January Girl - Part Four

[parenthetical]

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Part Four

Dean downed three shots in a row to take the edge off, and tried to block out the memory of the ground falling away beneath him, only a broomstick - a screwy broomstick, at that - between him and splatitude.

There was not enough alcohol in the world to convince him to ever try that again.

He took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. There was no way he'd manage to earn a decent amount at pool if he kept thinking about the whole flying thing. Steady hands were pretty much essential.

He downed another shot for luck before heading over to the pool tables.

When he finally emerged from the stuffy heat of the bar into the cool night air, Luna was lying stretched out on top of the Impala.

Dean had to stop and stare for a moment, because, okay, hot blonde chick spread out across his car? That ranked pretty high on his list of all-time-great fantasies. Admittedly, he'd never pictured the chick in question apparently whispering to the car, but this was Luna, after all. He shouldn't have expected anything else.

Luna looked up and smiled at him, and Dean found himself walking across the parking lot toward her without much in the way of conscious thought. The moonlight made her look paler than usual, but Dean had never been so aware that she was pretty, in her own way.

"I've been getting to know your car better," Luna informed him, running one hand across the hood in a way that would have had Dean snapping at her about fingerprint marks if it hadn't been so hot. He reminded himself that Luna was a couple of years younger than him, and didn't seem... Well, there was something innocent about her. He shouldn't be reading anything into the situation.

"I see that," he said finally. "I hope she didn't talk back, I'm not sure I've got enough holy water on hand for a full-on car exorcism."

Luna smiled at him. "There's more than one way to communicate." She shifted slightly to make room for him, and after a moment of hesitation Dean hopped up beside her, leaning back on his elbows.

"So what was she telling you?" he asked.

"Oh," Luna said dreamily, "mostly about what it's like, being a car. And about you."

Dean turned his head to look at her. "Yeah? What did she tell you about me?"

"That you take good care of her," Luna said. "She cares about you."

The conversation was completely ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the flush of warmth that Dean felt when she said that. He knew better than to buy into Luna's craziness, but...

"And I was telling her about taking you flying," Luna added as an afterthought. "I think she found it interesting."

Dean choked at the memory and wished for more alcohol. "Don't go giving her any ideas," he said firmly.

Luna laughed, soft and delighted, and Dean found he was grinning despite himself.

"You care about her too," Luna said finally. She turned onto her side to face him, one hand propping up her head, the other stroking delicately over the hood between them.

"Yeah, well," Dean said. He felt a bit embarrassed, but Luna's gaze was warm and undemanding. "She's always been there. We moved around a lot while I was growing up; the car was the one thing that never changed."

Luna smiled at him. "She's beautiful."

"Damn right," Dean agreed, warming to the topic. "Do you know her engine's -"

He was cut off by Luna leaning over and pressing her lips to his.

It was a moment before he managed to change gear and catch up. He'd done a good enough job of convincing himself that she was sweet and innocent and, okay, slightly crazy, but probably all the more virginal for that, that it was a shock to find he'd misjudged.

If the way she was sliding across to lie on top of him was any indication, pressing him back against the hood, he'd misjudged badly.

Not that he was complaining.

He kissed her back, finally, reaching up to push her hair out of her face when it tumbled down around them, hiding the parking lot from view. Luna's lips were almost thoughtful against his, slow and unhurried and experimental, trying out different angles and changes in pressure, and it was good, better than Dean had let himself imagine.

"What were you drinking?" Luna asked, raising her head as if there was nothing at all unusual about the situation. "You don't taste like whiskey."

Dean couldn't help but laugh. "No, I did shots called Purple Nurples. No whiskey in them."

Luna studied him thoughtfully. "They were purple? Yes, that fits," she added, almost to herself. "You taste purple."

"Is that a good thing?" Dean asked, though the fact that Luna was still lying on top of him made him think it couldn't be too bad.

"I like purple," Luna said simply, and pressed her lips to his again.

Dean grinned into the kiss and pulled her closer, trailing a hand down her back to settle on her hip.

By the time they resurfaced from that kiss, Dean was nearly ready to ask her to use magic to teleport them back to the motel room, or at least make them invisible. He was saved from going down that route by Luna sliding off him - pressing against as much of his body as she could in the process - and down onto the ground.

"We should go back," she said. For a moment Dean wondered if he'd done something wrong, if he'd misread the situation, but then she added, "Sex outdoors isn't really all it's cracked up to be."

Dean was shocked into a laugh, and climbed off the car to pull her into a last kiss before he got behind the wheel.

It turned out Luna was full of slightly weird and crazy ideas in any situation. And for once, Dean really appreciated that.

Lying in bed with her afterwards, Dean decided that although he still found Luna Lovegood's last name hilarious, it was good to know that she'd at least come by it honestly.

~*~
"So, San Francisco's next on the list?" Dean asked the next morning as they climbed into the car.

Luna shrugged. "Neville said somewhere near there."

Dean frowned. "It's a big city. Isn't there any way to narrow it down? Somebody's got to know where whatever we're looking for is. Didn't one team go there already?"

"Yes," Luna said, "Zacharias and Parvati. But I don't know exactly where their Portkey took them. They must have run into something, though, or they would have checked in long before now."

"Right," Dean decided. "How about you track down whatever place is wizard central is San Francisco, and we double-check they still haven't been heard from. And if not, we can get someone to tell us exactly where they landed so we can go check it out. Sound like a plan?"

"It does sound like a plan," Luna agreed. "A good one, even." As Dean started the engine, she leaned forward and began rummaging through the box of tapes, a fascinated expression on her face.

"Do you have the same music as us?" Dean asked, suddenly curious. A world without Led Zeppelin was a truly terrifying concept.

"Not really," Luna said absently. "There are wizarding bands and singers. But there's some overlap - some of them make music in the Muggle world, too. And wizards who come from a Muggle background bring their music with them, of course, so we're not entirely unfamiliar with your bands."

