Fic: Damned Demented Demons 27/32 (SPN/HP)
Title: Damned Demented Demons 27/32
Author: ME!
Fandoms: Supernatural/Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13 (for swearing)
Warnings: Spoilers for all Harry Potter books, Spoilers up to 4x17 for Supernatural (but takes place around 4x11).
Disclaimer: Sam and Dean belong to Kripke, Harry Potter belongs to Rowling.
A/N: I thought that the Battle of Hogwarts took place in Spring 1997...so that's what I based my timeline on. Since then I've seen that most sources have it in 1998. Ah well. In this story it's 1997. The events of the story take place sometime in early 2009.
Summary: In which there is a lot of arguing and...leashes?
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Interlude | 24 | 25 | 26 |
They stopped for an early dinner at a truck-stop a half hour later. The fun they had that morning with the EMF meter seemed a distant memory now, and the mood was heavy with worry. Harry couldn't tell if the mood was heavy because of their proximity to the Dementors, or if the mood was heavy in anticipation of encountering the Dementors. He tries to keep tabs on the Winchesters. He's used to his own reaction to the Dementors, but Dean and Sam are both far more susceptible than he is.
Harry had already put in a call to Phil, who had the team tracking the Dementors and filled Harry in on their movements every twenty minutes - specifically whether the safe-house was compromised or not. So far, it looked as though the Dementor movements were simply coincidental. Why Phil couldn't find them a safe-house closer, Harry didn't ask. Though Ron did repeatedly in a sullen voice...especially after the fifth time Dean glared at him for pressing his knees into the back of the drivers seat.
The safe-houses were for wizards, not Muggles. They didn't have to be close to major city centres, nor did they have to be frequent. They were hooked up to the Floo network. If you had the wards set up specifically for you, you could apparate onto the front stoop. With the right secretly clearance, you could get a port-key directly to a bedroom, if you wanted. The idea that someone might want to drive from the outskirts of Philadelphia in a 1967 Chevrolet to a safe-house and not have it take six hours never occurred to the Auror department apparently. The truth of the matter was, that they were going to the closest safe-house. Harry thought back to the war, and how he and Hermione and Ron had apparated from all over England to Grimmauld Place, and from Malfoy Manor to Shell Cottage, and from forest to forest to forest....to Hogsmead. If they had been restricted to a car then...
"Maybe we should apparate," Harry said, breaking the tense silence at the table. Dean paused with his burger half-way to his mouth and shook his head.
"Dean," Sam said, "it was fine the other two times."
"I'll be careful," Harry said, "it's not like I don't know what I'm dealing with."
"That's exactly the problem," Dean said. "You don't know what your dealing with. You just think you do, but you said it yourself, the de-...it's unpredicatable with magic."
"There are other magical means of transportation," Harry said trying a different approach. "I could make a portkey, it'd bring us to closer."
"And how do you know if that would work? That it wouldn't...react to it?" Dean asked.
"Well, I don't, but I highly doubt it would," Harry replied. "It works with Muggles just fine, and it's not as jarring, or as dangerous."
"We're almost there," Dean said, "and we're safe in the car, from demons and Dementors, if you two can keep your animals up."
Harry sighed, but nodded. Maybe he was just being paranoid.
"Maybe..." Sam said, "we should split up."
"What would that accomplish?" Dean asked, looking pissed off that someone had spoken again before he was able to take the bite out of his burger.
"Harry could apparate with you to the safe-house," Sam explained. "It's about keeping Harry safe, isn't it? Ron can stay with me while I finish the drive - make sure I make it past the Dementors."
Harry held his breath as Dean seemed to consider for a moment. He looked over at Ron, who had stayed silent throughout the whole exchange to see him chewing a rather large mouthful of burger. Well, that explained the silence. Ron gave him a shrug that said, 'I'm fine with whatever you decide, even though I don't understand what the big deal is.'
"Dean," Sam said impatiently. "You know it makes sense."
Dean gave a long suffering sigh.
"Yeah," Dean said, "doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Dean," Sam repeated.
"Ok ok, listen..." Dean said, "we might be making a big deal out of nothing anyway. If we run into demons, then Harry and I will go straight to the safe-house, but if it's just those Dementors, then we finish the drive together. No offense to Ron or anything, but Harry has more experience dealing with...us."
Harry shot a look at Ron, to see him furrowing his brow at Dean. Harry caught Ron's eye, gave him an apologetic look, and shook his head.
"I'm sure Ron understands that as Hunters, you aren't used to working with others, and you've only just met him," Harry said slowly, "I'm sure you only mean that you know that I don't take offense when you openly distrust me, where as Ron may be a tad more sensitive and react badly."
