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Chapter Text

He really had tried. All he wanted was to make it through the week that Aunt Marge was visiting, and hopefully get his Aunt or Uncle to sign his Hogsmead form. It all went down the gutter on the last night, when he made Aunt Marge inflate like a balloon. He grabbed his trunk, the things from the loose floorboard in his room, and Hedwig's cage and made his way for the door. 

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING BOY? PUT HER BACK TO RIGHTS!"

"I’ve had enough. I'm leaving, don’t come near me," he said, pointing his wand at his Uncle and backing out the front door. He quickly made his way a few streets down to sit at the empty park to come to terms with what just happened. There was no way his relatives would take him in again for the summer. He would just have to figure something out for himself. 

Harry's anger was quickly replaced with panic. He had no way to contact anyone, Hedwig being released before Marge's arrival, no telephones, no muggle money. He had a few coins left over from the past year, but having no way to get to the wizarding world, they were essentially useless at that moment. The only thing he could think that would help at that moment would be to hide under his invisibility cloak, lest any muggles find him alone at night in the park with a wand, trunk full of wizarding books and products, and a broomstick. He had just opened it when he got the feeling of being watched. He closed and latched the lid, and turned to peer into the dark behind him. Everything was still. He held his wand in front of him ready to defend himself from the unknown threat. From the darkness in between two buildings two white eyes peered out at him. He startled and took a step back, tripping over his trunk, throwing a hand out to catch his fall. His wand hand was out in front of him, and just as he hit the ground there was a loud BANG. He threw out a hand to block the blinding light from his eyes. 

A triple decker purple bus screeched to a halt just inches from him. A conductor stepped out from the bus in a purple uniform, and began speaking loudly. 

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this even-" 

The conductor stared down at him on the ground, causing Harry to rush back to standing in embarrassment. " What were you doin' down there for?" asked Stan. 

"Fell over," said Harry. Stan sniggered. "I didn't do it on purpose," Harry said, now annoyed. "You said this Bus can take you anywhere?"

"Yep, anywhere you like. As long as it's on land."

"How much would it be to get to London?"

"Eleven sickles, fourteen if you want a hot chocolate, or fifteen for a water bottle and a toothbrush in the colour of your choice," replied Stan.

Harry rummaged through his trunk for his money bag and fished out eleven sickles, handing them to Stan. Together they lifted his trunk, with Hedwig's cage resting on top, onto the bus, Stan setting it under the first bed behind the driver. 

"This'll be you here. What's your name kid?"

"Er.. Neville, Neville Boot." 

"Alright Neville," San said, turning back to sit next to the driver at the front of the bus. "This here's Ernie Prang, our driver. This is Neville Boot, Ern," he said, a thumb thrown back to point at him. Harry gave him a small nod and sat on his bed. 

"Take it away, Ern!", and with that the bus flew forward. Harry was thrown back onto his bed from the force. He was watching out the window as the bus weaved through traffic and popped from location to location. He couldn't get the sight of those eyes peering out at him from his mind, and found himself staring out the window expecting them to pop up again. As more stops were made the bus became less and less full, until he was the only one left.

"So, where in London do you want?" Stan asked, turning back to look at Harry. 

"Diagon Alley." 

Seconds later, the Bus lurched into movement again, another BANG as they appeared at another location, just to come to a screeching halt in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry thanked Ernie and Stan before gladly grabbing his stuff and jumping off the bus. As soon as he got off, the bus sped off and made a CRACK before being gone altogether. Harry began to make his way to the pub doors, but quickly changed his plan when he saw Minister Fudge through a window. He skirted the building's walls until he came into the alley adjacent to where the entrance to Diagon Alley was. He took a quick look around for anybody who might see him, before tossing his trunk and the cage over the wall, then climbing over himself. He had to thank his dexterity from Quidditch and years spent evading Dudley when he and his friends were ‘Harry Hunting’. 

He landed as quietly as he could, quickly grabbing his stuff and going over to the brick wall, tapping the bricks for them to open. He moved to the side and pulled out his invisibility cloak and covered himself before getting up and walking through to Diagon Alley.

I need somewhere to stay , thought Harry, but I can't use the rooms at the Leaky. Too much attention would be drawn to him. He decided to withdraw some more money from the bank before trying to find a muggle hotel or something to help hide him better for a few days, just until tonight's incident had time to cool over.

He made his way to Gringotts, moving out of the way of the few people still moving about through the Alley. After entering, Harry made his way to the nearest teller and pulled down his hood.

"Excuse me, would I be able to withdraw some money?" he asked the Goblin. The goblin looked at him over his glasses before straightening up, a scowl on his face.

"Wand please." Harry quickly passed over his wand. After a second of inspection, the goblin passed back his wand. “Follow me,” he said, leading Harry to doors located behind the teller booths. 

They made their way through what seemed to be a million different, identical looking hallways. Harry couldn't be sure if they actually were all different hallways, or if they had gone through several that were the same and he couldn't tell. The Goblin finally stopped in front of one door in the hall, exactly identical to all the others. Harry had no idea how they ever found their way around, or how he would even be able to leave later. 

The goblin led him inside. "Your account Manager Kolvar will get you what you need." With that, the goblin gave him a small nod and left the room. 

Harry turned from the door back to this new goblin, Kolvar. 

"Mr. Potter, we have been needing to get into contact with you about your vaults."

Harry gave a small nod, sitting in one of the chairs in front of the goblin's desk, before his face twisted in confusion. "I'm sorry, Vaults? As in more than one? I thought I just had the one." 

"Yes vaults," Kolvar replied with a surprised expression. "Were you not informed about your other vaults when first visiting the bank?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "My first time to the bank was with Hagrid, Hogwarts' Groundskeeper, and we went to my one vault." 

"You should have been given an inheritance test to determine your vaults, access, and important information. No matter, I could take you down to the other vaults later on. Do you have the key for the vault you wish to make a withdrawal from?" the goblin asked, sitting back with his hands clasped together.

"Nor sir," Harry said sadly. "I'm not sure who has it. Hagrid had said that Dumbledoor had it before my first trip here, so he probably has it again now. I was just given an amount of money before my last school year."

At this, Kolvar looked angry. "That will not do," he said, shaking his head. "I will have the locks on your vaults changed, and give you a copy of the keys for each one. Now, let us do an inheritance test now so we can verify what vaults you own.'' He reached into a desk drawer and pulled a long strip of whitish-silver parchment, along with a small silver dagger, and placed them on the desk in front of Harry. "A prick of the finger and three drops is all you'll need."

