A/N: It's been almost four months, and I'm sorry for that. I had a lot of things come up so that I couldn't properly write out this chapter until recently. A lot happened in this chapter, and it answers some questions while also causing new questions. I'm also thinking of putting this story on another site so when sexual situations happen, I won't be in violation of the site rules when I do get to them. Again, sorry for the wait, and I'm still looking for artists! Enjoy!
Standard disclaimers apply
Spread Your Wings
The cave turned cottage was quite ingenious, Harry thought. The mouth of the cave was open, but if one were to look into it fully, you would see the sanded down planks of wood forming a wall to block the wildlife. It wasn't perfect, he noted absently, there were pockmarks here and there along the wood, the door itself looked like it was ripped right off the side of a tree.
It was also a very big door.
Despite all the lopsidedness and cracks that leaked light and wind inside, it had an old world homey feel to it that Harry adored.
The other three of his little cadre were inside chatting with Bugul Noz and from the sounds of laughter, hearing another amusing tale of the gentle spirit's time through the forest. 'Who would have thought that Merlin sung like a dying cat?' Harry mused with a soft smile. His familiar, Hedwig, was out hunting for a late night snack after he sent her out..
Sitting outside under the crescent moon and thunder clouds, Harry sat with his thoughts. Absently rubbing his forearms with both hands, his mind was awhirl with trying to figure out what was happening to him. On the way to Bugul Noz's home, Harry continued with Gabriel's request of channeling his magic throughout his body. He even kept doing so when they all started talking about the forest spirit's life, but had to leave the room rapidly due to a sudden jerk of something running through his body.
Needless to say, he cut off the flow of magic through his body after that.
Harry sighed and looked down at his gauze-wrapped forearms while trying to puzzle out what was wrong with him. He gave a grunt and started to unwrap the gauze, intent on seeing if anything had changed. Part of him hoped that all he saw was unblemished skin.
For a moment it looked like his hope was founded at the sight of slightly pale skin and hair covering it. He rotated his arms, trying to see if there was anything different, and lifted them off his thighs and under the moonlight spilling into the mouth of the cave. Then his hopes turned to ash as alien symbols lit up in an ethereal white-blue light, spanning from his wrist to his elbow.
He sucked in air in surprise, wracking his memories of any runes he might have seen that reflected what he was seeing now. But it wasn't symbols, it was a symbol, a singular one that resembled a downwards pointed arrow. And apparently, it was reflected on his other arm, a complete copy with nary a difference.
Harry needed help.
"Gabriel!" He shouted with a turned head, his eyes never leaving the odd markings on his arms.
The laughter in the cottage suddenly quieted and scrapings of hastily moved furniture followed. Quick pattering of heavy boots on a wooden floor, then the door opened to reveal the other three human occupants along with the sadly grotesque visage of Bugul Noz behind them. Giving them a quick panicked look, Harry noticed the spirit looked both cautious and curious for some odd reason.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked while rushing towards him after seeing the scared look on his face.
"I...I don't know. My arms lit up and these markings appeared right where that stuff was when we did that reading. Gabriel, do these mean anything to you?"
Harry had to look over Hermione's shoulder because she was studying the symbol on his right arm to look at Gabriel. His guardians face was a mixture of both incredulity and fear, but the fear was what caught Harry off guard.
"Gabriel?"
His name seemed to snap whatever daze he had been in because Gabriel shook his head violently for a moment and then made his way over to them. He gently moved Hermione out of the way, ignoring her huff of agitation, and peered at the symbols intently, his nose no more than an inch away from them.
All the while, Harry just sat there and tried to keep himself from losing his head. He glanced down at his arms again and then another sudden jolt of pressure through his body caused him to hiss in pain. Gabriel glanced up for a second before switching arms to look at the reflects symbol.
Only this time, the pressure didn't fade.
It grew inside him, festering from the point in the pit of his stomach where he had been feeling that unsettling power roiling. He could feel it trickling up his spine to the point between his shoulder blades and pushing what felt like against his skin. The same feeling traveled down through legs to his jean-covered calves and build as well.
Harry clenched his jaw, feeling his teeth grind from the influx of uninterrupted pain. Then he closed his eyes, trying to ignore it until a ringing sound filled his ears. His hands fisted next. Even his toes curled. It must have looked odd to the others with him tensing his body ridiculously, but he honestly didn't care at this point.
Suddenly, that same unimaginable power in his stomach flooded throughout his body like when he was channeling his magic. In the release of whatever was flowing through him, he slung his arms and legs out while his back arched, coincidently throwing Gabriel away from him and into a tree nearby. Hermione backpedaled till she was standing near Remus who wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.
