Dana Potter - Winchester - Chapter 6 - Mouse1985 - Harry Potter (2025)

Chapter Text

Dana sat in a corner of the library, her feet propped up on the wide leather chair. On her lap lay a yellowed children’s book that Sam had found for her in one of the drawers: The Adventures of Froggy the Explorer. She seemed engrossed in the story, but Sam knew her ears were picking up every word he and Dean were discussing.

Dean slammed a heavy book cover shut and leaned back in his chair. “We need answers, Sam. I have no idea what we’re dealing with.” He didn’t say that he had considered testing her anyway for the usual suspects.

Sam nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Dana, who was pretending to turn a page. He spoke in a low voice. “Maybe Cas knows something. If there’s an angel who can explain this kind of weird magic, it’s him.”

Dean sighed deeply and shrugged. “Okay, let’s call him. The worse the news, the better Cas delivers it.”

Sam smiled faintly and stood up. Dean mumbled a brief prayer, half indifferent, half serious. “Cas, we need you here. And if you have time, bring donuts.”

Within seconds, the light in the room began to flicker. A soft wind seemed to come out of nowhere, and suddenly Castiel was standing there, his trench coat billowing slightly. His gaze immediately slid to Sam and Dean.

“What happened?” Castiel asked immediately, his blue eyes sharp and focused.

“Well, Cas, it’s nice of you to come without the donuts,” Dean began, but his tone quickly turned more serious. “We need an explanation.” He pointed to Dana. She was just letting a necklace with a protection stone in it float towards her, without touching it. It felt magical. Do you know what she is?”

Castiel’s gaze slid to Dana, who shrank slightly in her chair, her eyes still focused on the children’s book in her lap. “She’s a child,” he said slowly, as if he didn’t fully understand the situation.

“Yes, and she used magic,” Sam said, standing next to Castiel. “Not just any trick, Cas. This was… instinctive, unconscious. But powerful.”

Castiel returned his gaze to Dana and seemed to examine her for a moment as if he were looking right through her. “She’s special,” he said finally.

“Yeah, we figured that out,” Dean said impatiently. “What exactly is she? And where did this come from? And why didn’t you tell me yesterday?” Castiel took a moment to choose his words. “She’s a witch. But not like the witches you know. She’s from a community you’ve never met. I didn’t tell you because she’s very young and I know how you feel about witches.”

“What?” Dean frowned. “There’s a magical society, and no one ever told us about it?” He ignored the uneasy feeling he got at the thought of Cas thinking he would hurt a little child because she was a witch. He was a hunter, not a deranged lunatic who slaughtered children.

“Your world and theirs barely overlap,” Castiel explained. “Their magic is different. Based on rules and traditions that go back thousands of years. They have their own laws, their own hidden society.”

Sam stared at Castiel. “And you knew about this? Why didn’t we ever hear about it?”

Castiel looked straight at him. “You hunt creatures that pose a threat. These people, the magical community, hide to avoid being hunted. They stay out of sight. But they’ve always been there.” Dean leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. “Great. Another hidden world we know nothing about. So what do we do now?”

“Dana needs to be protected,” Castiel said without hesitation. “Her power is untrained, and that makes her vulnerable now. There will come a time when she will go to one of their schools.” He avoided saying that he knew exactly which school and how important Dana was to the magical world.

Sam glanced at Dana, who was now looking at him curiously. “So we need to know more about her world. But how?” Castiel thought for a moment, thinking how much he should reveal. “There are magical archives that are hidden, places where their history is kept. But perhaps the best way is to introduce her to one of them.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Dean grumbled. “Invite someone we don’t know, from a world we know nothing about? What if they’re not so friendly?”

“Not all solutions are easy, Dean,” Castiel replied quietly. After that he left, letting the brothers think about what he had said. Both brothers came to the same solution, looking at the small girl. She needed new clothes.

Later that afternoon;

“Okay, kiddo,” Dean said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking through the aisles of the clothing store. “You need clothes. Not just that one faded T-shirt and those jeans. And certainly not the shirt you wore when we met you.”

