Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction / Supernatural Fan Fiction ❯ Supernatural Magic ❯ Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

 

Chapter 8

 

Evan smiled as he wandered from store to store. And he'd once though Diagon Alley was amazing; it had nothing on its American counterparts. Part of what made it so good was that the American Wizarding community wasn't stuck in the past. Magically powered computers and cell phones were a great invention. Hermione would have been in heaven.

 

Classes were on a break so Evan was having fun travelling the country a bit and doing some work for his bosses. Not that they liked calling him in because usually that meant things were really bad but it did give him the chance to exercise his magic. He'd been so focused on his studies since arriving in America that he had hardly seen any of the country. He'd seen more while helping Sam and Dean then he had by himself so he had decided to travel a bit before classes started up again.

 

It wasn't like he was behind in his work or anything. In fact his training in magical medicine had given him a small head start. Not that he was a medi-wizard yet but he planned to complete the training once he had his degree. He'd seen magic heal things no muggle doctor could have and vice versa so he wanted to try to combine the two. If he could find a way to get most potions to work on muggles or even a way to give them a temporary magical core so that they could be healed magically it would do a lot for the world.

 

He found his thoughts wandering to the Winchester brothers, more specifically the elder. It was kind of annoying how often his thoughts now focused on Dean Winchester and yet exciting at the same time. He knew what he was feeling and it did scare him a bit, he hadn't felt this way since Draco. The Malfoy heir's death had nearly destroyed him and the thought of letting someone that close again...but if he didn't risk that then what was the point? Draco had shown him that love was worth risking everything for, could he really dishonour his memory by running from it now? Dean seemed a complete ladies man though and the last thing he wanted was to lose his friendship because Dean felt disgusted by him. And even if it did work out he would have to tell Dean the whole truth, he would not keep his past from a constant lover, it wouldn't be fair especially considering how much he knew of Dean's past already.

 

Evan looked down as his phone began to play Snow on the Sahara by Anggun. He grinned as the message appeared. Looked like he was seeing the boys again. He hadn't seen them since they'd parted in Chicago but they called and emailed regularly. He apparated back to his apartment, grabbed his bag and then apparated to the coordinates Sam had sent, next stop Fitchburg, Wisconsin.

 

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“Well, you were right. It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right. A shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about `em date back to ancient Rome. They feed off of spiritus vitae.” Sam told Dean from where he was sitting on the bed.

 

“Spiri-what?” Dean looked at him blankly.

 

“Vitae. It's Latin—it translates to “breath of life”. Kind of like your life force or essence.” Sam explained still going over the information displayed on his laptop's screen.

 

“Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearin' out?” Dean asked from his seat at the table.

 

“It's a thought. You know, she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, shtrigas can feed off anyone, but they prefer—“ Sam thought it out, frowning.

 

“Children.” Dean stated flatly.

 

“Yeah. Probably because they have stronger life force. And get this—shtrigas are invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man. Do you think...maybe we should call Evan? If this thing is some sort of witch he might know more.”

 

“I don't know. Dad hunted one of these things before. He said that consecrated wrought iron rounds while it's feeding should do it.”

 

“Did he say anything else about it?” Sam frowned at Dean, something was going on, had been since they'd arrived.

 

“Nope, that was it.” Dean replied and Sam let it drop for now.

“Fine, ask Evan if he wants to come.”

 

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Evan appeared in an alley just across the street from the motel with a familiar car parked in its lot. He crossed the street and then knocked on the door. Sam opened it and smiled at him. They hugged briefly and then Sam let him inside.

 

“Good to see you guys again. So what's up?” Evan asked as he dumped his bag and sat on the edge of one of the beds.

 

“Know anything about something called a shtriga? Apparently they're a sort of Albanian witch.” Dean asked as he offered Evan a slice of pizza.

 

“Sounds vaguely familiar. I'd have to dig through some books to be sure. Why?” Evan took a bite out of the pizza.

 

“Looks like one's here. According to what I've found they feed of people's life force and prefer children. So now we have a bunch of comatose kids in the hospital and soon they're going to start dying.” Sam explained and Evan frowned, why did things always target kids?

 

“I'll head to the hospital to get a scan of one of the kids, see exactly what this thing does to them. The books I need are at my apartment but I can be back in seconds if you call.”

