A/N: Alright, I've decided I want to continue this. The Poll will be edited to exclude the Compilation and multi-chapter option, but the pairings will still need to be voted on. As such, this story will stay in the Dean and Harry character option until one is decided on. Castiel/Harry is winning so far, but keep voting!
Title: Wearing a Mask
Harry couldn't believe it. Just five months after going into solitude, he'd been drawn out by Hermione and forced to go back to America. Strange things were happening there, and since he'd already been there and knew things, the Ministry had sent someone he couldn't say no to. In fact, she had been the only one to know the location of his house. Sighing in irritation, he turned to her as he waited for her to get her bearings after stepping out of the floo. "So, other than the obvious reasons, why did I have to come?"
Hermione blinked a few times and straightened herself out. "The Ministry figured you would know a few people here, so we could get information. I'm sorry Harry, I really am. If it were up to me, I would've let you have your peace. As is it, this is a potentially international emergency, and we need you." Harry just grumbled in understanding, not at all happy that he was back in the place he swore never to return to.
"The first thing you need to know about America, is that it will make your magic stronger than it is now. It'll be harder to control, and if you do lose control, make sure no one is around. There are people here that would find you and kill you, just because you could do magic. They're called Hunters. The next thing you need to know is that the creatures here aren't like back home. They're vicious and mindless, killing because they enjoy it. Don't try to start anything that might give them rights; some of them are literally demons." Hermione nodded in interest, having never heard of anything from when Harry was last in America.
Harry turned to Hermione and held his hand out, waiting for the item that made him agree to coming here in the first place. From her bag, Hermione pulled out a plain, yet interesting mask. In a way, it reminded her of the Death Eaters, but not at the same time. The mask only covered the upper half of Harry's face, and it was black in colour. There were a few wisps of dark grey that swirled in intricate patterns around the eyes and cheek bones, and under the left eye was the sign of the Deathly Hallows.
This mask had been created by pure magic. Once the Deathly Hallows had been found again after the final battle, they had been returned to Harry, as he was their rightful owner. As soon as all three of them were in Harry's grasp, he'd made the accident of wrapping the wand and the stone in the cloak, making them disappear for a brief moment, and then come back as the mask he was wearing. This mask signified him as the Master of Death, and made him above even God. What Harry hadn't told anyone though, was that he suspected that as soon as he first touched the mask, he had turned immortal.
Other than that, the mask also hid his identity, which was what Harry wanted. Of course, the other abilities were just a bonus. He could turn invisible at will, and if he took up hunting for a bit while he was here, he could banish demons and ghosts back to wherever they came from. The magic was his favourite though; the mask enabled him to do wandless, wordless magic. That meant that he could really do anything as long as it crossed his mind.
Slipping on the mask, he sent a smile Hermione's way. It didn't matter if his mask looked suspicious; as far as anybody knew, he could be hiding a horrible disfiguration.
As they exited the American Gringotts, Harry let the smile slip off his face. He would freely admit that he hated it here after his fiasco with the hunters. If Dean and Sam found him, then who knows what would happen. They would probably just try to help him in whatever it was they were doing to try and apologize for what they did.
In the dark night air around them, Harry found it easy to relax under the mask and beside Hermione. He knew that if anything happened to him, she would get him out. That being said, she obviously didn't get that they shouldn't run after gunshots in America, and yet, that's exactly what she did, dragging him along.
Harry suspected that it was a hunt, sounding from the two sets of gunfire. Hermione ignored it though, and Harry suspected that he wasn't the only one with a 'saving people thing'. Since the Gringotts they'd just come out of was nearly in the middle of nowhere and hidden from muggles, the only places where this could be happening was an abandoned building. Sighing, he just let her drag him along. If worst came to worst, he could just apparate them out.
Something didn't feel quite right though. It was like there was a charge in the air, like when there was a thunderstorm or something. Blinking, an old rusty garage came into view, with what seemed o be a black impala in front of it. Harry would recognize that car anywhere…
It was Dean Winchester's car.