"Huh," Dean said. The thought of some musicians and bands actually having magic powers was weird. He tried to think who might be candidates. Maybe that singer Sammy had been obsessed with a while back, claiming she'd been possessed by some kind of sex demon. (Personally, Dean had figured his kid brother was just starting to appreciate the wonders of the female body, but who knew?) Or more likely all those weirdo chicks Sammy used to listen to all the time, like -

"Can we listen to this?" Luna asked.

"Sure," Dean said, before realizing she was holding up one of the tapes Sammy had made way back. "Oh, wait, no -"

It was too late: Luna had already slipped it into the tape deck, and the sound of some chick playing piano filled the car. Dean gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to take the tape straight back out.

Having Luna around the past few days had been a good distraction. But the truth was, sometimes Dean missed his kid brother so much it hurt.

If Sam had been there, Dean would have been bitching about the music and how crazy the singer clearly was, going on about being a tree and having leaves and what the fuck ever. And Sam would have been bitching back about how Dean never let him enjoy his music in peace, and it was a metaphor, Dean, for what humanity was doing to the environment, and going on and on about how deep and meaningful it all was -

"It must have been interesting, turning into a tree," Luna observed dreamily. "No wonder she wrote a song about it."

Caught off-guard, Dean couldn't help but laugh, his darker thoughts giving way to amusement. "I have got to introduce you to my brother some day."

"Did he turn into a tree?" Luna inquired.

"Not that I know of," Dean said. "Then again, it might explain a thing or two - the kid just shot up one day, he's taller than me now. But yeah, I think listening to the two of you talking about music might be hilarious."

"It would be nice to meet him," Luna said, and added thoughtfully, "I think I'd like to turn into a weeping willow tree, personally. Though I imagine that's hard on your back."

Dean laughed again, and decided going back to California wasn't going to be as bad as he'd thought.

~*~
The wizarding community in San Francisco was apparently huge. Dean guessed he shouldn't really have been surprised. It seemed like the kind of place.

He'd put his foot down and refused to let Luna dress him up in robes this time; Luna had simply laughed and tried to convince him to wear a hat anyway. She could be damn convincing when she kissed him, but Dean had stood firm. There was no goddamn way he was going to put on a pointy hat again, and particularly not when he was in the same state as Sam.

Luna seemed subdued once they were on the main wizarding street, wandering along looking for the post office. Dean remembered now that she'd looked a little odd in Boise, too. He hadn't felt like he'd known her well enough to ask, back then.

Even though it had only been a day or two, though, they'd gotten to know each other better now: well enough for him to reach out and take her hand. "What's wrong?"

Luna blinked at him and opened her mouth, then closed it again when he gave her a look warning her not to try bullshitting him this time. Finally she said, "It's just odd, seeing this place. In Britain the war's been going on so long that our streets don't look like this anymore. Seeing all these people just going about their lives..."

Dean put an arm around her. "Let's find this place, then, and see if we can end it as soon as possible."

Luna gave him a grateful smile.

They found the post office eventually, and went through the same routine as before to get a private room with a fireplace.

"Luna!" the face that finally appeared in the embers exclaimed. "Hang on, Hermione's here, we've been waiting for you to get in touch again - just let me fetch her."

"Okay, Neville," Luna said, and settled into a more comfortable sitting position, holding out a hand for Dean to join her.

"Who's Hermione?" Dean asked her quietly, sitting down beside her.

"A friend," Luna said. "She's one of Harry's best friends - she went underground with him when the Dark Lord started taking over. She was involved in tracking down this Horcrux, so she should be able to tell us where the third team went."

"Luna, thank goodness you're okay," a new voice said, and Dean turned his attention to the woman's face taking shape in the flames. He could see Neville's head in the background, and wondered what his own face looked like to them. Sometimes the magic thing really was disturbing.

"Thank you, Hermione," Luna said. "How is Hannah? And - and Ernie?"

Hermione's mouth twisted. "Hannah's fine," she said reassuringly. "We were able to reverse it, she's recovering. Ernie... well, you know what happened to him. He's being cared for."

Luna sighed and nodded. "I'm glad Hannah's okay."

"And Ginny's doing better too," Hermione added. "She's been asking after you."

Luna smiled. "Please tell her to look after herself. And I'll bring her wand back with me."

"I will," Hermione promised. She turned her gaze on Dean, and he tried not to flinch at being stared at by two pieces of coal. "Who is this?"

"This is Dean," Luna said. "He saved my life when Ginny and I were attacked, and he's been helping me since then."

"You're an American wizard?" Hermione asked, sounding interested.

"American, yes, wizard, no," Dean told her, refusing to feel in any way defensive about it. "I save my magic for... other areas." He waggled his eyebrows at Luna, who laughed at him.

Hermione was frowning now. "Luna, I'm not sure it was wise to bring someone else into this. Let alone someone who can't protect himself -"

"Whoa there," Dean interrupted, suddenly annoyed. "You don't know a goddamn thing about me, sweetheart. Trust me, I can protect myself just fine -"

Luna touched his arm to quieten him. "Hermione, I trust Dean," she said calmly. "He can defend himself - he saved my life. He already knew about magic. He's helped me a great deal, and he understands the risks. It's our decision."

That seemed to stop Hermione; she blinked as if, Dean thought, she wasn't used to Luna speaking so plainly. "Okay," she said after a moment. "Just - be careful."

"Have you heard from Zacharias or Parvati?" Luna asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No. We have to assume they ran into trouble."

"Where exactly did you send them?" Dean put in.

Hermione looked at him warily, but answered the question. "We found out that the Lestranges have a house somewhere in the San Francisco area, but we couldn't pin down an exact location for it - the other two were easier to track. So the Portkeys were programed to take them to a position one hundred feet from the most powerful source of dark magic in the city: we hoped that would be the house, but far enough away that they wouldn't be discovered immediately." She looked weary and almost guilty. "We may have misjudged."

"We don't know that, Hermione," Luna said gently. "Dean and I will find them."

Hermione looked very much like she wanted to protest again, but after a moment she simply nodded. "I hope so. We'd like to send more people out to help you, but it's going to take a few more days for us to program new Portkeys. If it looks like there's going to be trouble, though, wait for us - don't go rushing into something you can't handle."