Dana looked at him, eyes wide. Did he mean they were going to buy her clothes? She felt lost among the racks of dresses, coats, and shoes. “I don’t know… what to pick,” she said softly. She didn’t tell him she’d never been allowed to pick out her own clothes before.

Sam looked at the girl and saw that she was confused. He nodded Dean with his shoulder and knelt down next to her, his tone encouraging. “Well, you don’t have to pick anything you don’t like. Take your time. Here, let’s start with the basics.” He pulled a plain pink sweater off a rack. “How do you like this one?”

Dana shrugged. “It’s… okay, I guess.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “You know what? Let’s keep it simple. Just pick out everything you like. And if you’re not sure, take it anyway. We can always return something later.”

Dana looked at Sam for confirmation. When he nodded, she began to search the shelves tentatively. After a while, she seemed to feel a little more at ease and chose a pair of jeans, a soft hoodie, and a pair of shoes with flowers on them.

Sam noticed how cautious she was, as if she were afraid of doing something wrong. Dean, who had noticed this too, leaned against a shelf and whispered to Sam, “She’s clearly never had a chance to really choose something for herself.”

Sam nodded and looked at her with soft eyes. “We’ll give her time. She’ll learn.”

After browsing the store, she now had jeans, shirts, hoodies, socks and undergarments. Dana felt it was too much and blanched at the amount of money it was. She looked at the men, expecting them to tell her she needed to put stuff back. But the just paid for it and even smiled at her. Sam even said he was proud of her, making her feel warm inside.

Nou that the clothes had been paid for, Dean insisted that they would go to a toy store. Dana was so confused. But they went and in the toy store, Dana seemed even more lost than she had in the clothing store. She walked slowly along the shelves, looking at the stacks of games, puzzles, and dolls as if she had landed in another world.

“So,” Dean began, his arms crossed, “what do you want?”

Dana turned to him, her face confused and a hint of panic. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

Dean frowned. “What do you mean, you don’t know? You have half the toy heaven here. Pick something you like.” Once again, it took the gruff hunter a moment to process this was not an ordinary child with a happy childhood. He looked at his brother and frowned. “Am I missing something here?” Before Sam could answer him, Dana spoke up.

“I don’t know why,” she said finally, her voice fragile. “Why should I get to pick something? Why are you giving this to me?”

Dean looked at her for a moment, his face frozen. He didn’t know what to say, but Sam filled the gap. “Because we want you to be happy, Dana. You deserve to have things that are yours, to have things you can enjoy.”

Dana looked down at the floor, her fingers nervously plucking at her sleeves. “I never had toys. Or new clothes. Everything was always Dudley’s.”

Dean looked at Sam, his mouth a tight line. “Dudley? Who’s that?” he asked softly.

Sam shrugged. “Is Dudley your cousin?” Dana nodded. Dean huffed. “Okay, I get it. He got spoiled and you didn’t get toys, am I right?” Dana’s cheeks reddened, confirming his thoughts. “Well, you live with us now, right, and Sam and I decided that you can have toys. So… look around and take some nice things okay?”

Dana sighed deeply, turned around, missing the look the brothers gave each other and continued walking, eventually stopping in front of a shelf of stuffed animals. She never had a plushy before and when she saw a small, soft-looking unicorn she picked it up and held it close. She smiled weakly as if it was the first time she’d been allowed to have something truly her own.

Dean walked over to Dana and crouched down so he was at eye level with her. "But listen, kiddo. You don't have to stop at just one thing."

Dana looked at him in surprise. "But... one thing is enough. I don't want to be greedy."

Sam also crouched down and shook his head. "It's not about greed. You deserve this, Dana. Pick two more things. Something that makes you happy. Something you just want."

Dana looked uncertainly at the shelves, her fingers still tightly wrapped around the unicorn. Dean put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, kiddo. This is a toy store. It's supposed to be fun. Pick something that you not only need but just because you can."

