A/N: Heya! I know the chapter is three days late, but it turned out far longer than I intended…now enjoy

Chapter 11: Drama Queens

"Oh, you so shouldn't have said that," Harry piped up. "The thing is until now we played nice as not to anger Snape, hoped that you would see reason and would back down. But now? Oh now, …now you're in trouble."

With the last word, the room suddenly heated up to an unbearable degree that only Lucifer and Harry were immune to and Draco shielded from.

"Are you ready to face hell?" Lucifer chuckled.

It was the morning after Harry and Lucifer had to deal with those idiots who tried to challenge them and they were currently, together with Draco, sitting in the great hall and enjoying breakfast.

They were halfway through it when the door opened. Three very enraged drag queens decked in the most hideous colours entered.

Only after looking at them twice, Draco recognised the three as the seventh-years that threatened Lucifer and Harry the previous evening.

"Remind me to never piss you off," Draco muttered.

Lucifer laughed upon that. "Oh, that wasn't me," he admitted. "I left that in the skilful hands of my brother. It seems that he was very displeased with those three."

After Harry had hit the one boy, only to make clear that he absolutely despised to be called a freak, they had let the three sweat for an hour in the heat they had conjured before Lucifer had dismissed them. In Lucifer's eyes, there was no need to prove to them that he was really who he claimed to be. Either they believed him or not, he certainly didn't care. As long as they didn't pose a threat to him or worse Harry that was.

Besides, Harry wasn't very eager to indeed torture someone whose only misdemeanour was not to believe them. He had his morals after all. Teaching them a lesson though was something entirely different, and it wasn't that they really harmed the three by letting them sweat for an hour.

What however neither Harry nor Draco knew was that once Harry was asleep, he contacted Gabriel and tasked him with pranking the three idiots. It seemed that his brother took his request to heart. Sure, he now owed his brother a favour, but it was totally worth it.

"Your brother?" Draco wondered. Had he missed something?

"Loki-Gabriel Laufeyson," Lucifer replied when said archangel flopped down on the bench next to Draco and opposite of Lucifer. "Speaking of the devil."

"That's you, not me," Gabriel retorted with a broad grin. "How do you like my work?"

"I always found your pranks amusing, as long as weren't geared towards me," Lucifer told him amusedly.

"So that was why you never outed me to Michael?!" Gabriel said surprised, it had been something he wondered about regularly when they were still living in heaven and his family.

"I'll neither confirm nor deny anything."

Upon Lucifer's smug grin, Gabriel did the very mature thing and merely stuck out his tongue.

In the meantime, the three targets of the prank came over, and it was evident, that they were not amused about their current situation.

"You!" the leader snarled towards Lucifer. "Turn us back...NOW!"

"That would imply that I know what happened to you in the first place, which I most definitely don't," Lucifer replied with a shrug. "Now get lost or do you want a repeat of yesterday?"

"I don't care what you say. You're the one who did it!" the second boy said before the first one could even open his mouth. "And what is that disgusting Gryffindor doing at our table?"

Gabriel though looked incredulously from the teenager that had spoken to Lucifer.

"Seriously?" he asked him.

"Inbred morons," was all that Lucifer could say to this.

When it seemed that the three didn't get the point and did the sensible thing of leaving them alone, Gabriel flicked his hands towards them.

All three suddenly squealed in surprise and very girly. Harry, who up to that point didn't overly care about what was going on, looked at them and saw that all three had transformed to fit the outfit better. They were girls now.

It was the ruckus they made upon that revelation, that drew Severus to it.

"What is going on here?" he sneered.

"Sir, he...," here the leader pointed at Lucifer. "Hexed our clothes and transformed us into girls. Then there is also this...Gryffindor sitting at our table."

"You only look like this because you called Harry a freak and me a disgusting Gryffindor," Gabriel said with a shrug.

Severus' eyes narrowed before he looked back at the three offenders.

"Well, I cannot see any difference to before. So maybe you should sit down quietly and eat your breakfast before I am forced to put you in detention and deduct points," Severus explained to them in a levelled voice. "Besides, nothing in the statutes of Hogwarts forbids Mr Laufeyson to sit with his brother if he desires so."

Everyone around them looked at Severus with shock and surprise. Never in the entire years Severus now taught at Hogwarts, had he ever spoken out against a Slytherin, not to mention threatened them with deducting points that openly. This made it more than clear for everyone that Harry, Lucifer and possibly even Draco and Gabriel were off-limits.