He looked as conflicted as she did, torn between primal fear he was suddenly feeling and the need to help his friend's son.
Unable to hold it in anymore, Harry yelled at the top of his voice in a mixture of pain and necessity, trying to filter out what he was feeling at that moment. It felt like his veins were transfigured into livewires and were shooting currents of electricity through him. It was agonizing and pleasurable, similar to when he performed the ritual with Gabriel.
It seemed Gabriel shook out of his stupor from the treeline and tried to get back to his charge. However, when he got within five feet of him, a charge of humming energy lanced out from his back and impacted the ground at his feet. He cocked his head to side in curiosity and bewilderment for a moment before running over to his other compatriots and the forest spirit.
"We got to move, something...big is happening and if we are here when it happens, I fear we will be in trouble," he rushed out, grabbing the two by the elbows and pulling them towards the forest where they came from.
Hermione turned to him aghast and retorted hotly, "I'm not abandoning him!"
Gabriel paused for a split second with a pained expression and looked at her. "We're not leaving him, Hermione. But whatever is going on, it's protective of him." He looked over at Harry who was between crying out in obvious pain and spasming while still managing to sit on his haunches.
"Bugul," the spirit looked at Gabriel from where he was still looking at Harry, "you should come with us. If your home is destroyed, I promise to fix it up better than new." Bugul Noz only nodded and hefted up his lantern before making his way towards to the tall trees outlining the forest.
Gabriel sparred Harry one more glance filled with nervous worry as his charge was still doubled over, his head on the ground. He grabbed Hermione by the wrist and bodily dragged her towards the area Bugul Noz entered the trees. Remus looked at Harry once more as well and sent a silent prayer for help.
Not noticing his friends and girlfriend leaving, Harry continued twitching along with the random push of pain. He groaned during a lapse of pain then screamed fiercely when it came back with a vengeance.
Gabriel caught up with the forest spirit and stopped them all with a nod they noticed. He turned back towards where they could hear the unholy screams echoing the forest, and twisted the silver ring on his hand counter-clockwise once. For a second, nothing happened.
Then four people stepped out of the shadows of the forest surrounding them, approaching Gabriel with curious looks all on their faces.
"Why have you called us here, Guardian," came the melodious query from the obvious leader of the group of four. He was tall, sandy-haired man with stubble across his jaw.
Another scream reached them before Gabriel could answer and all of the new arrivals spun to face Harry's direction, each adopting a defensive stance..
Gabriel coughed to get their attention. "I don't know, this universe is the enigma you've all heard about. Carmichael, my charge, Harry, something is happening to him. Could you see if you recognize whatever is happening."
They all stared at Gabriel for a moment before the person known as Carmichael nodded and they all made their way to Harry. Hermione, who was struggling not to question everything, spun on Gabriel.
"Who were those people?" Her question came out more of a yell, but Gabriel understood her panic.
They were all surprised when it was Bugul Noz spoke up, "beings from on high."
Gabriel nodded and affirmed the other two's question look. "He means angels."
Hermione looked sceptical, but Remus figured that was the case seeing as he met Kateris. To him, they all had the same scent.
"What do you mean angels? They looked like regular people," Hermione asked, looking back towards where they could hear the still screaming Harry.
"They have to take the form of people, their true forms would destroy you. Celestial energy is not meant to be seen by mortal eyes."
She still looked a little sceptical at the thought of angels, of all things, being real even though for the past few days, Gabriel has been filling her in. Hermione just sighed in frustration and waited to get all the answers.
The screams ceased all of a sudden and the sounds of multiple raised voices could be heard speaking a ways away. That's when the skies decided to open up in a torrential downpour of rain. Hermione heard Gabriel sigh and grumble about European weather and elves.
Lightning flashed in the clouds high above them, all looking up at the strange behavior of the weather. The oddest part was, there was no thunder following the flash.
"That's different," came Gabriel's lilted answer to many of their looks.
Then Harry's screaming started again and they all switched from looking at the sky, and back towards the direction of Bugul Noz's home. The scream were different this time; the pitch was slowly deepening into a roar of a sound. It kept getting deeper and deeper, all four of them all looking both wary and curious.
The four angels that rushed to Harry came crashing back towards them through the underbrush, all looking worse for wear. All of them sporting what looked like scorch marks and their clothing torn in odd placements.
"What is he!" Roared Carmichael, half carrying a ebony-haired woman who looked unconscious. Gabriel, for his part, looked bemused.