 

“Good, we think we have a way to kill it when it feeds but we still need to find it.” Sam told him and Evan nodded before apparating back to his home.”

 

“Huh.” Dean was staring at the spot Evan had been in a second before and then at the floor.

 

“What?”

 

“He left his bag.” Dean said and Sam looked over.

 

“Well he said he'd be back soon so no point taking it and no, you are not searching it.” Sam scolded as Dean went to do just that.

 

“Oh come on. He left it here.”

 

“So? Dean that's an invasion of privacy, would you like him to go through your bag?”

 

“Well...no. But I still don't trust him. He seems an okay guy but he uses magic Sammy. Without that I like him, with it I just can't trust him.”

 

“Well Dad must have come to some sort of arrangement with him since they're both still breathing. Can't you let it go?” Sam pleaded and Dean sighed in frustration.

 

“Fine.” Dean dropped journal he'd been holding and it fell open, revealing a photo. Dean picked it up and stared at the photo of two teenagers wrapped around each other and smiling happily at the camera, although the blonde's smile was closer to a smirk.

 

“Dean!” Sam snatched the journal and closed it, putting it back in Evan's bag.

 

“Wonder who they are? The dark haired one kind of looks like Evan, maybe they're related.”

 

“Then he's dead, Evan's the last of his family so you won't be asking.” Sam told him firmly.

 

“They looked really close.”

 

“Maybe they're a couple, it's none of our business Dean.” Sam turned his back on his brother, going back to his research.

 

“So that doesn't bother you?” Dean asked and something in his voice caught Sam's attention.

 

“What doesn't bother me?” Sam asked, turning to face him.

 

“You know, two guys like that?” Dean asked uncomfortably and Sam shrugged.

 

“With everything we see, you take love where you can find it. So no, it doesn't bother me. And seeing a photo like that in Evan's bag isn't a surprise.” Sam decided to let that slip, wanting to see if he'd guessed right about what he'd heard in Dean's voice.

 

“You mean Evan?” Dean asked and Sam turned to hide his grin. There was definitely some interest in Dean's voice. He'd known for years Dean wasn't the ladies man he pretended to be, he'd caught Dean leaving a bar with another guy when Dean was nineteen so he knew his brother swung both ways. And if Evan was interested back...Sam couldn't help the wide smile on his face. Dean and Evan both deserved happiness.

 

When Evan reappeared with a small pop neither brother jumped since they were expecting it. The pile of books he had with him made Dean grown and Sam smile.

 

“Found more info for you and well...here.” Evan held the pile out to Sam.

 

“Evan?” Sam asked unsure of what Evan meant.

 

“If you're going to be running into more magic then you need research materials. I had doubles so...just don't tell anyone you have them or I could get in a lot of trouble for giving them to you. And I'm in enough trouble as it is for telling you about Wizards so please don't go spreading this around.” Evan's explanation made Sam's heart drop. Just how much trouble had his friend gotten into for them?

 

“What do you mean trouble?” Dean asked before Sam could.

 

“We've been a completely separate society for centuries, only telling the parents and spouses of those of us born to normal families. And then I break the rules by telling the two of you and then letting your father find out as well. If you start spreading it...I've been ordered to wipe your memories of everything I've told you, I'll have to pay a rather large fine and will be given a totally new identity, forbidden to contact anyone who knows Evan Black.” Evan admitted and both brothers stared in shock. Wipe their memories?

 

“You can do that? Make us forget?” Dean asked and Evan nodded.

 

“Targeting specific memories can be complicated but yes I can.”

 

“And if you refused?” Sam asked.

 

“Someone else would be sent to do it and they would not be as cautious as me plus I'd end up in prison for who knows how long. So can you please not spread this stuff?” Evan was all but begging them and both could tell he really didn't want any of that to happen.

“I'm powerful yes but not even I could stop the others if they came in force and if they think I'm going, well `rogue', they will.”

 

“We won't tell.” Dean told him and Evan relaxed, smiling at them slightly.

“So what did you find?”

 

“Other than the fact that Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting? There's not a lot on them except that and the fact that they're almost extinct.”

 

“Great. What sort of human disguise?” Dean groaned and it was Sam who answered since he had taken the books and had found the right spot.

