10.
The Impala drove smoothly over the deserted roads. They had spent a long time at the supermarket and it was getting dark now, and the lights of the car cast long shadows across the trees along the side of the road. Dana sat in the back, her small fingers playing with the edge of her coat.
Dean watched her through the rearview mirror. “How’s it going back there, Chief?” he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.
Dana looked up and smiled a little. “Good.”
Sam turned halfway in his seat. “You made a good choice at the store today. Do you think you’ll like it in the bunker?” Dana nodded, though her eyes were a little shy again. “It’s really big. But… it feels safe.”
Dean chuckled softly. “Yeah, safe, until you find out Sam leaves his clothes everywhere.”
“Seriously?” Sam gave his brother an exasperated look.
“Just a warning,” Dean said with a sanctimonious smile.
When they arrived at the bunker, Dean got out first. He went to the trunk to grab the groceries while Sam helped Dana out.
A woman stood outside the bunker causing Dana to stop short. Her gaze settled on the woman waiting outside the bunker. She looked like she had stepped straight out of a storybook: a tall, elegant woman with flaming red hair that fell in perfect curls over her shoulders. Her eyes were fierce and sharp as if she could see through everything and everyone. Her dress—a deep purple, with velvety accents—seemed more suited to a castle than a bunker. And the way she stood, with a subtle confidence, almost made the space seem like hers.
Dana suddenly felt small and nervous. “Who’s that?” she whispered to Sam.
Before Sam could answer, the woman herself broke the silence. “Ah, the big and tough Winchester brothers,” she said in a Scottish accent that sounded like music, but with an edge to it.
Dean rolled his eyes. “What are you doing here, Rowena?” he asked, even though he had been the one to call her. Rowena raised a perfectly formed eyebrow and smiled sharply. “You called me, my boy. Or is your memory as bad as your manners?” She glanced at Dana, who was half hiding behind Sam. “And what do we have here? A new member of your… charming household?”
Dean gave her a look of disdain. “I know what I said. But it doesn’t mean you have to act like the queen here.”
Rowena feigned deep hurt. “Ah, and I thought we were friends. But tell me, Dean, how did you plan on helping this little witch without my expertise? Or did you plan on training her magic with… say, your usual method of brute force and dumb luck?”
Dean’s mouth turned down in an exasperated smirk. “Brute force works better than your spell books full of nonsense.” Sam sighed deeply and gave Rowena a polite smile. “What Dean is trying to say is that we’re glad you’re here to help.” He gave his brother a warning look. “Can you just act nice for a second?”
Rowena laughed softly, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Oh, Sammy, you’re always such a lifesaver. Your brother’s just awkward. It’s hard for him to deal with women who are smarter and more powerful than he is.”
Dean opened his mouth to retort, but Sam raised his hand. “Enough.” Dana looked from one to the other, her gaze full of confusion. “Why… do you guys talk like that?” she asked softly.
Dean sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “That’s just how we deal with Rowena, kiddo. She likes to annoy people.”
“You give me enough material,” Rowena said with a playful smile. Sam crouched down so that he was at eye level with Dana. “Don’t worry, Dana. This is… their way of teasing each other. Rowena can help us learn more about your magic.”
Dana looked at Rowena, her gaze hesitant. “She’s a witch?”
Rowena smiled widely and nodded. “And a very good one, my dear. Don’t worry, I’m here to help you.” Dana nodded slowly but remained close to Sam.
***
The group had gathered at the large table in the library. Dana sat quietly in a chair next to Sam. Rowena stood with an air of confidence, a cup of tea in her hands as she spoke.
“Let me give you a little history lesson,” Rowena began, her tone both dramatic and didactic. “The magical world has been a secret for centuries. Not because we hate non-magical people so much—though some of you make it hard to be nice—but because it was once necessary.”