"He is my alternate in this universe, and as far I knew, he was human," he tilted his head to the left. "What happened?"
The angel known as Carmichael took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his wounded pride and panic. "We confronted this Harry Potter in the clearing, but when we got too close, plasmatic energy lashed out at us."
Now thoroughly confused at what was going on, Hermione couldn't hold back any longer. "What is going on with my boyfriend!" Her out of turn shout drew a startled jerk of Carmichael's head in her direction.
"Be still, child. Your mate is something neither my team nor I have ever crossed, and it worries me. I've been around humanity before your kind moved out of it caves, yet I've never seen something like...him."
Hermione growled and threw up her hands in frustration.
"Does anything resemble the symptoms?" Gabriel cut in, trying to divert the angel's attention away from Hermione.
Carmichael lowered his unconscious teammate to the foliage on the ground and plopped himself down beside her gracelessly.
"His energy somewhat reminds me of both the Nephilim and Cambion. It's like he is both in unison, but that's improbable as I can also sense the human in him," he paused for a moment. "Even if side is diminishing gradually."
Gabriel gained an intense look in his eye and leveled it towards Harry's direction and asked without looking towards them, "what do you mean his humanity is diminishing?"
The angel rubbed the palm of his hand against his face frustratedly and added, "I don't know Guardian, but it appears to be melding with the other two energies in him. He is an anomaly."
That drew a reluctant snort from Harry's Guardian, but he didn't look away from the sounds of Harry's booming roar that was still going.
Gabriel looked like he was about to speak up again when the forest went silent abruptly, Harry no longer yelling. The trio and the conscious angels looked around, curious as to why Harry had stopped his anguished screams.
The sky overhead, still dark with rain, flashed multiple times in one direction: Harry's direction. Lightning shooting through the clouds from all directions towards a center that seemed to be directly overhead of where Harry was.
"What the hell?"
The question Remus rhetorically spoken was unanimously agreed upon by those present.
The pain was an afterthought by this point to Harry. His throat was raw, that was for sure, but he couldn't help but not care at that moment. He did notice the appearance of what he could tell where angels approaching, but the power deemed them a threat and sent them away with a few well-placed bolts.
They were angels, they could take it was his mantra.
He looked around despite the aching coursing through his body, trying to figure out what was going on. Everything seemed so foggy in his mind, despite his new penchant for noticing everything.
Something instinctual inside him told him to look up to the thunderclouds, and just in time to see the flashing of the lightning in the clouds.
All coming towards him.
'I'm like some demented hurricane,' he morbidly, and sluggishly, thought.
He flopped fully onto the ground and summoned all of his diminished energy to flip his body over to face the sky. It was enchanting and hypnotizing to just watch the clouds moving slowly whichever way it went. He laid there, watching the random streaks of plasma course through the clouds, not really having the energy to ponder the oddity of it's behaviour.
A loud booming of a horn filled the skies, strangely reminding him of his fleeting dream. At the moment, he couldn't find it within him to care. The horn continued to blare into the night, it's sound was uplifting to him, but still, he could only just smile tiredly and close his eyes.
Then the familiar sound of rustling wings filled his ears and that did give him enough reason to try and look around. It sounded so close. His hearing could pick up yelling off in the distance, sounding like one of those angels he accidently hurt earlier.
"Hello, child, we meet again," a distinctly feminine voice spoke from his left. He swung his head lazily to the side to see who it was, but seeing nothing but the shadowed forest beyond the clearing.
Harry tried to speak, but just ended up coughing after all that came forth was a rough gurgle.
He swallowed and coated his vocal chords in saliva before trying again, "who are you?" His throat was still sore, but his voice worked, even if it was guttural sounding.
More rustling of wings followed the first and soft thuds could be heard around him, telling him more of whatever that voice belonged to, just arrived.
"Hello?" He called, still too tired to properly panic and his thoughts too fuzzy to understand anything strenuous.
His eyes were closed to hopefully expand his other senses, and was granted to hear the sound of soft footfalls approaching to his left. Harry expected to be scared, faced with the unknown, but all he could feel was that metaphysical fog calming his mind.
A soft, warm hand touched his cheek and without conscious instruction, he tilted his head into it. It stroked his cheek up and down, from his temple to his jawline, the light touches sending shivers through his body.
That same feminine voice spoke again, directly into his ear, and unlike his first meeting with Kateris, he could feel breath tickling his earlobe. "Do not fret, young one, we are not a threat until you choose us to be." He inhaled through his nose instinctually and her breath was mouth watering, it reminded him of his favorite dessert.
"What are you?" He breathed out, his eyes still closed.
