Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Continuing the theme of the last few chapters, there is also a child with a bloody injury and referenced violence. Feel free to back out if need be.
Author's Note: [rolling in on their heelies] Here's another chapter, folks. [rolls back out, sipping on a tea]
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 15); MC4A (Year 4); Whumptober 2021
Individual Challenges: Best Stories (y); La Vie Boheme; My Favorite Things; Gryffindor MC; Magical MC; Hunter MC; Criminal MC; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Immortal MC; Claimed; Hold the Mayo; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); New Fandom Smell; Above Average Natural; Endings; In a Flash; The Real MC (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon
House: Slytherin
Assignment No.: Term 15 – Assignment 11
Subject (Task No.): n/a
Other Hogwarts Challenges: 365 [22](Visual)
Other Challenges: Whumptober [D 19] (Just a Scratch; Bleeding)
Other MC4A Challenges: WiB [3E](Shivering); Vocab [3E](Mimic); Chim [Sulfa] (Emerald; Sweater/Jumper; "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas); Hunt [Wi Set (Cold)]; Fire [x3](Outta This World; Into the Multiverse; Femme Fatale); Garden [Chores (Arguing/Debating); Flowers (Emerald); Tools (Sweater/Jumper); Behind Green Eyes (Protection); Personal Favs (MoD Harry Potter); Mixed Bag (WC Less than 1k); Such a Kidder (Adoption); Blossoms (Sienna); Meteorology (Windy); Duties (Shivering); Reader Digest (Major Fandom); More Favs (Dean Winchester); Whump Fest B (Blood); Good Night (Crossover/Fusion); Palette (Red); Mixed Bag Saga (Night); Garden Beds (Nighttime); Junk Pile (Sweater/Jumper); Bulbs (Red); Seasonings (Fear)]; Hang [Phrase 05] (n/a) Swap [Outerwear (Red Cardigan)]
Representation(s): Desi & Autistic Harry Potter; Dean Winchester; Tessa the Reaper; Team Free Will as Family
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Hot Stuff; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Most Human Bean; Muck & Slime; Rock of Ages; Bad Beans; Under the Bridge; Where Angels Fear); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Surprise!; Turtle-Duck; Call Me Dantes; Forked Path; Some Beach); Demo 1 (Easy Zephyr)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Tether); SN (Rail; Intercept); FR (Satisfaction; Gestation); O3 (Oath); ShoE (Terse; Onus); War (Obstruction; Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (Enfant); Wings (Dactylology); Share (Augur); DP (Terse; Immemorial)
Word Count: 682 words
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Needs and Wants
Chapter 15: Rant
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Dean kept his eyes locked on Tessa as she walked the distance to where Raphael had been before she had done whatever it was that she had done. If she had been an angel of any sort, he would have called it smiting, but she wasn't. She was a reaper, a representative of Death, and apparently fully capable of killing an archangel without seemingly any effort. In the hierarchy of powerful beings in the universe, Dean was feeling a bit like an ant at the moment.
Tessa crouched over the spot to pick something shiny off the ground. Her red cardigan made her look like a puddle of blood against the black pavement. Dean shuddered at the imaginary combined with the scent of it rising from the kid still clenched in his arms. As if hearing his thoughts, Tessa stood abruptly and turned towards their little huddle against the Impala.
"This is not the home of Robert Singer," Tessa scolded flatly. She made a gesture to indicated the parking lot and strangely undisturbed diner to which it belonged. Light flashed ominously off of the angel blade in her hand. It was easily the size of her forearm, clearly meant to be wielded by someone more the size of the late archangel rather than the rather petite reaper. Dean had no doubts that Tessa would still be just as dangerous with it, should she choose to use it. "You have had Harry less than two days! How did you manage to drag him into danger in so little time?!"
Her raising voice prompted Harry to struggle to sit up against Dean's front. He let out a tiny hiss at what must have been an incredible amount of pain. The sienna color of his skin had a grayish cast to it in the few places that were free of blood or cuts. His emerald eyes were hazy from both the pain and the blood loss but they still managed to lock onto Tessa's approaching form.
"Don—don't blame him," Harry said, his voice quiet but firm. He lifted his chin in a way that Dean recognized easily from all the times he had stepped in when his brother had landed himself in hot water with their dad. Dean glanced up at Tessa just in time to catch the last of her ire slipping out of her like water through a cracked glass. "It's my fault—"
At the words, the cold from before flooded back into the area just long enough to make Dean shiver before leaving with a sharply edged wind. Tessa (with a great deal of visual effort) worked to calm herself as Harry struggled to his feet. Dean followed him up, letting himself be used by the kid as a balancing point as much as anything else. On his feet again, Harry swayed in place like he was dizzy—which Dean was willing to bet was the case, because the blood loss had to be affecting the kid, especially with how thin and small Harry already was.
"You are not the one wanted by both Heaven and Hell," Tessa answered when she was once more calm. Her hands began to move through a series of gestures like sign language as she spoke, the motions decisive but fluid. She had also moved close enough that she could probably close within seconds if she wished. "Admittedly, that is because they are not aware of your existence, and that must be the way it stays." Her dark eyes moved to Dean. "Do you understand? Your pet angel is acceptable, but there will be serious issues if others were to discover his presence here."
"But why am I so important?" Harry asked. The kid sounded like he was trying to mimic his defiant tone from the bus depot, but he was missing the mark by a mile. "I'm just Harry."
"And you are more special than you know," Tessa answered gently. Her face tightened as if something pained her. "I can't tell you all of the reasons why, but please know that it is true."
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To Be Continued
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