Dean leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Necessary? Sounds more like you just didn’t want to share.” Rowena sighed as if he were an impatient student. “Ah, Dean, always so simple-minded. Think back to your own history. What did your non-magical friends do in the Middle Ages with people who were different?”
Sam frowned. “The witch hunts.” Rowena nodded, her gaze sharp. “Exactly. And while many of the victims were innocent, the hysteria forced the magical community to retreat into the shadows. They built a world next to yours, hidden and safe. And they have kept it that way ever since.”
Dana looked up, her voice soft. “So… no one knows about magic?”
Rowena looked at her for a moment, her expression softening slightly. “Not entirely, my dear. There are always exceptions. Families where magic and non-magic come together, or situations where we’ve been… shall we say, careless. But generally speaking, the non-magical people, the muggles as some call them, know nothing of our world.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Muggles? Seriously?” Sam ignored him and leaned forward. “So there are more children like Dana?”
Rowena’s face turned serious. “Children like Dana—born with magic but raised in a non-magical environment—are not uncommon. Magic is often a matter of blood, but it sometimes manifests unexpectedly. That’s why we have schools.”
She took a sip of her tea and continued. “All over the world, there are magical schools where children are taken as soon as they’re old enough. There, they learn control, discipline, and how to use their powers without setting fire to everything around them.”
Dana looked at Rowena with wide eyes. “Are there many schools?”
“A handful spread across the continents,” Rowena replied. “Would you like me to name them?” Dana nodded shyly. “Yes please ma’am.”
Rowena smirked at that and started naming the schools. “Well, let's see, we have Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Scotland. Then we have Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Massachusetts. The third one is Durmstrang Institute, high in the North of Europe. We have Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, they are located in the South of France.”
She paused and took a sip of her tea. “Next one is Castelobruxo in Brazil. The Russians have Koldovstoretz and the Azian children go to Mahoutokoro School of Magic in Japan.”
Dean frowned. “So these are the schools. Dana is born in England, so that will mean she has to go to Hoggywarts?” Sam snorted at Rowena’s look of expiration. “Hogwarts, my boy. And yes. She will eventually receive a letter.” Dean looked skeptical. “So how does that work?”
“Hogwarts uses a very old system. As soon as a child is born with magical blood, their name appears in a large register kept in the headmaster’s office.” Dana’s eyes widened. “So… my name is there too?”
Rowena smiled softly. “Yes, dear.” Dean leaned forward on the table. “And then what? Will the child be picked up right away or something?”
Rowena shook her head. “No. The process is less dramatic than that. Hogwarts sends a letter to the child in question as they approach their eleventh year. The letter is an invitation to join the school and contains all the information they need—what books to buy, where to get their wands, that sort of thing.”
“A letter,” Dean repeated with a hint of sarcasm. “A regular letter?”
“It’s not a regular letter, Dean,” Sam said, his eyes sparkling with interest. “It’s a magical letter that always gets to the right child, no matter where they are?”
Rowena nodded. “Correct Samuel. And in some cases, if a child is from a Muggle family, Muggleborns, is what they are called, the school will send a representative to reassure the parents and explain.”
Dean leaned back in his chair and let that sink in. “A Muggleborn? Are there more versions?” Rowane counted on her fingers, “Purebloods, Halfbloods and Muggleborns.”
“So you’re saying Dana would get a letter one day? Out of the blue?” Sam cut in. Rowena’s expression turned a little more serious. “If the school can find her in time, yes.”
Dana looked at Sam and Dean, her voice small but curious. “But… what if I don’t want to go?”
Dean turned to her and smiled reassuringly. “Then you don’t have to go, kiddo. No one is going to send you anywhere you don’t want to go.” He looked back to Rowena. What happens if she does want to go and she finishes school, what then?
Rowena shrugged. “It depends on the person. Some stay in the magical community, others live a double life between magic and the normal world. It’s not as black and white as you might think.”