 

“Historically, something innocuous—it could be anything. But it's usually a feeble old woman, which may be how the whole witches-as-old-crones legend got started.” Sam said as he read. Dean dug a map out of his bag and Evan lay back on Dean's bed, not that he knew it was Dean's.

 

“Check this out.” Dean called and they moved over to where he had the map spread out.

“I marked down all the addresses of the victims. Now, these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead centre?”

 

“ The hospital.”

 

“When we were there I saw this patient - an old woman.” Dean said, ignoring the amused look from Evan.

 

“Well it is a hospital, old people do tend to be there.” The wizard commented.

 

“She had an inverted cross on her wall.” Dean glared at Evan who grinned and shrugged.

 

“So that makes her more interesting?” Both hunters stared at him.

“What? Not like I've ever been to church or anything.”

 

“Let's just say it's not a good thing.”

 

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Evan slipped from the last child's room, frowning as he mentally went over the results of his scans. If they didn't find a way to reverse things fast the children were going to start dying. He arched an eyebrow as he saw Sam and Dean coming down the corridor looking amused but almost scared.

 

“Find it?” He asked as they got close enough.

 

“Just an old lady being ignored by maintenance.” Evan gave them a worried look at the answer but followed them from the building. The car ride was silent, other than an occasional snicker from Sam, until they were pulling into the motel lot and then he lost it.

 

““I was sleepin' with my peepers open”?” Sam continued to laugh despite the utterly lost expression on Evan's face and the annoyed one on Dean's.

 

“I almost smoked that old gal, I swear. It's not funny.” Dean growled out and Evan realised what they were going on about, obviously a little old lady had gotten the drop on the brother's. No wonder Sam was laughing.

 

“Oh, man, you should've seen your face, Dean.” Sam was still laughing as he went to unlock their door and even Evan was starting to chuckle.

 

“Yeah, well, laugh it up, man. We're back to square one.”Dean stopped as he noticed Michael sitting alone on a nearby bench.

“Hang on.” He headed over to the crying kid while Evan and Sam watched, having decided to hang back and let Dean deal with it. Dean crouched down beside the boy.

“Hey, what's wrong?”

 

“My brother's sick.”

 

“The little guy?” Michael nodded.

 

“Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault.” The boy said softly through his tears.

 

“Oh, come on, how?”

 

“I should've made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have gotten pneumonia if the window was latched.”

 

“Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault, okay?”

 

“It's my job to look after him.” Dean nodded, understanding completely where the boy was coming from. Joanna came outside carrying blankets and a pillow, heading for her car.

 

“Michael.” She called and Dean followed the kid over to his mother.

“I want you to turn on the “No Vacancy” sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms.”

 

“I'm going with you.” Michael insisted.

 

“Not now, Michael.” She hushed him.

 

“But I gotta see Asher!”

 

“Hey, Michael. Hey, I know how you feel, okay? I'm a big brother, too. But you gotta go easy on your mom right now, okay?” Michael nodded. Joanna shut the car door and then dropped her purse.

 

“Dammit!”

 

“I got it.” Sam said, having approached without the others noticing, Evan trailing behind him.

“Here.” Sam handed her the purse and she managed a smile.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Hey, listen, you're in no condition to drive. Why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital, huh?”

 

“No, I couldn't possibly—“ She tried to argue but Dean wasn't going to let it go.

 

“No, it's no trouble. I insist.” Joanna thought about it for a moment and then handed him the keys.

 

“Thanks.” She kissed Michal's forehead.

“Be good.” She got in the car and Dean shut her door. He moved over to where Sam and Evan were standing.

 

“We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?” Dean got into the car after telling them that and they watched as he drove away.

 

“Looks like we're researching.” Evan commented and Sam nodded.

 

“Let's head over to the library. Maybe we can find some sort of pattern to give us a clue.” Sam suggested as they watched Michael head dejectedly back inside.

 

“Sounds good to me.” They started to walk down the street in silence.

 

“Were you serious?” Sam asked and Evan looked over at him.

“About wiping our memories.”

 

“I wouldn't want to, you're my friends and I have few of those. But better me than someone who doesn't care.”

