[FIC] An Unexpected Debt, SPN/HP
Title: An Unexpected Debt
Author: dhark_charlotte
Fandoms: Supernatural/Harry Potter
Rating: T
Warnings: Language, some violence, Possible Het in later chapters
** Slightly spoilery for SPN 2.21
Pairings (if applicable): Dean/Hermione
Character(s) (if applicable): Bobby Singer, Dean Winchester, Hermione Granger, Sam Winchester
Summary: An unusual alliance leads to an unexpected debt.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Dedicated to
mandy_jg
Because she asked for this pairing. Not very shippy in this first chapter.
An Unexpected Debt
Chapter 1
When Dean slammed the trunk she was standing next to the car. As jumpy as he and Bobby were, it’s a miracle neither of them shot her.
“Can you help me?”
“Shit lady! I almost put a hole in you!” Dean looked around, but didn’t see another vehicle parked anywhere nearby. Both he and Bobby watched her warily. She was an average looking young woman. Brown hair pulled back into a tight braid, large brown eyes that spoke of experience beyond her years and pale skin. She was wearing a dark brown coat and hiking boots with jeans and a sweater.
“I’m terribly sorry about startling you, but, I’ve been searching for days and just when I thought I’d finally found her, I lost it.”
While her appearance was unassuming and far from striking, her voice was rich and the accent under normal circumstances would have had Dean flirting shamelessly. This situation was far from normal and he thought of his brother trapped in that honest to God ghost town.
“Look, I’m sorry if you’ve lost someone, but we don’t have time to help you right now.” Dean tried to push passed her but she grabbed the sleeve of his coat.
“You’re Hunters, am I right?”
Bobby racked a shell into the chamber of his shotgun and Dean jerked his arm free of her grasp. “I said I don’t have time for this! Who the Hell are you lady?”
“I’m looking for my cousin’s fiancé! She disappeared about six months ago and I’ve been searching for her for four! I would have started sooner, but it took me two MONTHS to get a copy of the police report! Stupid, bloody international red tape! I was finally able to track her to this general location, but now I can’t! I think she might be dead but I need to know for sure! Because if she’s NOT dead…” Vengeance shone brightly in her dark eyes and Dean shivered.
“Damn! Did you breathe at all?” He smirked at her irritated glare. “Your cousin’s fiancé? What’s her name?”
“Ava.”
“Seriously?”
“Couldn’t be more serious.” She tilted her head. “You know her?”
“Dean, we don’t have time for this!” Bobby hissed.
“My brother met her about six months ago and she helped him save my life, but she disappeared, like you said.”
“That fucking cow! I knew it!”
“Wait a minute! How did you get all the way out here without a car?”
She grimaced and rubbed her forehead. “I’m going to show you something and I need you to keep an open mind and not shoot me. I have no intention of harming anyone but that bitch that killed my cousin. Now, I’ve learned from hard earned experience how you Hunters feel about magic, so don’t freak out.” She held up her hands, palms out. “Okay?”
Dean raised his shotgun but nodded and she smiled shakily. His eyes widened when, from what seemed like nowhere, she pulled out a long stick, sparks trailing from the end.
She turned slightly away and waved it in a strange arc, saying, “Expecto Patronum!” A silvery light erupted from the stick and coalesced into the form of an otter. It sat on its haunches, its head tilted as if waiting for instructions.
“Holy Mary, mother of God. You’re a witch!”
She quirked her brow at Bobby. “You say that like it’s a bad thing!”
“In our line of work lady, it is.”
“Please, call me Hermione.” At their incredulous look she pleaded with them. “Please help me! Or let me help you?”
“How can you help us? You said you couldn’t track Ava any farther.”
“Because I think she’s dead now. But if you’re looking for someone also, I can focus on that person.”
Bobby and Dean took a few steps back and talked in hushed voices. Bobby grabbed his arm and Dean shook him off angrily. “He’s my brother Bobby and if she can help us find him faster, we’re going to use her!”
“Excuse me, but do you have something of your brother’s? Anything will do. Oh and what’s his name?”
“Sam Winchester.” Dean missed her surprised expression as he dove into the backseat of his car and rummaged through the mess. “Yes!” He backed out and handed her a sock. It was slightly stiff and Hermione scrunched her nose.
“Bloody hell, that’s disgusting!”
“You can’t get any more personal than that right?”
She rolled her eyes. “I guess I should be grateful you didn’t hand me his dirty boxers. Please don’t bump me.” She laid her wand flat on her left palm and clutched the sock in her right hand. Closing her eyes she breathed deeply and the men jumped when they snapped open.
“Point me Sam Winchester!”
They watched as the wand spun in circles on her palm. Dean was about to protest when it suddenly stopped and pointed, not down the road, but through the woods.
She stepped forward.
“Wait! The road to the town goes this way.” Bobby pointed down the narrow dirt track.
“This charm will direct us through the shortest route.” She looked to Dean. “Which is it Dean? Easiest or fastest?”
“Fastest. Come on Bobby!”
“Dean, I still don’t like this!”
Hermione rounded on the older man. “Look! I know you don’t trust me. You have no reason to. Just take comfort in the fact that I’m not happy about you walking behind me with a shotgun. Oh, one more thing… I’ve seen a lot scarier than you Bobby Singer.”