Harry moved forward and picked up the dagger, admiring it for a moment, before pricking his finger and letting three drops fall onto the parchment. The drops quickly spread over the page, revealing writing. When the writing had stopped appearing, Kolvar snapped his fingers over the page and a duplicate copy appeared beside it. After receiving an encouraging look, Harry picked up one page and began to read.

Inheritance Test for:

Harry James John Potter

Mother: Lily Potter née Evans née Campbell

Father: James Fleamont Potter

GodMother: Alice Longbottom

GodFather: Sirius Orion Black

Living Relatives:

John Henry Winchester (Maternal Uncle)

Inheritance(s):

Heir Potter

Heir Black

Inhibitions to person:

Magical Block (45%) performed by A.P.W.B.D

Magical Leech (35%) to  A.P.W.B.D

Compulsions to be positively biassed to Gryffindor and Gryffindor individuals performed by  A.P.W.B.D

Compulsions to be negatively biassed to Slytherin and Slytherin individuals performed by  A.P.W.B.D

Vaults:

Potter Family Vault - vault 048

Black Family Vault - vault 026

Potter Trust Vault - vault 049

Black trust Vault - vault 027

“How come it says Campbell as my mom’s maiden name?” Harry asked, looking up from the page. 

Kolvar pulled out and read papers from what Harry assumed to be his file at the bank before saying, “It seems that was your mother’s last name at birth. She was later adopted by the Evanses.”

Harry couldn't believe it ... All these years he had spent living with his relatives being treated as a punching bag and slave, when they had no relation to him whatsoever. 

“So my living uncle, that’s through my mom’s side?”*

“Yes, he would be your mother’s sister’s husband.”

“And where does he live?” Harry asked. He thought if he lived close enough that maybe this John might take him in for the summer.

“He lives in Lawrence, Kansas,” Kolvar says, after a moment of looking through the papers. 

Harry made up his mind. He wouldn't stick around just to be thrown back with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. He would make his own decisions. He was almost 13, he thought he should have a say in where he lives by this point. To find out that his mother still had living family... He was floored. 

“And what’s this,” he said, reading further down the page. “Blocks, leeches and compulsions? All by Dumbledor!”

“Yes,” Kolvar said, sounding displeased. “We can have you purged of those, for a fee of course.”

“Please,” Harry replied. 

“Which vault would you like me to remove the fee from?”

“Umm, which ones can I take from?” he asked. 

“The trust vaults are the only ones you have access to until your majority at 17. You can use the Potter or the Black vault.”

Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about using some other family’s vault. He wasn’t even sure how he got access to that vault in the first place. “Can you take it out of the Potter vault please?” he asked quietly. 

“Certainly.” 

Harry was led by another goblin who entered the room to a ritual looking space, being told to lay still on the bed in the middle of the ceremony circle. Harry laid as still as possible with his eyes closed, and tried to ignore the pinprick feeling the purge was causing. After what felt like forever, but was probably only five minutes, Harry was told he could sit up, and was asked to follow the same Goblin back to his account manager’s office. 

Once he was seated in front of Kolvar, he was asked, “Is there anything else Gringotts can be doing for you today Mr. Potter?”

“Yes,” he said, looking up at the goblin. “I’d like a passport if you can make one, and possibly a bank card?” he asked unsure. 

“Of course,” Kolvar replied. “It will cost you.”

“That’s fine,” he replied. “Can you take it out of my Potter trust vault please?”

“Certainly, just a moment”. 

Harry only had to wait a few minutes for Kolvar to work his magic, and produced a shining silver card that Harry was informed would act like a muggle credit card attached to his Potter Trust Vault, and was given a British citizen passport that had his name and birthday along with a current photo of him that he assumed the goblin had created with his magic. 

“Here you are, Mr. Potter. Take good care of the card, and ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands,” he said, handing Harry his things. 

“Thank you, sir.”

“If you would follow me, I can take you to your vault to withdraw some money.” Harry stood up and followed Kolvar through the winding halls again, before going through a door and coming out in the caves where the cart to the vaults was sitting waiting for them. Harry was happy to hop into the cart, being carried away down to very far down in the caves before the cart finally stopped. 

Harry jumped up out of the cart and followed Kolvar to the door of his vault, and waited for the goblin to open it. When he did, Harry quickly took handfuls of galleons and shoved them into his mokeskin bag he got from Hagrid. He came out of his vault and nodded at Kolvar, who then shut and relocked the vault door. They got back into the cart and made their way back to the top. Kolvar led him back to the room they started in which still held his cloak and trunk. 

“Can I change some galleons into Pounds please Kolvar?”

“Of course, Mr. Potter.” He quickly wrote down the amount that Harry wanted, ensuring that it would be taken out of the Potter trust vault, before reaching into his desk and counting out the Pounds for him. “200 Pounds,” he said, handing the bills to Harry. 

“Thank you so much Kolvar!” he said graciously. He quickly put his new passport and bank card into his trunk, and his bills into the mokeskin pouch with the galleons. He turned to leave, but stopped when he was called out to.

“Good luck with your travels Mr. Potter.” Kolvar said. 

“Thanks,” he replied with a large smile, before turning and leaving. The goblin who led him there quickly led him back to the main lobby. After thanking the goblin for his help, Harry had his cloak back on and was heading out of Gringotts. 

He snuck back out to the muggle streets, making his way to a main road and flagging down the first cab he saw. “Heathrow airport please," he said to the driver. The driver gave him a second look, probably assuming he was too young, before turning back to the road and starting the car. It didn’t take long at all to drive to the airport, and Harry was quickly being dropped off at the departures gate. He quickly thanked and paid the driver, before heading inside the airport. 

Harry had never been to the airport before, having never left Privet Drive other than to go to Hogwarts, and was always left behind on family trips. He looked around for a minute before deciding that the information desk would probably help the ‘poor lost little boy’ without asking too many questions.

Harry walked up to the desk and decided to use his short stature and age to his advantage. 

"Hello Miss?" he asked, looking up with begging eyes at the desk attendant. "Would you be able to help me get a ticket? I'm supposed to be going to visit my uncle in America, but he forgot to buy a ticket for me."

The woman cooed at him for a moment. "Of course honey, where in America does your uncle live?”

"He lives in Lawrence, Kansas.”

“Ok,” she said, typing on her computer. “It looks like there is a flight from here to Kansas City International airport leaving at 11pm, so in an hour. Would you like me to put you on that flight?” she asked, looking back at Harry. 