Dean would have been offended by her estimation of their abilities if it hadn't been for the genuine concern in her voice.

Luna simply smiled. "We'll be careful. And we should go, this isn't safe for you, either. Give Harry my love when you see him."

Hermione smiled back warmly. "I will, Luna. Contact us again soon."

"Take care, Luna!" Neville called from behind her, and then their faces faded away, leaving only the fire.

~*~
Dean stared at the house doubtfully. "What do you think?" he asked Luna, without looking away from it. From the outside, it looked like a normal house, but their research had shown that a suspicious number of people had disappeared nearby.

"There's dark magic there, I can feel it," Luna said slowly. "Strong enough that I can believe this is where the Portkey took them."

"But?" Dean prompted.

"But I would have expected it to be better hidden, particularly since it's in the middle of the Muggle city," Luna admitted. "Protected by a Secret Keeper, possibly, or at least with charms to keep Muggles from noticing it."

"Yeah," Dean agreed. He might not know anything about the magical mechanics involved, but he knew to be suspicious of anything that was that easy to find. "We're going to walk in there anyway, aren't we?"

"Unless you'd rather fly," Luna agreed innocently.

Dean shot her a dark look, and Luna smiled and took his hand, leading the way across the street. "It could be deliberate," she added thoughtfully. "Perhaps it gives them easy access to Muggles, for some reason."

"Like... torturing and killing them?" Dean asked.

"Something like that," Luna agreed, and pulled her wand out of her hair, turning her attention to the front door. "Shall we?

"That sounds promising," Dean said sarcastically, and took her hand. They stepped forward together, and Dean realized immediately that they'd made a mistake. Magic tugged at him sharply, and the world fell away around him -

- and reappeared, but different from before.

They were on their knees on a stone floor, and when Dean looked up, dizzily, the walls were stone too. Wherever they were, it was dimly lit. And ominously dungeon-like, judging by the heavy metal doors set into the walls.

"Take this," Luna hissed, pushing something into his hands.

Dean focused, and realized it was her wand. "What? No, you -"

"It's Ginny's," Luna explained, quiet and rushed. "Whatever you do, don't let them know you're not a wizard. Please, Dean."

Dean was still trying to catch up, but he took the wand obediently. "Where are we? The place we were really looking for, I guess?"

"I think so," Luna said, and got to her feet, her wand in her hand. "The house was a decoy, a trap to bring us here."

Dean forced himself to his feet too. "Awesome." He looked around warily, and wasn't surprised when two dark-robed figures came through the nearest door.

Luna didn't waste any time on talking, just cast a spell, red light flashing from her wand and speeding towards them. But the nearest of the two figures deflected it with apparent ease, and before Dean knew it, the wand was sailing out of Luna's hand. The one that she'd given him was jerked out of his hand by some invisible force a moment later, flying into the hands of one of the dark-robed wizards.

"They sent a little girl like you?" one of the figures sneered at Luna. He turned scornful eyes on Dean. "And you, you're a Mudblood, aren't you? Just look at the way you're dressed. I can always tell." He took a step forward, leaning in almost confidingly. "I could smell the stench of your blood from the other side of the room."

"Too bad I couldn't smell yours over the stench of your -" Dean began.

Luna took hold of his arm, squeezing to silence him. "He's not what you think - it's just that he's a Muggle lover." She darted a quick, warm glance at him, her eyes dancing at the pun despite the gravity of the situation, and Dean relaxed a little, thinking If they only knew.

"That won't save either of you," the other wizard said ominously, and opened a heavy metal door to one of the cells. "Get in, both of you."

Luna smiled at the wizard and led the way inside, looking around with interest, for all the world as if they'd invited her in for tea. Dean stayed close beside her, studying the thick stone walls, already pretty certain they wouldn't be able to get through them.

The door was closed behind them, and Dean heard one of the men murmur something - presumably a locking charm, since they hadn't bothered to use a key - before footsteps receded out of earshot.

"Well, that went well," Dean said sarcastically.

Luna sat down cross-legged on the stone floor. "I thought so," she agreed, sounding as if she meant it.

Since she didn't seem concerned, or indeed in any way unhappy about being magically locked in a cold, empty cell by evil wizards, Dean decided to take it easy for now. Luna had her weird side, but she was plenty smart; if she wasn't bothered, maybe it was because there was nothing to be worried about.

Personally, Dean was a bit worried about being locked in a cell by evil wizards, but what the hell did he know.

"Never thought I'd see the day a police cell would seem like luxury quarters," he said, sitting down and leaning against the wall.

"Police?" Luna asked.

"You don't have - wow," Dean said, struck by the possibilities. "They try to stop people from breaking the law, and catch people who do."

"Oh, yes," Luna said. "We have something similar, though with a different name. Have you spent much time in cells?"

Dean wondered if she was the only woman in the world who could ask that question with genuine interest and a complete lack of censure.

"A bit," he admitted. "Sometimes you have to break a few laws, in my job. And when you're constantly going places where people have died under mysterious circumstances... well, there are bound to be a few misunderstandings."

Luna nodded. "I was taken hostage and held in some dungeons once," she said matter-of-factly. "It wasn't so bad, though."

"Did you escape?" Dean asked.

"I was rescued," Luna said. "Harry and Hermione and Ron found me."

Dean looked at her. "Is that the plan here, too? Wait for someone to come rescue us?"

"Oh, no," Luna said in surprise. "I was planning to leave in a few minutes, once the Death Eaters are definitely out of hearing range. You can stay here and wait if you like, though, I don't mind."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, much as I'm enjoying the peace and quiet, I think I'll pass. How are you planning to get us out of here? You got another wand up your sleeve?"

Luna smiled at him. "You said you sometimes have to break the law, in your job. Doesn't that also include breaking into - or in this case out of - places that are locked?"

Dean stared at her. "You want me to pick the lock? But it - I mean, they put a spell on it!"

"Just a basic locking charm," Luna assured him. "It's like using a key. Whatever you normally do should work."

"...Huh," Dean said, and pulled out his lockpicks.