A pause, then she spoke again, her hand traveling up to his scalp and threading her fingers through his long hair. "We are what you are now, though you have just joined our fold. You, Harry Potter, were unexpected but not unwelcome to us."
If he wasn't so numb right then, he would have growled in frustration. He hated word games.
"You still didn't answer my question, but let me rephrase it; what are we?"
He didn't know how he knew, but he could feel her smile even if he couldn't see it.
"We are the children of two ancient beings. Some consider us abominations and some consider us miracles. Born human with celestial assistance, they call it. I will unburden your mind for a moment so you can figure it out, but don't open your eyes just yet."
'That's not ominous at all,' played through his mind.
Harry felt whoever was beside him shift subtly and heard another pair of footsteps approach, these more heavy than before.
Once the footfalls were close to his left, a male baritone spoke up. "I'm going to lay my hand on your head, Harry Potter. Do not worry, I mean no harm." That was all the warning he had before a smothering hand literally swallowed the top of his head. It stayed there for a second without any noticeable difference to the fog, but then he could feel the fog seeping away.
Then it was gone, like it was never there before. Without that all-encompassing fog, his mind went right back into overdrive, piecing together events since whatever happened earlier.
"What two beings are we from?" His voice, while still raspy, was more forceful this time. Harry wanted to sit up, but the calming hand was on his shoulder, holding him still.
'At least that bear paw of a hand is gone,' he thought.
He got the impression the female heard his thought when she giggled lightly, sending shivers down his lower back.
"I'm happy you prefer my hand to the 'bear paw' as you called it," a rumbling chuckle a little further away told him the man was laughing. "But, the beings are celestial, what two beings come to mind when you think of that?"
Without a moment of hesitation, he answered, "angels and demons."
He could feel her smiling again, it was almost burning his face in it's intensity. Harry could also see a strange light through his eyelids light up, but didn't dare open them.
"Very good, you are quicker than I expected. I'll answer the most pressing question without resorting to more puzzles. When your mother gave birth to you, there was both an angel and demon present. Their energies intermingled with yours at the right moment, and it lay dormant until the right catalyst came along."
Harry didn't know whether to freak out that his birthing was company to an angel and demon, or to curse his luck at being even more abnormal than before.
"What does that mean? What is happening to me?" Harry this time sat up, regardless of the hand trying to force him back down. He ignored the huff of annoyance and rubbed his head, trying to knead the headache away.
"You are a stubborn one aren't you," she asked rhetorically. He just sent a smirk in her general direction, his eyes still closed. "Fine. Your dormant energy is shaping you into one of us. We are the children of angels and demons, stronger than both without the...limitations of either."
He figured she could see the rising annoyance on his face at her edging around an answer. She sighed and he could feel her stand up and walk away, the comforting presence leaving was almost painful in its loss.
"You can open your eyes now, they can handle our presence since you are basically done with your change."
Slowly, he pried his eyes open, it was difficult because of how long he had his eyes clamped shut from the pain, but he managed it regardless.
First came the blurry light from the direction of the voice, then the blurs started to sharpen and his notion of the person talking to him was a female was proven correct. But, in truth, it didn't do the woman justice in being placed with the other women out there.
Hell, she was even more beautiful than Kateris and he thought she was the end-all, be-all of beauty personified.
Her black hair was cropped short in a pixie-esque fashion, framing her high cheekbones and angular face perfectly. The eyes, Harry realized, is what really drew in his attention. They were symmetrically oval, each containing bright, violet irises that were positively swirling within the whites of her eyes.
There was also the matter of the strangely feminine pauldrons on each slender shoulder, coming together on her back and bursting outwards like metallic wings. From within the metal, white energy was fed out in tendrils, giving them wing-like shapes that was oddly pleasing to the eyes.
Harry blinked once and ran his eyes over the rest of her quickly before returning to her smirking face, as if knowing what he was thinking of her. Belatedly, he remembered she could hear his thoughts.
'Crap.'
"Indeed. You can call us, and I do mean you as well, the Nephalem. Not Nephilim, as those are the literal children of both humans and angels."
Still sitting up and looking at her, Harry could only nod while getting used to their presences and the dull ache pulsating through his body. He was worried about Hermione and the others, but knowing Gabriel and the other angels with him, they could handle themselves.
"What now? What do you want from me?" His question did bring some raised eyebrows from the other Nephalem, but the woman who spoke just nodded understandingly.
"We," she gestured around to her group, "came to bring you a choice. Either to remain human or to come with us and learn about your heritage."