“Yes please, ma’am.”

She turned back to the computer and typed a few more things, before she asked for his passport. Harry dug out his new passport from his trunk and handed it to her. It was a few more seconds before the computer was printing a ticket. 

“Here you go Harry,” said the lady, handing him his passport and ticket. “Have you ever flown before?” He shook his head. “I can have an agent help you to your gate if you’d like,” she offered. 

“Yes please ma’am, if it’s not a bother” he replied. 

“Of course,” she said, before picking up a phone and paging someone to the desk. A minute later another lady came to the desk. The two had a quick discussion before the new woman turned to him with a smile.

“Ok Harry, are you ready? My name is Miranda and I will be helping you get all set up for your flight.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, nodding. He grabbed his trunk and followed Miranda. She grabbed a trolley for his trunk from a stall off to the side and helped him load it on. Harry took control of the trolley and followed her as she began leading him through the maze of the airport. Miranda made sure to walk slowly enough that Harry could keep up with her, and she even helped him check his trunk and get through security. Finally, after a lot of walking, they made it to his flight’s gate. 

“Ok Harry, this is where I leave you,” she said, turning to him. “You can wait in one of these seats, and when you hear your flight number over the PA, you head on up to that gate” she said, pointing ahead of them, “and hand them your ticket. They’ll help you find your seat. Ok?”

Harry just nodded, feeling a little lost. He turned and sat in the first seat available and watched Miranda leave the way they came. 

Chapter Text

Hours later, Harry found himself on an overnight flight to Kansas City International airport. He slept intermittently, not being used to the slight turbulence of the plane. After what felt like a lifetime, the plane was landing. 

When he stepped out of the Kansas city airport, he hailed one of the cabs, and gave them the address for his uncle's house. Finally arriving after the hours-long journey, he quickly paid the driver in American dollars that he had gotten at an ATM with his new bank card, took his stuff and made his way to the front door, knocking a few times before stepping back to wait. After a few seconds, the door was opened by a young woman.

"Hello, can I help you sweetheart?" she asked.

Harry twisted his foot back and forth on the ground. “I'm looking for a John Winchester. Is he here?”

"I'm sorry, but he hasn't lived here in years." At this, Harry instantly looked crestfallen. "Why are you looking for him, if I may ask?"

"He's my uncle, and I didn't have anywhere else to go. I was hoping to meet him and possibly stay here for a while.” The woman took in the look of the child before her; ragged and too large clothing, little more than skin and bones, and slightly healing bruises barely visible around his eyes. 

“Come in, I'll see what I can do for you. What's your name?” she asked, letting him inside. 

“Harry,” he replied. 

“Nice to meet you, Harry,” she said, leading him to a couch in what he assumed was the living room. “My name’s Jenny,” she said with a smile. “You can sit here while I try to get in contact with John for you.” Harry sat on the couch, feeling out of place. “Would you like anything in the meantime? Apples, yoghurt, sweet tea, water?

“Apples would be good, thank you. If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all, I’ll be right back,” she said, before going into the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back with a plate of apple slices and handed it to Harry. “Here you go sweetie.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

Jenny took out a cell phone and turned away to make a call while Harry snacked on some apple slices. 

She quickly dialled Dean’s number, and hit the call button. She heard it ring a few times, before it was answered and she heard a confused “hello?”

“Hi Dean, it’s Jenny calling.”

“Hey Jenny, what’s up? The spirits aren’t back, are they?” Dean asked, putting the phone on speaker phone. 

“No, no, nothing like that. I was actually calling because I need to get in contact with your father. A young boy, Harry, showed up here asking for him.”

"What do you mean he was asking for dad? I thought we didn't have any other family?” Dean asked, thoroughly confused. 

“He said John was his uncle.”

“Huh. I don’t know of any other family that should be looking for him. We can come check it out for you, we just finished up a hunt.”

“That would be great. Thanks. When should I be expecting you?” she asked. She turned to make sure Harry was doing ok and found him sitting on the couch where she left him, eating his apple slices and swinging his legs. 

“Give us a day and we’ll be there. Does that work for you?”

“Sure. I can put him up in the guest room for the night.”

“Great, thanks Jenny.” Sam called out to the phone

“Alright, Bye.” she said, before ending the call. She made her way back to Harry in the living room. “Alright so I called Sam and Dean, they said they could be here by tomorrow”. At Harry’s confused expression she quickly explained, “Sam and Dean are John’s sons, so your cousins? Anyways, if anybody can get ahold of their father it’s them.”

“Alright thank you,” Harry said, standing up. “Is there a hotel nearby where I can stay?”

“Don’t be silly, you can stay here in the guest bedroom for the night.” Jenny said. 

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Of course!” Jenny insisted. “I would worry about you all by yourself in a hotel, even if it’s just for the night.”

“Ok, thank you,” Harry said, quickly looking down while his cheeks heated up in embarrassment. 

Jenny showed him the remote for the tv, insisting that he could watch whatever he wanted, and informed him that her own kids wouldn’t be home until later from school. Jenny went back to her office to do work while Harry sat on the couch and, for the first time in his life, watched the tv. It wasn’t long before he was being introduced to Jenny’s kids, Sari and Ritchie. Harry tried to stay out of the family’s way as much as possible, sticking to the living room. They had dinner together, where Harry found it hard to eat the portion of food given to him, considering he hasn’t eaten much lately. Finally, Harry was shown to the guest bedroom upstairs for the night. 

After getting ready for bed, Harry laid down and contemplated what was happening back in Britain in his absence. He hoped that they hadn’t yet figured out he had left, and that Dumbledor hadn’t figured out he knew about and cleansed the magical block and leech he put on him. Just thinking about it made him upset. He trusted him! How could someone like Dumbledor do that to him? And for what purpose?

Harry tossed and turned, finding it hard to sleep with all these thoughts running through his head. Eventually, he fell into a restless sleep.

Chapter Text

Sam and Dean were on their way, driving back from a hunt in Burkitsville, Indiana. After getting off the phone with Jenny, Dean had Sam dial their father. 

“Dean, what's wrong?” he answers after picking up.

“Do we have some secret family members that we don’t know about? Jenny just called and said a kid showed up looking for you.”

“It’s most likely a demon. I don’t know any kids that should be looking for me.”

“Are you sure? Kid says his name’s Harry, called you his uncle. Is that ringing any bells?”

“Uncle?” There was silence on the line before he continued. “The only way I’d be an uncle to anyone would be through your mother’s sister.”