A few seconds later, the door swung open, and Dean grinned at Luna broadly, pulling her to her feet for a quick kiss. "That why you didn't want them to know I'm not a wizard?" he asked, leading the way back out into the corridor.

"Well, that and I didn't want them to torture and kill you," Luna said matter-of-factly.

"Good reason," Dean agreed.

"And they didn't bother to search you for another weapon," Luna added. "So at least one of us is armed."

Dean drew out his gun, appreciating that too. "Awesome. So, what, now we go kick their asses?"

"I'd like to check the rest of the cells first, in case Zacharias and Parvati are here," Luna said. "If you don't mind working your magic some more."

It didn't take a lot of trial and error: only one of the cells turned out to be locked, and Dean was pleased to find he could pick the lock just as quickly. It was good to know that ordinary means could trump magical in this case at least.

"Luna?" two shocked voices said from inside.

"Hello Parvati, hello Zacharias," Luna said. "We thought you might want to get out of there."

Parvati was a pretty but worn-looking girl, about the same age as Luna, or maybe a little older. Zacharias was around the same age, blond and angular, and staring at Luna with a near-offensive expression of incredulity as he levered himself to his feet.

"This is Dean," Luna added by way of explanation, holding the cell door open for them. "He's not an artist, but he's very good at sex."

Dean had almost been around Luna long enough now not to be surprised. "Hell yeah," he agreed simply, grinning as the other two choked. Parvati recovered quickly to give him an arch look and a suggestive smile, while Zacharias rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"It's just us," Luna said. "The others are back in Britain. They're going to make more Portkeys and come out, but it might take a day or two. We could hang around here until then if you really want, but I'm not sure it'll be that much fun."

"Just you?" Parvati said in surprise. "Ginny?"

"She was injured," Luna said. Her tone was light, but short. "Hermione and Neville tell me she's doing better."

"So this is it?" Zacharias said. "Oh, great. Do you still have your wands, at least?"

"The Death Eaters took them," Luna said unconcernedly.

"Then how did you open the cell door?" Parvati asked.

"Muggle magic," Luna said happily. "Dean did it."

"Picked the lock, it was easy," Dean agreed.

Parvati's eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh. Oh, I see - you're a Muggle! Sorry, I just assumed you must be a wizard."

"A Muggle? Really?" Zacharias said in surprise, looking him over again. "How did you get mixed up in this, then?"

"I ran into Luna, what can I say," Dean said.

Parvati said, "Look, we should move before the Death Eaters come back down here. There'll be time to get to know Dean better later on." She smiled at him to show she meant no offense, and Dean nodded in understanding. "Do you know where we are?"

"The house we were Portkeyed to must have had a trap, when we tried to go inside we were Portkeyed straight into these dungeons," Zacharias said.

"It was the same for us," Luna said. "We could be anywhere."

"Great," Zacharias said again in disgust. "Nothing for it other than to get out of these dungeons and look around, then - try to find our wands and our Portkeys. Let's go."

Dean wasn't exactly keen on Zacharias issuing orders, but they made sense, so he went along for now, staying close to Luna and keeping his gun at the ready.

The doorway the Death Eaters had come through before led out onto a stone stairwell, stretching up. Zacharias led the way, looking around carefully. One flight up, they found a heavy wooden door, leading off onto what Dean guessed must be the first floor, before the stairs continued on up.

Dean craned his head back and studied the stairs. At least three floors, he was guessing. Why couldn't it ever be a goddamn bungalow he had to search?

"We should split up to cover the ground more quickly," Zacharias said.

"Dean is the only one who's armed," Luna pointed out absently, sounding as if she was only half-listening.

Parvati nodded in agreement. "She's right, Zach - it makes more sense for us to stick together."

"And you think there's any way the four of us blundering around here together is going to go unnoticed?" Zacharias said.

Dean was starting to wish he and Luna had left them locked up while they dealt with things. It was only now that he was fully appreciating how smoothly they'd managed to work together so far.

"Let's check out this floor together," he suggested. "It should give us a better idea of where we are and what the layout of this place is like. And then we can figure out if it makes sense to split up."

Zacharias gave him a somewhat disparaging look, but Luna smiled and said breezily, "That's settled, then," and pulled the door open, effectively cutting off the discussion by forcing them all to adopt defensive positions up against the walls.

Luna had stuck her head through the cracked door and reported softly, "It's another hallway, stone, four or five doors leading off it. One is open down on the left, I can see a little bit of what looks like a grand entry hall through it. Stairs leading up. I can't see anyone, but it doesn't feel empty."

They struck it lucky, in the end: the third room they checked turned out to have their wands stored in a magical safe. The lock was even easier for Dean to pick than those of the cell doors in the dungeons. Luna handed Ginny's wand back to him, and Dean accepted it, even though he couldn't use it, remembering what she'd told him about not letting the Death Eaters realize he wasn't a wizard.

"Right, we should split up," Zacharias said, looking far more confident now he had his wand back. "Search for the Horcrux, and our Portkeys. Shame they aren't here too."

"Things are never that easy," Parvati told him, her mouth quirking.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Luna asked dreamily, looking around in a way that suggested she was paying only a minimum of attention to the conversation.

Zacharias shot her an irritated look, and yeah, okay, Dean could totally see why Luna did it. Mostly it was just how she was - she seemed to come at reality from a different angle than anyone else he'd ever known - but at least a tiny part had to be to confound the people around her. And Dean knew all about that.

"Groups," Zacharias continued. "I think... Dean, isn't it? Dean should go with either Parvati or myself -"

"What?" Dean interrupted. "Why?"

"You can't do magic," Zacharias said reasonably. "And we're going up against Death Eaters, so you should be with someone who... well, you know."

"No, I really don't," Dean said without taking his eyes off him. "Why don't you just say whatever it is you're trying to say?"

"It doesn't matter, Dean," Luna said softly, touching his arm. Dean didn't shake her off, but he didn't look away from Zacharias, either.

"It's just that Luna has a somewhat... unusual approach to fighting, that's all," Zacharias said awkwardly. "I mean, obviously you've no way of knowing, as a Muggle, and especially she was your first introduction to the wizarding world, but we're not all like Luna -"

"Too bad," Dean said flatly, and took a step back before he could lose his temper and punch the bastard. "Take the next floor up, Luna and I'll take the one above."