Harry rubbed his temple with his hand and thought things over. 'It's more of an ultimatum than a choice,' he pondered with no small amount of rebelliousness.
He swept his bangs back into place over his head, and looked at the woman in her stunning violet eyes hard for a moment before replying. "I don't enjoy being pressured into things. Why is it so important that I must choose to become human if I want to stay?"
Some Nephalem stiffened and their strange wing-like tendrils began to swirl in an agitated state. The spokeswoman merely cocked her head to the side in confusion, she herself trying to answer the question for both of them.
"I am...uncertain as to the reason why it must be so, but that is the way it had been since the beginning. We have been around since the beginning of the human race, but we've never encountered angels or demons that have shown us anything but hostility," she paused, looking for more to say. "We usually exist on other planes of existence to separate our kind from theirs, there we live and thrive."
"So it's more of tradition to just ignore the world and the other beings out there?" Harry asked sardonically, already making a decision but wanting to keep the discussion going. He could tell some of what was being said was making some Nephalem question their decision, but others were just getting frustrated and angry.
She shrugged and replied, "like I said, it's just the way it's been since the first of us."
"You tell me that our kind, the Nephalem, are different from the angels or demons in that we have no shackles to duty like they do. But you just gave me a choice, where if I were to choose to join you would shackle me to a duty of tradition," he shook his head in bewilderment, "I am sorry to say that I won't be joining you in your ignorance, nor am I going to relinquish my powers."
Harry stood up, still a little shaky, but it was retreating fast against the power that was now thrumming through his body. "I will stand with humanity and protect them, even if I am not human anymore. Please leave peacefully, so we may remain friends and not enemies. I have enough as it is."
The party of Nephalem were all staring at him, some in shock and confusion, and some with rage and incredulity. Inwardly, Harry was worried that he would have to fight them, his training with Gabriel was coming along but fighting against something stronger than an angel was humbling.
Plus, even if he was a Nephalem, he was still new to it. These were beings who have all been apart of his race for ages, and no doubt more practiced in using their abilities.
Their leader, he still hasn't got her name, just endearingly cocked her head to side again in confusion. No doubt, she probably has never come across something like this before. Harry couldn't help but smile softly at the look, he just wanted to hug her and try to help her understand.
"We have never come across a newborn like you before. Very well, we shall leave you and consult our leaders on what to do, but we shall return." She straightened and looked to her left at the man who Harry guessed was the one who helped clear his mind. To Harry's relief, he also looked confused at what just occurred.
The man nodded at something Harry didn't hear and spoke, "you should know that being one of our kind, if humans look upon our true form, they will perish. If you care for them, you will need to pull back your aura like so," the man swiped his left hand across his right forearm and did the same with his right hand. The tendrils of energy coming from his back pulled back into the pauldrons and the tingle of power Harry had been feeling lessened somewhat, but was still palpable with the others around.
"But be warned, our markings will still be visible and most humans will be curious to their origins," the man looked back at his leader. He nodded once again at some unspoken command and swiped his arms which drew out his power and 'wings'. He looked at his companions and called out, "let us leave and reconvene at The Hall."
Before Harry could say anything, all fifteen members left in a shower of sparks and light, leaving only the female Harry had spoken to directly.
She approached him in a way that could be almost described as dancing, but had an underlying grace of a predator. Subconsciously, Harry swallowed as different emotions assaulted him as her violet eyes met his.
"Why do you wish to stay? The humans have always been a destructive race, and they will sooner try to destroy each other than embrace another." Her words floated like silk to ears. She stopped but a few paces from him, then her hand was once again running through his hair, making Harry lean into it in pleasure.
Harry, with eyes closed at the sensation, replied. "It's wrong to leave my loved ones behind to face the coming war, not to mention what will happen when the elves arrive."
The hand stopped raking against his scalp and he opened his eyes to see a bemused look cross her delicate features. "You don't know that they are returning?"
She shook her head in the negative and drew back her hand, much to his displeasure but didn't stop her. "The Nephalem don't dwell on Earthly matters, unless it is in response to a newborn like yourself. Humans fear us, Angels either loath us or are curious about us, and demons mostly just try to use us to their gains," she shrugged her slim shoulders, making the pauldrons bounces, "it shouldn't be hard to see why we distance ourselves from them."
Unfortunately, Harry could see why they would go at great lengths to separate their kind from the rest. But that didn't mean he had to agree with it.
He was, like everyone said he was, a stubborn bastard.
"Hiding won't fix matters, and your leaders should know that. Eventually, our kind will stagnate like all the other isolationists in this universe, and then where will we be?"
