Fic: Making Choices (part five) - Wincest - NC-17
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage ~Lao Tzu
Mid May 1998
Dean is 19
Harry is 17
Sam is 16
Sam had been missing for almost the whole school day before the school bothered to call Bobby. Bobby had gotten Harry and Harry had panicked when he couldn’t feel Sam in the link. Soon after, Bobby got a call from John. Dean was going out of his head insisting something was wrong with Sam.
The next morning had seen John, Bobby, Dean, and Harry standing outside having a conference when an owl had shown up. Dean retrieved the note and, after Harry checked it for curses, Dad opened it.
“Damn it,” Dad cussed. “Those bastards took him.”
Dean and Harry exchanged a look. Little did they know that their nightmare was just beginning as they got in the car to follow Dad. Two days later, very tired, they pulled up in front of Nana Bishee’s house. Harry hadn’t slept much and Dean not at all. He was getting more and more frantic the longer Sam was missing.
“Where’s Sam?” were the first words out of her mouth. Dad silently showed her the paper. He still hadn’t showed it to Harry or Dean but both of them had been trying to reach Sam through their bond.
“Triad?” Bishee exclaimed out loud as she read through the letter. “How in the hells could he know that? Well, no matter now.” She looked up and her gaze focused on Harry. “Been having nightmares?”
Harry knew she was talking about those dreams, the ones that connected him with Voldemort. “A few, but nothing about Sam. He’s been very . . . uh, happy, but most of the battles seem to be going his way.”
If it could, her look would have cut him it was so sharp. “Haven’t you been practicing occlumency like I showed you?” Then her gaze swung to Dean and Harry stepped up. He wasn’t going to let Dean get blamed for any of this.
“I didn’t tell him. I didn’t tell him or Sam.”
“Why not? You are supposed to help one another.” Nana’s voice was cold.
“It’s my problem,” Harry said, really not wanting to talk about this in front of Dad or Dean.
Nana ignored how uncomfortable Harry was and pressed him. “What affects one of you affects you all, especially since you linked.” Her voice was not accusing him of anything, just stating a fact.
“Linked?” John said.
“They’ve bonded, quite tightly,” Nana told him, looking at the boys. “Have you been able to find Sam through the bond?” Dad and Nana exchanged a look that made Harry worry. “They didn’t tell you?”
Dad shook his head.
“Well, time enough to beat them once we get Sam back.”
Once Nana said it, suddenly Harry began to think that maybe they had hope. “He’s there,” Harry told them, “but we can’t reach him. It’s like he’s sleeping and we can’t wake him up.”
“Both of you tried?”
Dean and Harry nodded in sync. “Well, they were stupid enough to send a letter, so let’s see what we can find out.”
John murmured something in Nana’s ear about a gun. Nana looked up at Dad and then at the both of them before she nodded.
“Harry, you see what kind of bird delivered this?” Nana asked.
Harry and Sam had studied lists of birds that were used for deliveries and as familiars. “Eagle Owl, Nana,” he told her, and she nodded. Casting some sort of discover spell that he hadn’t learned yet, Nana studied the paper closely.
“Malfoy,” Nana concluded. “But this was too easy so they must have known we would find out. Hmmmm,” she made a thoughtful sound. “Could be a set up, possibly for Malfoy. I think we need to go to Scotland.” She looked around the room. “All of us.”
Dad gave her a look that would have made any lesser man quake. Nana just nodded. “You too, John.”
Harry watched, disbelieving, as Dad backed down and nodded. “ID?” he asked.
“Will be taken care of. Don’t worry, John, we’ll find your son. Get the gun and meet us in the living room.”
Dad nodded and headed back outside. Harry wondered what gun but soon Dad was back. Nana had Harry summon all of their luggage while she created a portkey. Harry wasn’t looking forward to portkeying, considering what happened the last time, but he trusted Bishee with his life.