"Come on, Zach," Parvati said hastily, pushing him towards the door. She hesitated in the doorway, turning back to say, "I'm sorry, Luna, he didn't mean that the way it sounded -"

"I understand what he meant," Luna said calmly.

Dean noticed that she didn't specify which interpretation, but Parvati didn't seem to. "Good," she said in relief, flashed them a smile and disappeared out the door.

"I'm going to end up shooting him before we get out of here," Dean muttered, deciding to stay where they were for a few minutes to let Zacharias and Parvati get out of range.

Luna gave him an odd smile. "You shouldn't take it to heart too much."

"The hell I shouldn't," Dean said, suddenly furious again. "What fucking right does he have to say something like that?"

Luna was wandering around the room, staring at the contents as if far more fascinated by the admittedly disturbing carvings on the desk than the conversation. "I've always been different. I believe in things the others don't, and they find that odd. When we started school, I was the only one who could see the thestrals that pulled our carriages - everyone else thought they powered themselves." She smiled. "People thought I was mad - Loony Luna, they called me. I never really minded."

Dean didn't know what to say. You should have done? You still should?

"My mother invented new spells, and my dad researched creatures no one else believed in, so I grew up knowing there was more out there than people knew," Luna said. "Most people only seem to believe the most obvious things in front of their eyes."

Dean knew all about that. He never failed to be amazed at the kinds of implausible explanations people could come up with if it meant not having to believe in the supernatural. From the outside, it was almost impressive. And he knew a thing or two about how that knowledge could separate you off, too.

"So what the hell was he talking about, about you fighting?" he asked finally. "You seemed to be handling the Death Eaters just fine when I first met you."

"With a little help from you," Luna said with a smile. "It's that I don't fight to kill, really." She stopped wandering and turned to look at him. "The Killing Curse is one of the Unforgivable Curses. When the war started, people started to learn it, and use it. But I haven't."

Dean nodded, slowly, thinking of his own determination not to shoot to kill, not when it came to people rather than supernatural creatures. "That's not something anyone should criticize you for."

Luna tilted her head to one side. "The war's been going on for a long time now. A lot of people are doing things they wouldn't have ever considered once. But there's a reason the Killing Curse is considered Unforgivable. And once you start, it becomes easier and easier to use it without ever considering the alternatives." She smiled again. "I have something of a reputation for using odd curses, sometimes even childish ones, rather than the ones people expect. I suppose I just think differently to other people. But it's possible to win a fight without killing your opponent. It makes other people nervous, though."

Dean didn't say anything, just crossed the room and kissed her, hard and determined, enjoying the way her breath caught before she kissed him back.

Her eyes were sparkling when they finally pulled back, and Dean wanted to tell her - that she was awesome, not to listen to anyone who told her otherwise. It seemed almost offensive, though. Luna was her own person, and didn't seem inclined to let anyone else's views influence hers. It wasn't his place to approve or disapprove of her attitudes.

Instead, he just said, "Maybe we should go now."

Luna laughed softly. "Probably." She turned and led the way to the door.

~*~
The floor they were checking out was high enough that Dean got a good view from the windows.

"I think we're on an island," he hissed to Luna. They were keeping their voices down because they'd spotted Death Eaters a few rooms back, and he wasn't in a hurry to run into them for real.

"I like islands," Luna said, standing beside him to look out the window. "This must be quite a large one, though."

Dean nodded, staring out at where the land gave way to the sea, and wondering with a growing sense of resignation how the hell they were going to get back off the island.

If Luna pulled out that damn broomstick again, he was going to hit her over the head with it.

They went back to searching the room, but Dean was already pretty sure they weren't going to find the Horcrux there, or the Portkey amulets that had been taken from Zacharias and Parvati.

Suddenly there was a rush of activity outside, footsteps moving past and towards the stairs. Dean and Luna both froze, listening, holding each other's gaze. "You think they found the others?" Dean asked quietly, when he was reasonably sure no one was about to overhear him.

Luna's eyes were distant as she thought. "I don't think so. We'd have heard shouting if they had, I think. This is something else."

"Do we check it out? Or take it as a chance to search the top floor?" Dean asked. "If they're not in trouble right now, searching might be good. Who knows if we'll get another opportunity like this."

"And we'll be able to search faster without Death Eaters around up there, and then go check out what's going on," Luna agreed. "Let's do it that way."

She was right that searching went much more quickly when they didn't have to worry about someone in the next room hearing them and coming in to find out what was going on. They rushed through several rooms in quick succession, and finally came across one that was different.

It was a bedroom, which was not in and of itself unusual - a lot of the rooms on this level were clearly sleeping quarters. But this one was both grander and more personal in a way the others hadn't been. There was a large, ornately carved four-poster bed, the kind of horrible wardrobe Dean was sure Sammy had had nightmares about when he was a kid, and various small items and belongings scattered about which made Dean think this room had been in use recently.

"Merlin," Luna whispered, staring around.

"What?" Dean asked, immediately nervous.

Luna looked around again, as if confirming her thoughts. "I think... I think this may be the room where Bellatrix Lestrange sleeps, when she's here."

Dean looked around again. "It looks like it's being used at the moment."

"Yes," Luna said. "I think - they must have realized by now that we're trying to reach the Horcrux. I think the Death Eaters must have sent word to her when they captured Zacharias and Parvati, and she came across to check up on things herself. Oh, Merlin."

"It's good news in a way, though," Dean pointed out. "The fact that she came here, and not to that tower or the first house? That must mean the Horcrux is actually here, right? Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered."

Luna looked at him, and nodded slowly. "You're right. So now we need to find it."

Dean nodded back and began looking around again. "What's she like?"

"Very powerful," Luna said. "Very cruel. Very devoted to the Dark Lord. She went to Azkaban prison for him, and it sent her a bit batty, if she wasn't already. But she's not stupid. She's dangerous."

"Hmm," Dean said thoughtfully. "How devoted are we talking? Let-me-offer-you-sexual-favors devoted?"