Dean quickly hit the breaks and swerved to a stop on the shoulder of the road. “Hang on,” he said, leaning on the wheel to get closer to the phone, “you’re telling me mom had a sister? And we’re only learning this now?” he asked in indignation. 

“She hadn’t seen her for years Dean, barely talked about her. After everything I completely forgot about it. More important things came up.”

“Ok, there’s clearly a story behind this. Meet us at the old house and we can talk it over.”

“Yeah alright. You’ll have a head start, I still need to finish off this poltergeist.”

“Alright, we’ll see you at Bobby’s after then.” With that, Dean eased the car back on the road, Sam hanging up the call. After a few minutes in silence Dean turned to Sam, “guess we better let Bobby know, we might be headed to his place after.”

“Yeah,” Sam chuckled, “and that we could be in for one hell of a surprise.” He quickly opened his phone up and dialled Bobby’s house. 

"Sam, Dean, how are you boys doin?", he answered. 

"We're doing alright Bobby, thanks. Listen, we just got a call from Jenny about a young boy looking for dad."

"Are you sure it's not a demon?" he asked

"We're not sure,'' said Sam.

“We're on our way to the old house,” said Dean, “dad will be at yours after he finishes”. 

“Alright. What do you boys need from me?”

“We don’t know yet, but we might be headed to your place if we do pick this kid up,” Dean said. 

“Well you know you boys are always welcome here. I’ll have some food ready for you when you get here.”

“Thanks Bobby,” said Sam. He hung up the phone. 

“Settle in, we’re in for a few hours yet to Kansas,” Dean said to Sam. 

Dean turned up his music, a song by Metallica, and sped up, hoping to shave some time off the drive. 

… 

Having slept fitfully, Harry was a little groggy the next morning. He dutifully got up at 6 am just as he had with his relatives, but was unsure what to do from there. Should he help make breakfast? Should he stay out of the way as a guest? After 20 minutes of indecision he heard some noise downstairs coming from the kitchen and decided to check it out. 

“Harry? What are you doing up?” Jenny asked him quietly, seeing him come down the stairs. 

“I couldn’t sleep. Do you need any help making breakfast?” he asked, quickly changing the subject. 

“Sure, if you’d like to, that would be great,” she replied. 

He dutifully made his way to the stove, where Jenny was cooking eggs in a fry pan. Harry took control over the eggs while Jenny switched to cutting up orange slices. She kept a keen eye on his actions, worried he would manage to burn himself. After observing for a few minutes, Jenny was impressed by Harry's skills. 

"Where did you learn to cook Harry?" she asked him. 

"oh, my uh... relatives taught me how." Harry didn't think he needed to mention that the punishment for not learning how was to starve to death or be beaten. 

"Well, they taught you well, you're doing a great job."

Harry couldn't help the beaming smile that broke out from the praise, the first positive attention he has ever gotten when doing something for someone else. 

They continued this way with their respective duties for a few minutes before finishing. Jenny plated the eggs and the orange slices along with some toast and two different types of jam and arranged it all on the kitchen table. 

"I'm going to get Sari and Ritchie up, you're more than welcome to start Harry," she said, before walking towards the stairs. Harry was unsure what to do, never having had a time where he was welcome to sit and eat what he prepared. He tentatively sat at the same spot as the night before and started putting strawberry jam on a piece of toast. He was waiting to start eating when Ritchie ran full speed into the kitchen, before sitting in his booster seat, Sari following more sedately behind him and taking her spot. Jenny followed them into the kitchen, got them all glasses, or in Ritchie's case a plastic cup, and brought out a jug of orange juice for everyone.  Sari looked up from the plate she had started arranging and gave a small wave to Harry, which he shyly returned. Within minutes the group was eating the full spread of breakfast. 

A while later everyone was finished eating, all feeling full and content. Harry felt more full than he had in a while, having eaten a large portion compared to the meagre meals provided by the Dursleys. Jenny started clearing away the dishes and was cleaning up, Harry standing to help her. 

"Oh, that's alright Harry, you don't need to help with the clean up. You were more than helpful in making it this morning. Go relax and watch tv or something. It shouldn't be too much longer before your family shows up, they made it in last night." With that statement, Harry felt his gut clench in anxiety over meeting his new relatives. Maybe he shouldn't have eaten as much food as he had, for fear of bringing it back up again. He silently nodded and made his way to the couch, but instead of watching whatever was playing on the tv, he found himself watching the window, waiting. He was eventually lost in his thoughts, imagining how this meeting may go, and if this new family of his would be just as bad as the Dursleys. 

Finally, at quarter after eleven in the morning, there was a loud knock on the door. Harry’s attention was drawn to the front window. He could see an old black muscle car parked out front of the house. Jenny put the cloth she was using to clean the kitchen down and went to answer the door. 

“Sam, Dean, thank you for coming,” she said, opening the door. “I wasn’t sure how to contact your father, so I thought the best option would be to contact you guys,” she said, Sam and Dean entering the house. 

“It’s no problem,” Dean said, looking around until his eyes fell on the boy sitting on the couch watching them. “Hey kid, you must be Harry.”

Dean couldn’t believe his eyes. The kid looked just like a younger Sam, albeit with glasses, black hair instead of brown, and being short and thin instead of tall and gangly. He couldn't help but notice just how thin the boy looked, especially with the way his clothes were hanging off of him. 

Sam was surprised to see just how much this Harry kid looked like them. With only having a connection through their mothers, it sure was a coincidence that their dads must have had similar features for the three of them to look closely related to one another. He couldn't help but notice the slight bruises on the boy's face, looking semi fresh and painful. 

"I'm Sam and this is my older brother Dean," he said to the kid now standing in front of them. "We're John Winchester's sons." 

Harry looked confused at that statement. "I didn't know he had sons, I thought it was just him," he said. 

"Yep,” Dean said, clapping his hands together once. "So he won't be here for a bit because he's coming from a job, so we thought we'd come pick you up,” he said, giving Harry a caring smile. Dean couldn't help caring for the kid, with him looking so young and vulnerable. 

"oh... ok." Harry said. "Does this mean that he's willing to take me in then?"

"Take you in?" asked Sam. "Are you needing a place to stay?"

"Boys," Jenny interrupted, "why don't we take this to the living room, where I'm sure this conversation will be a lot more comfortable."

"Sure, that sounds good Jenny," said Sam. The group of four quietly made their way to the living room and sat spread out on the couches. 

"So why don't you tell us a little about yourself Harry, and how you came to be here, looking for dad," said Sam. 