"Uh, yeah, exactly," Dean said, and shot Ron an awkward smile. "Sorry man, you just seem the uh...emotional type."
"I am not!" Ron said and then crossed his arms and pouted. Harry laughed, and then laughed harder when Ron realized what he had just done and blushed deep red. "But ...I understand. Harry's already helped you, and Sam's your brother...obviously you wouldn't trust his safety with a near stranger."
"Yeah," Dean said, surprised a little, "that's exactly it."
"See!" Ron said, "I do not have the emotional range of a teaspoon!"
Dean looked confused, but Harry laughed.
"I'll be sure to mention it to Hermione when we meet up later."
Harry felt the mood lighten a little after that, even though there was still an strong sense of foreboding.
When they were back in the car, Ron seemed to have decided that it was a good idea to win over Dean's trust.
"I saved Harry once," Ron said, "if that makes you feel any better about trusting me with Sam."
"I can look after myself, you know," Sam said angrily.
"Of course you can," Ron said, "but I could still murder you with a single curse while your back is turned."
"Ron..." Harry said, cringing.
"Not that I would!" Ron said. "I'm just saying that it's perfectly understandable for Muggles to be distrustful of Wizards. We're scary!"
"Ron..." Harry tried again, wondering desperately if Ron was about to undo all the work he had done over the past week earning the Winchesters trust.
"Dude," Dean said, "I really don't know if your helping or hurting your cause right now."
"Well, anyway," Ron said, glancing out the window, "If it weren't for me, Harry would have died in his underwear at the bottom of a frozen lake, and I think that should count for something."
"What were you doing in your underwear in a frozen lake?" Dean asked, with a curious glance through the rear view mirror.
"Trying to get a sword," Harry replied glumly.
"A sword?" Sam asked, "Why?"
"It's kind of a long story..." Harry replied dismissively. "In any case, the uh, necklace I was wearing tried to kill me while I was in the water...otherwise I would have been fine."
"A necklace tried to kill you?" Dean repeated in disbelief.
"It was a horcrux - had part of Voldemort's soul in it," Harry explained tiredly. "It was evil."
"No shit," Dean said. "So, Ron had to pull your naked ass out of a lake? Was there mouth to mouth involved, because dude, that's love right there."
"No, thank God," Harry replied.
"I totally would have though," Ron added with conviction.
"More than I needed to know, man," Dean laughed. "Don't worry about it. So, besides trying to get swords out of frozen lakes while wearing evil jewelery, what other crazy things has Harry done?"
"Merlin," Ron said, "where do I start?!"
Harry saw the twin smirks on Dean and Sam's faces, and couldn't help the groan as he sank back into leather seat.
*
"...so, there's Harry having a nice chat with a spider the size of a small house, completely oblivious to the fact that we're slowly being surrounded by the thing's children. When I finally get his attention, we're pretty much doomed... and then, what do you know, the bloody Ford comes to our rescue!" Ron continued, "Remember I told you about the flying Ford, yeah? Well, it comes in, lights blazing, horn blowing, and Harry and I dive inside and hold on for dear life while the car gets us out of there. So, somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, there's a wild car with a mind of it's own...and I've never been so thankful that it apparently doesn't hold a grudge against me for driving it into a tree."
"Did the spider know anything useful?" Sam asks.
"Damned if I can remember," Ron said, "I was too busy trying not to wet myself. I bloody hate spiders."
"Well, it told us that Hagrid wasn't to blame," Harry said, "and that whatever was to blame was the enemy of the spiders."
"It was still Hermione that figured it out for us, not the spiders," Ron said proudly, "and she wasn't even conscious. She's brilliant."
"Really?" Harry said sarcastically, "...and to think you called her a friendless nightmare when you first met."
"I was eleven!" Ron said.
Harry laughed, then turned to Sam and Dean.
"Did you know that Ron used to have nightmares that spiders were making him tap-dance?" He asked innocently.
Both the Winchesters snorted a laugh.
As Ron launched into a spectacularly hilarious defense of his subconscious, Harry gave him a smile to show that there were no hard feelings for all the embarrassing stories...which had included in no particular order the time Gilderoy Lockheart had removed the bones from his arm, the flying Ford Anglia, and the fact that on Harry's first date he had accidentally talked about Hermione the whole time. It had all been worth it though, because despite the drizzling fog they had driven into, Ron had kept the mood inside the car light and carefree.
