CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
Summary: Nine years after the war, Hermione's the Head of the Auror Department that specialises in dealing with Magical Creatures and fugitive Death Eaters that are loose in the Muggle World. With the fugitive Death Eaters no longer hiding in Britain, she's tracking rogue Death Eaters in the United States, which leads her to The Winchester brothers. The Witch and The Hunters are a dynamic trio that no creature, being or beast wishes to mess with, Magical or Supernatural. Hermione/Dean pairing. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I don't own original canon characters or events, just those that I create myself. Everything belongs to J.K Rowling and the creators of Supernatural. I am not making a profit posting this fanfic.
Page count: 8
"So, what are we dealing with? Magical or non-magical?" Dean asked, peering over Hermione's shoulder as she looked down at the body of one of the victims.
Hermione frowned. "I think we're dealing with a non-magical werewolf."
"How can you tell?" He asked curiously.
"Well, you see these claw markings?" She gestured to the largest one across the chest.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Well, if you look here, they just stop," she pointed at the edge of the scar. "This indicates that the claws are straight, whereas magical werewolves have a curved point meaning the starting and ending point of any marks tend to be slightly more curved or deeper. Also the distance between the claws themselves is approximately three and a half centre-metres, whilst non-magical werewolves only have a distance of two and a half. And, if we look at the teeth markings on the side, you can see how wide the jaw was, again, magical werewolves are generally bigger, and judging by the size of this bite, it's non-magical, and the indentations from the teeth aren't as deep either. So judging by the claw markings, teeth indentations and jaw width, I'm confident in saying it's a non-magical werewolf. Thankfully for us."
He raised an eyebrow. "And why should we be thankful? Have you dealt with a non-magical werewolf before?"
"Yes, several, and they were all in their wolf forms. When we eventually face a magical werewolf, then you'll understand why I'm glad this case is a non-magical werewolf."
~000~000~000~
"Magical or non-magical?" Sam asked, typing away at his laptop as Dean and Hermione walked into their shared motel room.
"Non-magical," Hermione confirmed. "I took a sample from the victims' bodies, I'm hoping I can use any trace saliva from the bite wounds to track the one responsible."
"You can do that?" He asked surprised.
"Possibly, it's not exact due to the lupine DNA, but I'm hoping there's enough human DNA to point us in the right direction."
"It'll be a lot easier than having to go through the medical records of everyone in this town," Dean commented. "You know, since you've come along, our job has been far easier."
"I have my uses," she replied and they snorted at her; that was putting it lightly.
"I've found something interesting," Sam said, frowning slightly at the screen in front of him. "There's been five victims right?"
"So far," Hermione nodded. "Different genders, ages, physical characteristics and appearances as expected with werewolf victims, they're random attacks."
"That's what's interesting," he replied and they both looked to him expectantly. "I don't think these attacks are random. They're names have all popped up in police records over the last two years."
"That's doesn't connect them, we're in a small town," Dean pointed out.
"I'm trying to hack into the records so I can dig deeper; it's not specified why they were named."
~000~000~000~
"I'm bored," Dean groaned from his place sprawled out on one of the beds.
"Shut up, just give me five more minutes," Sam replied.
"You've been saying that for the last hour."
Sam glared at him over the top of his laptop.
"Leave your brother alone," Hermione rolled her eyes, as she flipped through a random magazine she'd found in their motel room.
"Alright, I'm in."
"It's about time," Dean muttered, sitting up straight and dodging the TV remote that Sam threw at him.
"Shut up."
"The victims?" Hermione encouraged.
"Right, it seems two of them were suspects in two separate hit and run cases and the other three were witnesses." He frowned slightly, before going quiet. "I've managed to get into their banking records and the three witnesses each had ten thousand dollars transferred into the account three days after the incidents."
"That's interesting," Dean said thoughtfully. "So what we thinking, they witnessed the incident and were paid off to lie?"
"Looks like it, the money looks to have been put into the accounts manually and under a bogus name. The suspects of both cases were never charged as it couldn't be proved either way."
"It's strange that they're connected and they've all been attacked," Dean said.
"I've heard of a few rare occurrences were a non-magical werewolf could feel the pain of the human side during the full moon. The werewolf can tap into the human's memory, and if it found the source of the pain, it would do whatever it could to eliminate it. But like I said, it's rare, from what I can remember reading there's only been five known cases in the last few decades," Hermione explained.
"Well, I think we may have our guy," Sam commented. "We may not need you to track it for us after all."
"Why not?" They both asked.
"Peter Greene," he replied.
"And?" Dean raised an eyebrow.
"He's the victim of both hit and run cases."
"Do I want to even know how that's possible?" Hermione asked.
"The first incident took place two years ago, his injuries weren't too severe and he was released from hospital after a few days. The driver was never charged, and the two witnesses called the emergency services and gave a description of a car that isn't owned by anyone in the town."
"Okay," Hermione nodded in understanding.
"And less than a year ago, the second incident took place, only this time he not only nearly died, it's stated that a 'bear' found him and almost mauled him to death, he would've died if it hadn't of been for the deer hunter that had witnessed the incident and called the emergency services."