"ok, um..." Harry started, looking at his lap and playing with his fingers. "Well, my name is Harry James Potter, I'm twelve years old, and I used to live in Surrey England with my aunt, uncle and cousin. They, um, couldn't take me in this summer, so I went to the bank to see about getting some money for a hotel for the summer or something. My account manager informed me that my mother was adopted by the Evanses, and that her original last name was Campbell. He also said I had a living relative in John, who lives in Kansas, so I decided to try my luck here."

"Just like that?" Dean asked. "You just hopped on a plane to come to the other side of the world for a living relative?"

"Well," Harry said looking up, embarrassed and chastised.

"Ignore him Harry,'' Sam said. "So, how come you only need a place for the summer?"

"Oh, I go to a boarding school in Scotland for the rest of the year, so I usually don't have to worry about having somewhere to stay,” he shrugged. 

“You didn't have any friends closer than America that you could have stayed with?” Dean asked. Sam gave him a dark look. “Look, all I'm saying is this is a long way for a kid to travel by themselves,” he said, putting his hands up in a ‘take it easy’ way. 

“I'm not a kid,” he mumbled. “I’m almost thirteen, a teenager.” 

“Right, because that makes this so much better,” Dean says sarcastically. 

“No I don't have any friends to stay with,” he answered mulishly. "Hermoine is in France with her parents for the summer and I have trouble getting in contact with her while shes gone, and Ron is one of seven kids, they have enough kids to look after already. They don't need to worry about me too.”

“So what do you need from us, Harry?” Sam asked.

“Just a place to stay, maybe some food? I can look after myself just fine, I don't need to be babysat or anything.” 

“Alright kid, you're in,” Dean said while rubbing his face tiredly. Harry just looked at him with a confused expression. “You can stay with us for the summer, ok?” he clarified. 

“Wait, really? Just like that?” he asked, shocked that these basically strangers would take him in so easily. 

“Yes really, you're family, and family sticks together. Besides, someone's gotta look after you. It might as well be us.”

Harry couldn't describe the warm fuzzy feeling these words invoked in him. His face broke out into a grin, and he launched himself across the room to hug both Sam and Dean, saying thank you over and over. 

“Well, I guess this is a good ending. Do you need me for anything boys? asked Jenny.

“No Jenny, thanks for your help. We should be good from here,” said Sam. They all stood up and headed for the door. 

“Thank you for your help!” Harry said, giving Jenny a big hug. 

“You're welcome sweetheart,” she said, them separating. “I'm glad everything worked out.” With that the three boys left, Harry turning back to wave goodbye to Jenny, Sari, and Ritchie, who were watching from the doorway, before getting into the backseat of the car. 

A few minutes into the drive, once they had gotten on the interstate, Sam turned back to look at Harry. 

"So Harry, do you know the states very well?”

“Not really, all I know is that I’m in Kansas,'' he said sheepishly.

“That’s alright. Well we'll be going to a family friends house. With our job we live on the road and don't have a permanent place to stay, so when we need one we go to Bobby's. He lives in Sioux Falls South Dakota, which is two states up from Kansas. Dad already knows to meet us there.”

“Ok,” he said. Harry sat back and got comfy, settling in for the long drive. After a little while, the movement from the car lulled him into a peaceful slumber.

Chapter Text

After a few hours' drive, the boys were pulling into Singer’s Auto Yard and Bobby’s house. Dean put the car in park and got out, followed by Sam. Sam quietly opened Harry’s door and shook the boy’s shoulder to wake him up. Harry startled awake, blearily looking around to find out where he was. 

“We’re at Bobby’s Harry. Let’s get inside and I can show you where you’ll be sleeping,” said Sam. Harry nodded his head and climbed out of the car, following Sam to the door. Dean was not far behind, carrying Harry’s things from the trunk. 

Sam knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later, the door opened to a scruffy looking man with plaid on and a baseball cap on his head. 

“Boys,” he said in greeting. He handed out a shot glass to each of the boys in front of him. “You know the drill.” Harry looked bewildered at receiving a shot glass, not knowing what to do with it. Sam and Dean both knocked theirs back and handed the glasses back to who Harry assumed was the family friend ‘Bobby’. Harry looked to Sam in askance of what to do. 

“It’s just water Harry. You drink it before we go in the house,” explained Sam. He leaned down closer to Harry’s head and said “it’s a weird tradition Bobby does. The faster you do it the sooner we can go inside.”

Harry nodded his head and carefully took a small sip from the shot glass. Finding it really was just water, he drank the rest in three sips and handed Bobby the glass, looking for approval. Bobby nodded and moved aside to let the boys in. 

“What kind of shot was that?” asked Dean. “Those were kiddie sips! If you’re going to stay here you need to learn to take a shot like a man,” he said, looking determinedly at Harry. 

“Well I am still a kid,” Harry said cheekily. At the flabbergasted look on Dean's face he laughed, then ducked inside the house. Sam laughed at Dean's expense, then entered the house, followed by Dean while he was shaking his head. 

They entered into a room filled to the brim with books, also containing two well-used and comfortable looking sofas and one sofa chair with a coffee table and a lamp. A new man stood from the one sofa and just stared at the boys as they entered. Harry immediately turned shy, and had to be nudged more into the room by Sam. 

"Hi boys," said the stranger. "Hey dad," replied Dean. Harry stayed quiet and still, unsure of this new man, who he supposed was his uncle. He was tall, over 6 feet for sure, and looked built with muscle, with a baggy plaid shirt and flannel jacket covering most of it up. He looked like a no-nonsense kind of guy, and Harry was unsure how he would take a strange kid coming across the world to live with them. 

"You must be the kid the boys were talking about,” he said to Harry, stepping closer to shake his hand. 

"Ha-Harry... nice to meet you sir.” 

"Nice to meet you too Harry. So... what're you doing here in South dakota? I assume from your accent you've come a long way."

"Yes sir. I'm from Surrey, England. I didn't have a place to go while i'm on summer break from school, and I heard about you being my uncle, so I decided to take a chance and travel here to America to hopefully stay with you for the summer. Is that alright sir?”

"Yeah that's alright kid. Come,” he beckoned, “sit down and you can tell us about yourself.”

