[Fic] A Ghost of a Chance
Title: A Ghost of a Chance
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Website: Livejournal, or Fanfiction.Net
Rating: PG
Genre(s): Crossover, General
Pairing(s): None
Summary: Umbridge punishments of Harry lead to him finding more family than he knew he had, but damn does he fit in with them.
Warnings: Yes, it's another "Put Harry with a good family" fic. Don't know if anyone's done one quite like this.
Disclaimer: Checks reality meter (It's remarkably Magic Eight Ball shaped). *shake*shake* Do I own Harry Potter or Supernatural? Nope still the right reality. Go eat a tuna sandwich instead. *stares* Damn.
Author's Note: I got this idea and it held me hostage until I wrote it. Tell me what you think. Although... Should I have this before or after 1X06 of SPN? Pretty much is Dean legally evil and dead or not? Also you like my new disclaimer? I think I'm going to keep it.
Word Count: 11,919 (Yay, over 10K and 20 pages)
A Ghost of a Chance
Harry would later claim, quite honestly, that it was all Professor Umbridge's fault. She, feeling that he had to much free time in which to get in trouble, essentially made him into Professor Binns' TA. Unexpectedly, it turned out not to be that much of a punishment. Professor Binns was a surprisingly good teacher on a one-on-one basis; it was only when he was in front of a class that he was lacking.
One of the first things that Professor Binns had taught him was that he wanted Harry to think. The deceased teacher had no patience for stupid or ill thought out questions; this was part of what eventually led to his becoming a notoriously lackluster teacher. His drive to teach and polish brilliant minds had gotten buried under the disillusionment of finding few minds turned to his passion, let alone ones of the caliber of Hermione. Over time he had lost his passion for teaching; it bled out until he became what everyone was familiar with.
As a result, Harry ended up learning a great deal, and not just about his schoolmate's homework skills. In between all the grading, cleaning, and other odds and ends, Professor Binns imparted him with interesting trivia and facts. This led Harry to spend more time in the library than his school work and TA duties required, researching various things the ghostly Professor had mentioned.
Over the course of Harry's assisting Professor Binns they had ended up spending many surprisingly interesting and pleasant hours together just talking. Harry had initially been his usual polite self with the Professor, but had eventually come out of his shell a little for the ghost and visa versa. Harry would talk to the Professor about what was going on in his life, or that of his friends, and the Professor would share history with him that for one reason or another has been banned from being taught.
Harry was surprised and pleased when he realized he counted the unusual Professor as one of his friends. Although, he was saddened that he couldn't share it with Ron and Hermione like he could Hagrid. Professor Binns had pointed out that Professor Umbridge would find out and end his 'punishment'. So, sadly he kept quite about it, but made an internal promise to tell the others one day.
The idea came one day while he was in the middle of scrubbing down desks in the History of Magic classroom. "Professor?"
"Yes Mr. Potter?" Professor Binns inquired as he floated closer to the thoughtful teen.
"Is there any way to find out if I have any other relatives? I've been told there's only my aunt and her family, but there should be more." Harry tentatively asked looking up at the floating spirit.
"Of course, there are several ways, light, dark and in between. Any kind in particular?"
Harry frowned turning the question over in his head carefully considering it. "Well... I suppose I would want to know if I have any first of all; then who they are."
"That's easy enough to take care of. It's a simple incantation, not used much these days. Considered to be too old fashioned." The floating Professor said with a disgusted snort. "It's much more reliable than any of the potions or spells they use these days."
"Then why don't they use it?" Harry asked curious.
"It's an old spell; doesn't require a wand either. The Rite of Showing Kin(1)."
Harry nodded in understanding. Over the course of the last couple months Harry was subjected many times to the Professor saying, 'Newer isn't always better, sometimes the old ways are best. Many a situation could have been avoided if the ones involved had just used the older, simpler ways, rather than the newer, poorly thought out ways.'
Setting down the scrub brush Harry straightened up. "Would you show me how?"
"Of course. Go get the athame from my desk." The ghost waved towards the aforementioned furniture as he floated towards the window at the front of the class, passing through the desks. "Good, good. Originally they used water, but any transparent reflective surface will do. Now stand here facing the window, and in a firm voice, no need to needlessly shout, say firmly 'I call upon my power to show those me those who share my blood and yet live'." Giving a pleased nod at Harry's recitation he continued, "Now, slice along the inside of your arm lightly, just enough to draw blood, then you lay your open hand from the sliced arm upon the window and recite, 'I ask that you reveal to my gaze my blood kin so I may see and know them'."
As Harry said the last word he gasped; his entire arm tingled and the trickling he felt from the blood running down his arm suddenly reversed and started running up his arm until it reached the window and went into it, staining the clear glass red, spreading outwards from his hand. When the entire window was red it seamed to undulate to like ripples on a pond; then it suddenly turned to silver like a mirror.
Staring into the 'mirror' Harry watched as it first showed his reflection, then it morphed into a dark haired older man, with a dangerously scruffy appearance. After a full minute is morphed into a young man in his mid twenties with the same dangerous air about him, though an easy smile and haunted eyes. After another minute the image shifted again, this time into a longer haired young man in his early twenties with a sad smile and sadder eyes. He eagerly awaited the next shift only to be disappointed when it showed him his aunt's familiar face.