"That's some bad luck, being run over twice and attacked by a werewolf, I think I actually feel sorry for the guy," Dean spoke.
"Again, the driver was never charged and the witness gave a bogus description of the car, the money appeared in their accounts three days later."
"The driver, was it the same person?"
"No, but it appears they were related, uncle and nephew, and from what I can see, they've got a bit of money behind them."
"So they have the money and means to protect themselves," Hermione replied.
"But not from a werewolf," Dean pointed out. "So these attacks were revenge killings. Does this mean it's over?"
"No, if magical werewolves run free at the full moon and humans are nearby they'll kill, if a non-magical werewolf runs free they'll seek out a victim to kill," Hermione said. "Only the victims won't be connected."
"See that's the thing," Sam interrupted. "The first responding officer on the scene is the same for both incidences."
"And?" Dean said.
"And during the last incident it had been snowing heavily before hand, the tread marks in the snow should've been identifiable."
"But they weren't?" Dean guessed.
"No, it looked as though they'd been destroyed, and a week later twenty-five thousand dollars appeared in the officer's account."
"So he covered it up for a pay off, which means if we don't confirm the identity of the werewolf before the next full moon, the officer is the next target."
"More than likely, I'll pull up Greene's home address."
~000~000~000~
Hermione stared down at the dead body of Peter Greene, the non-magical werewolf. He lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes open and with a silver bullet in his head.
They hadn't gone there to kill him, they'd gone to talk to him, to confirm a few details before they came up with a solution that didn't involve death, and unfortunately it hadn't gone to plan.
They'd only been inside the house five minutes, when Greene returned from the kitchen with his eyes glowing orange, something the brothers hadn't seen before but Hermione had. The dormant werewolf in Greene had recognised her for what she was, and seeing her as a threat, he lunged straight for her neck.
Admittedly, Hermione hadn't expected his wolf to come forward with him only being a non-magical werewolf, and for this reason, he took her by surprise and she wasn't fast enough with her Stunner. Her wand was knocked to the ground and she was pressed up against the wall, her breathing being cut off by the hands squeezing her wind pipe.
In the seconds that followed, Sam had pried Greene off her and they tumbled to the ground, struggling for the upper hand, which Greene had, though instead of killing Sam, he went straight for her again.
By the time she'd summoned her wand into her outstretched hand, Greene was lying on the ground, dead, with a silver bullet in his head and Dean was stood on the other side of the room with the gun in his hand and looking murderous.
Why did everything have to go wrong?
She sighed. "Well, that wasn't planned."
"What happened?" Sam asked, standing up from the floor and brushing himself down. "I've never seen their eyes do that before, and they've never been that strong before either."
"It's partially my fault, the dormant wolf inside Greene recognised me for what I was and it saw me as a threat to Greene, so I had to be eliminated. The eyes and the strength belonged to the wolf." They blinked in surprise. "I suppose we better get this place cleaned up and get out of here before someone comes looking for him."
~000~000~000~
Three weeks later...
"I hate magical werewolves!" Dean yelled, as they were being chased through the woods on the night of the full moon by a werewolf. "Give me back the other ones!"
"I told you so!" Hermione shouted back, whilst throwing a spell over her shoulder to slow down the werewolf chasing them.
"It's fucking huge!" Sam called from somewhere on the left.
"It's not, it's only a pup!" Hermione replied.
"PUP!" Both brothers shouted in surprise.
"Yes, adults are twice as big!"
"Give me back non-magical werewolves!" Dean pleaded through a shout.
Seeing that the werewolf was gaining on them Hermione put on a burst of speed, looking over her shoulder she saw the werewolf stumble clumsily in its steps, confirming her suspicions. It was its first change.
She jumped over a large root sticking up from the ground, and she heard a loud 'thud.' She turned, seeing that the werewolf hadn't seen the root, it had tripped over it, rolled and slammed into a tree.
Hermione came to a sudden stop and spun around, turning to face the werewolf and before it could attempt to lunge for her, she threw three spells in succession, each one hitting its target perfectly and the werewolf collapsed to the floor. She wasted no time in throwing up wards, connecting them to four trees on each side of the werewolf, allowing it space to move should it wake again, but not allowing it chance to escape.
Sam and Dean came to stand on either side of her; both breathing heavily and looking at the werewolf slumped on the floor.
"Nice shot, Glinda," Dean commented, bending over and pressing his hands to his knees as he tried to get his breath back.
"A pup?" Sam questioned, leaning against a tree for support and trying to get his breath back.
"Yes, it's too small to be an adult."
"An adult werewolf or an adult wizard?" Dean asked.
"Both," she said sadly. "Judging by the size, I say it can't be more than twelve."
Dean and Sam blinked, having never dealt with a werewolf so young, or a magical one for that matter.
"This isn't the one we're after."
"What makes you say that?" Sam frowned.
"Tonight was its first change. Its instincts were to kill us for being in its territory, but it was clumsy with its movements, as if it wasn't used to having four legs or running on all fours. It didn't know how to use its senses properly either, if it had, it wouldn't have been so easy to take it down."