Ok... Well, as I told Dean and Sam my name is Harry James Potter, he paused and winced, waiting for the outburst at his name that never came. “Um…” he continued, “I'm twelve years old, I used to live in Surrey England with my other aunt, uncle, and cousin, but they couldn't take me in this summer. I went to the bank, and they informed me that you existed as a relative of mine, and gave what I guess is your old address. So I came here and tried to find you... and now you’re all caught up” he lamely finished, looking down at his feet. Bobby got up and left for the kitchen, Harry worried that he bored the man away. He returned moments later with 4 beers and one can of coke in his hands, passing them out to everybody in the room. , before sitting back down. “Thank you”, said Harry, unused to this kindness. “Of course kid, you look like a strong wind could blow you over”, said Bobby, worried about the scrawny kid. 

“How come your aunt and uncle couldn't take you in this year? you said they usually do, right?” John asked. Harry began to panic; what to say to him! He didn't know if he should tell the truth for fear that they too might start to resent him, or to lie and make up a story that he might not be able to remember if asked later. After a few moments, he decided that telling a version of the truth would have to be enough. 

The men could see in Harry's face the panic that set in as soon as John had asked that question. They knew then and there that it was his family that caused the bruises on his face, and not some schoolyard bully. 

"well... theydon'treallylikeme" he mumbled into his can of coke. 

"What?" asked Dean. 

"I said they don't really like me,” sighed Harry. 

“Well why the hell not? You seem like an alright kid to me,” said Bobby. Harry couldn't help the nice feeling those words invoked in him. His family couldy see that Harry was starved for praise and affection, and all mentally vowed to show him the kindness he needed.

“Anyways, I can tell that you're tired, said John. “Why don’t you head on up and get some sleep.”

“Come on Harry,” said Sam, “I'll show you where you're sleeping for the night.” Harry gratefully got up and started to follow Sam. Dean followed them and carried Harry's trunk and cage up for him. 

“So what kind of pet is this cage for anyways? Dean asked. 

“And did it escape?” asked Bobby from across the room. 

“It’s for my owl Hedwig, and no she didn't escape, she's flying here now. She'll probably show up in a few days”, he said.

“How do you know she'll find you?” asked John. 

“She always does, she was trained to”, said Harry.

The boys contemplated that for a moment before continuing up the stairs. They entered the last room on the right. 

"This is our room that we stay in when we're here. You can bunk with us, I'll go get us another mattress,” said Sam. 

“Ok”, said Harry, “where will it go?” he asked, noticing the lack of space for too many more things in the room. 

"It'll go here,” Dean said motioning to where the bed furthest from the door already sat. Before Harry could say anything, Dean was moving the bed closer to the door and away from the wall. 

“oh... ok”, said Harry. He was a little confused on why they would put a bed down where one of their beds previously sat, but didn't question it. Sam brought a blow up mattress from another room and started setting it up against the wall. Dean busied himself arranging Harry's trunk at the end of his bed, and Hedwig's cage on the lone desk in the room, by the window. It only took them a few minutes to set up the room, and then the room was ready to be slept in by all three boys. 

“Do you need help with anything Harry?” asked Sam. 

“No I’m ok thank you”, he replied. He started pulling an old T-shirt and some of Dudley’s long - or long on him anyways - shorts to sleep in as pajamas. Sam and Dean quietly left the room and headed back downstairs. It didn’t take Harry long to change and do his bathroom tasks in the bathroom across the hall before finally falling into bed. 

He tossed and turned for a while, struggling despite his exhaustion to fall asleep. Harry was still thinking about having to take a shot of water before coming into the house. What a weird tradition! He chalked it up to weird Americans and their customs and shook the thought from his mind. 

Finally, he managed to fall into a light slumber. 

Chapter Text

After getting Harry to bed, Sam and Dean returned downstairs to talk with their dad and Bobby. 

“So he looks like a Winchester, doesn't he?” asked Dean. 

“For sure,” John replied. “He has your same eyes Dean, and Sammy, he has your hair. Maybe not your height though.” They all chuckled at that, before realising the more serious reason behind that statement. 

“His relatives didn't feed him, did they?” asked John.

“All the more reason to take him in now" said Bobby. "Keep him here and look after the boy.” They nodded and drifted into a thoughtful silence. All four men were imagining what Harry’s relatives had done and how they treated him, before moving on to darker thoughts of how to repay his relatives in kind. Eventually it grew late enough for them all to go to bed. 

Sam and Dean were extra careful to be quiet when entering the room lest they wake Harry. They silently got ready for bed, Dean taking the bed closest to the door and ensuring his knife was under his pillow, before finally laying down to sleep. Sam was laying in the bed in the middle, that was sandwiching Harry’s between his and the wall. After a few minutes, they both fell into a light slumber.

__

In the middle of the night, both boys were awoken by a noise. After looking at each other and trying to ascertain what woke them, they heard it again. It was faint little whimpers, and it was coming from a lump of blankets on Harry’s bed. More specifically, Harry himself, who had burrowed down into his blankets. Sam and Dean looked at each other unsure of what to do. Dean started pointing at Sam, trying to silently communicate with him. Sam was confused, and shrugged back at Dean. Dean rolled his eyes and threw off his covers, before padding his way to Sam’s bed. He quickly sat down on the edge and started to lightly rub Harry’s back. Sam donned a look of understanding. A few seconds later, Harry started to rouse from his dream, shifting in his sleep. Dean quickly stopped rubbing his back. They waited with baited breath until Harry’s features smoothed out from its frown, and he was in a light sleep. Dean made his way back to his bed, rolled onto it, and quickly passed out. Sam was still a little bewildered, and it took longer for him to get back to sleep. 

__

It was early the next morning when Harry's body decided it was time for him to get up. He carefully shimmied out of his bed and around Sam's to the doorway, leaving silently. Dean and Sam continued to sleep on. He made his way downstairs and didn't feel hungry so he made his way into the living room - where all of Bobby's books were held. He saw lots of interesting titles, as well as some titles in Latin. He quietly wondered when and how Bobby would have learned Latin well enough to have books in the language, when he was pretty sure American schools didn’t teach it. Heck, even British schools didn't teach it, only his magical school Hogwarts taught it, that he knew of. He found one book on mythical tellings from all over the world from ancient history to modern times. It was a big volume, a little daunting to Harry, but he was determined to read it anyway because it sounded interesting. He carefully pulled the book from the shelf, mentally making a note of where to return it later. He settled into the single chair and began reading.

__

About an hour later, Sam wakes early and groggy. Needing a coffee to be up this early in the morning, he makes his way downstairs to the kitchen and puts on a pot of coffee. When it was finished brewing he poured a generous mug and went to sit at the kitchen table. On his way to sit down, he noticed Harry sitting in the living room reading. Sam figured Harry had pulled out one of his books from his trunk - how did he do that so quietly that he and Dean didn't wake up? - and was content being left to read it.