He wondered how Dad and Dean, but especially Dad, was going to be able to travel this way. The way he understood it, you had to have at least a little of your own magic in order to travel by portkey. Nana directed John to hold on to Harry and she wrapped her sinewy arms around Dean. Harry felt his Dad step up to his back and he relaxed into his father when he put his arms around him. John Winchester wasn’t the most loving father but compared to what Harry had been living with before with the Dursleys, John was overly affectionate.
Sighing slightly, Harry felt safe and protected in his father’s arms and on the plus side, he shot Dean a look, he didn’t have Nana pressed up behind him. Harry and Dean reached out when Nana told them to, touching the odd walking stick and saying a word. There was a tug and then a harder tug and Harry brought his dad along with him.
Landing on the ground outside of a castle, Harry straightened his glasses and took in his surroundings. They were at the edge of a forest, very old from the feeling of it, and there was a craggy slope with a long expanse of green that ran up against the castle. Harry could see the glint that said there was water nearby but mostly he stared at the castle.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.” A very large man stepped out of the darkness behind them. “It’s closed,” he said, looking up at the castle before he examined the group. “Oh.” His eyes grew larger as he spotted Nana Bishee. Harry wondered again just who she was. “Sorry, ma’m, yer expected,” he said with an awkward bow.
“Hagrid, it’s good to see you,” Nana said warmly. “This is Harry, Dean and John.”
“Harry?” Hagrid’s eyes flew to Harry’s forehead and for the first time Harry was self-conscious of his scar. “No, yer dead.”
“Rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated,” Nana misquoted Twain and Hagrid nodded. Harry got the feeling that the giant man missed the quote reference entirely. “What ‘bout him?” Hagrid nodded at John who was staring around.
“You still have the wooden ring?” Nana asked.
“But, Muggles, only Dumbledore,” Hagrid sputtered incomprehensively to Harry.
“Trust me, it’s fine with Dumbledore.” She spoke calmly and authoritatively and the man responded to it.
“If yer sure,” he said. Nana Bishee nodded and the giant Hagrid stepped away and dug in his pockets. Finally he pulled out a large wooden ring and handed it to Nana. She motioned to John and he came to her, bitching the entire time about how much a waste this was, how they needed to find Sam, and what the hell they were going to find at a decrepit castle.
She raised her eyebrow and held her hand out. Dad finally put his hand in hers and she slid the intricately carved wooden ring on his finger. He jumped as it shrank to fit. “Now look,” she said. Dad did and his mouth fell open. He looked at Harry and Dean and then back at the castle.
“You see that?”
“Yes, they do, John. Come on, we’ve wasted enough time,” Nana said as she turned and started walking up to the castle. It made Harry wonder what Dad had seen before.
“Come on, Dad,” Harry said and followed Nana. They were met at the entrance by the oldest person Harry had ever seen and he had seen some damned old people stop by Nana’s place.
“Anne, it was good of you to come, and you bring guests,” the old man said.
“Old bastard,” muttered Nana so that Harry just heard her. “Albus, are we welcome?”
“Of course, come on in,” Albus said and Harry felt something settle on him. He looked at Dean to see if he noticed.
‘Wards,’ he mouthed to his brother, who nodded. They understood wards. A place like this had to have some pretty spectacular ones. They were led through empty halls to a statue.
“Blood Pops,” Albus said and a door opened. They walked up a spiral staircase and into a room.
“Albus Dumbledore,” the old man said, holding his hand out to Dad.
“John Winchester,” Dad said, taking the man’s hand reluctantly.
Albus turned to his brother. “You must be Dean.”
“Yeah, but how . . .?” Dean glanced at Nana, who nodded, confirming that she had spoken about them to this man.
“Harry.” Albus sounded so happy it made Harry want to smile and he didn’t even know this man. “I’m happy you are here, though I wish it were under better circumstances.” His glance might have slid to Nana and it may have only been Harry’s imagination.
“You were doing such a bang up job with him,” Nana said. It sounded like an old argument. “He was safe.”