Dean launched into a story about various prank wars that Sam and he had had over the years. Ron and Harry laughed at all of them, especially when Sam cut in with how he had retaliated, and Dean made excuses as to how Sam's tricks had slipped passed his defenses. Then they started explaining about this Topa they found in Texas and these two idiots who liked to play Hunter, but didn't know what they were doing. Just as Dean was finish up the story, Harry's mirror spoke his name.
He flipped it open to find Phil's concerned face staring back at him.
"Report," Harry said curious.
"The Dementors have stopped moving," Phil said, "They're hungry."
"Where? Who?" Harry asked, urgently.
"A Muggle village, not far off the interstate, five miles North-West of your approximate location," Phil said. "We're holding them back as best we can, but we're losing moral...we're trying to confund the Muggles into staying in their houses, but even then...."
"Tell the team Ron and I will be there shortly," Harry said snapping his phone shut. He took out his wand and had it point to Phil's location, then reached between Sam and Dean into the front seat and placed it by the dashboard. "Exit in five-miles, head North-West, follow the wand."
"No," Sam said, eying the wand. "We can't help them."
"What?!" Harry asked surprised and angry, just as Dean's head snapped towards Sam in surprise.
"It could be a trap, we should get to the safe house," Sam said, "besides, Dean..." Sam trailed off, biting his lower lip.
"What?" Dean said, "what about me?"
"You can't be around those things," Sam said lowly. "You aren't..."
"I'm not what Sam?" Dean said, "Because last I looked, Harry had given us protection. So, really, I see no reason why we can't help those people. Those things eat souls Sam, if we can help, we sure as hell are going to."
"Dean..." Sam said, growing frustrated, then seemed to change tactics, "Let the wizards handle it, it's not like we can do anything anyway..."
"We can try to keep people in their houses," Dean said. "You can see the things, maybe we can save some people from being attacked."
"You can see them too," Harry added. "The pendants Phil gave you in Boston - the crystal in them conducts ambient...well, they do more than make you immune to Muggle repelling charms, they also allow you to see magical creatures and things that Muggles normally can't."
"See, Sam," Dean said, "those things can't even sneak up on us, and we got Harry and Ron here to watch our backs. We can help."
"Dean, we've got more important things to worry about," Sam argued back.
"More important than saving people Sam?" Dean replied, "I don't think so. I don't care what you do, but I'm helping. I need to do this."
Harry held his breath as he watched Sam clench and unclench his jaw.
"Fine," Sam bit out, then he turned and pointed at Harry and Ron, "but you have to stay with us at all times!"
"Yes, sir," Ron said. Harry just nodded, until Sam turned back to glare out the front window.
They came up to the small town quickly once they exited the interstate. The clouds hung low and heavy over it, and Harry could see flashes of black swooping, while flashes of silvery-blue followed at their heels. Dean sped through the empty streets, and Harry could see cars haphazardly pulled to the side of the road...a few held some Muggles who were weeping. Harry's wand directed to the centre of town, where there was a large open park. Phil stood beside an oak tree, talking to Deacon and Allison, they all looked pale.
Harry had his car door open and was running over to Phil before Dean even stopped the car. He vaguely heard the doors slamming and swearing coming from behind him.
"Phil!" Harry called, "What's the status!"
Phil turned a grateful eye to Harry. Deacon and Allison also looked relieved to see him.
"We need a moral boost," Phil said, "the kids are doing great...fucking kids always do better with Dementors than us old-folk, but they need to know you're here, Harry. They haven't seen you for days."
"Where have you got them fighting?" Harry asked.
"Deacon," Phil said, "take Harry to the north and west teams, Harry, have your Patronus follow Allison, she'll lead it to the south and east teams. If the teams see your Patronus, they'll know you're here."
"Why do you have the team divided?" Harry asked concerned.
"Shepherding. I've got a containment unit standing buy," Phil answered. "If we can corral them into this park, we can capture them. They attacked first, we've got the mandate to stop studying them and start forcibly containing them."
"Who?" Harry asked horrified.
"Some poor Muggle," Phil said, "just outside of town."
"Goddamn it," Harry swore.
"Wasn't anything we could have done, Harry," Phil said, "It happened too quick. Now they all want some more, it seems."
"Alright," Harry said and turned to Deacon, "let's go."
Harry held his left arm out for Deacon to take, but just before Deacon grabbed it, a large hand came down on it instead. Grasping it tightly and whipping Harry around until all he could see was a very broad plaid chest. He looked up, and found the chest was attached to an extremely angry Sam Winchester.
"I thought I told you to stay with us at all times," Sam ground out.