Before the image could change again Professor Umbridge's voice came from down the hall.
"Quickly, recite 'Seen and known, end this vision' then remove your hand." Professor Binns ordered before floating away towards his desk. "Don't forget to cover your arm."
Doing as ordered Harry swiftly headed back to his cleaning after casting a quick blood clotting spell on the still tingling cut. Thoughts turning over in his head Harry went back to his scrubbing.
"Thank you, Professor Binns." Harry said softly.
"I expect two pages on the history of the spell and how it works by Friday." The professor ordered, though he was smiling faintly.
~~~~~
The spell left him with more questions after he had begun with. While researching the spell for the paper he found out that it showed by closeness of relation, closest first, then so on to further relations, if left to run its course the spell will go up to twenty-one generations away.
Meaning that Petunia Dursley was not his closest blood relative as everyone thought, those three men were. Which begged the question: how were those three closer relatives than his mother's own sister?
Unfortunately he had to put those questions on the back burner for now. Instead, with Professor Binns' help he set about discerning if they would be better than his aunt. After several more spells he learned their names, as well as a few things about their personality though nothing about their lives. Most important though, all three where aware of magic and even used it according to what they could tell. The spells required for that would draw to much attention to what he was vaguely planning to do.
But he did learn enough to know that he should be safe enough to stay the summer with them and renew the blood protections as well as be better hidden. After the Dementor attack last summer he didn't trust whatever protections Dumbledore might have set up. Instead he would hide himself somewhere no one would think to look for him.
There were complications, like that the three men traveled a great deal, and not together, so he would have to use a harder way of finding them. But after some thought they eventually had a way, a special portkey that Professor Binns walked him through making which would take him to whichever of the three was closest to him when activated. The casting of the spell was extremely difficult and exhausting but he finally had his way there.
The Professor had Harry keep a copy of the papers he did on all the spells so he could explain when he got there how he got there. After a lot of work all Harry had to do was wait for summer; then he would be spending his time with relatives that weren't his aunt and her family, in America.
~~~~~
When Harry had finally arrived back at the Dursley home he immediately went to his room. He, unfortunately, would have to wait a week before he could leave. But he could do that, all he was going to do was lay low and pack up anything that he hadn't had at school in his trunk.
Finally when the day arrived a week later, after he was sure that his cousin and uncle were gone for the day Harry went downstairs to where his aunt was cleaning up the kitchen after lunch.
"Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked stepping into the sunlit room.
"What do you want?" she demanded eying him warily.
"I have a way you don't have to deal with me this summer and, if all goes well, any summer." Harry said firmly, keeping in mind his plan.
"And just how's that? Don't you need to be here?" Petunia demanded.
"I found out I have other relatives. With your permission I'll go to stay with them." Harry said. "All you have to do is let me go."
"If that's true then why didn't you go to them?"
"I don't think anyone knew about them. I found out through a project this year. I'm not just running off to stay with them, because I don't want to cause you any worry." Harry gave her a slight smile, "I also want you to tell anyone who asks that you don't know where I went."
"And why wouldn't I?" Petunia demanded though he could see her mind racing as it turned over the possibilities of having him gone.
"Because you won't, can't tell what you don't know." Harry shrugged slightly. "So can I go? I can leave right now, I'm all packed. All you'll have to do is collect my mail."
"So eager to leave are you?" Petunia said tartly before nodding. "Very well go, but you know I had nothing to do with this."
"Of course, Aunt Petunia." Harry started to walk off before pausing and turning to give his startled aunt a hug. "Thanks for having taken care of me Aunt Petunia. I know that you could have been a lot worse." Giving her a last smile Harry turned and ran upstairs to grab his trunk, owl cage, and backpack.
He took one last look around the room that had become his, albeit reluctantly he took a deep breath and activated the portkey. "Winchester."
~~~~~
When Harry popped back into existence he promptly collapsed onto his knees and threw up. Portkeys were always an uncomfortable experience, but he had never traveled so far by one. While Harry was busy trying to get control of his heaving Hedwig was going crazy in her cage, and then suddenly someone crashed into the neatly stacked cage and trunk knocking all three over.
Looking up he saw that it was the younger, long haired man, and coming towards them was a bloody man wielding an ax. Pulling his wand his wand Harry pulled his wand and tried to summon the ax only to be surprised and confused when it didn't work. All it really seemed to do was make the man come after him instead.
Before the man could reach Harry though there was a loud crackling boom and the man and his ax disappeared. Turning his head he had just enough time to see the second man from the spell standing there with a shotgun before he was knocked out.
~~~~~
"Sammy, you okay?" Dean asked as he eyed the kid who had appeared out of nowhere with his luggage. The only things kept him from reacting more violently was the fact that: One, after he appeared he started to throw up. Two, he had tried to do something obviously magical when he saw the ghost, even though it hadn't worked. And three, they really needed to burn the ghosts bones.
"Yeah I'm good." Sam said as he climbed to his feet. He ran a quick eye over the kid before grabbing the fallen gas can and ran to the hole in the floor to finish salting and burning the now exposed body before the ghost could make another appearance. "Grab the kid."
"On it," Dean called back. As he was grimacing he pulled the kid over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, grabbing the fallen wand. "Get his stuff on your way out." Dean called over his shoulder as he carried the kid and his bag out of the derelict building that was going to burn because the bones were under the floorboards.
