Sam leads Harry towards his quarters, Dean and Cas following closely behind. The small green-eyed boy had quickly become a younger brother figure in Sam's eyes, and judging by Dean's words earlier and Cas' attempts at comforting him, the other two felt the same. With that in mind, Sam decided he would help Harry as much as he could through the year, as he wouldn't be able to live with himself if the young wizard had to face everything alone, without adult support.
Once they got to the rooms, Dean sat Harry on the sofa, and indicated that his brother and his partner find seats elsewhere – they chose to sink to the floor onto the rug and looked up that the tallest man expectantly. Sam picked up a blanket that was hung over the side of the sofa, and wrapped it around Harry.
'Harry, I'm truly sorry for informing you about your destiny in such a way', Cas piped up from his position next to Dean. 'It was very insensitive of me, and I should have been more tactful', he said, shame coating his tone. Both Dean and Sam, who had gotten used to reading past Cas' seemingly blank face, could see the down-turn of his mouth and the small crinkles on his forehead; he was really upset that he had hurt Harry.
The wizard seemed to be very intuitive, as he just smiled tiredly at the angel. 'It's okay sir, I know you were only trying to help'. He shrugged. 'At least now I know, who knows when Dumbledore would have told me'.
Sam sat down next to the boy, patting his shoulder in comfort. Harry looked at him, eyes misty with unshed tears. 'It's just, I trusted him', he confesses brokenly. 'I thought he was like a grandpa or something, who had my best interests at heart… but really, he's just been using me'.
Sam's eyebrows furrow at this. 'What do you mean?' he can't help but ask.
'If the prophecy is right, then all the crap that's happened to me must have been his fault', Harry speculated, the three men focusing all of their attention on him. 'Hogwarts is meant to be one of the safest places in the UK, and Dumbledore is meant to be one of the strongest wizards ever seen…' he says, before biting his lip as he hesitates.
'Go on', Dean says gruffly, masking the anger he felt inside. If someone was manipulating the kid, then they had better run, because Dean wasn't going to let what happened to Sammy happen to Harry as well.
'Well… he should have been able to stop everything that happened to me over the past four years right? If he's so smart and wise, then how did he not know that Quirrel was possessed by a spirit in first year? Or that there was a basilisk in the school in the second? I mean, Hermione figured it out for Merlin's sake, and while she is super smart, she was only a second year. How could she figure it out, and he couldn't? And then there was fourth year, if Hogwarts was so safe, how was it possible that a disguised death eater could get into the school? Dumbledore should have realised something was wrong, he's known Moody for so long. It just doesn't add up… I think he's been testing me', Harry concludes.
Dean mulls this over. 'It could be possible', he concedes after a moment. Turning to his brother he says, 'it sounds kind of similar to Ruby's manipulations Sammy', causing Sam to flinch but nod in agreement.
'Harry is probably correct', Cas intones. 'However, do not forget that Albus Dumbledore may be under the influence of something dark as well', he reminds the two hunters.
'What do you mean?' Harry asks.
'One reason we came to this school is because Fawkes, the phoenix, contacted us for help as his partner's aura is different. Dark', Castiel informs the boy. 'So, I would advise that you're very careful around him until we can sort things out, be vigilant around him'.
Harry nods, and sighs, resting his head in his hands.
The young wizard looks awful, the three men note. He has dark bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep, his skin is stretched over his bones in a grotesque way so it looks as if he's been starved. Remembering the exclamation about his family, Sam kneels in front of the boy.
'Harry', he says quietly. 'I promise you, we are going to help you as much as we can. We won't keep anything from you unless absolutely necessary, and we'll see what we can do about your family as well', he promises, the firmness in his voice and eyes displaying his sincerity.
Harry nodded, blinking back the tears he felt would fall (and snorting internally, he seemed to be crying a lot recently). 'Thank you, sir', he choked out.
Sam brightly at him, ruffling his hair. 'Hey, I think we can pass the whole sir thing. Call me Sam', he said, grinning at the boy.
'Yeah, and call me Dean kid. Call Cas whatever you want, he probably doesn't even the see the point in names or something stupid like that', Dean snorts, dodging out of the way as Cas half-heartedly swipes at him.
'Okay', Harry smiles nervously.
'Now, about your health', Sam brings up. 'You clearly need to eat more, so adding to the training regime, we are going to give you a food chart to follow. You need more fat, which will later become muscle. We need to bulk you up Harry'. Sam frowns at the small boy worriedly for a moment, but then pulls out a pen and some paper to note down the diet he wants Harry to follow.
'Hey Cas', he says suddenly. 'Are there any magical or supernatural supplements or anything Harry can take to speed up the bulking up process?' he asks the angel, who thinks for a second before nodding. 'Do you think you could get some?'
'I shall have the house elves place it in front of Harry during his meals. They are exceptionally helpful beings, and very wise. They hold a lot of respect for Harry, as they should', Cas says, monotone. Harry blushes slightly, at the roundabout praise.
'Good', Sam states, handing Harry the paper. 'Now, I can see that you're not getting good sleep. Why is that?' Sam asks the boy.
'I… well, I've been having nightmares. They'r not really scary though, they're just weird. I'm always in a black corridor, looking at a door which I feel like I need to go through', Harry tells the men in front of him, trusting that they might actually be able to help.
Cas jumps up, swiftly moving across the room so that he can place to fingertips to Harry's forehead. 'Wha-?!' Harry begins, before being shushed by both Sam and Dean. After a minute of silence, where Harry feels ridiculous as an angel touches his head, Cas sighs and steps back.
'It is as I feared', he says gravely. 'Harry, you are not having nightmares, you are having visions. These are forcefully being placed in your head – they are trying to lead you to the prophecy room in your ministry. I would wager a guess that the one who calls himself Voldemort wants you to go and collect the prophecy, and perhaps even ambush you there'.
Dean growls in anger, causing Harry to jump in shock. 'Seriously! Can't they just fucking just leave the kid alone?!' he asks, looking at Cas, who shakes his head sadly.
'What should I do?' Harry asks.
'I believe we have to talk to your headmaster again', Cas says, voice actually revealing his displeasure at the man. 'Don't worry, we'll be with you the entire time', the angel comforts the boy.
They head to the Headmaster's office, just as united as they were when they left.
A/N I know the general way that I'm taking this story, so I hope the plot is easy enough to follow. Again, un-betad, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Hope you like it :)