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Chapter Nine

The mountain troll was set free and magically sent back to its cave. Sam was going to ask how she did it, but it was Dean that stopped him with a simple question.

"Do you really want to know? It's gone," he told his brother. "That's all that matters."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she told him, "Trolls are easily suggestible. All I did was give him the mental suggestion that he go to his home and he did just that."

Sam nodded and said, "Cool."

Hermione snickered as she said, "I've never been deemed cool before." Her face went serious and added mostly to herself, "Unless what you were talking about is temperature rather than social status."

"She's an even bigger geek than you are, Sammy," Dean told his brother, but then said to her, "It's a part of your charm."

This had her beaming, as they headed back to the Impala. Sam ended up in the backseat this time, making him look around as he tried to figure out what was different about it.

"I hope you don't mind, but I added some room back there," she told them. "It's only a foot and it's easily reversible."

"You added space back here?" Sam extended his legs. "Thank you! Finally, there's room back here." He lurched forward and kissed Hermione's cheek. "You are a keeper." Looking to his brother, he added, "You better treat her right. I mean it, Dean."

He laid out in the back seat and was asleep before either knew it. Hermione just sat there for a time silently before saying, "It doesn't wreck the lines of the car either." He looked over to her. "Just thought you'd like to know."

Reaching over he pulled her over and kissed her slowly, deeply. When he pulled back, Hermione's eyes were closed. Opening them slowly, she found his intense green eyes so near to hers.

"He's right," he murmured. "You're a keeper."

...

They arrived in North Dakota and went straight over to the nearest seedy motel. Hermione being as fastidious as she was, did a quick cleaning of the room that managed to make it look like a brand new space. After she asked them how long they would be staying, managed to add a kitchen and dining area that they were only able to see.

"I love eating out as much as the next person," she told them, as she served up a complete English breakfast to the both of them and sat down to her own. "But I find that no one here in the states knows how to make a traditional English breakfast. And I like having one every now and again." She took a bite of the rasher, along with some roasted tomato. Letting out a sigh of contentment, she asked, "Is there anything either of you two like…"

She got no further when Dean demanded, "Do you make pie?"

"No, but it can't be that hard to learn," she said casually. "I could always ask…" Hermione stopped, let out a sigh and said, "I'll find a magical cookbook."

"Who were you going to ask?" Sam inquired.

"I was going to say Ginny Potter," she murmured. "She's married to my best friend. Well, he used to be my best friend. She told me about four or five hours after I found her brother, my fiancée in bed with her husband that none of them trusted me as far as they could throw me." She took a sip of her hot tea. "I don't know what I did to upset her. I wasn't the one cheating with her husband."

Both of the brother's winced, just as Castiel popped into the room in a fluttering of wings. She gave him a grin.

"How are you?"

"I am well, Hermione," he told her. "I have news.

"Good," she said, standing up. "Would you like something to eat and drink?"

"I am without need of such at the moment," he told her. "But I must speak to you."

Frowning she sat down once again. "You sound very serious. Have a seat and you can tell us what's going on."

He did so, but ended up getting up and began pacing. She blinked at him and looked over to a worried Dean. Nudging his foot, she nodded towards Castiel. But when Dean didn't get what she was hinting at, she rolled her eyes.

"Oh for Merlin sake, Dean!" she exclaimed. "He needs help gathering his thoughts and as you're the one that he's been through the most with, it's logical that you must help him work it all out!"

"But I'm eating!" he snapped.

Rubbing her temples, she got to her feet and went over to the distressed angel. Stopping him, she made him look her in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently. "Tell me."

Clearing his throat, he said quietly, "For angels to occupy the earth, we have vessels. My vessel is Jimmy Novak. When the angels fell, for some reason the angels fused with their vessels. Which is why the angels who have assented have gone back without leaving our vessels behind."

"Okay," she murmured. "But that still doesn't explain why you're so upset."

"The Metatron has been looking for his vessel…" A dawning realization lit her eyes.

"Who is it?" Dean asked, looking unconcerned, though given their history he should have been.

"His vessel is Hermione's…"

"Oh hell no!" Dean got to his feet, charging over to him. "You go back there and you tell him that her magically bonded husband says to fuck off!" His arm went around her shoulders, pulling her to himself. "There's only going to be one guy in her and that guy is me!"

Hermione's face went red, as she turned to him. "As oddly perverted as that may have sounded, it makes sense."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Dean and I are soul bonded," she said. "Meaning part of my soul occupies his and the other way around." Hermione looked over to Castiel. "Between our binding and the magic involved, I seriously doubt he'd be able to occupy me as his vessel—no matter how appealing the package may seem." She waved to herself. "All this is off limits magically to anyone other than my husband. And if he has a problem with that, he should speak to his Father." She smiled at Dean. "You got to love the rules when they work in your favor."

"That I do, sweetheart," Dean murmured, kissing her lips lightly.

"Hermione isn't his vessel," Castiel said. "You never let me finish, Dean. It's Hermione's one time friend, Ginny Weasley."

There was a sound of fluttering wings off to the side and they all turned to see the redheaded witch standing there, looking at all of them with an air of power Ginny never would have been able to pull off.

She looked around the room, saying, "I love the work you've done here." She looked to the frizzy haired witch. "Pity you can't keep it this way." She looked over to Dean. "You know, if not for your soul binding, your wife would have been my vessel. How could she not be? She is brilliant." Frowning she added, "And you're so…not."

"Hello," Hermione said. "Do we call you Metatron or is there something else you wish to be called?"

Her brow arched at the other woman's words. "How politically correct of you, Mrs. Winchester."

"I try," she said casually. "That's not to say that I do so well all the time, but I do give it an effort."

She nodded to this, walking over to one of the beds and sat down. "We all want the same thing."

"The angels back in their heavens," Hermione breathed. "But dare I ask, why would you want this?" She strolled over and magically moved the chair over in front of the Metatron. Studying this being that used to be one of her closest friends, she inquired, "Why didn't you stop the fall of the angels before it could have happened?"

"Do you have any idea what it's like to babysit a bunch of spoiled children? True, there are those that take care of themselves and that's fine." The Metatron stopped pacing and looked to them all. "Ever since our Father disappeared, every single one of the angels have been coming to me! What was I supposed to do? There's only one of me and millions of them!" She sat down hard. "I needed a break. So sue me!"

"Pardon me for being the one to point this out, but while you were gone on your little break, several archangels nearly started the apocalypse, attempted to take over heaven, hell, and everything in between, not to mention, the human cost while this happened," Sam snapped. "Good men and women died because you got fed up with your duties!"

"My duties, as you so eloquently put it, isn't to play God!" she roared, getting to her feet. "And it wasn't their jobs either." Taking a deep breath, the Metatron said, "But they're so easily influenced and I should have remembered that." Sorrow lit her face, as she turned to Hermione. "I made a mistake. And unlike you, who could use a timeturner, I don't get that chance at a redo." She looked to the others. "All the archangels I thought I could count on are either gone or in hell. I have no support to get them back where they should be." Laughing bitterly, she said, "I was up there, wondering what I was going to do when what should happen?" She pointed to them all. "You found a way to do it and did so without even trying!"

TBC…

And there you go! Another chapter dancing its way into the record books. Thanks for taking the time to read, review, not to mention, follow/favorite. You guys are the best. Thanks again for all of your support and have a celebrated day.