Now normally, when this happened, Harry would turn right around and leave, but the doors to the garage had been blown open by something, and inside he could vaguely see someone touching an older man's forehead and knocking them out. Ignoring that it was a Winchester for now, Harry sped up, his hand still being gripped by Hermione's.
Once they got there, Harry let Hermione enter first, and the stranger in the trench coat saw them at once. Frowning at the confused look on his face, Harry looked towards Dean, who had turned around when he noticed that he wasn't being spoken to anymore.
"Who the hell are you?" Dean's voice sounded strangely dry, as if he hadn't had a drink in a very long time, and if Harry didn't know better, he could easily say that he looked slightly uncomfortable.
"You know exactly who I am, Dean Winchester." The hunter's eyes jumped to him, as if only just noticing him there. From there, several things happened. Dean's eyes widened, and the man in the trench coat stepped forward with one hand outstretched.
"Harry Potter… I thought you went back to Britain to hide?" That question was ignored for now, in favour of Harry acknowledging the other man. Placing his hand in the stranger's hand, he was a bit surprised when he brought up both his hand and pressed the back of it into his forehead. Blinking, Harry nodded and the stranger let go, straightening himself as if that were a normal occurrence. Even Hermione and Dean thought it was weird, however.
"Err, right. I did go back to Britain, and I did hide, but strange occurrences here have forced me out of hiding," at this he threw Hermione a slight glare, even if she couldn't see it, "you could say we're here to investigate, and if we can, fix the problem. This is Hermione, my best friend, and I will warn you now, Dean Winchester, if you or your brother touch a hair on her head, I will kill you."
Dean's eye twitched and he nodded, reminding himself that this person was dangerous. Hermione just huffed in annoyance, her and Harry still standing in the doorway to the garage they were in. The walls were covered in symbols and protection circles, and it looked as if they had been shooting at the stranger that they still didn't know the name of. He even had a stab wound, though it was hard to tell with all the clothes he was wearing.
"Uhm, are you alright?" she stepped closer to the man in the trench coat, briefly noticing how Harry twitched, as if he were going to reach out and grab her. The man looked at her blankly and nodded, his eyes once again returning to Harry.
Noticing his staring, Harry shifted uncomfortably and gave a small smile to the stranger. "So what's your name? I'm Harry Potter. Are you a hunter or…?"
"I am Castiel, an angel of the lord. It is nice to meet you, Harry Potter. I am honoured." Harry shifted again. If this man was an angel, than he must've known he was the Master of Death, which explained his actions when Harry first stepped into the dirty garage. Being an angel also explained why the man, or Castiel, had wings sprouting from his back. It didn't look as if the others could see them, but to Harry they looked quite frightening, or rather, intimidating.
"Okay? Nice to meet you as well." Turning his eyes back to Dean, he gave the hunter a questioning glance. Dean just shrugged, apparently just as confused as Harry was. Well, this was before Castiel turned back to Dean and stepped closer to him. For a few minutes they talked silently, so Harry and Hermione couldn't hear. Harry didn't mind, in fact, he was willing to let them talk so he could leave. He didn't want to be anywhere near Dean Winchester, after all. If he had a choice in any of this, he would leave.
It seemed however, that Hermione wasn't satisfied with whatever it was she was focusing on, so she forced him back outside and into the back of the impala. Turning to her, he made a face. "What are you doing?" he hissed lowly. He did not want to go with Dean. Who knew when he was going to pull a gun on them and leave them in a ditch somewhere?
"Harry, calm down. It seems as if this Dean person is in the center of all the strange happenings around here, and I'm not going to let this chance escape! We are going to follow Dean Winchester, whether he likes it or not." She had that stubborn look in her eyes again, the one Harry knew he would never win an argument with. Sighing in defeat, he sunk into the leather seat beside her, giving her a warning look that she couldn't even see because he was wearing the mask.
"If he pulls a gun out and blows our brains everywhere, don't say I didn't warn you. He's a hunter, Hermione, and we have to be careful." The witch just nodded, accepting that if she died, it was completely her own fault and not Harry's. He just didn't understand yet that the sooner they got this solved, the sooner he could go back into hiding.