Once they were outside he lowered the kid to the ground and leaned him against the side of the car. Giving the surrounding area a quick look over, he was glad once again that the house the ghost had been haunting was isolated.
"Dean." Sam said as he walked up and dropped the trunk he had been pulling and held up the bird cage that he faintly remembered having been sitting on it before Sam fell on it.
"Is that an owl?" Dean asked incredulous.
"Yeah. Also look at this." Sam pointed at a crest on the front of the trunk.
"A crest?" asked Dean, crouching down to get a closer look. "I've seen that before."
"Yeah so have I. What should we do with the kid?" Sam asked setting the bird cage down on top of the trunk and eyed the owl that was now settling down.
"Well for now we should make sure that the bones finish burning. After that I guess we take him back into town and wait for him to wake up." Dean said standing up.
Sam sighed and nodded turning his eyes from the owl to the now burning house.
~~~~~
Harry groaned and turned over as he regained consciousness.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I think so. What hit me?" Harry asked tentatively opening his eyes.
"That would be Dean. So, who are you?"
"Harry Potter. That makes you Sam right?" Harry asked as he turned carefully to look at the man who was speaking to him.
"Yeah. How'd you know that?" Sam asked eyeing him suspiciously.
"In my bag there's a bunch of papers to explain." Harry winced as his head and stomach gave a particularly vicious throb. "I was going to with that to help but I don't think I can."
Sam pulled the bag on the floor onto this lap and after a minute came out with the bound parchment Harry that was his notes and papers on what he did. "This it?"
"Yeah. Why don't you read that and ask me questions." Harry offered.
"Sure." Sam gave him a long look before offering, "Dean went to get something to eat, why don't you just lay there and try not to throw up again."
"I don't think I have anything left to throw up anymore." Harry muttered before suddenly bolting upright, "Hedwig!" then he started gagging.
"Whoa, slow deep breaths." Sam ordered as he rushed over to the bed and started rubbing his back. "You better?"
Harry nodded tentatively. "I shouldn't have done that."
"At least you didn't throw up." Sam offered. "Hedwig? That your owl?"
"Yeah, is she here?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Yeah, over on your trunk. Look, why don't you lie down and try not do that again." Sam said standing up. "I'll be over here reading."
"Sure. Brilliant plan," Harry said lying down on his side facing away from the window.
~~~~~
Dean leaned back and crossed his arms as he eyed the messy haired brunet sitting on the bed eating a burger. "So you're related to us somehow, and came to us for protection?"
"Kinda. I need to stay with a blood relative for at least a month so the blood protections on me can renew, and I don't want to stay with my aunt or her family anymore so I decided to try and find more relatives."
"And you found us, but we're somehow related more closely." Sam said from where he sat. "This is pretty well thought out."
"One of my Professors helped me." Harry said ducking his head bashfully.
"One of your professors? What they teach magic in school now?" Dean asked frowning.
"Yeah, I go to Hogwarts." The teenager explained before taking another bite of the burger.
Dean sat up and snapped his fingers and pointed at Sam, "That's where I saw that crest before. It's the Hogwarts school crest." Then he turned back to Harry, "Which would make you that Harry Potter."
Harry nodded and cringed slightly waiting for the normal reaction to the news.
"Huh. So someone's after you because you're famous?"
"Voldemort's back. He's been trying to kill me since my first year."
"First year?" Sam asked.
"Since I started at Hogwarts when I was eleven," he clarified.
Dean held up a hand questioningly, "Voldemort? As in the guy you got famous for killing when you were a baby?"
Harry nodded, "He was a ghoul of some sort the first time I saw him when I was eleven. Last year he came back to life."
"To life? Are you serious?" Sam asked incredulously.
"I guess. That's the closest I can come to explaining it." Harry offered. "So I need the blood protections. Can I stay with you? It's only for a month. After that I can go back to England and stay with my friends."
Dean and Sam exchanged looks before Dean shrugged. "We can try it out. Try and figure out how we're related."
Harry gave the two a bright smile. "Thanks."
"Finish eating." Sam ordered. "Think we should put the word out for dad?"
"We've been looking for him for how long?"
"We can try the scrying Professor Binns taught me. It's why I used the blood portkey." Harry offered.
"What?"
"I had to do that because you three were all moving around so much."
Sam and Dean exchanged looks before Dean demanded, "Can you do it again?"
"Yeah, I got all the stuff except the map."
"Great let's do it."
Harry blinked in surprise as Sam dashed out the door.
~~~~~
Five days later Harry was curiously wandering through a flea market on his own as Dean and Sam were off hunting some sort of evil spirit. The two men had over the last few days given a basic run down on the common tools of the trade; but until they had vetted Harry out, didn't want him to hunt.
Harry knew that most boys his age would find it insulting to be shuffled of to the side and told to be good while the other two went off to fight evil, but Harry actually found it soothing. Sam and Dean didn't expect him to take care of everything, try to hide everything 'for his own good', or even care really that he was 'the-boy-who-lived'. Instead they told him what was going on and what they were planning and trusted him to go off and do something on his own while they handled it.
This was the second hunt he had been with them on, not counting the one he had initially crashed. They had, after the second day, gotten him his own cell phone and taught him how to use it, so he had a way to get a hold of them if something happened or visa versa.