She smiled slightly at Harry and squeezed his bicep. "You are an interesting conversationalist. You berate our kind, but still don't separate yourself from us. You have a...weird outlook on things."
Harry snorted in good humor and retorted, "you should meet my friend Luna, she could make a god question his own divinity."
That got a laugh out of her, and it was quite a sound to behold as well. Unlike Kateris, her laughter could be compared to waves lapping at the seashore.
"Sounds like an interesting human, I might have to listen to her sometime. But I must take my leave, we will see each other again in time."
She walked backwards a few steps and was about to leave, but Harry asked another question before she could.
"I forgot to ask, but what is your name?"
She cocked her head to side again, but still endearingly. "My name is Sephyl," was her response, and then she was gone in a spectacular light show just like her companions.
Harry shook his head to get rid of the residual cobwebs and look around at the light destruction his transformation caused. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't pretty either, he realized. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at Bugul Noz's home and was surprised at the sight of a familiar looking appendages.
Four tendrils of white energy sprouted from each shoulder blade and was wisping around on an invisible wind. They were long, the longer ones reaching almost to the forest edge in length. Despite their menacing appearance, they seemed playful almost as the wrapped around the foliage and tree trunks.
He was snapped out of his musings at the sound of approaching footsteps, and worried that it might be either Hermione or Remus, he copied the male Nephalem's actions to hide his energy. Harry grunted at the sharp pinch as his new appendages withdrew back into his body, and the energy he could feel as his dispersed as well into the atmosphere.
Looking down at his forearms, he saw instead of glowing glyphs, was now instead black like an intricate tattoo.
"Great," he murmured.
"Harry!" Came a cry to his left from the trees, he turned quickly just in time to catch the distraught form of his girlfriend.
"Easy Hermione, I'm fine." He continued whispering reassurances into her hair, but also taking stock of other people coming into the clearing as well. The first to show up was his other companions, Remus and Gabriel. Then they were followed by a group of what he figured were angels that all looked worse for wear.
The leader of the angels was also shooting him dirty looks.
'That's also great...' he begrudgingly mused.
Gabriel walked forward in quick strides, Remus on his heels. "Harry, do you remember what happened?" His question was paced carefully, but Harry could still hear the concern in it.
Harry smiled gently at him over Hermione's head and replied, "all I remember was pain and...rage, I guess is the word for it, until they arrived."
That got confused looks for those gathered around him in the clearing, even Hermione looked up from his chest. Harry could make out Bugul Noz's grotesque head poking out from behind a tree.
"They?" Asked one of the angels, a female that was leaning heavily on one of her companions shoulders.
Harry paused, unsure if he should divulge this information. The other Nephalem seemed wary of the Angels as a whole. He gave a mental shrug, hoping that they would think things through.
"Nephalem."
Utter silence, which was worse than what Harry was hoping for. Rash action was one thing, silence meant danger to Harry.
"What were those abominations doing here?" Roared the leader, some of his companions giving him bemused looks. Apparently, Harry figured, not all of them knew what an Nephalem was.
Gabriel sighed heavily and turned to the outraged angel. "Carmichael, use your head and not the teachings of a misunderstood people."
"Misunderstood! I remember the stories of the Nephalem," he spat the word, "when they attacked our conclaves!"
"Carmichael," Gabriel barked harshly, surprising Harry. "You will also remember when they were first attacked unprovoked by an angel for being what you call an abomination! That time has passed! The new laws protect all beings of the multiverse, now let it go."
Once more, silence enveloped them all.
Carmichael, visibly relaxing, turned to Harry with an uncharacteristic sheepish expression on his face. "My apologies, I let my wounded pride rule my emotions. Your Guardian is of course correct. Can you please explain what they wanted."
Now, Harry was seriously debating with himself if it was wise to disclose his true nature to the hotheaded angel questioning him. He sighed, this time to steel himself, and answered, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake.
"You see, what you witnessed when you approached me earlier, was my ascendence. I am a Nephalem," he noticed Hermione hugging him tighter at the proclamation, "and they were wanting to take me to their safe-haven. They were worried that I would attacked on site." If anything, Hermione's grip on his tightened significantly.
Remus, still behind Gabriel, was wide eyed and shifting his gaze from Carmichael to Harry. No doubt worrying that a one-sided fight was about to happen. Gabriel, on the other hand, looked a mixture of amused and curious. Carmichael, Harry inwardly cackled, looked agog.
"Impossible, you were born human. No celestial being laid with your parents." The confused leader, choked out.