He leveled the barrel at her and ground out, “How the hell do you know my name?”
“I wasn’t entirely sure it was you, but mum described you perfectly. She was in Portland for a Dental convention last year. Pamela Granger? Ran into a shapeshifter. Idiot took my father’s form not realizing he was still in England. She was very complimentary by the way. Said you were a perfect, if somewhat unkempt, gentleman.”
Grinning, Dean stared at Bobby. “Dude, you’ve got a fan!”
Bobby shot him a glare. “Shut it.” He turned his glare on her. “Why in the hell did she need me to save her?”
“Mum’s a dentist, not a Witch. I’m actually the only Witch born into our family. Lucky me. But that’s a story for another day… Are you ready to go now?”
----------------
“You love your brother very much, don’t you?”
He cleared his throat and was quiet for so long, Hermione thought he might not answer her.
“It’s my job to protect him. I haven’t been doing a very good job lately.”
“What? Is he four or something?”
“No, but he’s a trouble magnet and I’ve been taking care of him since I was four and he was six months old. He’s the only family I’ve got left.” Dean’s voice was husky and he refused to look at her as they walked side by side.
“Brady was the last of my family.”
“What about your mom?”
“My parents were killed about eight months ago.”
“Accident?”
“No, unfortunately they were recognized by a very bad person with a grudge against me.”
“That sucks.” He eyed her warily. “You curse someone or something?”
She snorted at that. “Nothing quite so justified. It started with covering for someone that should have known better and then having the bad luck to become best friends with a powerful Wizard with a deadly prophecy hanging over his head.”
“Pro-prophecy?” Dean smirked. “You’re pulling my leg right?”
She looked him in the eyes with a flat glare. “They suck, completely. I lived it for more years than I care to count. I wouldn’t laugh if I were you Dean, I’ve passed through many Hunting circles in the last six months and Sam’s name has come up too many times to be a coincidence.”
--------------
The three were tired as their steps lead them to the spot where the dirt road entered the main part of the small ghost town and Hermione was startled out of her daze by Dean’s shout.
“Sam!”
Hermione’s heart wept at the look of joy and relief on Dean’s face. Dean and Bobby took off running. She grabbed her wand as a large black man gained his feet behind Sam Winchester, knife in hand.
With a deafening ‘CRACK!’ she Apparated and reappeared behind Sam, facing the armed man. Her haste in Apparating caused an air displacement that knocked Sam to the ground when she reappeared. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, yet much too quickly for a defensive reaction as the knife blade sunk handle deep into her stomach. She met his startled gaze with wide eyes as he let go of the knife. He turned and ran with Bobby in hot pursuit. Strong hands gripped her shoulders as she sunk to the ground and her sight was filled with worried hazel eyes.
“That was unexpected.”
Dean let out a shocked laugh and inspected her wound. He reached for the knife but she pushed his hand away. “Don’t. It doesn’t hurt, really. Not as much as the last time someone tried to gut me. Is Sam okay?”
“Yes. You knocked him out somehow but he’s okay… thank you.” A line of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and Dean groaned. “Oh God, can you do that disappearing thing and get to a hospital?”
“Ah, well, Apparating is a bit out of my reach right now, I’m afraid.” He stroked her face and a tear rolled down his cheek. She tried to wipe it off, but left a streak of blood behind instead. “Don’t cry, your brother’s okay! I’ll be fine too. Besides, you owe me a Life Debt Dean Winchester and I aim to claim it.” She coughed and winced as sensation began returning. “Just not right now.” Hermione grabbed his hand in a surprisingly strong grip and worked the ring off of his hand. Dean was too stunned to protest as he watched her palm her wand and waved a complicated pattern over the ring, whispering “Portus” as she tapped it.
It glowed for a moment and then she put it on her thumb. “You should put me down now Dean. I don’t think you’d like it in England.”
Dean laid her down as gently as possible and barely managed to keep his mouth from hanging open as that ethereal otter she conjured earlier pranced up and put its ear to her mouth. He couldn’t hear what she told it, but it disappeared with a ‘pop’ and she groaned again. He reached for her without thinking, but she disappeared before he made contact.
“Dean! Who was that woman? And how did she disappear like that?”
Dean whipped around at the sound of his brother’s voice and pulled him into a hug.
“Dude! Breathing becoming an issue.”
Dean let him go and then ran his hands over Sam, inspecting his brother for injuries. He let out a yelp when Dean hit his arm.
“I think it’s broken. Hey! I’ve got a matched set now.” Dean pulled him into another tight hug. “Dean! Seriously dude. Who was that woman?”
“Her name is Hermione and she took a knife in the gut for you.”
Bobby walked up, wheezing with exertion. “I lost him.”
“Jake got away?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t overtake a soldier in top condition.”
“Not complaining dude. I’m kinda glad or you’d probably be a smear. Dude is wicked strong.”
Bobby looked around. “Where’s the girl?”
“She took my ring and did some kind of spell on it with her wand and then asked me to put her down, said I wouldn’t like it in England. She put on the ring and then disappeared.”
TBC...
Liked it? Hated it?
Let me know!