The Witch and The Hunters

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

Page count: 11

"So, what are we dealing with?" Dean asked, leaning in over Hermione's shoulder as she examined the body. "Magical or non-magical?"

Hermione's mouth tightened slightly as she studied the wounds. "Non-magical," she said after a moment.

Dean frowned. "You sure?"

She nodded, lifting her wand and gesturing at the deep gashes across the victim's chest. "See these claw marks?"

"Hard to miss," he muttered.

"Look where they stop," she said, pointing to the clean edge of the wound. "Non-magical Werewolves have straight claws. Magical ones have a curved point, so their marks tend to arc slightly and dig deeper at the beginning and end."

Dean followed her finger, eyes narrowing. "Okay... I'll give you that."

"There's also the spacing," she continued calmly. "Non-magical Werewolves have a claw spread of roughly two and a half centimetres. Magical ones average closer to three and a half." She moved her wand again. "And the bite marks — the jaw width is smaller, the tooth indentations aren't as deep. Magical Werewolves are generally bigger, stronger, and messier."

Dean straightened slowly. "So claws, teeth, jaw size... all point to non-magical."

"Yes," she said simply. "Thankfully."

He arched an eyebrow. "And why exactly should I be thankful?"

She glanced up at him. "Because every non-magical Werewolf I've dealt with has been dangerous, but manageable. Magical Werewolves..." She paused, then looked back down at the body. "You'll understand when we meet one."

Dean didn't like the sound of that.

~000~000~000~

"Magical or non-magical?" Sam asked later, fingers flying across his laptop as Dean and Hermione walked into the motel room.

"Non-magical," Hermione confirmed, setting her bag down. "I took samples from the bite wounds. If there's enough saliva left, I might be able to track the Werewolf responsible."

Sam blinked. "You can do that?"

"Possibly," she replied. "It's not exact — lupine DNA complicates things — but if there's enough human trace left, it could narrow our search."

Dean snorted. "A hell of a lot easier than digging through every medical record in town." He glanced at her. "You know, since you joined the team, our jobs've gotten a lot less painful."

She gave a faint smile. "I have my uses."

Dean and Sam both scoffed at that — understatement of the century.

"I found something," Sam said suddenly, frowning at his screen. "There've been five victims so far, right?"

"So far," Hermione nodded. "Different ages, genders, appearances — classic Werewolf pattern. Supposedly random."

"That's the thing," Sam said. "I don't think they are random. Every victim's name shows up in police records within the last two years."

Dean frowned. "That's not much of a connection. Small town."

"I'm digging deeper," Sam said. "Records don't say why they were flagged. Yet."

Dean crossed his arms, unease settling in his gut. Werewolves didn't usually get clever. And when monsters did get clever...

Yeah. That never ended well.

~000~000~000~

"I'm bored," Dean groaned, sprawled across one of the beds like a corpse that hadn't quite committed.