Sam was halfway through his first mug when Dean made his way down and poured himself a mug.

"How long has he been up?" Dean questioned, nodding over in Harry’s direction. 

"I'm not sure." Sam replied. "He was down here when I came down." 

"Hmm." Dean acknowledged. 

A couple of minutes later, Sam was on his second cup of coffee, and John and Bobby slowly made their way to the kitchen. They each made themselves some coffee and tooks seats around the table. 

"Morning boys," John grunted. "Dean, you're on breakfast duty."  

Dean gave a nod of acknowledgement and downed the last of his coffee. He grabbed his keys to the impala and headed out the door. The sound of the door closing didn't disturb Harry, as he was too invested in what he was reading.

The men sat in silence and enjoyed their cups of coffee while awaiting Dean's return with the food. 

"What time was the kid up?" questioned Bobby. 

"I don't know," replied Sam, rubbing the sleep of out of his eyes before sitting up from his tired and slouched position. "He was up before me so it must have been early."

"And what time was that?" Bobby asked. Sam gave a grimace. "Early." John and Bobby's faces both changed into disappointed frowns. 

It wasn't too much longer that the men sat in silence until the rumbling sound of the impala's engine could be heard coming down the street and into the driveway. Dean threw the door open and came in carting three bags of food. The noise finally cut through Harry's intense focus and startled him, making him jump in fright. 

"Breakfast kid," Dean said, carting all the food to the kitchen. He threw his keys by the door and placed the bags on the table. He started passing out the different breakfast foods to everyone in the room. Bobby got a breakfast egg sandwich with potato grits as the side. John got a container of bacon, eggs and toast with fruit passed to him, and Sam got an omelette. Through all this, Harry had put his book down on the sofa chair and stood against the doorframe of the door between the two rooms. 

"Harry come sit down," John beckoned. He easily complied and sat in the seat closest to the door. Dean finished passing out the containers, both his and Harry's containing pancakes with syrup on the side.

They eagerly dug into the food, even Harry. He wasn't expecting for there to be food for him, but after eating more at Jenny's house he was starting to get hungry by the time Dean came in with the food. He knows he could have gone longer without, but John had made it sound like an order for him to eat and he wasn't about to disobey the man and possibly be punished.

They remained silent while all eating their respective meals, too hungry for conversation. John waited until Harry was done eating before engaging him in conversation, worried that the boy wouldn't eat otherwise. 

"So, Harry, what book were you reading?" John asked. Harry's expression changed to one of a deer in headlights before quickly changing into a meek expression. 

"I was reading one on mythologies through the ages. I just pulled it from the shelf, I hope that's alright," he said, looking quickly from person to person in the room, waiting for their angered expressions. Instead of receiving the fury he was expecting, Harry received blank looks. Bobby, Sam and Deans faces all morphed into expressions akin of awe, while John seemed to be fighting back his worry. 

"It's alright Harry," he assured. "Just next time come to us to okay the book you want to read before you pull it out. Some of those books are not for kids, and others are too fragile to pull out."

Harry quickly nodded his head, agreeing to ask for permission first next time. 

"You mean you can read that?" asked Sam, a little shocked. 

"Yes?" Harry answered, unsure why they questioned his reading ability. 

"I'm not confused on if you can read Harry, but that book is entirely in Latin." said Bobby. 

"Oh. My school teaches in Latin, so we read textbooks in Latin all the time. It's gotten easier to read after two years," replied Harry. 

"Do all schools teach in Latin in the UK?” asked Sam. 

"Not that I know of. They didn't teach it in primary, only my boarding school that I know of teaches it. They're a little old fashioned," said Harry, thinking of using quills and parchment to write with in an old castle as the school grounds. 

"Well, you're welcome to read my books whenever Harry," said Bobby. Harry beamed at that, content that he didn't have to worry about being bored or in their way if he was able to read quietly by himself.

Once everyone was done eating, Harry went back into the living room to continue reading the book he pulled out, while the others threw away the garbage left from breakfast. Sam pulled a book off the shelf and joined Harry in the living room reading on a couch. Dean went outside to work on his car Baby, while John and Bobby went to sit on the front porch, John cleaning a gun while he was out there. Time passed quickly for Harry as he was enjoying the peace at Bobby's. Eventually it came time for lunch, Dean once again put in charge of the food. Dean made the rounds asking the older members of the household what they wanted. Sam quickly pulled Dean outside to talk to him. 

"What are you planning on getting for Harry?”

"I was thinking a burger. There's only so many options for fast food."

"We can't have Harry eating burgers everyday like you do. He needs balanced meals if he's going to put on any weight. Get him a salad or something, and some fruit too.” 

“Alright Sammy, whatever you say," Dean said while walking towards the car. 

"Oh! and get him milk too!" yelled Sam. 

"Yeah, yeah," Dean waved him off before getting into the car and starting the engine. 

"He must think I'm incapable or something. I only looked after his ass for years and he survived," Dean mumbled to himself. 

When he returned, it was with three loaded cheeseburgers for himself , Bobby, and John, two salads and a kids meal with milk. The men followed Dean inside to the kitchen, itching to eat the burgers from the town's diner. 

"Harry, lunch," called Sam as he gently shook his shoulder. Harry jumped in fright for a moment, forgetting where he was, before relaxing and nodding to Sam. He followed him into the kitchen and sat in the same spot as breakfast. 

It was quiet in the house, the only sounds of the five of them eating.

Harry loved his meal. Not only did he get to eat for a second time in one day, but it was a little bit of everything with a kids burger and fries, a salad, some apple slices and milk to drink.

Chapter Text

Each day continued to pass the same as the previous, Harry would have nightmares at night that Sam or Dean would comfort him through and rouse him from, before Harry’s waking early in the morning to read a new book from Bobby's shelves. Once everybody was awake, Dean would go and get breakfast. For the rest of the day, interrupted by lunch, Harry and Sam would be reading books, for Sam it would be books on Lore - he can't afford to get rusty just because they have a guest staying over - Dean would be working on his Impala, John would be cleaning his different guns and making bullets and Bobby would either help John in his tasks or do some work on the scrap cars in his auto yard. Harry was content with this arrangement. Not only could he read pretty much any book he wanted, he also didn't have to worry about the other people he was living with, and even found himself relaxing in their presence - something he could never do while at the Dursleys. The Winchesters plus Bobby never expected him to do any chores, and even forbade him from helping out in the kitchen - it was a stark contrast to his life before moving to America.