“But everyone here assumed he was dead. They lost hope,” Albus said. “But no matter, past is past, what we need to do is for the future.”
“How can we find my son?” Dad asked, getting right to the point.
“Joanne said you needed help. She mentioned a triad.”
Nana nodded at him and Dean. “He did it so Harry would come. Sent Malfoy’s eagle owl with the message. They have had Sam for a while, Albus.”
“Cissy and Draco are out of country and Lucius is in protective custody. He turned on his former boss when he started to bring in demons.”
Nana nodded although Harry jumped at the mention of Lucius, because it had been a Lucius who had kidnapped him and taken him to that graveyard.
“So he was set up,” Dad said.
“It seems that way,” Albus said. “Now that Harry’s here we should call an Order meeting. They might have information on Sam.”
“That would be good, Albus. Maybe the boys could tour the castle,” Nana suggested, sitting in a comfortable chair that Albus conjured for her.
Albus smiled and told them Nick would be glad to show them around. He called and a ghost came out of the wall. Harry automatically reached for a shotgun that wasn’t there and Dad had his gun out. Nana snorted and told dad to put his gun away. These were different ghosts, not like the spirits that they had to lay to rest.
Albus explained that there were many ghosts around and they were a part of the defense system of Hogwarts.
Harry nodded and looked at Dean, who shrugged. They followed the ghost down the stairs and out on a tour of Hogwarts. It could have been a little better because their guide kept forgetting that they couldn’t just go through walls, but that was soon sorted out.
Watching everything, Harry caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he could only see paintings. Then someone in the painting moved. They nodded at him so he nodded back, and they smiled.
“Did you see?”
“Yeah,” Dean said. “Weird.”
They met some of the instructors who had stayed at Hogwarts. Harry wasn’t sure if they were there to be protected or if they were there to help protect. Probably some combination of the two, he figured. They were walking down a hall after they had negotiated the moving staircases, which Harry was impressed by and Dean thought was a colossal waste of time, when a small woman came out of a side door.
“Harry Potter,” she said, and then wailed and threw herself onto him, her spindly arms tangling around him.
“Sybil.” A severe voice came from behind them. “I am assuming you have a reason to be molesting this boy?”
“Severus,” the woman said, stepping back from Harry. He felt Dean brush an arm down his back to steady him.
“It’s Harry Potter,” the woman almost sobbed. “He’s come back, like Albus said he would.”
“Really?”
Harry could hear the disdain in the voice. “It’s Winchester,” Harry said, “not Potter.” He looked at the man. He was tall and had an imposing nose, with which he looked down at Harry.
“Come to save us all, have you, Potter?” The man spit the name out like poison.
Dean spoke up this time. “It’s Winchester.”
The man raised an eyebrow at Dean. “And you are?”
“Harry’s guardian,” Dean said, giving the proper name for his connection to Sam and Harry. The man raised both eyebrows. “And who the hell are you?”
The man glanced between them as if trying to gauge the truth of Dean’s statement. “Severus Snape, potion master,” he said in clipped tones.
Harry knew what it took to become a potion master. He had looked into it when he was studying and he was impressed, whether he wanted to be or not. Harry gave him a small bow and Dean looked at him like he was crazy. “Harry Winchester,” he said.
The man’s eyes searched his forehead for his scar. “Well, at least you managed not to get killed,” he said and, turning, he stalked down the hall away from them.
The skinny lady, Sybil, started to cry. “Oh, you’re going to die,” she wailed and ran back into the room that she had come out of, slamming the door. Harry exchanged a look with Dean and they both shrugged.
Nick was waiting for them to finish and led them on. They were stopped once more, this time by an older woman with black hair pulled into a tight bun on the back of her head. “Minerva McGonagall,” she introduced herself.
“Harry Winchester. This is my brother Dean.”
“Winchester,” she said. Harry could hear the question in her voice.
“Well, it used to be Potter,” he said and she nodded.
