Title: Fnese Adora

Author: tarotgal
Fandom: Supernatural- Hogwarts AU
Pairing: Now that would be spoiling things, wouldn’t it?

Disclaimer: I don't own this world. I don't own these characters. I don't make any money.

Prompt: Characters are cursed to be sneezy-allergic to the one thing they love more than anything else in this world.

Fnese Adora

Six against two weren’t the odds Dean had been hoping for, but he and Castiel weren’t two of the best aurors in the wizarding world for nothing. Dean shot curse after curse at the death eaters attacking him, but he still kept an eye out for Cas, who was fighting off three at once up on some open scaffolding a story above in the warehouse. Even outnumbered, they were more than a match for the death eaters. Dean took two of them out with a leg-locker spell followed by a classic knockout one. He closed in on one witch with a worn face and intense, evil eyes. “The Dark Lord might be gone, but you’ll never stop all of us. You’ll never even find all of us.”

“We found you,” Dean said, holding her gaze.

“Yes…” A harsh, cruel smile lit her face. Before he knew what was happening, she had raised her wand. The other death eaters they’d been fighting rounded up their fallen brethren and apparated away while she called out “Fnese adora!”

Dean felt the curse wash over him, throwing him back against some empty wooden crates in the warehouse. His head slammed hard against the wood, the pain sharp and intense but nothing he couldn’t power through. “Cas?” he called weakly. He cleared his throat and tried again, louder this time. “Cas, you all right?”

There was a grunt and a small, metallic crash. “I’m okay!” Castiel shouted back. “You?”

Dean picked himself up and looked around, but the death eaters were all gone. “Man, I hate evil witches,” Dean muttered. He looked over to see his fighting partner climbing down the ladder, dropping down the last few feet on his own with a graceful landing, his khaki-colored robes spreading out around him. He headed over to Dean, delight dancing in his eyes. “You get hit with that curse, too?”

Cas nodded. “It packed a punch, didn’t it? Wonder what it—hah-Chiiiih!”

“God bless.” Dean rubbed the back of his head; he was going to have a lump there if he didn’t get some ice on it pretty soon. “We should head back to the Ministry, make a report.”

“Huh-Chiihhhhh! Yeah, I-I-ihh-CHIHhhh!”

“Bless you again. Got a tickle in your nose?”

Just about all Cas could do was nod before sneezing again, sleeve pressed to his nose. “ihh-Chihhh! Hahh-Chishihh!”

“Cas… are you okay?”

“Fine, ihhChihh! Just a little… sneezy all of a… a sud… hah-Ihchihhh! Ihshihhh! Ehshihh!”

Dean nodded. “Sure. This warehouse is pretty dusty. Let’s get you out of here.”

“I don’t think it’s ihhChehhh! I don’t think it’s the dust. I think it’s… ihhhChihhh! The curse. ihhShiiiiih!”

As he watched Castiel continue to sneeze, Dean considered this. It had started right after they’d been hit by it. “I’ve never heard of a sneezing curse before. Besides, if it’s the curse, why wouldn’t I be sneezing too?”

“Don’t… don’t know… hahh-IHHKShhh! EhhChihhh! I just can’t ihhChih! Can’t stop sneezing. Ehh-Chihhh! Feels like ihh-Eh-Ihshh! Feels like magic.”  Cas kept his sleeve held to his face then cupped his hand over his forehead. “Gotta sit.” He looked around and spotted some boxes about ten feet away. Cas made it to the boxes and sat down before his dizziness took over. He sat, hunched over, trying to catch his breath. It didn’t take him a minute before he caught it. Without another sneeze. “Hey, I think it’s over.”

He didn’t look like he was going to sneeze anymore. “You don’t feel like sneezing anymore?”

“No.” Cas sniffed hard and then rubbed his nose. “I feel great now.” He lifted his head and smiled at Dean. “Back to the Ministry?”

“Yep. Let me go grab my Impala and your Cleansweep.” Apparating wasn’t always safe when you were tracking evil, so they had taken their broomsticks but left them outside the warehouse before they'd staged their attack. Dean led the way out. The second his hand closed around the handle of his broomstick as it leaned against the outside of the warehouse, Dean felt the most intense prickling in his nose. The sneeze came over him so fast he didn’t even have a chance to cover his nose. “Ah-Shoo!”

Cas hurried to catch up and put a hand on Dean’s shoulder, only to pull away a second later. “ihh-Chiihh!” This time he held his other sleeve to his face as he bent in half from the force of the sneezes. “ihh-IHHShhh! IH-KSchhhh!”