He didn't really take notice of what the others were doing because he was invested in the content he was reading.

--

That morning, John and Bobby both took to walking around the auto yard for privacy.

"What do you think I should do Bobby?" John asked, stopping in place and looking up to the sky.

"About what?"

"About the kid,” he said, looking at Bobby. “He's all skin and bones, probably hasn't ever been taken care of until now, Hell, I mean you saw the other day when he thought that he was responsible for feeding us after being here for a day."

"Yeah," said Bobby, putting a hand on his hip and using the other to rub the bottom part of his face. "All I can say John is to look after him like any parent would. I think that's all the boy needs right now."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," John said, turning away from Bobby to look out over the auto yard.

"What about a doctor's visit?" Bobby suggested.

"What?"

"A doctor's visit. I'm sure the bruise on his face wasn't the only one, and who knows if he hides injuries. If he's as bad as Sam and Dean then you have trouble on your hands."

"The bruise is almost gone, but I would hate for him to be hiding something else. Maybe you're right, I should take him for a visit. Who knows if he's ever even been to one with how despicably his other relatives treated him. "

"Exactly... just have Sam or Dean maybe help you get him on board. Especially Sam, they seem to be getting close. He spends all of his time reading like him anyways."

"Yeah, thanks Bobby," said John, giving Bobby a good pat on the shoulder. Bobby returned the affectionate pat and the two set off back for the house.

That night at dinner, John broached the subject.

"So Harry, how is the healing going? Your bruises look to be getting better."

Harry looked up surprised, and touched his face where the bruising rested, before going back to looking at his meal.

"Yeah, it's getting better," he replied to his food.

"I was thinking we could take you in for a check up, just to make sure everythings good and you're healing ok.”

"A check up?" Harry asked with confusion in his voice, looking back at the adult sitting across from him.

"A doctor's visit. Just to make sure you're healthy,” John assured. "It shouldn't be too long, and I could probably have you booked in for tomorrow morning.” Harry looked unsure at this information, wary on whether he should accept or not.

"Why don't you take a little bit to think about it?" suggested Sam.

"Sure," said Harry, nodding his head.

The five of them went back to eating, Harry with less than his usual gusto because of his thoughts and worries. He thought that maybe he shouldn't go to the doctor, as he's never been before. Lord knows Aunt Petunia would never do something so caring for him.

He continued to weigh his options, back and forth. On one hand, he can go to the doctor, for what he thinks may be the first time, he can start healing from the hits he took from uncle Vernon before he left. Maybe they might even be able to fix problems from older beatings, like the twinge he gets in his left wrist whenever he lifts something too heavy or turns it quickly. On the other hand, he didn't want his new family to see the damage that’d been done to him. He didn't want to advertise how useless he is, or have his new family want to take a lesson from his previous relatives on how to discipline him. He wasn't sure whether he should go see a doctor; he wouldn't be able to trust them. It's taken him this long to trust the Winchesters plus Bobby, and that's because they leave him alone except for meals.

Lost in his contemplations, Harry didn't notice the loaded glances around the room, each trying to convey the same page that Harry would be going to the doctor's tomorrow, even if he had to be dragged out. Sam didn't look happy about the group decision, but he decided to go along with it, for Harry's sake.

Harry went through the motions for the rest of the day, not really taking in anything around him. By nine o’clock he had made up his mind. He decided that he would go through with a doctor's visit, if only to diminish his family's worries about his health. Harry put his book down early and went outside looking for John. He found him on the porch, looking over a car that Bobby was working on. He was cleaning a gun; that made Harry pause in his actions. He hadn't noticed that John, or anyone else in the house for that matter, had any weapons.

Why would he be cleaning a gun at 9pm? He is sitting by the porch light, but still, Harry thought it was odd. And, how did Harry not notice that John had a weapon; mind you it hasn’t been used to threaten or maim him, so Harry can excuse the slight mistake of not noticing it before now. Does this mean that John has more weapons in the house? If so, then where does he store them, and why does he need them? All of this passes through Harry’s head at lightning speed, before he slowly backs away from the porch back into the house. His breathing was speeding up in his panic, but he was trying to keep it quiet so as not to alert the others. He quickly bypasses the living room where Sam has his nose in a book and Dean is on the couch watching Tv, and runs up the stairs to his room. Well, the room he shares with his cousins. He plops onto his blow up bed and puts his head in his hands, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down and regulate his breathing.

This is how Sam and Dean find him, after sharing concerned looks over his abrupt departure through the living room and going to check on him.

“Hey, what’s the matter Harry?” Sam asks, coming to sit on his own bed beside Harry. Harry looks up in surprise, not having heard them come up the stairs. Boy, his instincts are really getting rusty after leaving the Dursleys.

“N…nothing!” Harry squeaks out, his head popping up out of his hands.

“Yeah… that’s believable. Now, tell us what’s really going on, squirt,” Dean says to him.

Harry sighs, before mustering up the courage to ask “why does John have a gun?”

Dean and Sam look to each other, before Dean leans down to sit next to Sam. “Well, dad has a gun because we live in a dangerous country. You probably saw him cleaning it?” He asks, looking to Harry who nods his assent. “We work some dangerous jobs sometimes, and that means we need something to protect ourselves. Dad’s making sure it’s cleaned and working properly, that way he won’t get hurt on the job.”

“So…. he only uses it for his job?” Harry asks meekly.

“And if someone were to attack us here, other than that, yes, just on the job,” replies Dean.

“Ok… I’m just not used to seeing weapons. England has strict laws against them.”

“We forgot about the differences between here and there, sorry for not warning you earlier Harry,” Sam says. “If it makes you feel any safer, the other guns that Dad owns are locked in the car. And, he would never use it on you or to threaten you,” he assures Harry, trying to make the frightened look on his face disappear. Harry can only nod dumbly at this, trying to take all this new information in. Is it really safe to live with the Winchesters, he questions himself.

Harry pauses for a minute, before saying “I guess I’m going to go to bed. Bright and early start tomorrow, right?”

“Right. Important doctor’s visit tomorrow,” Dean says. He ignores the annoyed look from Sam. He doesn’t want to scare the kid with mentioning the doctor, but disagrees with Sam that he shouldn’t mention it at all; their dad is going to get Harry to this doctor’s appointment whether the kid wants to or not; he just doesn’t know it yet.

They let Harry get ready for bed and say goodnight to him before heading back downstairs. Dean and Sam agree not to let Harry know that they each have a gun on them at most, if not all times, and that they do not get locked up for safety.