Harry was curiously eyeing a booth of antique dolls when his eye was caught by one of them moving. Frowning Harry walked over to the booth and pointed to the doll, "Can I see that one?"
"Of course young man, it's not often I have someone so young interested in these." The old woman at the booth commented as she gathered the doll and handed it over, though she kept a stern eye on him.
Harry had a feeling that the only reason she let him touch it was because of his British accent. "My aunt collects antiques."
"Thinking of getting it for her?"
"Yeah." Harry eyed the doll closely. It was a beautifully crafted porcelain doll about three feet tall with long black curls, blue eyes, an expertly painted face, and a white lace dress. Though the doll was much heavier than he expected, even for one that size, she weighed about as much as an actual child of similar size. "How much for her?"
"Two hundred." The woman said.
Harry looked over at her in surprise, "So little? I thought dolls like this go for several thousand at least. She looks old."
"She is; older than this country. Unfortunately the doll has a very long and tragic history. It's supposedly cursed." The woman shared.
"Cursed? How?" Harry asked curiously giving the woman a hopeful look, silently asking her to share the story.
The woman melted at the look and gave him an encouraging smile. "People who buy the doll tend to end up murdered or disappearing."
Harry looked down at the doll again before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. Flipping it open and one handed and thumbing open the pocket he held out the wallet. "Can you grab the money for me? I should have just enough."
"Of course dear." The woman reached out and pulled out the offered money, "Oh honey, this'll clear you out."
"It's okay. I really want this doll." Harry gave her a slight smile. "I don't think I'll come across a deal like this ever again."
That startled a laugh from the woman. "True. Look here." The woman pulled off a twenty from the cash she had just gotten from Harry and stuffed it in his jacket pocket. "Why don't you go get something to eat? Think of it as a discount." She waved off the protest she could see entering his face.
"I... thanks. Thanks a lot." Harry gave her a last smile before walking off with the magic doll after the woman gave him a parting pat on his cheek.
A little ways off Harry found a spot behind a booth where he wouldn't be seen, so he entered and looked down at the doll again. "I know you can move. Can you talk?"
The doll tilted her head and looked up at him. "Yes."
"Great. Hi, I'm Harry. Do you have a name?" Harry asked introducing himself.
"Clarrisa*2."
"Great. Look, I think we got a while until Sam and Dean are done, so why don't we look around for some clothes for you?" At the nod Harry smiled again. "When you see something you like just tug on my coat okay?"
"Okay."
"Great." After adjusting her so that he was carrying her like he would a child of a similar size he walked out and went back to wandering.
~~~~~
"Harry!" Dean called to the teen sitting on a bench. "You done?"
"Yeah. You guys done?" He asked standing up and stretching.
"Yeah. Buy anything good?" Sam asked.
"Well a magic moving doll and some dresses for her." Harry said picking up the large black haired doll from the bench. "This is Clarrisa. Clarrisa this is Dean and Sam."
"A magic moving doll named Clarrisa?" Dean asked incredulous only to jump when the doll waved at him and said hello.
"Right... anything else?" Sam asked slowly.
"Well she's believed to be cursed. And one of the booths has some magic books I'm having them hold for me until you guys came. I'm out of money. Clarrisa here cost two hundred."
Dean sighed and nodded, "Why don't we have a look at these books then go get something to eat?"
"Sure."
~~~~~
A couple days later Harry slid into the booth after setting Clarrisa down in the seat.
"So you find anything on Clarrisa?" Harry asked Sam after the waitress had left.
"Well she is right. Clarrisa's previous owners do have a bad habit of turning up messily dead or just gone. I'm not sure if it's her or just bad luck and rumor."
"Great. Well the most evil thing I've seen her do is to try to eat Hedwig's feathers and hide Sam's shoes." Dean said.
"Why don't we just keep an eye on her then?" Harry suggested.
"Sure. Besides, she shouldn't be around normal people." Dean shrugged. "So we still heading to Wyoming oh great navigator?" he asked in a sudden shift in subjects as the waitress returned with the coffee carafe and glass of juice.
"As of this morning, yes." Harry gave the woman a thankful smile. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Ah come on Harry. She's too young to be a ma'am." Dean teased Harry for his ingrained politeness.
"Sorry Miss. It's what I get for going to a British boarding school for the last five years." Harry apologized to the woman.
Sam just laughed, "Don't worry, Harry. We don't want you picking up Dean's manners anyway."
"Hey!" Dean exclaimed hitting Sam on the arm.
"Hey! Jerk!" Sam said hitting Dean back.
"Bitch!"
Harry gave the still watching waitress an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I think I'm the adult here sometimes."
She just laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "I have older brothers too. No need to explain." With that she walked off to continue her rounds.
"Huh." Sam muttered eyeing the departing waitress before picking up his menu.
Shaking his head Dean picked up his cup. "Right."
There was the sound of crunching that had the three turn their head and see Clarrisa sitting there chewing with a bite taken out of Harry's spoon.
"Okay that's new." Sam muttered.
"Did she just eat that spoon?" Dean asked.
"Well at least part of it." Harry confirmed.
"O~kay." Dean shook his head. "Don't do that again. We'll get you some spoons later."
