where he went? He couldn't have gone far with his injuries."

All Sam could do is look at all the blood and shake his head. "No, I don't think it's his." He continued to scan all the smears for some telling clue as to why there would be Leviathan Blood present in this world. Then Sam saw it. "What the -"

He crossed the tiled floor and stood over a smudge of viscera. Remus followed and stared at it too.

"What is it, Sam?"

"It can't be. That's impossible."

"What? What is that?" Remus urged.

Sam bent down to examine it closer. It was undeniable. "This stain. The shape of it. It's The First Blade." He looked at Remus. "Dean might not be Dean anymore."