“You’ve grown up quite nicely,” she said. “I was sorry to hear about the Dursleys.” The funny thing was that she didn’t sound sorry. Harry cocked his head at her. “They really were the worst sort of Muggles but Albus insisted you would be safe there.”
“Yeah, good job with that,” Dean said, putting his hand on Harry’s shoulder. He wished he didn’t need the reassurance so badly, but he accepted it gladly.
Minerva looked at Dean for a moment, then dismissed him. Harry knew it would make Dean angry but he just put his hand on Dean’s where it rested on him, pushing calm down the bond. They had to keep their wits about them if they were going to find Sam.
A ghostly pulse ran down the hall and Minerva didn’t quite jump. “Albus called an Order meeting,” she muttered to herself. “Well, come on,” she said to Harry and Dean, “let’s go see what he wants. And so help me, if it’s to pour tea again he is getting that pot shoved . . .” Her voice trailed off as she stalked down the hall. Harry and Dean hurried to catch up with her.
“Blood Pops,” she spoke at the hidden stairs and Harry and Dean followed her upstairs into chaos.
Voices were raised. Harry could hear Dad shouting in a corner about anything meaning anything and there seemed to be a tribe of redheaded people that all talked at the same time. There was also a man with a crazy eye in the corner talking with a tall black man.
“Voldemort,” Albus said and it was as if someone had cast a silencing spell. Everyone turned and looked at the old man. “We are all here because of him. Report.”
The black man spoke authoritatively. “Someone has been making themselves at home at Malfoy manor. Malfoy assures us that there are blood wards, which means either they have Draco and Narcissa prisoners or that they are voluntarily back. I don’t think that’s likely.”
“Thank you, Kingsley,” Albus said and nodded at the next person.
“The goblins still call neutrality. I tried to sway them but, honestly, I don’t think if Harry Potter were here that they would join our cause.” One of the redheads spoke; he had a pony tail and an earring and under other circumstances Harry would have probably found him attractive but he was focused on finding Sam. It was like a beat in his head. He was pretty sure it came from Dean. Find Sam. They needed to find Sam.
The man in the corner spoke up. “What about the centaurs?”
“We can have some of the older mares and stallions but they require enough in reserve to protect the colts,” the big man, Hagrid, spoke.
“Hagrid, get together with Moody and figure out numbers,” Albus said into the silence that followed the giant’s speech. “Following on that good news, Harry has come home, bringing allies.” The old man seemed to wait until his words would have the biggest effect; a thought that was only made stronger when Albus winked at him.
The room erupted in noise again, then it settled down as people started to look around and focused on Harry, Dean and John.
“We are not here for your war.”
Everyone in the room looked at John. “We are here for my son. So tell me you have a clue where he is and we will take it from there.”
“Of course, Mr. Winchester, but we will need to organize and gather information to make sure we are sending you into the right place. It’s not like we have just been sitting on our hands since the man returned from the dead three years ago.”
“You are certain that this guy, this Voldemort, took my son?” Dad ignored the gasps in the room.
“Not directly, but he was behind it,” Albus said.
“Fine. Organize, gather, and hurry the hell up, because that bastard has got my son. Another of my sons,” Dad said, looking at Harry. “And I have had enough.”
“Of course.” Albus steepled his fingers together as he nodded at Dad. “Molly could take your boys back to her house. They will be safe, I promise. We could finish up here and we could all meet later when we have a plan, if you approve.” The man nodded at one of the redheads. Harry assumed the older woman was Molly. Harry could appreciate Albus trying to make some kind of peace with Dad.
John looked at Dean and Harry felt his hand taken in Dean’s warm grip. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dean shrug. No matter where they went, they’d be together.
“But surely the older one can stay here,” Molly said, and Harry tightened his grip on Dean.
“They are bonded,” Albus said, even though they hadn’t mentioned the bond to him. “He’s Harry’s guardian, Harry and Sam’s.”