"I was just..." Harry tried, but Sam only tightened the grip on his arm. Harry watched in confusion as Sam used his other hand to pull off the magic pendant around his neck.
"You..." Sam said, as he tested the weight of the chain the pendant hung from, "...have to..." he continued, looping the chain around Harry's left wrist and tying it tightly, "...stay..." he then looped the other end of the chain around his own wrist and tied it tightly, the pendant hanging uselessly between their two hands, "...with at least one of us!"
"Mr. Potter, Sir?" Deacon asked, eyes wide. Harry tore his own wide eyes away from Sam's angry ones, and realized that Phil, Deacon and Allison...and Ron were all looking at him as though he had just been abducted by an alien. Dean was just looking apologetic.
Harry was at a loss for words. Did he yell at Sam for undermining his authority, causing the wizards to retaliate and risk alienating the Winchesters - not only losing defenders against the demons that were after him, but also possibly embittering the two Hunters against wizards? Did he allow Sam to undermine his authority and lose face in front of his team? - which would have the opposite affect on moral than his presence was supposed to have, and no doubt pique the curiosity as to who Dean and Sam really were, thus probably allowing the wizards to capture Sam and Dean which would no doubt affect their ability to stop the apocalypse negatively. He's head swam for a second, and then suddenly the answer came to him.
"Hey, it's alright," Harry said calmly, as though he were talking to Teddy after a nightmare, "I know Dementor's are scary. You can come with me and Deacon, I promise I won't leave you alone. And Ron will look after your brother." Harry watched as Sam blanched, then he slipped his hand into Sam's below where their wrists were tied, which caused Sam's eyes to widen further.
"Expecto Patronum," Harry said, and the Stag sprang to life. He then turned back to Deacon, immensely grateful that Sam had not recovered from the hand-holding yet. "Deacon, Allison, let's go!"
Deacon shot a sympathetic look towards Sam, and then took off running. Harry gripped Sam's hand harder and pulled him along, while Allison and Harry's Stag ran off in the opposite direction.
Harry risked a glance at Sam as they ran, to find him glaring at him.
"You undermined my authority, Sam," Harry said lowly between breaths, "what did you expect me to do."
"I can't believe you..." Sam said, huffing a little.
"You got what you wanted," Harry said.
"I didn't want to come here at all," Sam ground out.
"It's my job, Sam," Harry said.
"Just..." Sam said, keeping his eyes fixed on Deacon's running form ahead of them, "...you can let go of my hand now."
* *
Dean was laughing his head off, which was really quite remarkable, given how cold and miserable he had been ever since they left the interstate.
"Man, Harry's got balls talking to Sam like that!" Dean said, now that it was just him, Ron, and Phil left in the park.
"I can't believe he got away with leashing, Harry!" Ron replied, "not only that, it's an extremely short leash. I think your brother is my new hero. Wait 'til I tell Ginny!"
"Fuckin' unbelievable," Phil muttered.
"You could say that again, man," Dean said, "but at least we know Sam's got Harry's back. Now, what can Ron and I do?"
"What?" Phil said confused.
"Well," Dean said slowly, "you've got a town being attacked by supernatural creatures, and you have an extra Wizard-cop and a Hunter with a small arsenal in the trunk of his car at your disposal...what do you want us to do?"
"Oh," Phil said, "but...Hunters can't fight Dementors"
"If they're corporeal, it means something can kill them," Dean shrugged. "I'm willing to throw things at them until something sticks."
Dean watched as Phil smiled softly and then nodded.
"Alright," Phil said, "How about...Ron, you go help out the south-team, and Dean...maybe you could drive around - make sure the Muggles are either safely in their cars or houses...preferably, away from this park."
"Sure thing," Dean said, just as Ron said,
"No."
"What?" Phil and Dean both said together.
"Harry told me to stay with Dean," Ron replied with a shrug.
"Man, he was just teasing Sam..." Dean said.
"No," Ron said, "if he said it, he meant it. I know Harry. Plus, he told me what happened to you, I cannot, in good conscience, leave you alone in a town full of Dementors."
Dean wanted so much to tell Ron to go fuck himself, that he could take care of himself just fine, but he had been feeling the cold creeping into his bones for a while now. The memories of screams tickled his mind. He nodded.
"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, "fine."
"I'll help you keep the Muggles safe," Ron said. "Besides, I like your car."
Dean smiled, and clapped Ron on the shoulder, then turned back to Phil.
"We'll chase any Dementors we find your way Phil, so keep that containment unit on speed-dial."
"On what?" Phil and Ron both said.
"Nevermind," Dean said, shaking his head in disbelief, "Let's go, we've got work to do."