 

“So we wouldn't remember you at all?” Sam swallowed at the thought of forgetting Evan, how much of his life would he lose if that happened?

 

“You wouldn't but Dean would. You'd remember me from classes but it would probably be changed to me leaving Stanford earlier or something. Messing with memories isn't an exact science. I know of one guy who tried it, had the spell backfire and is now in a mental ward since he completely wiped his own memory. Not that it was much of a loss, he was a bit of an idiot anyway.” Evan explained and Sam nodded, the thought of there being people out there who could do that was kind of scary.

 

“So our Dad's an ass huh? What happened?” Sam asked, curious to hear what had happened between the two.

 

“He showed up at my apartment demanding to know what I'd done to the two of you. He was very impolite about it so I made him sit down and shut up. He doesn't like me and I don't like him but I think we came to an understanding. At least he hasn't tried to kill me or anything.” Evan shrugged as they walked into the library. They worked silently for a while before Sam called Evan over to look at what he'd found before calling Dean.

 

“Hey.” Dean answered.

 

“Hey. How's the kid?” Sam asked as Evan read the articles from over his shoulder.

 

“He's not good. Where you at?”

 

“At the library, tryin' to find out as much as we can about this shtriga.” Sam answered.

 

“Yeah? What do you got?”

 

“Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas, around the time you said Dad was there.” Evan glanced at Sam when he said that but went back to reading.

 

“And?”

 

“Same deal. Before that, there was Ogdenville. Before that, North Haverbrook and Brockway. Every fifteen to twenty years, it hits a new town. Dean, this thing is just gettin' started in Fitchburg. In all these other places, it goes on for months—dozens of kids, before the shtriga finally moves on. Kids just languish in comas, and then they die.” Sam explained and Evan nodded in agreement since his scans had shown that was what would happen.

 

“How far back does this thing go?”

 

“I don't know. The earliest mention I could find was this place called Black River Falls back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show.” Sam reached around Evan and brought up a page from an old issue of The Fitchburg Chronicle. The picture features a group of doctors crowded around a patient's bed. Both of them froze as they stared at the picture.

“Whoa.”

 

“Sam?”

 

“Hold on. We're lookin' at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Hydecker.”

 

“And?”

 

“And this picture was taken in 1893.” Evan said loudly enough for Dean to hear and it left the older Winchester stunned into silence for a few seconds.

 

“You sure?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.” Sam said instantly and then put his phone away when Dean hung up.

 

“Merlin...” Evan whispered as he stared at the picture.

 

“What?”

 

“It's just freaky, the thought of living that long. We live longer than average but to not look any different? Creepy.”

 

“You live longer?” Sam stared at him in surprise.

 

“Yeah, something to do with magical cores or something. Dumbledore was over a hundred when he was killed in the war and he wasn't considered ancient or anything.” Evan shrugged.

 

“So how old are you?” Sam couldn't help asking and Evan grinned.

 

“You're a few months older than me Sam.” Evan told him and Sam relaxed making Evan laugh.

 

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“We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing.” Sam said once all three of them were together in their motel room.

 

“Huh. That son of a bitch.” They watched Dean pace angrily, staying out of his way.

 

“I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there.” Sam commented and Dean gestured angrily.

 

“Yeah, well, first of all, I'm not gonna open fire in a freakin' paediatrics ward.”

 

“Good call.” Evan commented dryly and Dean glared at him for a second before going back to his pacing.

 

“Second, it wouldn't have done any good because the bastard's bulletproof unless he's chowin' down on somethin'. And third, I wasn't packin', which is probably a really good thing `cause I probably would've just burned a clip in him off of principle alone.”

 

“Gettin' wise in your old age, Dean.” Sam said with a small smile.

 

“Damn right. So now I know how we're gonna get it.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“This shtriga—it works through siblings, right?” Dean looked over at them and Evan answered this time.

 

“Right.”

 

“Well, last night….”

 

“It went after Asher.” Sam finished his brothers thought and then stared at him in shock.

 

“So I'm thinkin' tonight, it's probably gonna come after Michael.”

 

“Then, we gotta get him outta here.” Sam insisted but Evan stayed quiet, knowing where Dean was going with it and not liking it.

 

“No. No, that'd blow the whole deal.”