“Well then.” Molly seemed a bit taken aback. “They certainly do things odd in the states. No offense, Madam.” Molly said the last directed at Nana with a little curtsy.
Nana played it off like the whole thing was her idea without actually saying so. Harry was relieved they wouldn’t have to hide that they were bonded. He gave Nana a small smile in thanks.
Technically, they should have all been at least seventeen before bonding fully but Sam and Dean had bonded on a basic level when Sam had been a baby. Harry had been added in and had made his own kind of subconscious bond with Dean and Sam, too. So when Sam had done the tracking charm, he had done more than light up the night. He had bonded them, almost like a marriage. Harry had had lots of time for research in the car, with nothing better to do other than worry about Sam and try to find him down their link.
Hours later, Harry and Dean were happy to be leaving the Weasleys. They were mostly boys, but there was this girl who kept following him around. Loud and overwhelming was Harry’s first impression. They kept trying to separate Dean and him. He understood why. They wanted to talk to him and make sure he wasn’t being influenced by the Winchesters. However, with Sam missing, neither Harry nor Dean really wanted to be out of each other’s sight.
One of the boys, Ron, was around his age. When Harry introduced himself as Harry Winchester the boy had nodded and been nice enough. But then he saw Harry’s scar and his eyes went huge. “Potter,” he said. “But you’re dead.”
“Yeah, so I’ve been told.” Harry didn’t deny he was Potter. “This is my brother and my guardian.” He wanted to be clear on what Dean’s position was in their society. As guardian, even though Dean hardly had enough magic in him to count, it put him in a pretty good position to be respected and listened to.
“Ron?” A young woman with bushy hair walked down the stairs. “I . . . oh, hello,” she greeted Harry and Dean. “I’m Hermione,” she said, holding her hand out.
“Hermione, this is Harry and Dean. They’re here to help with the battle,” Ron told the girl.
“Not really,” Harry said. “We’re here to get my brother.”
“Oh, you’re American,” Hermione said. “What happened to your brother?”
“He was kidnapped,” Dean spoke up. “My dad is working with your group, your Order, on how to get him back.”
“Dean, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know they were operating on the other side of the pond yet. I thought that Voldemort would consolidate his power here before moving out.” Hermione’s words brought gasps from some of her audience.
“They took him because of me,” Harry admitted. Dean made a kind of negating noise but Harry ignored him. He pulled his hair back from his forehead. “Apparently, there is some prophesy about the two of us.”
Hermione snorted dismissively. “Most prophesies aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.”
“Yeah, well, apparently he believes it. He killed my family and tried to kill me because of it.”
“He killed my family, too, but not for anything as nice as a prophesy. Just because they dared to bring me into the world. Two Muggles having a mudblood daughter.” Her voice cracked a little bit and Ginny got up and went to her, whispering in her ear.
“Well Harry, Dean, I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure but, I rarely lie. I hope you find your brother and I really hope that if you get the chance, you will please take that bastard out.” She turned and Ginny followed her up the stairs.
“It happened over Christmas, she was staying here and there were a bunch of attacks on Muggleborns and their families. She near went mental when she heard, thought that if she’d been there she could have stopped it,” Ron told them after they went back into the living room. “It’s stupid, all she could have done was die. But it was family so I understand.”
Harry and Dean both nodded. Family was everything to them.
“Do you think he’s still alive?” Ron asked.
“Ronald Weasley, what kind of question is that?” Molly asked as she walked back into the room.
“It’s okay, it’s a valid one,” Harry said. “Yes, he’s still alive. I can feel him, and so can Dean. We just can’t find him.”
Ron nodded and held his hand out to Harry. The other wizard shook it. “Looks like it’s time for you to go. Good luck finding your brother.” Harry wondered, if things had been different, would they have been friends.
Harry said thanks and then followed Molly into the kitchen. She showed him and Dean an address on a piece of paper and then pushed them toward the fireplace. “Just say Order of the Phoenix and you’ll get there.” She tossed a handful of powder on the fire.
