Loki landed in the middle of a town in America and told Harry that he could let go now, but the boy didn't. He grabbed Loki even tighter.
"Thank you," he said a few tears running down his cheek. "I know how risky that was...so thank you."
"You're welcome, but I'm sorry that we had to leave so hastily..."
"It's okay. I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose, and perhaps we can return some other time." Harry leaned back and smiled. "So...where are we and what day is it?"
"Well we are in front of the café with the second-best chocolate cake of the world, and we have Wednesday the 27th, 10 a.m. local time" Loki replied while letting Harry down.
"Huh? Only two days passed? I could have sworn it was longer we have been away."
Loki chuckled. "In heaven, time passes quicker than on earth."
"Cool," he took a look around. "So let's see. Sunny day and about 17°C. Clearly an English-speaking country. Not Australia because it is summer there at the moment and much warmer. Hmmm...America I'd say. California or Florida?"
"California, Malibu to be precise" Loki smiled.
"Can we visit the beach later?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Sure, why not" they entered the café to place their order before looking for a table outside. "I thought about either visiting a theme park later or taking a stroll through L.A. before making a beeline for Vegas tomorrow or so."
"Vegas? Am I not a bit young for casinos and gambling?"
Loki laughed. "You're right in Vegas you mostly find casinos, but there is also the 'Rabbit Hole' located" Harry cocked his head in confusion. "It's a magical mall like 'Diagon Alley' but far more extensive, more modern and totally awesome. In America, it is THE location everyone magical, supernatural or otherwise connected to the supernatural goes to. The whole thing is a neutral zone where...how did one put it? Ah yes, ...angels and demons go hand in hand doing their business without having to fear that the other side attacks them. Well, they would if the feather-stuffed brains from above didn't think it beneath them coming to earth. Funny thing is that the founder of that place made the entire thing an imitation of Alice in Wonderland with all the follow the white rabbit thing to get there. They even have a guard to ensure that strict neutrality that resembles the guards from Alice in Wonderland."
They continued talking about what they could do in L.A. while eating the cake and drinking the hot chocolate the server just brought them.
"For a long time, I thought those cakes were simply the best humanity could come up with. I don't know how you do it, but yours are better...far better" Loki mused.
Harry blushed slightly before he shrugged. "As I said, I only have experience."
Loki hummed upon that. "Want some more?" he asked when they both finished.
Harry nodded, and Loki went inside to order some more. Just at that moment a black car parked on the other side of the street, a black Impala to be precise. Out came two men. A larger but younger one stepped out first, followed by a smaller one around the late twenties. They both agitatedly argued about something before entering a shop.
Harry snickered. Loki told him about the Winchester brothers, and the two who just left resembled their description quite well. That was when an evil idea occurred him. Didn't Loki tell him that Dean loved rock music? He made a few quick moves with his hands.
It took a few minutes before the two came back out and with one look on his car, the older man's face darkened before he took a look around. Unfortunately, just at that moment, Loki left the café. The man spotted him and rushed over, nailing the pagan to the wall next to the door.
"Loki...what did you do to my car?" he snarled while secretly holding him at gunpoint.
"Oh, hello, Dean. Is that a gun or are you just happy to see me again?" Loki grinned while looking between Dean and Sam, who just arrived too.
Sam only stood there, not knowing what to think or do. On the one hand, he would much like to shoot Loki himself for the Mystery Spot thing, but on the other hand, he wanted to see how this situation would play out. So he just settled for glaring hatefully at Loki.
"Stop joking around. What did you do to my car...?"
"Hey I didn't even know you were in the same town as me so what are you talking about?"
"I said stop..."
That was when Harry finally cracked up. Dean looked at him in disbelieve.
"Ey kiddo, what's so funny?"
"You! Because you're barking up the entirely wrong tree," he said gasping for air while making a few more movements with his hands.
Sam and Loki snorted simultaneously because of Dean's sudden neon green hair. He didn't notice it.
"What?" Dean looked at the two, but they only grinned. "WHAT?" he pressed the gun even harder into Loki's side.