“Ahhh-HahShhhoo!” Dean cupped his free hand to his nose and mouth. “I think maybe… hah-Ahshhh! I think maybe you’re right. It’s ahhh-Hahshoo! Ahhshooo! H’Shoo! It is a curse. Hah-Hahhhshhoo!”

“ihhChhh!” Cas nodded. They were never going to make it back on broomstick; they had no choice but to apparate back to the Ministry. “On the count of… three? Ihh-Chishhh! EhhKihshhh!”

“Let’s just go. ahhShooo!”

Somehow, they managed to make it without splinching themselves. Dean set their broomsticks down and led the way to the elevator. He knew exactly where they needed to go, and with Castiel sneezing his head off, Dean had to take charge. Actually, the funny thing was that he didn’t feel all that sneezy any more. But Cas was still sneezing.

“ihhh-Kshhh! IhhhhChh! Eh-Ihhshhh!”

“Merlin, Cas. God bless you. Are you okay?”

Cas nodded. Then shook his head. And he buried his face in the long sleeve of his robes again, though it did little to mask the sound and nothing at all to stop it. “ehhh-IHKshhhh! Ihkshooo! Ih-IHShchhh!”

The elevator went sideways, up, down, and then at a strange diagonal. Finally it arrived at their destination with a satisfying ding. Dean grabbed Cas by the arm and pulled him out. He walked Cas to the nearest empty desk and sat him down in the chair. “Sit down. Rest.” He looked around, spotting a tissue box on a nearby desk; he liberated it at once without asking. “And for goodness sakes, blow your nose. I’ll be right back.”

Cas agreed with another weak nod. There wasn’t much else he could do. “iihhChshh! Ihhshhh! Eh-Chshh! Okay, Dean. Ehh-IHShhhh!”

Dean wound his way through the maze of cubicles and offices until he reached a corner office. Its door was closed, but Dean didn’t let that stop him. He burst in to find his little brother sitting at a desk, absorbed in his books. “I’ve got an emergency!”

Sam looked up, eyebrows raised. “With you, it’s always an emergency of some kind. I swear, you and Cas get into more trouble than any of the other aurors here. What is it this time?”

“We got cursed fighting some death eaters.”

Sam waited for his brother to elaborate. When he didn’t, Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is like pulling teeth, Dean. I really don't have time for guessing games. Can you tell me why you’re here in the research department instead of with the trained Ministry curse breakers? Did the curse muddle your brain so bad you forgot what I do here?”

Dean glanced over his shoulder at Cas, who was furiously blowing his nose into a huge wad of tissues. “I’ve never encountered a curse like it. There was some kick to it, but no obvious side effects until Cas started sneezing. Then I did.”

Sam stared at him, waiting. Then he sighed. “Do I have to point out that you’re not sneezing anymore?”

“No, but Castiel is.” Sam looked past Dean, scanning for a moment until he saw the man sitting there, rubbing at his nose but definitely not sneezing. Dean saw this too. “Okay, but he was sneezing up until a few seconds ago.”

Sam still looked skeptical.

“Sammy, is there such a thing as a sneezing curse or isn’t there?”

“Of course there is. Problem is, there are about four dozen different kinds.”

“Four… dozen?” Dean looked shocked. And, momentarily, he was speechless. That didn’t last long. “I guess you’d better get a move on with those counter-curses, huh?”

Sam didn't look particularly thrilled as he closed the book in front of him. “Not exactly. We can’t try just anything. If it’s the wrong one, you could explode.” Sam looked past Dean again. “He’s still not sneezing. Are you sure that’s what this is?”

Dean nodded, though he still felt confused. He was sure Cas sneezing his head off had been a curse. It had sure felt like a curse when he had started sneezing and hadn't been able to stop.

“Okay. Then tell me exactly what happened. I know you’re anxious for a cure, but step back, take a second, and walk me through it.”

Dean sighed and sank into the chair in the corner of Sam’s office. It was packed with dusty old books. He was surprised they weren’t making him sneeze. Sam had always loved hanging around with books more than being out there in the field, and until now, Dean had never really understood why. He didn’t mind Sam’s bookish ways if it helped Cas now, though. He sighed and tried to explain. It had all happened so fast. He’d been worried about the curse, then relieved there had been no side effects, and then overwhelmed by all the sneezing.

“Wait, so Castiel didn’t start sneezing until he came over to you? And you didn’t start until you touched Dad’s old broomstick?”

“That’s what I said. I thought maybe the curse had missed me until I got back to the Impala.”

Sam looked thoughtful. “Did that death eater say Fnese adora by any chance?”

“Might have been something like that.” Dean thought about it. “Yeah, yeah, I think that’s it. You came up with that quickly.” Dean reached across the desk and patted Sam's upper arm. “Knew I had the right man for the job. What is it, anyway?”