~~~~~
Continued
Author: Danyella Skyler Silverfire
Website: Livejournal, or Fanfiction.Net
Rating: PG
Genre(s): Crossover, General
Pairing(s): None
Summary: Umbridge punishments of Harry lead to him finding more family than he knew he had, but damn does he fit in with them.
Warnings: Yes, it's another "Put Harry with a good family" fic. Don't know if anyone's done one quite like this.
Disclaimer: Checks reality meter (It's remarkably Magic Eight Ball shaped). *shake*shake* Do I own Harry Potter or Supernatural? Nope still the right reality. Go eat a tuna sandwich instead. *stares* Damn.
Author's Note: I got this idea and it held me hostage until I wrote it. Tell me what you think. Although... Should I have this before or after 1X06 of SPN? Pretty much is Dean legally evil and dead or not? Also you like my new disclaimer? I think I'm going to keep it.
Word Count: 11,919 (Yay, over 10K and 20 pages)
A Ghost of a Chance
Harry would later claim, quite honestly, that it was all Professor Umbridge's fault. She, feeling that he had to much free time in which to get in trouble, essentially made him into Professor Binns' TA. Unexpectedly, it turned out not to be that much of a punishment. Professor Binns was a surprisingly good teacher on a one-on-one basis; it was only when he was in front of a class that he was lacking.
One of the first things that Professor Binns had taught him was that he wanted Harry to think. The deceased teacher had no patience for stupid or ill thought out questions; this was part of what eventually led to his becoming a notoriously lackluster teacher. His drive to teach and polish brilliant minds had gotten buried under the disillusionment of finding few minds turned to his passion, let alone ones of the caliber of Hermione. Over time he had lost his passion for teaching; it bled out until he became what everyone was familiar with.
As a result, Harry ended up learning a great deal, and not just about his schoolmate's homework skills. In between all the grading, cleaning, and other odds and ends, Professor Binns imparted him with interesting trivia and facts. This led Harry to spend more time in the library than his school work and TA duties required, researching various things the ghostly Professor had mentioned.
Over the course of Harry's assisting Professor Binns they had ended up spending many surprisingly interesting and pleasant hours together just talking. Harry had initially been his usual polite self with the Professor, but had eventually come out of his shell a little for the ghost and visa versa. Harry would talk to the Professor about what was going on in his life, or that of his friends, and the Professor would share history with him that for one reason or another has been banned from being taught.
Harry was surprised and pleased when he realized he counted the unusual Professor as one of his friends. Although, he was saddened that he couldn't share it with Ron and Hermione like he could Hagrid. Professor Binns had pointed out that Professor Umbridge would find out and end his 'punishment'. So, sadly he kept quite about it, but made an internal promise to tell the others one day.
The idea came one day while he was in the middle of scrubbing down desks in the History of Magic classroom. "Professor?"
"Yes Mr. Potter?" Professor Binns inquired as he floated closer to the thoughtful teen.
"Is there any way to find out if I have any other relatives? I've been told there's only my aunt and her family, but there should be more." Harry tentatively asked looking up at the floating spirit.
"Of course, there are several ways, light, dark and in between. Any kind in particular?"
Harry frowned turning the question over in his head carefully considering it. "Well... I suppose I would want to know if I have any first of all; then who they are."
"That's easy enough to take care of. It's a simple incantation, not used much these days. Considered to be too old fashioned." The floating Professor said with a disgusted snort. "It's much more reliable than any of the potions or spells they use these days."
"Then why don't they use it?" Harry asked curious.
"It's an old spell; doesn't require a wand either. The Rite of Showing Kin(1)."
Harry nodded in understanding. Over the course of the last couple months Harry was subjected many times to the Professor saying, 'Newer isn't always better, sometimes the old ways are best. Many a situation could have been avoided if the ones involved had just used the older, simpler ways, rather than the newer, poorly thought out ways.'
Setting down the scrub brush Harry straightened up. "Would you show me how?"
"Of course. Go get the athame from my desk." The ghost waved towards the aforementioned furniture as he floated towards the window at the front of the class, passing through the desks. "Good, good. Originally they used water, but any transparent reflective surface will do. Now stand here facing the window, and in a firm voice, no need to needlessly shout, say firmly 'I call upon my power to show those me those who share my blood and yet live'." Giving a pleased nod at Harry's recitation he continued, "Now, slice along the inside of your arm lightly, just enough to draw blood, then you lay your open hand from the sliced arm upon the window and recite, 'I ask that you reveal to my gaze my blood kin so I may see and know them'."
As Harry said the last word he gasped; his entire arm tingled and the trickling he felt from the blood running down his arm suddenly reversed and started running up his arm until it reached the window and went into it, staining the clear glass red, spreading outwards from his hand. When the entire window was red it seamed to undulate to like ripples on a pond; then it suddenly turned to silver like a mirror.
Staring into the 'mirror' Harry watched as it first showed his reflection, then it morphed into a dark haired older man, with a dangerously scruffy appearance. After a full minute is morphed into a young man in his mid twenties with the same dangerous air about him, though an easy smile and haunted eyes. After another minute the image shifted again, this time into a longer haired young man in his early twenties with a sad smile and sadder eyes. He eagerly awaited the next shift only to be disappointed when it showed him his aunt's familiar face.