Chapter 28
Masterpost
Author: ME!
Fandoms: Supernatural/Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13 (for swearing)
Warnings: Spoilers for all Harry Potter books, Spoilers up to 4x17 for Supernatural (but takes place around 4x11).
Disclaimer: Sam and Dean belong to Kripke, Harry Potter belongs to Rowling.
A/N: I thought that the Battle of Hogwarts took place in Spring 1997...so that's what I based my timeline on. Since then I've seen that most sources have it in 1998. Ah well. In this story it's 1997. The events of the story take place sometime in early 2009.
Summary: In which there is a lot of arguing and...leashes?
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Interlude | 24 | 25 | 26 |
They stopped for an early dinner at a truck-stop a half hour later. The fun they had that morning with the EMF meter seemed a distant memory now, and the mood was heavy with worry. Harry couldn't tell if the mood was heavy because of their proximity to the Dementors, or if the mood was heavy in anticipation of encountering the Dementors. He tries to keep tabs on the Winchesters. He's used to his own reaction to the Dementors, but Dean and Sam are both far more susceptible than he is.
Harry had already put in a call to Phil, who had the team tracking the Dementors and filled Harry in on their movements every twenty minutes - specifically whether the safe-house was compromised or not. So far, it looked as though the Dementor movements were simply coincidental. Why Phil couldn't find them a safe-house closer, Harry didn't ask. Though Ron did repeatedly in a sullen voice...especially after the fifth time Dean glared at him for pressing his knees into the back of the drivers seat.
The safe-houses were for wizards, not Muggles. They didn't have to be close to major city centres, nor did they have to be frequent. They were hooked up to the Floo network. If you had the wards set up specifically for you, you could apparate onto the front stoop. With the right secretly clearance, you could get a port-key directly to a bedroom, if you wanted. The idea that someone might want to drive from the outskirts of Philadelphia in a 1967 Chevrolet to a safe-house and not have it take six hours never occurred to the Auror department apparently. The truth of the matter was, that they were going to the closest safe-house. Harry thought back to the war, and how he and Hermione and Ron had apparated from all over England to Grimmauld Place, and from Malfoy Manor to Shell Cottage, and from forest to forest to forest....to Hogsmead. If they had been restricted to a car then...
"Maybe we should apparate," Harry said, breaking the tense silence at the table. Dean paused with his burger half-way to his mouth and shook his head.
"Dean," Sam said, "it was fine the other two times."
"I'll be careful," Harry said, "it's not like I don't know what I'm dealing with."
"That's exactly the problem," Dean said. "You don't know what your dealing with. You just think you do, but you said it yourself, the de-...it's unpredicatable with magic."
"There are other magical means of transportation," Harry said trying a different approach. "I could make a portkey, it'd bring us to closer."
"And how do you know if that would work? That it wouldn't...react to it?" Dean asked.
"Well, I don't, but I highly doubt it would," Harry replied. "It works with Muggles just fine, and it's not as jarring, or as dangerous."
"We're almost there," Dean said, "and we're safe in the car, from demons and Dementors, if you two can keep your animals up."
Harry sighed, but nodded. Maybe he was just being paranoid.
"Maybe..." Sam said, "we should split up."
"What would that accomplish?" Dean asked, looking pissed off that someone had spoken again before he was able to take the bite out of his burger.
"Harry could apparate with you to the safe-house," Sam explained. "It's about keeping Harry safe, isn't it? Ron can stay with me while I finish the drive - make sure I make it past the Dementors."
Harry held his breath as Dean seemed to consider for a moment. He looked over at Ron, who had stayed silent throughout the whole exchange to see him chewing a rather large mouthful of burger. Well, that explained the silence. Ron gave him a shrug that said, 'I'm fine with whatever you decide, even though I don't understand what the big deal is.'
"Dean," Sam said impatiently. "You know it makes sense."
Dean gave a long suffering sigh.
"Yeah," Dean said, "doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Dean," Sam repeated.
"Ok ok, listen..." Dean said, "we might be making a big deal out of nothing anyway. If we run into demons, then Harry and I will go straight to the safe-house, but if it's just those Dementors, then we finish the drive together. No offense to Ron or anything, but Harry has more experience dealing with...us."
Harry shot a look at Ron, to see him furrowing his brow at Dean. Harry caught Ron's eye, gave him an apologetic look, and shook his head.
"I'm sure Ron understands that as Hunters, you aren't used to working with others, and you've only just met him," Harry said slowly, "I'm sure you only mean that you know that I don't take offense when you openly distrust me, where as Ron may be a tad more sensitive and react badly."