“It's an adoration curse. You’ve been cursed to sneeze every time you’re near the thing you love most in the world.”

Dean thought about this for a second, putting two and two together and remembering that intensely sneezy sensation strike him the second he came near enough to his broomstick. An adoration curse sounded miserable, but he couldn’t help laughing. “Good thing you didn’t come with us, or you’d be sneezing your head off right now,  huh Sammy?”

“It’s Sam. You know it’s Sam. And what are you talking about?”

Dean gestured around, waving his hand casually in the direction of the billions of books. “Don’t all you Ravenclaws prize knowledge and books above everything else in life?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “We’ve been out of Hogwarts for years. Don’t you think it’s time to forget those house stereotypes?

“Never,” Dean grinned. “So what’s the counter-curse?”

Not doing much for the stereotype, Sam consulted his books. He went through one volume and then another, scanning and searching but not yet finding. All the while, Dean cast worried looks back over at Cas and urged his brother to read faster. He tapped his foot and told Sam to try a better book. He rubbed at his nose as if it were tickling still and begged Sam to find the counter-curse.

“Here we go,” Sam said, finally, with his finger planted on a page so he couldn’t lose his place. “It’s shando elimina, but you’ve got to be touching the thing you love in order for it to work.” He looked up from his book.

“Better try it on me first, just in case something goes wrong. I don’t want Cas to get hurt.”

There was something in Sam's expression Dean couldn't quite identify, but he wasn't in the mood for one of their heart-to-hearts. He just wanted this curse lifted for Cas as much as for himself. So Dean led the way across the room, back toward the elevator. He stopped and patted Cas on the back. “Sammy thinks he's knows what this is. We're going to go test it out.”

“hhuhhhhh-Chihhhh! Hahh-Chiiii!” Cas nodded, nose buried in tissues, and started to stand up.

“No,” Dean held him down by the shoulder. “Stay and rest. We'll be right back if it works.” 

Cas sniffled. “Okay. Deand.” He added a fresh tissue to his handful. “hih-CHuhhh! Ihh-Choooo!” When he looked up, tissues still bunched at his nose, he looked worried. “Wait, what do you mbeand by 'if'?”

But Dean was already nearly to the elevator. He knew the faster they got this figured out, the faster he could help his partner out. Dean paced inside the elevator. Sam sent an inter-departmental memo and waited patiently against one wall to stay out of Dean's way. “Bobby should meet us down there. He'll need to be there to approve the use of the counter-curse on you of course.” Dean nodded impatiently. He knew they couldn't have Ministry workers cursing each other in the hallways all the time just to test theories, but he hoped Bobby didn't take his sweet time in getting there.

As it turned out, Bobby was there before them. He gave them a grin and a head shake. “What have you boys gotten yerselves intae this time?”

Sam gestured toward his brother. “Oh, it's all Dean this time. It's an adoration curse.”

Bobby looked around. “Makes sense we're down here then. Where's John's old Impala?”

Dean sighed and walked over to where he'd parked the broomstick. “Hey there, Baby,” he said, admiring the dark black wood and the familiar silver embellishments even though he knew it was going to make him sneeze. In fact, his nose was already starting to tickle. The urge was sudden, deep, a fluttering so strong he couldn't fight against. “ehh... ehhhhhh...” His hand close around the broomstick. “eh-eh-AHHSchhhh! Hahhshoo! Ahhhchhhh!”

Sam pulled his wand out, aimed carefully, then swished it expertly. “Shando elimina!”

“ahh-ahhh-AH!” Dean's nose twitched, but nothing happened. “Aw, damn it.” Dean scrubbed at his nose until the sneeze was gone.

“Did it work?” Sam asked, sounding a little worried. “You didn't blow up, so that's a good sign, right?”

“Wait, you were serious about the blowing up bit?”

Sam chuckled, shaking his head. “Let's go uncurse Cas.”

“Right. We'll have him hold his tie, you give the counter-curse, and the poor guy will be able to stop sneezing.” Dean got to the elevator before realizing Sam and Bobby weren't directly behind him. They were both standing some way behind, staring at him. “Are you coming or what?”

Sam rubbed the back of his head. “What do you mean, his tie?”

“That's the thing that's making him sneeze, right? He always wears that thing. He loves it.”

“Aye,” Bobby said. “'Cause ye gave it tae him.”

“Sure, but--”

“Ye really dinnae get it, do ye?  How did ye manage tae be an auror when ye miss somethin' so obvious?” Dean narrowed his eyes at Bobby, confused. What was he trying to say? “Cas loves ye, ye dumb berk.”