Before the image could change again Professor Umbridge's voice came from down the hall.
"Quickly, recite 'Seen and known, end this vision' then remove your hand." Professor Binns ordered before floating away towards his desk. "Don't forget to cover your arm."
Doing as ordered Harry swiftly headed back to his cleaning after casting a quick blood clotting spell on the still tingling cut. Thoughts turning over in his head Harry went back to his scrubbing.
"Thank you, Professor Binns." Harry said softly.
"I expect two pages on the history of the spell and how it works by Friday." The professor ordered, though he was smiling faintly.
~~~~~
The spell left him with more questions after he had begun with. While researching the spell for the paper he found out that it showed by closeness of relation, closest first, then so on to further relations, if left to run its course the spell will go up to twenty-one generations away.
Meaning that Petunia Dursley was not his closest blood relative as everyone thought, those three men were. Which begged the question: how were those three closer relatives than his mother's own sister?
Unfortunately he had to put those questions on the back burner for now. Instead, with Professor Binns' help he set about discerning if they would be better than his aunt. After several more spells he learned their names, as well as a few things about their personality though nothing about their lives. Most important though, all three where aware of magic and even used it according to what they could tell. The spells required for that would draw to much attention to what he was vaguely planning to do.
But he did learn enough to know that he should be safe enough to stay the summer with them and renew the blood protections as well as be better hidden. After the Dementor attack last summer he didn't trust whatever protections Dumbledore might have set up. Instead he would hide himself somewhere no one would think to look for him.
There were complications, like that the three men traveled a great deal, and not together, so he would have to use a harder way of finding them. But after some thought they eventually had a way, a special portkey that Professor Binns walked him through making which would take him to whichever of the three was closest to him when activated. The casting of the spell was extremely difficult and exhausting but he finally had his way there.
The Professor had Harry keep a copy of the papers he did on all the spells so he could explain when he got there how he got there. After a lot of work all Harry had to do was wait for summer; then he would be spending his time with relatives that weren't his aunt and her family, in America.
~~~~~
When Harry had finally arrived back at the Dursley home he immediately went to his room. He, unfortunately, would have to wait a week before he could leave. But he could do that, all he was going to do was lay low and pack up anything that he hadn't had at school in his trunk.
Finally when the day arrived a week later, after he was sure that his cousin and uncle were gone for the day Harry went downstairs to where his aunt was cleaning up the kitchen after lunch.
"Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked stepping into the sunlit room.
"What do you want?" she demanded eying him warily.
"I have a way you don't have to deal with me this summer and, if all goes well, any summer." Harry said firmly, keeping in mind his plan.
"And just how's that? Don't you need to be here?" Petunia demanded.
"I found out I have other relatives. With your permission I'll go to stay with them." Harry said. "All you have to do is let me go."
"If that's true then why didn't you go to them?"
"I don't think anyone knew about them. I found out through a project this year. I'm not just running off to stay with them, because I don't want to cause you any worry." Harry gave her a slight smile, "I also want you to tell anyone who asks that you don't know where I went."
"And why wouldn't I?" Petunia demanded though he could see her mind racing as it turned over the possibilities of having him gone.
"Because you won't, can't tell what you don't know." Harry shrugged slightly. "So can I go? I can leave right now, I'm all packed. All you'll have to do is collect my mail."
"So eager to leave are you?" Petunia said tartly before nodding. "Very well go, but you know I had nothing to do with this."
"Of course, Aunt Petunia." Harry started to walk off before pausing and turning to give his startled aunt a hug. "Thanks for having taken care of me Aunt Petunia. I know that you could have been a lot worse." Giving her a last smile Harry turned and ran upstairs to grab his trunk, owl cage, and backpack.
He took one last look around the room that had become his, albeit reluctantly he took a deep breath and activated the portkey. "Winchester."
~~~~~
When Harry popped back into existence he promptly collapsed onto his knees and threw up. Portkeys were always an uncomfortable experience, but he had never traveled so far by one. While Harry was busy trying to get control of his heaving Hedwig was going crazy in her cage, and then suddenly someone crashed into the neatly stacked cage and trunk knocking all three over.
Looking up he saw that it was the younger, long haired man, and coming towards them was a bloody man wielding an ax. Pulling his wand his wand Harry pulled his wand and tried to summon the ax only to be surprised and confused when it didn't work. All it really seemed to do was make the man come after him instead.
Before the man could reach Harry though there was a loud crackling boom and the man and his ax disappeared. Turning his head he had just enough time to see the second man from the spell standing there with a shotgun before he was knocked out.
~~~~~
"Sammy, you okay?" Dean asked as he eyed the kid who had appeared out of nowhere with his luggage. The only things kept him from reacting more violently was the fact that: One, after he appeared he started to throw up. Two, he had tried to do something obviously magical when he saw the ghost, even though it hadn't worked. And three, they really needed to burn the ghosts bones.
"Yeah I'm good." Sam said as he climbed to his feet. He ran a quick eye over the kid before grabbing the fallen gas can and ran to the hole in the floor to finish salting and burning the now exposed body before the ghost could make another appearance. "Grab the kid."
"On it," Dean called back. As he was grimacing he pulled the kid over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, grabbing the fallen wand. "Get his stuff on your way out." Dean called over his shoulder as he carried the kid and his bag out of the derelict building that was going to burn because the bones were under the floorboards.