Dean went in first with Harry right behind him. Molly did try to say something to him but he wasn’t about to leave Dean alone at some strange place.
Tumbling out of the fire place, he was surprised to see someone he knew. Sirius.
“Here, let me help you up, and welcome to my house.”
Harry looked around. It was dark and gloomy. Then someone started screaming in the hallway. Darting out, he found Dean listening to a picture that screamed horrible things at him.
“Oh you think so?” Dean responded to some screamed question.
“Just ignore her,” Sirius said from behind Harry. “She was a stupid, prejudiced old woman when that was painted.” He reached up and closed a curtain that, while it didn’t silence her, muted her somewhat. “That’s my mum,” he said sarcastically.
Dean turned and gave Sirius a look, not quite not threatening but not overtly hostile. “Where’s Sam?”
“Let’s go to the kitchen. Everyone should be there.”
The kitchen seemed to be in the basement, since they went down stairs past the front door to reach it. Harry reached out and touched Dean, just a hand pressed against his shoulder, but it was something Harry needed. Everything was happening so fast, all these people seemed to have expectations of him, and his head was spinning. Dean placed a warm hand on his and it helped.
Filing into the kitchen, Harry saw chaos. There were people in groups gathered around the table. Everyone was talking and, as far as he could tell, no one was listening. He could hear his dad from somewhere in the back of the kitchen arguing about something again, or perhaps still.
Albus cleared his throat and then he did it again before finally everyone settled down.
“Report,” Albus said.
“There is definite activity at Malfoy mansion,” a pretty, pink-haired girl spoke up.
“And Lucius is still in protective custody. We even checked for Polyjuice,” the old man with the whirling eye said.
“Any proof that they have taken a captive there?” Dad asked.
Albus answered. “Well, except for the fact that the activity began around the same time your son was taken, no.”
“So it might be a trap,” Dad snapped.
“Oh, it’s definitely a trap,” Severus Snape spoke up from somewhere nearby. “You just have to make sure it’s sprung and that you are not inside it.”
Dad looked across the room at Harry and Dean, who both nodded. They wanted to, they had to get to Sam as soon as they could.
“They’re bonded right? Guardian bond? Can’t we trace it somehow and make sure?” Minerva spoke from where she sat near Albus.
Again everyone in the room turned to look at them. “They said but I would hardly credit it.” Snape sounded dismissive.
“Guardian bond and more, or do you want to question me, too?” Nana Bishee spoke from Dad’s side. “Now, enough of this nonsense. Do you have a way to trace it that would be undetectable?”
Harry wondered what was so damn special about their bond. He had read about them in books, which meant that others had had them, too. Maybe he would find out later. Everyone was looking at Nana like a deer in the headlights. Under any other circumstances, Harry would have laughed.
“If we could get near to where he is we might be able to contact him. We should be able to contact him. We know he’s alive.” Harry spoke into the silence.
“You think,” someone commented.
“We know,” Dean said threateningly.
“I could get you close, but you might spring the trap,” Severus warned them.
“Don’t worry, we’re ready if that happens,” Dad said and Harry shot him a smile and was relieved when he got a nod in return.
“Severus, you know how to contact us,” Albus said solemnly.
“You are not going to let Severus take Harry there,” Sirius’s voice rang out. “He’s not to be trusted.”
“I could say the same thing about you, mutt,” Severus responded and Harry could see Dad nodding. “Who was the idiot who led them to Potter in the first place?”
Sirius’s mouth just opened and shut, and an older man in a rumpled suit put his hand on Sirius’s shoulder and pulled him close to whisper in his ear. “That was low Severus,” the man said quietly.
“But true,” Severus said. “Come on. If we are going to do this we should just do it.”
Harry nodded and he and Dean headed back upstairs to the parlor, passing the still mumbling portrait. He knew there were arguments flying fast and furious behind them but he also knew he was going to save Sam. They had to.
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