"Apparently, you don't know many Harry Potter's," Gabriel spoke, tongue in cheek. When Carmichael looked at him askance he continued to explain. "We, and I mean Harry Potter's everywhere, are known for our dealings with impossibilities."
Remus snorted in agreement and surprisingly, to Harry, one or two of the angels nodded along with smirks on their faces. 'Hopefully, this won't go as bad I thought it would,' Harry prayed.
Feeling a movement on his chest, Harry looked down to see almond-shaped, cinnamon eyes looking up at him with fond exasperation. "You can never do anything normal, can you?" Hermione's question made him chuff in laughter.
"Quiet you." His lips quivered slightly after that light rebuke.
She only smiled a small smile and buried her face back into his chest. Harry looked back up to glance at everyone's faces, looking for any open hostility. Mostly, he was worried about this Carmichael.
Said angel just nodded reassuringly back at him and turned back his Guardian. "If it is agreeable, Guardian, we'd like to see his manifestation. We can feel it, as I'm sure you can as well, and I will admit to being curious about it."
Gabriel just looked at Harry with a questioning glance and Harry was grateful for having a choice in the matter. He nodded at Gabriel and disentangled himself from the vice-like grip of his girlfriend's hug.
"There might be a slight problem with that. Only those of celestial energy or those touched by it can be see me without harm coming to them." Harry pointedly looked at Hermione and Remus.
Those who knew what he was talking about nodded along. Gabriel for his part, explained to the two what his charge was trying to say, "Hermione, Remus - I'm going to have to ask you hold still for a moment. I have to discharge some of my energy into you, it will feel slightly odd for a while, but it will be only temporary." Gabriel approached both individually, put his palm on their stomachs, and a nearly indistinguishable movement of air transferred into them.
Remus just growled slightly at the sensation, and Hermione shifted slightly on her feet, her face scrunched up in thought.
"Alright, Bugul Noz, you should be fine, your energy is already touched by your nature. Harry, let her rip when you're ready."
Placing a chaste kiss on Hermione's forehead, Harry backed up a dozen paces and breathed, preparing himself for the rather jarring sensation. With a quick swipe of both index fingers to get it over with before he could reconsider, Harry felt the tearing throughout his being once more, his powers racing back up to the forefront, eager to be free.
With a gasp, he felt the tendrils on his back shoot out straight, then like a phantom sensation, he felt them relax and flutter in the air around him. He flexed his back, stretching off the echo pains of their release. Finally, Harry opened his eyes, slightly luminescent from the unleashed celestial energy pulsing through his body.
Once he gathered up enough courage to face up to rejection, he looked over at Hermione and actually let out a shocked laugh when he saw one of his tendrils winding itself around her lovingly. She was in fact giggling at its ministrations, Harry figured it did look it might tickle a bit..
"Harry, can you stop that, it tickles," came her breathy plea which caused him to smirk mischievously before he concentrated and made the tendril of white energy tweak her nose. She gave one more giggle, then it moved off like it was floating on a light breeze.
Looking at the rest, he had to keep back laughter at the downright gobsmacked look on some of the angels faces. Though he did notice some pretty heated glances shot his way from a couple of the females. 'Odd,' he thought.
"Well that's new," came Gabriel's amused voice after watching the lover's interaction and seeing some of the looks Harry was getting.
Three hours later, in the mouth of the cave/cottage, Harry sat once again pondering his lot in life. The others took some convincing that he was truly alright, but he managed to get them back to doing what the came here for. Bugul Noz didn't seem to mind, he looked happy just being around other beings again.
Hermione, though, took much more just to get her to leave him be for a moment. It was understandable for her to be worried about losing someone again, so soon after she lost her parents. But Harry was always able to talk her down, and redirected her interest towards Bugul Noz for interrogation.
He felt a little guilty about using Bugul in such a way, but he was sure the big guy wouldn't hold it against him.
'At least the itching is gone,' Harry inwardly breathed. The itching was truly gone, but now he was left with that feeling of power being held at bay. Just underneath the skin, so to speak.
So here Harry sat, right where he did before, before all the crazy Nephalem stuff happened. He lazily kept tracing his right index finger over the now black sigil on his arm, not know what to think of it. He just wished someone would come here and explain things to him without wanting him to do something in return.
'It just feels like an endless circle of give and takes,' Harry groused. He kicked a rock near his foot in a minor bout of petulance he rarely displays, sending it flying into the trees.
"Bollocks." He also had to get a hand on to this new strength that filled him, one minute he was fine with the control over it, and the next, he was afraid to hug Hermione in fear of hurting her.