Luna gave a surprised laugh. "Fanatically devoted. I've no idea about the sexual favors, though."

"Still," Dean said. "Maybe devoted enough to want to keep this soul magic shit close to her?"

Luna took a moment to think about it. "Yes, perhaps. Though it would be too dangerous for her to carry it with her. She'd need to keep it in a very safe place."

"What room is safer than her own bedroom?" Dean said. "Particularly if she's as scary as you say. It doesn't sound like many of the other Death Eaters would dare to come in here."

Luna nodded, accepting the point. "I think you could be right."

They went back to searching, but a few moments later, Luna said, "Here."

Dean came across to look. Inside one of the rather terrifying dressers, there was what looked like a cube of golden light, shimmering around a golden goblet.

"Awesome," he said. "So, that's a trap, right?"

"It's a protective spell," Luna said. "It's usually tied to an object - a key, or something similar. I can't use an opening charm to get through it, and there's no lock for you to work your magic on." She met his eyes. "I'm not sure if it's also booby-trapped, but I wouldn't recommend touching it to see."

"So what you're saying is we need to find some other object?" Dean said, rubbing his forehead. It would be nice if once, just once, it could be easy.

"Yes," Luna said with a sigh. "I'm betting Bellatrix keeps it with her."

"Great," Dean said. "I guess we'd better go see what was going on with the Death Eaters, then."

~*~
They had to go down several levels, and then work their way along towards the hallway that ran along the top of the grand entrance hall, with stairs on either side leading down into the hall itself. They stayed as quiet as possible, though the murmur of the Death Eaters talking in the hall masked some sound.

Peering around the corner, Dean got his first look at Bellatrix Lestrange.

She was standing in the center of the hall below them, surrounded by Death Eaters, dressed in dark robes, a hideous-looking mask in her hands. She was tall, her face drawn into hard lines, and Dean thought she had probably been pretty once, before her life had taken its toll. It was hard to see that now, past the cold light of her eyes and sharp lines of her jaw.

"Hey," someone whispered softly behind him, and Dean whirled round and nearly shot Parvati before he recognized her.

"Sorry," she whispered, looking only slightly apologetic, as if she didn't quite realize how close he'd come to blowing her head off.

"Don't suppose you had any more luck than us?" Zacharias asked, pressing forward beside Dean to peer round the corner and into the hall.

"We found the Horcrux," Luna said, none of her usual dreaminess in her voice. "But it's protected - we think Bellatrix must have a key or something similar to break the enchantment."

Zacharias swore under his breath, but before he could say anything else, a woman's voice rang out, "Where are the Portkeys?"

Bellatrix, Dean knew at once, recognizing the tone of absolute command, even if he'd never heard her speak before.

The Death Eaters in the hall below - eight, by Dean's count - fell silent, and Dean winced. Bellatrix sounded like the kind of person who demanded immediate action, not just fearful, paralyzed silence.

At that moment, they caught sight of someone rushing towards them from the opposite end of the hallway, heading for the stairs at the far end of the entrance hall. Dean immediately flung himself back against the wall, pulling Zacharias back with him, his eyes on Luna, who had flattened herself with Parvati against the other side of the wall. If the Death Eater had so much as glanced in their direction, he would have seen them - he couldn't have been more than thirty feet away - but he seemed too caught up in his terror to look away from what he was holding in his hands.

He hurried down the stairs on the other side of the hall, and Dean leaned forward again in time to see the Death Eater hold out what he was carrying to Bellatrix.

Zacharias hissed at his shoulder. "Those are our Portkeys."

Sure enough, Dean could recognize them as amulets identical to the one Luna had given Ginny back when he'd first met her, and to the ones Ernie and Hannah had been wearing.

Bellatrix took one, pulling it over her head, and gestured to the Death Eater. He moved over to the others, who formed a circle around him, jostling slightly for position, reaching out to touch the amulet he was holding out in his hands.

"They're going to attack the Order base," Parvati said in low, panicked tones. "The Portkeys will take them right there. The Order won't have any warning."

"And she'll take the key to the protections on the Horcrux with her," Luna added, her voice distant and thoughtful.

Dean looked at her sharply, recognizing that tone of voice.

"On my count," Bellatrix said loudly.

And before Dean could reach out to grab Luna, she'd slipped past him, wandering calmly out into the open hallway above the entrance hall, for all the world as if she was sight-seeing.

"Hello," she said loudly. "Are you going somewhere?"

She had to duck down behind the ornate railings a second later, as three or four curses flashed in her direction. Dean swore and started to move forward, but Parvati and Zacharias caught hold of him.

"Wait a moment," Parvati hissed. "Trust her. We'll help her, don't worry."

"I must say, you have a very impressive house," Luna continued, standing up again, close enough to a pillar that she could probably duck behind it fast enough to avoid a curse. "I particularly like your bedroom, Bellatrix. You have some very interesting things in there."

Dean was watching Bellatrix, and he saw the movement Luna had been counting on, the swift flash of her hand to her throat to check the key was still there and safe.

Wearing it on a chain around her neck. Got it.

"Kill her," Bellatrix snapped, raising her own wand.

Luna ducked behind the pillar, and Dean moved out into the open, keeping low to take advantage of the slight protection offered by the ornate railings. He rushed as fast as he could to the shelter of the pillar where Luna was standing, pressing against her. He could hear the curses being flung as Parvati and Zacharias moved out into the open too, already throwing spells.

"I take it all back," he told Luna, leaning down to hiss in her ear. "You are a lunatic."

Luna laughed at him, and when he pulled back to see her face, she was smiling, fierce and beautiful. "It worked, though. The key's on a chain -"

"Around her neck, I saw," Dean agreed. "How the hell are we going to get it without getting killed?"

"Two more things to remember about Bellatrix," Luna said. Her tone was serious, but her eyes were dancing. "She's very proud - hates being made a fool of. And she loathes Muggles - she'll be more afraid of your gun than anything else. Be careful."

She pressed a lightning-fast kiss to his lips, and before he could react, she vanished. Not just slipped out from between him and the pillar, but disappeared. For a moment Dean thought she'd turned herself invisible, but then he heard her voice on other side of the room and realized she'd done the zappy teleportation thing she'd told him about.

