The Witch and The Hunters

FIFTY-FIVE

Page count: 7

"Dean, wake up," Hermione said. He made a sound of annoyance in his sleep. "Dean, wake up," she repeated.

"What time is it?" He grumbled tiredly, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Three in the morning."

"Then let me sleep, crazy witch," he muttered, rolling over in bed and putting his back to her.

She sighed. "I'm doing this for your benefit. England is five hours ahead of us, and even though we're travelling by floo which will take no more than a few minutes, we're crossing time zones. I'm trying to prevent you from having jet lag. Come on, up you get, Butter's made you apple pie as a treat."

"Apple pie?" He sprung up in bed, wide awake and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, he's made you apple pie, and he's made you a few more to take to London with us, so hurry up, get showered and dressed, we leave in less than an hour. I want to avoid the morning traffic in the floo network. Sam's already waiting for us."

"There really is apple pie?" He questioned, looking at her wearily.

"Not if you don't hurry up, Sam was eyeing it."

Dean was out of bed and in the bathroom before she could blink.

~000~000~000~

"It's not going to hurt?" Sam questioned, looking at the flames suspiciously.

She pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation; this was the fifth time he'd asked her and it was beginning to annoy her. Dean leaned against the wall, chuckling in amusement.

"For the last time, no, it's not going to hurt. It may feel a little strange, but that's it. You just need to close your eyes to prevent soot from getting in them and you need to bend your knees ready for when we land on the other side, otherwise you could break your ankle."

"Okay," he nodded, his eyes still on the flames. "But you're sure it's not..."

"Sam, if you finish that sentence, I'll turn you into a chair so that when someone sits down you'll have their arse in your face."

Dean started laughing; he couldn't deny she was creative.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Just step into the flames."

Sam took a deep breath before striding forward and he stepped into the flames, his mouth open and ready to scream.

He frowned. "It doesn't hurt."

"Halle-fucking-lujah, he gets it," she said, throwing her hands up in the air. He scowled at her and Dean chuckled, before they both stepped into the flames and Hermione called out the address.

~000~000~000~

They stepped out of the fireplace and into her London apartment, and they took in the sight, seeing that it was decorated similarly to her other apartment only it wasn't as big.

"I'm sorry to just dump you here, boys, but I have to get to the office really quickly." She told them. "Feel free to have a look around, if there's something you want to look at but you get tingles when you go near it, don't touch it as it may kill you."

They blinked at her, trying to determine if she was joking or not. She wasn't.

"Please don't leave the apartment until I get back, we're in Wizarding London and it's dangerous for non-magicals to wander around by themselves. I should be back around three, and afterwards, I'll take you for your very first tour of Diagon Alley, which is basically a magical shopping mall only it's completely awesome and you'll love it. I promise. There may be a few house-elves that pop in and out, so don't be surprised if you see them."