"Really, that's how you thank me? I take you to your parents so that you can finally meet them and you get a gun pointed at me?" Loki huffed at Harry.
"Lo...have you taken a look at his car?" Harry replied while pointing in the direction Dean parked his car.
Loki raised an eyebrow before looking into the direction Harry pointed. His eyes went wide before he cracked up to.
"Okay, I take everything back. This is simply hilarious" Loki said which only earned him a glare from Dean.
The initially black car wasn't black anymore. It now was the dream of any six years old girl. The entire thing was bright pink with Hello Kitty all over it. Even the interior was pink, and the rims had the kitten face on them.
"You damned pagan...reverse it, NOW!"
"So you don't like Hello Kitty? What a pity" Harry snickered while waiving with his hands. "Perhaps this is more your style then. Oh, and if I were you, I'd stop pointing a gun at Lo, or your car stays this way. Forever."
"Lo?" Dean asked incredulously while taking a look at his car.
He growled. Sure it wasn't Hello Kitty anymore, but now it sported My Little Pony all over. He sneered, put the gun down before walking up to Harry, sitting down in front of him, laying the weapon on the table and turning it so that it was pointed straight at Harry. Loki's eyes narrowed, and he looked like he was ready to hex that man into the next week, but Harry only leaned back and shook his head.
"I get it. While I don't know who or what you are or how you did it with my car, it was definitely you."
"My name is Harry Potter. You know Winchester that between a full-grown mountain troll, a hellhound Cerberus pup and my potions professor at school you're as intimidating and frightening as the blond ferret Malfoy who tries to hex me from time to time?" he snickered. "So not at all..."
"You do realise that I'm the one pointing a gun at you?"
"You're right...My Little Pony so doesn't suit you" Harry again waved with his hands before leaning forward. "Shoot me and your car stays like this. Hurt me in any given way...you get it?"
Dean took another look at his Impala. "Who the hell is Helene Fischer?"
Harry suddenly grinned ferociously. He took out his phone did a quick web search and then played the song 'Atemlos Durch die Nacht' from her.
"It is called 'Schlager' in Germany" he supplied.
Dean's reaction was hilarious. He first went pale before looking like he wanted to vomit. Seeing that Loki started to laugh again.
"That is beyond evil. I like it."
That was the last straw for Dean. He drew a knife he hid somewhere and attacked the pagan god but Loki was quicker and with a snap, he just vanished. Dean took a look around, but Loki was nowhere seen.
"Oh great you scared him off" Harry snorted.
Dean narrowed his eyes and walked up to him the knife visible in his hands. That was when Sam finally intervened. He didn't have any problems that Dean attacked Loki but a child? No way.
"Dean, wait. You don't really want to attack a child, do you? What is he? Nine? Ten maximum!" he asked while putting a hand on his brother's arm.
"I'm eleven, thank you very much" Harry retorted indignantly.
"Sam, for all we know he could be a demon or hell knows what else."
"Jesus Christ, you're dumb. No wonder Lo likes to mess around with you and besides that do you really think Lo would allow a demon to possess me?" Harry laughed, knowing very well that his exclamation made it impossible for him to be a demon or something else from hell.
Sam looked at him, and even Dean stopped in his track.
"Then, what are you?" Dean eyed him critically.
"Why should I tell you? You scared off Lo...now I have to take the bus because of you" being fed up he stood and went into the café to pay only to get to know that Loki already did.
So he went back out on the street and looked around before heading down the road.
"Where do you think are you going?" Sam hurried after him naturally worried.
"As I said, thanks to your brother, I have to take a bus or a taxi. At the moment I'm looking for either to get to Vegas."
"What do you want in Vegas?" Sam, who followed him the entire time, asked curiously.
"First, I assume that it is where Lo will wait for me. Second, it is where a supernatural shopping mall is located, and I need some stuff." He reached the end of the street but nowhere was a bus station or taxi to be seen. He sighed. "Great I'm stuck because your brother is a jerk. Well, perhaps the waitress at the café can call a taxi for me."
"Supernatural shopping mall?" Sam's interest was piqued.