Fucking hell.

He ducked back out from behind the pillar, and had a moment to see that Luna was on the ground level, next to the grand outer doors, the Death Eaters now between him and her, before he had to turn his attention to the Death Eaters coming up the stairs on his side.

He shot two, getting them in the shoulder, and was relieved when that took them down. They weren't dead - they were human, and he wasn't about to take a killing shot if he could avoid it - but they'd clearly never been shot before, and they showed no signs of getting up any time soon. He grabbed their wands anyway to be on the safe side, and had to count himself lucky when a Death Eater below who'd been taking aim at him suddenly collapsed to the ground in a flash of green light.

Zacharias nodded at him from the other set of stairs, and Dean nodded back in thanks.

He turned his attention to the situation below, just in time to see Luna casting a spell on Bellatrix. He didn't recognize the words, of course, and so he didn't exactly have any expectations of what it would do, but somehow he was still taken aback when a torrent of bats started flying out of Bellatrix's nose.

"People do say you're a bit batty, Bellatrix," Luna sang out.

Dean couldn't help laughing incredulously for a second at the way Bellatrix was staggering, flailing with her wand at the bats still pouring from her nose. He started down the stairs, keeping a sharp eye on the remaining Death Eaters. Most of them were being kept occupied by Parvati and Zacharias, but one woman was turning towards Luna and Bellatrix, and Dean took her down the same way he had the other two.

He didn't have a chance to go across and take away her wand, though, because Luna used the distraction of whatever insane curse it was she'd placed on Bellatrix to dart forward and make a grab for the chain around Bellatrix's neck - ignoring the amulet Bellatrix was also wearing in favor of grabbing the tiny gold key. Dean hurried forward, but at that moment Bellatrix finally managed to end the curse on her and grabbed Luna's wrist with one hand, raising her wand in the other.

Dean cocked his gun and pressed it against the back of Bellatrix's head. "Let her go."

"That's a gun," Luna pointed out helpfully. She looked entirely unafraid at having Bellatrix's wand at her throat, but Dean knew better. "You know, like the one Martin Miggs uses? Though maybe you don't like comics about Muggles."

"I can pull the trigger faster than you can say a spell," Dean said. "Let her go."

He wasn't sure he could, in reality. Despite what he'd heard about Bellatrix Lestrange being dangerous and cruel and an all-around bitch, she was alive and she was human, and he really didn't think he could blow her brains out in cold blood.

Hopefully she wouldn't realize that.

Luna pulled her wrist free, still clutching the key.

"Muggle," Bellatrix breathed, in disgust so strong it was close to horror. He could see her fingers twitching around her wand with her desire to curse him.

"I prefer Dean, actually," he told her.

"Dean, do it!" Zacharias yelled from behind them.

It was only a second of distraction, but it was enough. Enough for Bellatrix to reach up, twist the amulet she was still wearing around her neck, and disappear.

"Son of a bitch," Luna swore, and Dean did a double-take, realizing with something between pride and shock that she must have picked that up from him. "Zacharias!" She raised her wand and sent a jet of red light at one of the remaining Death Eaters, then another.

"You should have shot her," Zacharias told Dean when the remaining Death Eaters had either run for it, or were lying unconscious on the ground. "Damn it, you don't know the things she's done!"

"No," Dean said, not backing down an inch under his furious gaze. "It's more what I've done that I was thinking about."

"Here's the other amulet," Parvati said, picking it up from the floor where it had fallen amid the confusion of the fight. "We should go back, quick - they'll need help to deal with Bellatrix -"

"You two go," Luna said. "Dean and I will get the Horcrux."

"But then how will you get it back?" Zacharias demanded. "We need to take the Horcrux with us -"

"Right back into Bellatrix's hands?" Luna asked. "No. Let me worry about the Horcrux. Go, hurry."

"She's right, Zach," Parvati said urgently. "We can't take the Horcrux back into a battle with Bellatrix. Come on." She held the amulet out towards him.

Zacharias reached out to touch it, reluctantly. "Get it back to Britain somehow, fast," he told Luna.

"Be careful, Luna," Parvati said, and gave Dean a quick smile of farewell before she twisted the amulet and the two of them vanished.

Luna smiled at Dean and held up the little gold key. "Shall we?"

Dean grinned, and followed her as she ran up the stairs.

Retrieving the Horcrux was almost an anti-climax. The shimmering gold surrounding it fell away at the first touch of the key, and Luna wrapped her sleeve around her hand and carefully placed the Horcrux into a pocket of her TARDIS bag. Dean could understand her reluctance to touch it - now the golden barriers were gone, even he could sense the horrible feeling of dark magic emanating from the golden cup.

"Let's get out of here," Dean said, and paused. "How are we going to get out of here?"

Luna smiled in a way that told him he wasn't going to like the answer.

~*~
It was dark outside, when they finally made their way out of the house. Luna took his hand, pulling him away from the path that led down to the sea and instead heading over the rocks towards the far side of the island. Dean really hoped she had a plan, and that it didn't involve the word 'broomstick'.

"We should get further away, in case any Death Eaters come after us," Luna said.

Dean nodded. Some of the Death Eaters had vanished, presumably by the same zappy trick Luna had used herself in there, and there was no way of knowing whether they'd come back. A few others had only been knocked out rather than killed, and he and Luna had elected to make their escape as quickly as possible rather than wasting time on tying them up.

"Are you going to do your..." Dean waved his free hand meaningfully, "...teleportation thing?"

Luna laughed. "Not really a good idea when I don't know where we are. That's a good recipe for leaving half of us smeared all over the rocks."

Dean decided he was relieved. Teleportation had sounded only marginally more fun than having to get on that broomstick again.

It took almost quarter of an hour for them to reach the other side of the island, and Dean looked around blankly. He could see lights far off across the water, which he was hoping must be the mainland, but there was no boat or anything else that looked like a hope of avoiding the broomstick.

"I don't suppose you have an apple?" Luna asked.