 

“What?” Sam stared at Dean in confusion.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“He's saying we use the kid as bait.” Evan spoke up and Sam turned to stare at him but Evan was glaring at Dean .

 

“Are you nuts? No! Forget it, that's out of the question.” Sam yelled.

 

“It's not out of the question, Sam, it's the only way. If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance.” Dean explained. Evan tuned them out, trying to think of another way.

 

“Michael's a kid. And I'm not gonna dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook.”

 

“Dad did not send me here to walk away.”

 

“Send you here? He didn't send you here, he sent us here.”

 

“This isn't about you, Sam!” Dean turned away from them.

“All right, I'm the one that screwed up. It's my fault. There's no tellin' how many kids have gotten hurt because of me.”

 

“I've got an idea.” Evan butted in before things could escalate.

“I take Michael's place and we hide him back at my place.”

 

“That thing will know as soon as it gets close enough to feed.” Dean pointed out and Evan smiled.

 

“Not if I look like Michael. Feel like stealing his hair brush?”

 

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Evan reappeared in Michael's room where Dean and Sam were setting up a camera aimed at the bed.

 

“Michael okay?” Dean asked and Evan nodded.

 

“Sound asleep, he won't wake up till morning.”

 

“So now what?” Sam asked and Evan pulled out a bottle.

 

“Bottoms up.” He tilted his head back and downed the potion, dropping the empty bottle as the potion kicked in. Sam and Dean stared in shock as Evan began to change and shrink until Michael was standing in front of them.

“Polyjuice, tastes utterly foul but handy when you need to infiltrate a place. New version lasts up to twenty-four hours unless you take the antidote.” Evan told them and it was his voice but Michael's body.

 

“That's just plain creepy.” Dean commented and Evan glared at him.

 

“You're not the one who had to drink it.”

 

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“Hey, Joanna. How's Asher doin'? “ Dean called from where they were packing up to leave. Evan had yet to wake up from where he was sleeping on the extra bed that had appeared out of nowhere. Shrinking and then growing like he had was probably exhausting and then nearly being killed by a shtriga...they had silently agreed to let him sleep.

 

“Have you seen Michael?” She asked and right then the kid ran outside. Sure enough he'd still been asleep when Evan had brought him back.

 

“Mom, Mom!”

 

“Hey!” She hugged him tightly.

 

“How's Ash?” He asked, obviously worried for his brother and Joanna smiled.

 

“I've got some good news. Your brother's gonna be fine.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, really. No one can explain it. It's a miracle. They're gonna keep him in overnight for observation, but after that, he's comin' home.” Dean and Sam smiled at that.

 

“That's great.” Dean told her.

 

“How are all the other kids' doin'?” Sam asked.

 

“Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checkin' out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's gonna be like a ghost town.”

 

“Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?” Sam asked, wondering what was being said about his absence.

 

“Oh, he wasn't in today—must've been sick or something.”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, must have.” Dean said dryly.

 

“Mm. So, did anything happen while I was gone?” Joanna asked Michael.

 

“No. Same old stuff. I went to bed early.” Michael shrugged.

 

“Okay. You can go see Ash.” Joanna told him and Michael grinned.

 

“Now?” The kid was practically dancing on the spot.

 

“Only if you want to.” In answer Michael ran to the car.

“I better get going before he hotwires the car and drives himself.” They smiled as she walked away.

 

“So are you going to tell me what's been bothering you so much about this hunt?” Sam asked as they watched the family drive towards the hospital.

 

“Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. Dad was hunting it, left us in the motel room. It was the third night in this crap room, and I was climbin' the walls, man. I needed to get some air. I wasn't gone that long, just to the arcade across the street. When I got back, it was hovering over you. Dad came in and shot it. Dad just grabbed us and booked—dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away. By the time we got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga disappeared. It was just gone. It never resurfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again. I didn't ask. But he, uh—he looked at me different, you know—which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order, and I didn't listen. I almost got you killed.”

 

“You were just a kid.” Sam said softly.

 

“Don't—don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. And he sent me here to finish it.” Dean said and Sam sighed.

 

“And you finished it. I don't blame you, I don't even remember that.”

 

“Yeah, well I do. Come on, better wake Evan so we can go.” Dean headed back to the room and Sam knew the topic was closed.

 

TBC...