Dean twirled the pen he was holding between his fingers and looked sharply at Rowena. “Okay, that all sounds wonderful—magical letters, wands, and schools where kids learn to fly brooms.” He tapped the pen on the table. “But here’s my question: How come we’ve never seen any of this? Sam and I have spent our entire lives hunting things. Witches, demons, ghosts… But this?” He shook his head. “This whole magical world thing? No sign of it.”
Sam nodded in agreement. “We’ve seen plenty of witches who perform blood rituals and curse people. But we’ve never found anything even remotely like what you’re describing. How come?”
Rowena leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, a wry smile on her lips. “Ah, boys. You hunt on the edge of the magical world, in the shadows where the darkest things lurk. But that doesn’t mean you see the whole picture.”
“What do you mean?” Dean asked suspiciously.
Rowena’s smile widened. “The magical community—like Hogwarts, the British Ministry of Magic, and similar organizations around the world—is almost completely hidden from Muggles. Whether you’re regular humans or hunters, it makes no difference. They’ve spent centuries developing their own methods of remaining invisible. Spells, barriers, memory spells…” She glanced at Dana. “All to protect themselves.”
Dana listened intently, her eyes wide with curiosity. “So… people don’t know there are wizards?”
Rowena shook her head. “Most don’t. And those who do—like Muggle parents of magical children—are subject to very strict rules. They’re not allowed to tell, they’re not allowed to write anything down. The magical community protects itself with ironclad laws.”
Dean sighed and rubbed his face. “So this whole ‘hidden world’ thing is real?”
“More than you can imagine,” Rowena said. “And that’s why you’ve never found anything. Wizards have no interest in wandering around your world. They keep to themselves. And honestly…” She looked at them searchingly. “They would see you as a threat.”
“A threat?” Sam raised his eyebrows. “Why?” Rowena looked straight at him. “Because you’re hunters. Your approach is clear: if it’s supernatural and dangerous, you destroy it.”
Dean’s jaw tightened. “We destroy it if it hurts people.”
“I know,” Rowena said quietly. “But the magical world doesn’t see any difference. To them, you’re… dangerous. Unpredictable. That’s why they stay hidden.”
Sam nodded slowly. “That explains why we’ve never found anything about magical governments or schools.”
“Exactly.” Rowena stood up and began to walk slowly across the room. “The Ministry of Magic, for example, has a department specifically tasked with covering up magical incidents. Whenever something magical happens in the Muggle world—an accident, a spell gone wrong, a creature seen—they make sure it’s erased. Muggles don’t remember anything.”
Dean looked at Sam in frustration. “So they can just erase our memories? Like that?” Rowena nodded calmly. “Yes. They call it an Obliviate spell. And believe me, it happens more often than you think.”
Dana looked at Rowena, her voice soft. “But… why would they do that? Why do they want to stay hidden?”
Rowena’s gaze softened as she looked at the girl. “Because they’re afraid. Afraid that if Muggles ever find out how much power wizards have, there will be war. It’s happened before.”
Sam leaned forward. “You mean the witch burnings?” Rowena nodded. “Among other things. But even then, Muggles didn’t know the whole story. The magical world has always kept itself closed off for fear of persecution. And now, with technology and weapons…” She let her words hang for a moment. “They’d still have that same fear.”
Dean sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. “So what you’re saying is that we’ve been chasing blind spots our entire lives.” Rowena smiled. “Not exactly. You’ve done your job well. But you’ve only seen a fraction of the magical world.”
Dana looked at Dean curiously. “So… no one in the magical world knows you exist?”
Dean grinned crookedly. “Probably not. And I’m actually pretty okay with that.” Rowena nodded in agreement. “And let’s keep it that way. Because believe me, if they ever hear that the Winchesters are meddling in their business…”
“We’ll be in trouble,” Sam added.
“Big trouble,” Rowena confirmed with a smile. Dana looked between them and chuckled softly. “I think you’re used to trouble.” Dean looked at her, his grin widening. “You have no idea, kiddo.”