“No.” Dean waved it off. Bobby'd been a professor back at Hogwarts, so he'd known them for ages. But he was way off the mark with this. “Cas and I had a thing back in school, but we haven't been anything but partners since starting at the Ministry.”

Sam stepped forward, jumping into the conversation. “And why do you think he's still here, even though you're not dating? He's following you like a fiercely loyal little Hufflepuff puppy.”

“Oh, now who's using house stereotypes?”

Sam shook his head. “Dean, he loves you. Think about when he was sneezing. Back in that warehouse and on the way up to my floor, but not when you were in my office. But the second you went over to check on him, he started right up again.”

Dean thought about it. He thought about it as the elevator wound its way through the Ministry once more. He thought about it as Bobby and Sam smiled knowingly at each other. But he hadn't come to any brilliant conclusions by the time the elevator door rolled open. What they'd been saying made some sense, but but if Castiel loved him that much, why wouldn't he have said something even once over the years? This couldn't be true. The sneezing curse couldn't have been triggered by him. But... if it wasn't him... what was it? Something in his pockets maybe? But, then, why had he stopped sneezing at all? Maybe Dean had something in his pockets.

Dean noticed Cas wasn't sneezing at all as they walked over to him. But the moment Dean stepped close, Castiel's nose began to twitch. It was unmissable, undeniable.  Dean's mouth went dry and his heart started going a bit faster than normal. Cas. His Cas. In love for all these years. Why hadn't he said something?

“It's an adoration curse,” Sam explained while Cas rubbed at his nose, sniffling. “You were cursed to sneeze when you're near the thing you love most.”

As a well-trained auror, Dean Winchester could tell what someone was thinking, just from a few visual cues. And the ones coming off Cas right now were so loud and clear he couldn't believe he'd missed them before. The flush of the cheeks. The brief sideways glance. The lower lip worried between his teeth.

But the reaction only lasted a second, if that, before Cas pitched forward, sneezing again. “ehhhUhshuhh! Ihshahhh! Ih-etchahhh!”

It wasn't something in either of their pockets. And Bobby and Sam were right; it wasn't his tie. Damn it, this was a hell of a way to find out.

“hihhKShhhh! Hihktchooo! Ihhh... ih-huh...”

And the poor guy was just going to keep sneezing forever until Dean did something to help. So he reached over and pinched Cas' nose. He held Cas' nose tight between his thumb and bent forefinger for him.

“hih-huhhhh...” The sneeze toyed with them both a little longer before backing back down. It was no match for the Ministry's two best aurors. Cas' shoulders fell and his body relaxed. Dean relaxed as well, feeling accomplished and proud for the first time that day. He'd managed to lose a powerful death eater, get them both cursed, and completely missed the signs of his partner's affection, but at least he'd stopped a sneeze

“hhh-CHUHHH!” The sneeze sprayed wetly, right into Dean's bare hand.

Looking immensely regretful, Cas grabbed for the tissues. He got one for Dean and took Dean's hand in his briefly as he wiped it dry. Then he rubbed at his own nose with the tissue, sniffling all the while. “M'b sorry,” he managed. “Just cad't... hihhhh!” This time, there wasn't warning enough for Dean to put his hand back up into place. “IhChihshh! IhShihh!”

Dean sighed and reached over. He picked up Cas' hand and put it on his shoulder. There it sat, in the exact spot where, years ago, Cas had gripped him tight and pulled him free from the devil's snare during their very first mission together as aurors. Cas looked a little surprised, even as he sneezed, but Dean held his hand there while his brother said the counter-curse.

“Shando elimina!”

“Ih-hih-uhhhhh... ihh!” Cas wound up again. Then he sighed and relaxed more completely this time. He sniffed and wiped at his nose, but he didn't sneeze again. He didn't need to sneeze again.

“Feel okay?” Dean asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Cas nodded. He stared unblinkingly into Dean’s eyes, not wanting to look away. “Yes. Thank you very much, Sam.”

Sam chuckled. “You’re welcome, Castiel. And thank you for looking after my brother out there.”

“Always.”

Dean smiled at this, but the smile was fleeting. “We’re going to have to talk about what this means, Cas.”

For a split second, panic and regret filled Castiel’s face. Then his eyes filled with sadness and stayed that way as he whispered, “I know.”

“But not right now. There's something else we need to do right now,” Dean said before grabbing Cas’s tie, the one that had been a gift that first Christmas they'd known each other, and pulled him close. Right there in the middle of the Ministry, with a dozen researchers, his brother, and their boss watching, Dean snogged the hell out of Castiel.