"Uh, yeah, exactly," Dean said, and shot Ron an awkward smile. "Sorry man, you just seem the uh...emotional type."
"I am not!" Ron said and then crossed his arms and pouted. Harry laughed, and then laughed harder when Ron realized what he had just done and blushed deep red. "But ...I understand. Harry's already helped you, and Sam's your brother...obviously you wouldn't trust his safety with a near stranger."
"Yeah," Dean said, surprised a little, "that's exactly it."
"See!" Ron said, "I do not have the emotional range of a teaspoon!"
Dean looked confused, but Harry laughed.
"I'll be sure to mention it to Hermione when we meet up later."
Harry felt the mood lighten a little after that, even though there was still an strong sense of foreboding.
When they were back in the car, Ron seemed to have decided that it was a good idea to win over Dean's trust.
"I saved Harry once," Ron said, "if that makes you feel any better about trusting me with Sam."
"I can look after myself, you know," Sam said angrily.
"Of course you can," Ron said, "but I could still murder you with a single curse while your back is turned."
"Ron..." Harry said, cringing.
"Not that I would!" Ron said. "I'm just saying that it's perfectly understandable for Muggles to be distrustful of Wizards. We're scary!"
"Ron..." Harry tried again, wondering desperately if Ron was about to undo all the work he had done over the past week earning the Winchesters trust.
"Dude," Dean said, "I really don't know if your helping or hurting your cause right now."
"Well, anyway," Ron said, glancing out the window, "If it weren't for me, Harry would have died in his underwear at the bottom of a frozen lake, and I think that should count for something."
"What were you doing in your underwear in a frozen lake?" Dean asked, with a curious glance through the rear view mirror.
"Trying to get a sword," Harry replied glumly.
"A sword?" Sam asked, "Why?"
"It's kind of a long story..." Harry replied dismissively. "In any case, the uh, necklace I was wearing tried to kill me while I was in the water...otherwise I would have been fine."
"A necklace tried to kill you?" Dean repeated in disbelief.
"It was a horcrux - had part of Voldemort's soul in it," Harry explained tiredly. "It was evil."
"No shit," Dean said. "So, Ron had to pull your naked ass out of a lake? Was there mouth to mouth involved, because dude, that's love right there."
"No, thank God," Harry replied.
"I totally would have though," Ron added with conviction.
"More than I needed to know, man," Dean laughed. "Don't worry about it. So, besides trying to get swords out of frozen lakes while wearing evil jewelery, what other crazy things has Harry done?"
"Merlin," Ron said, "where do I start?!"
Harry saw the twin smirks on Dean and Sam's faces, and couldn't help the groan as he sank back into leather seat.
*
"...so, there's Harry having a nice chat with a spider the size of a small house, completely oblivious to the fact that we're slowly being surrounded by the thing's children. When I finally get his attention, we're pretty much doomed... and then, what do you know, the bloody Ford comes to our rescue!" Ron continued, "Remember I told you about the flying Ford, yeah? Well, it comes in, lights blazing, horn blowing, and Harry and I dive inside and hold on for dear life while the car gets us out of there. So, somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, there's a wild car with a mind of it's own...and I've never been so thankful that it apparently doesn't hold a grudge against me for driving it into a tree."
"Did the spider know anything useful?" Sam asks.
"Damned if I can remember," Ron said, "I was too busy trying not to wet myself. I bloody hate spiders."
"Well, it told us that Hagrid wasn't to blame," Harry said, "and that whatever was to blame was the enemy of the spiders."
"It was still Hermione that figured it out for us, not the spiders," Ron said proudly, "and she wasn't even conscious. She's brilliant."
"Really?" Harry said sarcastically, "...and to think you called her a friendless nightmare when you first met."
"I was eleven!" Ron said.
Harry laughed, then turned to Sam and Dean.
"Did you know that Ron used to have nightmares that spiders were making him tap-dance?" He asked innocently.
Both the Winchesters snorted a laugh.
As Ron launched into a spectacularly hilarious defense of his subconscious, Harry gave him a smile to show that there were no hard feelings for all the embarrassing stories...which had included in no particular order the time Gilderoy Lockheart had removed the bones from his arm, the flying Ford Anglia, and the fact that on Harry's first date he had accidentally talked about Hermione the whole time. It had all been worth it though, because despite the drizzling fog they had driven into, Ron had kept the mood inside the car light and carefree.