Once they were outside he lowered the kid to the ground and leaned him against the side of the car. Giving the surrounding area a quick look over, he was glad once again that the house the ghost had been haunting was isolated.
"Dean." Sam said as he walked up and dropped the trunk he had been pulling and held up the bird cage that he faintly remembered having been sitting on it before Sam fell on it.
"Is that an owl?" Dean asked incredulous.
"Yeah. Also look at this." Sam pointed at a crest on the front of the trunk.
"A crest?" asked Dean, crouching down to get a closer look. "I've seen that before."
"Yeah so have I. What should we do with the kid?" Sam asked setting the bird cage down on top of the trunk and eyed the owl that was now settling down.
"Well for now we should make sure that the bones finish burning. After that I guess we take him back into town and wait for him to wake up." Dean said standing up.
Sam sighed and nodded turning his eyes from the owl to the now burning house.
~~~~~
Harry groaned and turned over as he regained consciousness.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I think so. What hit me?" Harry asked tentatively opening his eyes.
"That would be Dean. So, who are you?"
"Harry Potter. That makes you Sam right?" Harry asked as he turned carefully to look at the man who was speaking to him.
"Yeah. How'd you know that?" Sam asked eyeing him suspiciously.
"In my bag there's a bunch of papers to explain." Harry winced as his head and stomach gave a particularly vicious throb. "I was going to with that to help but I don't think I can."
Sam pulled the bag on the floor onto this lap and after a minute came out with the bound parchment Harry that was his notes and papers on what he did. "This it?"
"Yeah. Why don't you read that and ask me questions." Harry offered.
"Sure." Sam gave him a long look before offering, "Dean went to get something to eat, why don't you just lay there and try not to throw up again."
"I don't think I have anything left to throw up anymore." Harry muttered before suddenly bolting upright, "Hedwig!" then he started gagging.
"Whoa, slow deep breaths." Sam ordered as he rushed over to the bed and started rubbing his back. "You better?"
Harry nodded tentatively. "I shouldn't have done that."
"At least you didn't throw up." Sam offered. "Hedwig? That your owl?"
"Yeah, is she here?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Yeah, over on your trunk. Look, why don't you lie down and try not do that again." Sam said standing up. "I'll be over here reading."
"Sure. Brilliant plan," Harry said lying down on his side facing away from the window.
~~~~~
Dean leaned back and crossed his arms as he eyed the messy haired brunet sitting on the bed eating a burger. "So you're related to us somehow, and came to us for protection?"
"Kinda. I need to stay with a blood relative for at least a month so the blood protections on me can renew, and I don't want to stay with my aunt or her family anymore so I decided to try and find more relatives."
"And you found us, but we're somehow related more closely." Sam said from where he sat. "This is pretty well thought out."
"One of my Professors helped me." Harry said ducking his head bashfully.
"One of your professors? What they teach magic in school now?" Dean asked frowning.
"Yeah, I go to Hogwarts." The teenager explained before taking another bite of the burger.
Dean sat up and snapped his fingers and pointed at Sam, "That's where I saw that crest before. It's the Hogwarts school crest." Then he turned back to Harry, "Which would make you that Harry Potter."
Harry nodded and cringed slightly waiting for the normal reaction to the news.
"Huh. So someone's after you because you're famous?"
"Voldemort's back. He's been trying to kill me since my first year."
"First year?" Sam asked.
"Since I started at Hogwarts when I was eleven," he clarified.
Dean held up a hand questioningly, "Voldemort? As in the guy you got famous for killing when you were a baby?"
Harry nodded, "He was a ghoul of some sort the first time I saw him when I was eleven. Last year he came back to life."
"To life? Are you serious?" Sam asked incredulously.
"I guess. That's the closest I can come to explaining it." Harry offered. "So I need the blood protections. Can I stay with you? It's only for a month. After that I can go back to England and stay with my friends."
Dean and Sam exchanged looks before Dean shrugged. "We can try it out. Try and figure out how we're related."
Harry gave the two a bright smile. "Thanks."
"Finish eating." Sam ordered. "Think we should put the word out for dad?"
"We've been looking for him for how long?"
"We can try the scrying Professor Binns taught me. It's why I used the blood portkey." Harry offered.
"What?"
"I had to do that because you three were all moving around so much."
Sam and Dean exchanged looks before Dean demanded, "Can you do it again?"
"Yeah, I got all the stuff except the map."
"Great let's do it."
Harry blinked in surprise as Sam dashed out the door.
~~~~~
Five days later Harry was curiously wandering through a flea market on his own as Dean and Sam were off hunting some sort of evil spirit. The two men had over the last few days given a basic run down on the common tools of the trade; but until they had vetted Harry out, didn't want him to hunt.
Harry knew that most boys his age would find it insulting to be shuffled of to the side and told to be good while the other two went off to fight evil, but Harry actually found it soothing. Sam and Dean didn't expect him to take care of everything, try to hide everything 'for his own good', or even care really that he was 'the-boy-who-lived'. Instead they told him what was going on and what they were planning and trusted him to go off and do something on his own while they handled it.
This was the second hunt he had been with them on, not counting the one he had initially crashed. They had, after the second day, gotten him his own cell phone and taught him how to use it, so he had a way to get a hold of them if something happened or visa versa.