She walked slowly, her gaze scanning the shelves. Finally, she stopped at a small music box. It was decorated with star and moon motifs, and when she opened the lid, a soft, soothing melody began to play as a small unicorn spun around.

Dana’s eyes lit up. “That’s pretty,” she said softly.

Dean grinned. “That’s number two. What’s number three?” Dana paused for a moment, then looked around. Finally, she stopped at a shelf of puzzles. She picked up a box with a picture of a magical landscape that, according to the text on the box, would move in an enchanted way once the puzzle was complete.

“A puzzle,” she said. “I like puzzles. They help me think.”

Sam nodded approvingly. “That’s a nice choice. I think you’ll have a lot of fun with it.” Dana looked at the three things she was holding now: the plush unicorn, the music box, and the puzzle. She looked up at the brothers and smiled shyly.

After paying for the toys they went to Walmart, because Dean insisted that she needed stiff for her room. Dana hesitated at first, but after some encouragement, she chose a small moon-shaped nightlight and a colorful poster of stars and planets. She was very confused when Dean and Sam also included some soft pillows and a thick fleece blanket. She still didn’t quite understand why the brothers were being so nice, but she was also very happy with her new clothes, the toys, and the stuff for the room.

Back in the car, it was quiet except for the soft rustling of bags in the backseat. Dana sat next to Sam in the backseat, her unicorn hugged tightly to her. Dean looked in the rearview mirror and sighed softly.

Earlier in Walmart:


While Dana was looking around, Sam and Dean had a quiet conversation.

Dean leaned against a shelving unit of puzzles, his arms crossed, while Sam stood with his hands in his pockets. Dean let out a deep sigh and looked at his brother. “How do we handle this?”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“This,” Dean said, nodding in Dana’s direction. “She can’t keep wandering. And she definitely can’t go back to those monsters who she calls her aunt and uncle.” Sam nodded slowly. “I know. But how do you suggest something like that to a child who’s just lost everything? She’s been through enough, Dean.”

“That’s exactly why,” Dean said fiercely, his voice a little softer than usual. “She needs someone. Someone to protect her.” He looked at Dana, who was then opening a music box and staring wide-eyed at the spinning unicorn. “She deserves more than what she’s had. And if we can give her that… then we should.”

Sam let his gaze settle on Dana and smiled slightly. “I agree. But… we have to be careful about this. She’s still scared, Dean. Especially of you.” Dean pulled a face. “What? Of me?”

“Yeah, of you,” Sam said with a chuckle. “You tend to come across as… let’s say, a little fierce. You have a big heart, but your behavior can be intimidating to someone like her.”

Dean grunted something unintelligible and looked back at Dana. “Okay, okay. So how do we go about this?” Sam thought for a moment before answering. “We’re just asking her. No pressure, no obligations. We’re offering her a place where she can be safe, where she can just be a kid. But we have to make it clear that it’s her choice.”

Dean nodded slowly. “Fine. But if she says no, then—”

“—then we respect that,” Sam added. “But I think she’ll say yes. She’s looking for something, Dean. She's looking for a home.”

****

“You know,” he began, his tone casual, “the bunker isn’t exactly a playground, but it’s safe. And big. Lots of room to hang out.”

Dana looked up at him. Sam smiled. “What Dean is trying to say is that we’d love for you to stay with us. If that’s what you want, of course.”

Dana stared at her unicorn and fiddled with its plush ears. “Stay with you? For… forever?”

Dean shrugged. “Well, maybe not forever. But as long as you want. Until you feel safe. Or… longer.” Sam added, “We know it’s all happening fast and it’s a lot to think about. But you don’t have anyone else, and we want to be here for you.”

Dana’s lips trembled a little, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded slowly. “I… I want to stay with you.”

She missed the huge smile Dean sprouted hearing her say that.

Dana Potter - Winchester - Chapter 6 - Mouse1985 - Harry Potter (2025)
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