Dean launched into a story about various prank wars that Sam and he had had over the years. Ron and Harry laughed at all of them, especially when Sam cut in with how he had retaliated, and Dean made excuses as to how Sam's tricks had slipped passed his defenses. Then they started explaining about this Topa they found in Texas and these two idiots who liked to play Hunter, but didn't know what they were doing. Just as Dean was finish up the story, Harry's mirror spoke his name.
He flipped it open to find Phil's concerned face staring back at him.
"Report," Harry said curious.
"The Dementors have stopped moving," Phil said, "They're hungry."
"Where? Who?" Harry asked, urgently.
"A Muggle village, not far off the interstate, five miles North-West of your approximate location," Phil said. "We're holding them back as best we can, but we're losing moral...we're trying to confund the Muggles into staying in their houses, but even then...."
"Tell the team Ron and I will be there shortly," Harry said snapping his phone shut. He took out his wand and had it point to Phil's location, then reached between Sam and Dean into the front seat and placed it by the dashboard. "Exit in five-miles, head North-West, follow the wand."
"No," Sam said, eying the wand. "We can't help them."
"What?!" Harry asked surprised and angry, just as Dean's head snapped towards Sam in surprise.
"It could be a trap, we should get to the safe house," Sam said, "besides, Dean..." Sam trailed off, biting his lower lip.
"What?" Dean said, "what about me?"
"You can't be around those things," Sam said lowly. "You aren't..."
"I'm not what Sam?" Dean said, "Because last I looked, Harry had given us protection. So, really, I see no reason why we can't help those people. Those things eat souls Sam, if we can help, we sure as hell are going to."
"Dean..." Sam said, growing frustrated, then seemed to change tactics, "Let the wizards handle it, it's not like we can do anything anyway..."
"We can try to keep people in their houses," Dean said. "You can see the things, maybe we can save some people from being attacked."
"You can see them too," Harry added. "The pendants Phil gave you in Boston - the crystal in them conducts ambient...well, they do more than make you immune to Muggle repelling charms, they also allow you to see magical creatures and things that Muggles normally can't."
"See, Sam," Dean said, "those things can't even sneak up on us, and we got Harry and Ron here to watch our backs. We can help."
"Dean, we've got more important things to worry about," Sam argued back.
"More important than saving people Sam?" Dean replied, "I don't think so. I don't care what you do, but I'm helping. I need to do this."
Harry held his breath as he watched Sam clench and unclench his jaw.
"Fine," Sam bit out, then he turned and pointed at Harry and Ron, "but you have to stay with us at all times!"
"Yes, sir," Ron said. Harry just nodded, until Sam turned back to glare out the front window.
They came up to the small town quickly once they exited the interstate. The clouds hung low and heavy over it, and Harry could see flashes of black swooping, while flashes of silvery-blue followed at their heels. Dean sped through the empty streets, and Harry could see cars haphazardly pulled to the side of the road...a few held some Muggles who were weeping. Harry's wand directed to the centre of town, where there was a large open park. Phil stood beside an oak tree, talking to Deacon and Allison, they all looked pale.
Harry had his car door open and was running over to Phil before Dean even stopped the car. He vaguely heard the doors slamming and swearing coming from behind him.
"Phil!" Harry called, "What's the status!"
Phil turned a grateful eye to Harry. Deacon and Allison also looked relieved to see him.
"We need a moral boost," Phil said, "the kids are doing great...fucking kids always do better with Dementors than us old-folk, but they need to know you're here, Harry. They haven't seen you for days."
"Where have you got them fighting?" Harry asked.
"Deacon," Phil said, "take Harry to the north and west teams, Harry, have your Patronus follow Allison, she'll lead it to the south and east teams. If the teams see your Patronus, they'll know you're here."
"Why do you have the team divided?" Harry asked concerned.
"Shepherding. I've got a containment unit standing buy," Phil answered. "If we can corral them into this park, we can capture them. They attacked first, we've got the mandate to stop studying them and start forcibly containing them."
"Who?" Harry asked horrified.
"Some poor Muggle," Phil said, "just outside of town."
"Goddamn it," Harry swore.
"Wasn't anything we could have done, Harry," Phil said, "It happened too quick. Now they all want some more, it seems."
"Alright," Harry said and turned to Deacon, "let's go."
Harry held his left arm out for Deacon to take, but just before Deacon grabbed it, a large hand came down on it instead. Grasping it tightly and whipping Harry around until all he could see was a very broad plaid chest. He looked up, and found the chest was attached to an extremely angry Sam Winchester.
"I thought I told you to stay with us at all times," Sam ground out.
"I was just..." Harry tried, but Sam only tightened the grip on his arm. Harry watched in confusion as Sam used his other hand to pull off the magic pendant around his neck.