Harry was curiously eyeing a booth of antique dolls when his eye was caught by one of them moving. Frowning Harry walked over to the booth and pointed to the doll, "Can I see that one?"
"Of course young man, it's not often I have someone so young interested in these." The old woman at the booth commented as she gathered the doll and handed it over, though she kept a stern eye on him.
Harry had a feeling that the only reason she let him touch it was because of his British accent. "My aunt collects antiques."
"Thinking of getting it for her?"
"Yeah." Harry eyed the doll closely. It was a beautifully crafted porcelain doll about three feet tall with long black curls, blue eyes, an expertly painted face, and a white lace dress. Though the doll was much heavier than he expected, even for one that size, she weighed about as much as an actual child of similar size. "How much for her?"
"Two hundred." The woman said.
Harry looked over at her in surprise, "So little? I thought dolls like this go for several thousand at least. She looks old."
"She is; older than this country. Unfortunately the doll has a very long and tragic history. It's supposedly cursed." The woman shared.
"Cursed? How?" Harry asked curiously giving the woman a hopeful look, silently asking her to share the story.
The woman melted at the look and gave him an encouraging smile. "People who buy the doll tend to end up murdered or disappearing."
Harry looked down at the doll again before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. Flipping it open and one handed and thumbing open the pocket he held out the wallet. "Can you grab the money for me? I should have just enough."
"Of course dear." The woman reached out and pulled out the offered money, "Oh honey, this'll clear you out."
"It's okay. I really want this doll." Harry gave her a slight smile. "I don't think I'll come across a deal like this ever again."
That startled a laugh from the woman. "True. Look here." The woman pulled off a twenty from the cash she had just gotten from Harry and stuffed it in his jacket pocket. "Why don't you go get something to eat? Think of it as a discount." She waved off the protest she could see entering his face.
"I... thanks. Thanks a lot." Harry gave her a last smile before walking off with the magic doll after the woman gave him a parting pat on his cheek.
A little ways off Harry found a spot behind a booth where he wouldn't be seen, so he entered and looked down at the doll again. "I know you can move. Can you talk?"
The doll tilted her head and looked up at him. "Yes."
"Great. Hi, I'm Harry. Do you have a name?" Harry asked introducing himself.
"Clarrisa*2."
"Great. Look, I think we got a while until Sam and Dean are done, so why don't we look around for some clothes for you?" At the nod Harry smiled again. "When you see something you like just tug on my coat okay?"
"Okay."
"Great." After adjusting her so that he was carrying her like he would a child of a similar size he walked out and went back to wandering.
~~~~~
"Harry!" Dean called to the teen sitting on a bench. "You done?"
"Yeah. You guys done?" He asked standing up and stretching.
"Yeah. Buy anything good?" Sam asked.
"Well a magic moving doll and some dresses for her." Harry said picking up the large black haired doll from the bench. "This is Clarrisa. Clarrisa this is Dean and Sam."
"A magic moving doll named Clarrisa?" Dean asked incredulous only to jump when the doll waved at him and said hello.
"Right... anything else?" Sam asked slowly.
"Well she's believed to be cursed. And one of the booths has some magic books I'm having them hold for me until you guys came. I'm out of money. Clarrisa here cost two hundred."
Dean sighed and nodded, "Why don't we have a look at these books then go get something to eat?"
"Sure."
~~~~~
A couple days later Harry slid into the booth after setting Clarrisa down in the seat.
"So you find anything on Clarrisa?" Harry asked Sam after the waitress had left.
"Well she is right. Clarrisa's previous owners do have a bad habit of turning up messily dead or just gone. I'm not sure if it's her or just bad luck and rumor."
"Great. Well the most evil thing I've seen her do is to try to eat Hedwig's feathers and hide Sam's shoes." Dean said.
"Why don't we just keep an eye on her then?" Harry suggested.
"Sure. Besides, she shouldn't be around normal people." Dean shrugged. "So we still heading to Wyoming oh great navigator?" he asked in a sudden shift in subjects as the waitress returned with the coffee carafe and glass of juice.
"As of this morning, yes." Harry gave the woman a thankful smile. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Ah come on Harry. She's too young to be a ma'am." Dean teased Harry for his ingrained politeness.
"Sorry Miss. It's what I get for going to a British boarding school for the last five years." Harry apologized to the woman.
Sam just laughed, "Don't worry, Harry. We don't want you picking up Dean's manners anyway."
"Hey!" Dean exclaimed hitting Sam on the arm.
"Hey! Jerk!" Sam said hitting Dean back.
"Bitch!"
Harry gave the still watching waitress an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I think I'm the adult here sometimes."
She just laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "I have older brothers too. No need to explain." With that she walked off to continue her rounds.
"Huh." Sam muttered eyeing the departing waitress before picking up his menu.
Shaking his head Dean picked up his cup. "Right."
There was the sound of crunching that had the three turn their head and see Clarrisa sitting there chewing with a bite taken out of Harry's spoon.
"Okay that's new." Sam muttered.
"Did she just eat that spoon?" Dean asked.
"Well at least part of it." Harry confirmed.
"O~kay." Dean shook his head. "Don't do that again. We'll get you some spoons later."
~~~~~
Continued