Harry looked at him in disbelieve while he turned around and went back to the café Sam following him the entire time.
"You want to tell me that you two are hunters but have no idea where to get the really good stuff?"
"Sam, would you like to explain to me what you're doing?" Dean who observed the two asked when they passed him.
"Dean, do you really think that I let an eleven-year-old boy run around alone? Not to mention that he said something that sounded interesting. Did you know that there is a Supernatural shopping mall in Vegas?" Sam answered while stopping to follow Harry and walking up to his brother.
"And you trust him?"
"I didn't say that, but it sounds interesting, and it's something I'd like to check out."
"God Sammy, the boy could be who knows what. He could lead us right into a trap. Ever thought about that?"
"If he is so evil as you think him to be, wouldn't it be the easiest thing to get him where he wants to instead of letting him roam freely? That way, we can observe him. Should your assumption prove to be true, we always can stop him. You can call Bobby on the way there, perhaps he has an idea about what he is," Sam pledged. "And then there is something else. I don't know how to put it, but I feel he can give us some answers to various questions."
"Man dude, I don't like this...okay I'll do it, but you drive. I have to call Bobby, and he should better return my car to normal" Dean growled.
"Thank you" Sam went into the café.
"Harry? Did you already call for a taxi?" Harry shook his head. "What would you say if we drive you?"
"Your brother wouldn't shoot me, would he?" Harry eyed him critically.
"As long as you turn his car back to normal I think he won't...and perhaps his hair."
Dean still hadn't figured out that little detail.
Harry sighed. "I think I can do this."
He hopped from the barstool he was sitting on and followed Sam to Dean.
"You promise to not shoot me, and I turn your car back to normal. Deal?"
Dean looked at him as if he didn't know what to think, but he finally nodded. "And no fancy things am I clear?"
"Sure" he waved with his hands and the Impala looked like he was before he messed with it.
"Good. Now get in. Where are we going?"
"Vegas. Where exactly I tell you when we reach the city" Harry climbed on the backseat.
Sam and Dean also got in, and they drove off. They were just outside Malibu when Dean took out his mobile and phoned Bobby. It took a few seconds until the man answered.
"Bobby? Dean here...no we're not in trouble...well we had a run-in with Loki...no nothing serious happened. We are both still alive, but he had a boy with him.... Yes, he definitely was with him...he's with us now after Loki just left him behind.... His name is Harry Potter, do you happen to know anything about him?... What the heck is a natural-born wizard?"
Harry who listened to the conversation chocked in the backseat. "What? Your own brother is a natural-born, and you have no idea what this is?" he asked in disbelieve.
Sam who heard that slammed on the brakes while Dean nearly dropped the phone. Luckily the street was empty and no one behind them. Both men turned around and looked at him.
"What did you just say?"
Harry looked at them like he never saw them until now before realisation hit him and he facepalmed. "You really had no idea. Give me that man...Bobby for a second please" he held out his hand to Dean expectantly. It seemed to him that at least this man knew what he was talking about.
Dean at first didn't react, but when someone shouted his name from the phone, he finally held it back at his ear. He nodded several times before he gave the phone to Harry.
"Hello? Harry here."
"So you're Harry Potter? My name is Bobby Singer. I have to apologise for these two idjits. They are good hunters but sometimes not the most sensitive ones and a bit dense."
Harry snorted. "Honestly? I ask myself how they were able to survive that long. I mean first Dean attacks a pagan trickster god with a knife which is as effective as trying to stop him from pranking people. Then they don't even know the difference between demon witches and natural-born not to mention that Sam is one."
"Why do you think Sam is a natural-born?" came Bobby's question over the phone.
"I can see that in his aura."
"Aura?" not only Bobby asked but also the brothers.
Harry groaned that would be a long ride. "Something I assume that is the side-effect of Lo's teachings because ever since he started teaching us, I can see the auras of people. For example, one of a natural-born is some kind of beige, don't ask me why. But Sammy has the same beige though it seems a bit strange since it has black streaks mixed into it, not much but enough to be noticeable. Oh, and there is also a violet-brown in his aura. But I think that is because he's a hunter since Dean has the same in his."