"You..." Sam said, as he tested the weight of the chain the pendant hung from, "...have to..." he continued, looping the chain around Harry's left wrist and tying it tightly, "...stay..." he then looped the other end of the chain around his own wrist and tied it tightly, the pendant hanging uselessly between their two hands, "...with at least one of us!"
"Mr. Potter, Sir?" Deacon asked, eyes wide. Harry tore his own wide eyes away from Sam's angry ones, and realized that Phil, Deacon and Allison...and Ron were all looking at him as though he had just been abducted by an alien. Dean was just looking apologetic.
Harry was at a loss for words. Did he yell at Sam for undermining his authority, causing the wizards to retaliate and risk alienating the Winchesters - not only losing defenders against the demons that were after him, but also possibly embittering the two Hunters against wizards? Did he allow Sam to undermine his authority and lose face in front of his team? - which would have the opposite affect on moral than his presence was supposed to have, and no doubt pique the curiosity as to who Dean and Sam really were, thus probably allowing the wizards to capture Sam and Dean which would no doubt affect their ability to stop the apocalypse negatively. He's head swam for a second, and then suddenly the answer came to him.
"Hey, it's alright," Harry said calmly, as though he were talking to Teddy after a nightmare, "I know Dementor's are scary. You can come with me and Deacon, I promise I won't leave you alone. And Ron will look after your brother." Harry watched as Sam blanched, then he slipped his hand into Sam's below where their wrists were tied, which caused Sam's eyes to widen further.
"Expecto Patronum," Harry said, and the Stag sprang to life. He then turned back to Deacon, immensely grateful that Sam had not recovered from the hand-holding yet. "Deacon, Allison, let's go!"
Deacon shot a sympathetic look towards Sam, and then took off running. Harry gripped Sam's hand harder and pulled him along, while Allison and Harry's Stag ran off in the opposite direction.
Harry risked a glance at Sam as they ran, to find him glaring at him.
"You undermined my authority, Sam," Harry said lowly between breaths, "what did you expect me to do."
"I can't believe you..." Sam said, huffing a little.
"You got what you wanted," Harry said.
"I didn't want to come here at all," Sam ground out.
"It's my job, Sam," Harry said.
"Just..." Sam said, keeping his eyes fixed on Deacon's running form ahead of them, "...you can let go of my hand now."
* *
Dean was laughing his head off, which was really quite remarkable, given how cold and miserable he had been ever since they left the interstate.
"Man, Harry's got balls talking to Sam like that!" Dean said, now that it was just him, Ron, and Phil left in the park.
"I can't believe he got away with leashing, Harry!" Ron replied, "not only that, it's an extremely short leash. I think your brother is my new hero. Wait 'til I tell Ginny!"
"Fuckin' unbelievable," Phil muttered.
"You could say that again, man," Dean said, "but at least we know Sam's got Harry's back. Now, what can Ron and I do?"
"What?" Phil said confused.
"Well," Dean said slowly, "you've got a town being attacked by supernatural creatures, and you have an extra Wizard-cop and a Hunter with a small arsenal in the trunk of his car at your disposal...what do you want us to do?"
"Oh," Phil said, "but...Hunters can't fight Dementors"
"If they're corporeal, it means something can kill them," Dean shrugged. "I'm willing to throw things at them until something sticks."
Dean watched as Phil smiled softly and then nodded.
"Alright," Phil said, "How about...Ron, you go help out the south-team, and Dean...maybe you could drive around - make sure the Muggles are either safely in their cars or houses...preferably, away from this park."
"Sure thing," Dean said, just as Ron said,
"No."
"What?" Phil and Dean both said together.
"Harry told me to stay with Dean," Ron replied with a shrug.
"Man, he was just teasing Sam..." Dean said.
"No," Ron said, "if he said it, he meant it. I know Harry. Plus, he told me what happened to you, I cannot, in good conscience, leave you alone in a town full of Dementors."
Dean wanted so much to tell Ron to go fuck himself, that he could take care of himself just fine, but he had been feeling the cold creeping into his bones for a while now. The memories of screams tickled his mind. He nodded.
"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, "fine."
"I'll help you keep the Muggles safe," Ron said. "Besides, I like your car."
Dean smiled, and clapped Ron on the shoulder, then turned back to Phil.
"We'll chase any Dementors we find your way Phil, so keep that containment unit on speed-dial."
"On what?" Phil and Ron both said.
"Nevermind," Dean said, shaking his head in disbelief, "Let's go, we've got work to do."
Chapter 28
Masterpost