"Whatever did that rock do to you, Harry Potter?" Came a tinkling voice that could always get a rise from Harry. He sighed, knowing this conversation was going to be all the harder to handle, now that he was alone.
"Hello Kateris, how are you this fine evening," he called out into the trees. Truthfully, he wasn't in the mood for her games.
A breathy sigh of wind rustled some leaves in front of him and before he knew it, he felt a warm and petite hand stranding it's fingers through his long hair. Harry took a deep breath through his nose and basked in the scent of untainted nature.
"I'm fine, Harry. You feel...different now. What happened?" Her question was with a husky undertone, but her hand just kept running through his hair.
Honestly, Harry was stuck between stopping her and just wrapping her in his arms. It was only Hermione's smiling face that stilled him.
With a heavy sigh, Harry replied, "I found out, not three hours ago, that I'm a newborn Nephalem. And I'm also being stalked by a demon and an angel. So I'm just peachy."
Kateris' hand stilled for a split second at the mention of being a Nephalem, but it moved on after a split second pause. He felt her sit behind him on the rock he sat on and then her arms wrapped around his torso to hug him. Her jean-clad legs on either side of his and he could feel her bosom and face against his back.
"I knew you were interesting, but I never realized how much so. Why were you kicking rocks like a stubborn child not getting his way," she stated more than asked, causing Harry to chuff a laugh.
"My life is a mess. I'm now some higher being, I still have a prophecy dictating my life, my girlfriend lost her parents, and to top it off, I can't embrace her in fear of harming her." His diatribe rushed out in increasing tempo and his frustration caused him to growl that last bit out.
The angel behind him just hugged him tighter and small hands started caressing his stomach and chest in a soothing fashion.
"Kateris, I don't mean to be insulting, but could you please stop that. It's not right when I'm with Hermione," he stated. 'Plus, I don't have a sodding clue on how to do anything else,' he groused in his mind.
She sighed and a shiver of something went down his spine, but she thankfully unwound herself from him and stood before Harry in all her glory. She smiled with a look of fondness on her face and stroked his cheek once with the pad of her thumb.
"Hermione Granger should learn to share, but I apologize for making you uncomfortable. There is this...aura around you now, it seems to heighten my arousal towards you." Her blunt reply did interesting things for his raging libido at that moment.
Harry mock glared at her then just huffed out an amused breath of air. "You are definitely not helping matter, my snarky angel. So is there anything else you came for besides to check up on little old me?"
Her mesmerizing blue eyes once more swam in mirth, but he could see her pupils dilated for some reason he couldn't define. Harry would look it up later in one of the books he had with him.
"Yes, I came to recommend that you visit North Salem, New York in North America sooner or later. Interesting things are happening there, and I think you and your Guardian would enjoy it."
Confused, Harry only nodded, but smiled regardless. Around this angel, Harry found it hard not to smile.
"Anything else?" He asked, cocking his head slightly. The rain was coming down harder now, and rumbling of thunder was deep in the sky.
"Yes." Before he could ask, Kateris had her lips on his and straddling his lap, her hands clutching his head to her own. A brief moment of surprise stole through Harry before he started kissing her back, with as much furor as she was showing.
Her warm tongue teased open his lips and entered his mouth to play with his own, and Harry could taste something indescribable from her. Harry gripped her hips tightly while he shifted his head to get a better angle seeing he was still taller than her.
Then she did something that gave him pause. She ground against his lap, obviously feeling his excitement through his khaki shorts from the heady moan that she deposited into his mouth. Pleasure shot through him, and he groaned from the new friction, but it did clear his mind somewhat.
"Kateris, we have to stop." His tone even sounded reluctant to follow through with that. But nonetheless, he gripped her hips once more, but this time he pushed her back away from his now too tight shorts. He looked at her innocent looking face that was smirking at him and growled his frustration.
"For an angel, you sure are evil." She laughed gaily, bells drowned out under the sound of the downpour.
Kateris stood up from where she sat and smiled fully down at him before quipping out, "do make sure to bring up sharing with Hermione Granger." With that, she stole a quick kiss from his dumbfounded face, and disappeared into the shadows of the cave.
Harry sat for a moment, his eyes unfocused and then he spat out, "fucking angels!" He threw his hands up into the air and huffed from his seat on the rock.
Despite that, he had a smile on his face that would take the apocalypse to remove.
A/N-2: The wings of the Nephalem resemble those from the angels of Diablo 2 and 3. That world is completely desperate from this and no mingling between the two will occur. I just like the idea of those wings for my Nephalem and therefor, use them as such. Like above states, disclaimers apply and all that. Peace!