He didn't miss the strange looks Dean and Sam exchanged.
"That's quite interesting. Would you mind meeting with me?"
"Not at all but you would have to come to Vegas. Hey Sammy, how long 'til we reach Vegas?"
"Four and a half hours at least."
"You heard that?"
"Yes I'll be there then, where do we meet?" Bobby asked.
"When you reach the city, look for a white rabbit and follow it. Since you're a hunter to you should be able to find it. Otherwise, we will call you again after we arrived ourselves."
"Wait you mean the 'Rabbit Hole'? Why didn't you say so?"
"Now I'm honestly questioning the knowledge of the two muttonheads. How comes it that you know about this place, but they don't?"
"Say what?"
"Yes, Sammy looked at me like a fish when I mentioned it."
"Okay, they will have to explain that to me when we meet. See you there and don't get shot."
"Oh I think the threat of mutating the Impala back into a Helene Fischer fan car is preventing that quite effectively" Harry grinned.
"You didn't, did you?" it seems that he knew who the woman is.
"Loki is my friend, so you can bet that I did. Dean's face when he realised what kind of music she makes...hilarious" Bobby started to laugh while Dean shot him glares that could have killed.
"That's something I would have liked to see what a pity. Well, I have to go now, see you in Vegas then."
"Bye."
Harry gave the phone back to Dean. Sam, who continued driving after the shock of the revelation wore off, watched him through the rear mirror.
"So you think I'm a...what did you call it? Natural-born? Would you mind explaining what that is?" he suddenly asked after a few miles of complete silence.
Harry exhaled before starting to explain. "It's quite self-explanatory. A natural-born witch or wizard is a person born with the ability to wield magic, no demon deal involved. Did you never do anything strange when under strong emotions or showed any sign of an ability you shouldn't have as a normal person?"
Dean and Sam again looked at each other.
"Well it started some time ago now that I suddenly had premonitions, but we thought that..." he didn't know whether he should tell this an eleven-year-old boy. Still, as he told Dean earlier, he had the feeling that the boy could give them some long-overdue answers, so he continued. "We got to know that some demon called Azazel fed me his blood when I was six months old."
He carefully watched the reaction Harry would give upon this revelation, but he never would have thought about this.
Harry raised an eyebrow before starting to snicker. "That actually explains a lot."
Sam expected something in the line of fright up to outright panic upon his revelation that some demon tainted him with his blood but not that the boy would laugh about it. He didn't doubt that the boy knew exactly what that meant.
"You're crazy..." Dean snorted.
"Well sometimes it really helps to be crazy" Harry grinned. "Especially around Lo. But to you, Sammy, Lo told me quite a lot about demons. One thing is that they can control a witch or wizard's magic when they feed them their blood. You know like suppressing or boosting their abilities. If you want, I can ask Lo whether he can get rid of that taint."
Sam looked at Dean, not knowing what to make out of it. "I don't know whether this is a good idea. Loki and we are not exactly on speaking terms as you might have noticed."
"Pff, only because you can't see it, it doesn't mean that he doesn't like or trust you" he shook his head while looking out of the window.
"Loki trusting us? It's more likely that hell freezes over..." Dean snorted.
"Do you really think that I would be here otherwise?"
"Perhaps you are showing a bit too much trust in that pagan god..." Sam added.
"I really should have taken a taxi" Harry muttered. "Do you remember what Lo said about me meeting my parents for the first time?" Dean and Sam nodded. "They are dead..."
Harry really started to question Sam's ability to drive after the second full stop of the day.
"Damned Sammy can't you drive properly?" Harry exclaimed.
"Say what?" Sam looked at him, incredulously.
"You're driving like a madman..."
"That's not what I meant. What was that about your parents?"
"They are dead for over ten years now, you can ask Bobby if you don't believe me, and yes Lo and I actually broke into heaven to meet them. On top of that, Lo saved my life three times in the last four months, so do you still think that I'm overly trustful?" Harry shot them a glare that clearly told them what he thought about that matter.