Dean turned and stopped dead, staring. Luna was stroking the neck of some... creature. It looked a little bit like a winged horse, if you thought less Pegasus and more Ringwraith.

"What the fuck," he said.

Luna was beaming at the... thing. "This is a thestral. They're very strong, and very fast." She glanced up at him. "So no apple? I don't suppose you have any raw meat, either?"

"Not unless you count my body, and I'm kind of worried that thing might," Dean said. "A thestral?"

"Only those who've seen death can see them," Luna said. "They're the creatures I mentioned, the ones who pulled the carriages at school. I thought I saw a few earlier on when we were looking out the window."

"Huh," Dean said. "Well, it's been, uh, educational, but how are we going to -" He paused. "Oh, hell no, please tell me you're not actually thinking what I think you're thinking."

"We flew on thestrals all the way to London once," Luna said dreamily.

Suddenly, even the broomstick didn't sound like such an awful plan.

The thestral crouched down, and Luna climbed nimbly onto its back, leaning forward to stroke its neck again. She smiled up at Dean. "Are you coming?"

"For the record, after this I am never flying in any way, shape or form, ever again," Dean informed her, and climbed reluctantly on behind her.

The thestral sprang up and into the air before he even had a moment to get used to the idea, and Dean was forced to grab Luna's waist in a panic to avoid slipping off. Luna pulled his hands round to wrap around her, and he was close enough now to smell the faint scent of her hair. He relaxed, just a little, and tried not to look down.

Luna tilted her head back to press a quick kiss to his jaw, and Dean held on.

She'd been right about one thing - the thestral was fast. Too fast for Dean's comfort, though he reminded himself that at least the trip would end sooner that way. A few minutes later, the lights he'd seen before came into clearer view, and Dean realized he was looking at San Francisco.

He told Luna as much, glad of the distraction. "That must have been one of the little islands off the coast," he concluded.

"Oh good," Luna said. "That means the Impala will be waiting for us."

~*~
The motel room seemed incredibly welcoming after the day Dean had had. Even its weird ship theme couldn't disturb him.

He collapsed onto the bed and shut his eyes for a moment.

"You get rid of it?" he asked when he heard the door open a few minutes later.

"It flew off after it finished eating the apple," Luna said. He heard the sound of her putting down her bag and then the bed dipped as she slid onto it beside him.

They lay in silence for a while before Dean opened his eyes. Luna was staring up at the ceiling, apparently fascinated by the strangely knotted ropes strung across it. Dean couldn't entirely blame her.

"You did it," he said.

Luna smiled, still staring up at the ceiling. "We did it. Thank you, Dean, for everything."

"So how are you going to get it back to Britain?" Dean asked finally, like he hadn't been thinking about her leaving for hours.

Luna sighed. "I'm not sure yet. I don't think it would be a good idea to go back to the wizarding community here, there's too great a chance of Death Eaters tracking me down. And it'll be a while before a Portkey can be arranged, particularly if Bellatrix managed to get away from the Order. That location won't be secure any more, they'll need to set up a new one."

Dean nodded, and let himself imagine Luna hiding out with him for a while - redecorating crazy motel rooms together; Luna communing with his car; maybe taking on a few easy jobs together. Having someone to come back to.

That was it, though, wasn't it? Luna's father needed her. And Dean couldn't come between that.

He held the fantasy in his mind a moment longer, then let it go and said, "I did have one idea."

Luna turned her head to look at him, and now it was his turn to look up at the ceiling.

"You've dragged me onto enough flying things," he said. "But normal people fly too, you know. Ever heard of planes? You could fly back home the Muggle way. It doesn't sound like the Death Eaters would be able to track you."

Luna was silent for a moment, before she said, "That's a really good idea, Dean. I hadn't thought of that."

Dean nodded. "You could probably catch a flight from here, change somewhere - New York, maybe - and fly back to London from there."

Luna rolled on top of him, and the shock of her body settling against his made Dean look down to meet her gaze for the first time since he'd raised the topic.

"Are there any alternatives?" she asked. "I mean, maybe I could go to New York and get a plane there."

Dean felt a grin start to spread across his face. "You could do that. That would really make sure the Death Eaters lost your trail. It might be the safer plan."

Luna lowered her head until her lips were almost brushing his. "Any thoughts on how I could get to New York?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I guess I could drive you there," Dean said, trying to sound like it was a huge imposition, and pulled her down into a kiss.

~*~
"You sure that passport will work?" Dean asked worriedly. It was one of his fake ones, and he was pretty damn sure Luna couldn't pass herself off as him.

"I've put an illusion on it," Luna assured him. "It'll hold for long enough."

"And you remember what I told you about how the whole flying thing works," Dean said.

"Yes, Dean," Luna said, without a hint of impatience.

Her flight was called again, and Dean gritted his teeth.

Luna smiled in understanding, her eyes sad, and she stepped forward into his arms, hugging him. Dean wrapped his arms around her and held on.

He'd known all along that if Luna managed to survive the crazy situations she got herself into that she'd have to go back to her own country, her own world. She had family and friends who needed her, had a job to do, just like he did. And it wasn't like he was in love with her, not yet - he'd barely known her a few weeks.

But Luna had become important to him. He didn't really want to let her go.

"Come back someday," he said, clearing his throat. "When the war's over and things are okay again. Come back and visit. You can meet Sammy and put that Bat Bogey Hex on him."

Luna laughed. "I'll send you an owl when the war's over," she promised, and pulled back far enough to kiss him.

The flight was announced again, and Dean forced himself to let her go. "Take care of yourself, Luna," he said.

Luna smiled at him. "I'm glad I met you, Dean."

She pressed a last lightning-fast kiss to his lips, and then she was gone, walking towards security.

Dean watched her go, and heard a sudden, unexpected beep from his cell phone. He pulled it out and shot a quick glance at it.

1 new message. From Dad.

He raised his head again, and Luna looked back and gave him a little wave before she rounded the corner out of sight.

Dean sighed, and opened up the message. Time to get back to reality.

Somehow, though, reality didn't feel as resoundingly empty as it had a few weeks ago.

Continue to Epilogue