"Easy? You call that easy?" Dean said disbelievingly.
"Yes, it was very easy, in fact, one of the easiest take downs I've had."
"I want non-magical werewolf cases back," he said and she snorted, whilst Sam nodded in agreement.
"So what happens now?" Sam asked.
Hermione sighed. "Thankfully the laws regarding werewolf kind aren't as strict here in the US. We'll have to wait for him to change back, the transformation's painful and he's going to be scared and confused. I'll take him to The Ministry and they'll get a healer to check him over, after that his parents will be contacted and they'll discuss ways to manage his lycanthropy; with him being so young he still has a chance at life."
"We've never seen a werewolf transformation," Sam said thoughtfully.
"It's not pleasant," she responded, before sitting herself down on the floor and getting comfortable; they had a long wait ahead of them.
~000~000~000~
Hermione hadn't realised she'd fallen asleep until she was woken suddenly by an agonised scream.
She sprang upright with her wand in her hand and her eyes searched her surroundings, seeing both Dean and Sam looking horrified as the werewolf went through the transformation. Hermione tore down the wards and ran over to the little boy on the floor, before pulling him into her arms and she hugged him tightly, rocking them slightly and humming into his ear until the last shocks of pain died down.
Hermione pulled a blanket from her beaded bag and wrapped it around the little boy, because that's what he was, a little boy. He was younger than Hermione had thought he'd be, she'd expected him to be at least old enough to attend a wizarding school, when in reality he couldn't have been older than nine years. His blonde hair was messy with a few twigs sticking out of it, and his brown eyes were filled with tears.
"What's your name, Sweetie?" Hermione asked softly, seeing the little boy's eyes drooping.
"Joe," he rasped weakly.
"Joe, I'm Hermione."
"I've seen you before," he muttered.
She chuckled. "Possibly, I'm Hermione Granger."
His eyes widened, before drooping once more. "Wow! What's happened to me?"
She gave him a sad look. "Werewolf." He started crying and she hugged him to her tightly. "It's okay, everything going to be okay. Gryffindor Princess Promise," she muttered. "I'm going to take you somewhere safe and when you wake up, your parents will be with you."
She summoned a Pain Potion, followed by a Dreamless Sleep Potion, and he took both potions without complaint and within minutes he was asleep.
She made sure he was wrapped up tightly before holding her hand out expectantly, and without having to clarify what she wanted, Sam pressed his phone into her hand, and she dialled the number for The American Ministry.
"Head Auror Hermione Granger of the MLE and Auror Department of Muggles for The British Ministry of Magic...I really don't have time to answer any questions right now...I need you to put me in contact with the Heads of the Magical Transportation Department and the RCMC Department...I'm sorry, but I have a little boy in quite a lot pain and...Listen, you bloody prat, I don't have time to answer your highly personal questions, my relationship with my husband is private and not for the eyes or ears of anyone else, now I suggest you put Rogers and Farrow on the phone or I'll personally apparate over there and hex the shit out of you...It's about fucking time."
Dean and Sam remained silent, though snorts escaped them a few times.
"Yes, it was necessary Farrow, the bloody arsehole was being highly unprofessional, I have a newly turned lycanthrope and I need to get him seen to as soon as possible...I only know his first name, Joe, as for his age, I'd say about nine...Exactly, if I ever meet that stupid moron I'm hexing his mouth shut...I don't doubt they will...Yes, Rogers, I need you to approve my use of a port key, it'll take me a few minutes to set one up and I'll head straight over...Yes, he's more than likely going to need a healer, he had no injuries that I can see, but you know as well as I the transformation can do a number on the internal organs...Alright, I'll be no more than ten minutes."
Hermione hung the phone up and gave it back to Sam, before picking up a rock and turning it into a port key.
"You should head back to the motel, I don't know how long I'm going to be but I'm not leaving Joe until his parents are found and we need more information before that can happen."
She flicked her wand and Joe levitated off the ground, she took hold of his wrist and then the port key activated.
~000~000~000~
Two weeks later...
"I hate magical werewolves," Dean said, looking down at the wizard tied to a tree.
"Do you?" Hermione said sarcastically. "It's not like you've mentioned it twenty-three times before." Sam snorted and Dean scowled. "At least it isn't a full moon, or this would've been a lot more difficult."
"What's going to happen to him?" Sam nodded to the middle-aged man who was wearing tattered looking wizarding robes.
"Likely prison."
"For being a werewolf?"
"No, for murdering four muggles, for infecting a child against their will and for trying to kill us when we found him. This has got nothing to do with his lycanthropy, but with the decisions he's made." She turned her head to see the wizard glaring at her. "Oh don't look at me like that; you got yourself into this mess. One muggle could've been forgiven if you had returned to the Wizarding World and reported what you'd done, but you killed a further three, changed a nine year old boy and tried to kill us. You're the one at fault here, not me."
Dean smiled smugly at the wizard before leaning against a tree, only to slip and fall to the ground. Sam burst out laughing.
"God help me, I married an idiot," Hermione sighed.