"Was there another problem?" he asked when no one said anything and still stayed silent. "Good, should I have to come down here because of another ruckus you made, the consequences will be severe. Have a nice day."

With that, he turned around, and with billowing robes, he returned to the head table.

The three Slytherins, who still were girls, sneered at the group before they went and sat as far away as possible from Harry and Lucifer. It was evident that they finally received the message to stay the hell away from them.

Gabriel chuckled upon that sight.

"I wonder how long it will take before they realise that they won't turn back before they don't apologise," he said with a snicker.

"Don't know, don't care," Harry replied with a shrug.

Lucifer hummed along. "Something else, we have weekend, what do you want to do?"

Harry cocked his head and thought about the question.

"I hope to find a nice spot near the lake and read some. Gabe, Draco, you can come too if you want to," he offered the other two.

"Nah, I have to plan a few pranks. You know, those twins in my house are very imaginative," the archangel told them with a broad grin.

"For the sake of my sanity tell me that you're not talking about the Weasley twins," Draco groaned.

"Do you have a problem with them?" Gabriel asked suspiciously.

"They're nuisances," Draco whined, though it was something he shouldn't have done because the smirk Gabriel now sported was downright evil.

"I'll gladly tell them that you think of them as nuisances," Gabriel piped cheerfully. "Have to run now. Toodles!"

Lucifer watched how his brother left humming happily.

"Why do I have the feeling that America is a good place to be right now?" he asked no one in particular.

"Australia...is further afar," Harry added.

Lucifer nodded in assent; however, it seems that they left Draco confused.

"What are you talking about?" the blond asked.

"My dear lovely brother is planning something, and there is one thing you should know about him. When my brother is planning something, you want to be as far away from him as possible," Lucifer wisely advised.

Now Draco looked worriedly and a bit fearful over to the Gryffindor table, where currently Gabriel was sitting together with the Weasley twins and Neville. They had their heads stuck together and were animatedly talking about something.

"We're doomed, aren't we?" Draco deadpanned.

"Very much yes," Lucifer answered while standing up and pulling Harry with him. "Come on, you wanted to go outside. It's such nice weather."

"Do you come too, Draco?" Harry called out to the blond while following Lucifer.

Draco was unsure whether he should just decline and give the two some space or to join them. In the end, his desire to be a good friend for Harry outranked his worry about whether Lucifer was okay with him joining or not. Besides, Draco didn't doubt that Lucifer would be very vocal about it if he didn't want him to come with them.

So, ten minutes later, the three of them were sitting in a beautiful secluded spot near the lake. Lucifer was leaning against a tree and reading a herbology book while Harry used the archangel's lap as his pillow and read – much to Draco's surprise – a book on very dark curses and how to counter them. Draco meanwhile – when he wasn't secretly watching the other two – read a potions book.

All in all, it was very peaceful. Draco had to admit that hadn't he known what Lucifer was capable off when heavily annoyed – the previous afternoon was an excellent example of this – he would doubt that it was indeed Lucifer too. Had anyone told him before the school year begun, that he would sit together with the devil and Harry Potter next to the Black Lake reading, he would have laughed.

Honestly, who in their right mind would believe something like that.

However, here there were, and Draco found it quite nice. So as not to disturb the idyll, he went back to his book with a smile.

Dumbledore's office

Dumbledore paced in his office deep in thought. It was now a week that Harry Potter resided at Hogwarts. One week during which it was glaringly obvious just how close the boy was with Lucifer. But not only with Lucifer, no. There was also his brother Gabriel.

He had absolutely no idea what the two angels were doing here and he only knew who they were thanks to the wards around the school. Otherwise, he doubted that he would have recognised at least Gabriel. Lucifer on the other was quite obvious since he didn't make an effort to hide who he was, not that many believed him anyway. Stupid sheep.

What wondered and especially worried him was that it was now also a week since he sent a request to Zachariah, but the angel hadn't shown up yet.

It was worrisome as the longer the two archangels were allowed to interfere with their well laid out plans, the harder it would be to bring Potter back on track. Not to mention, that Lucifer was supposed to be in America, harassing the Winchesters.

That was when he heard a ruffling of feathers and an older man with a bald head and only hair at the back of it, suddenly stood in the middle of the room.

"What is it Dumbledore?" the man snapped. "I told you only to contact me if it is important."

"Lucifer is here," Dumbledore merely stated. "And he is obviously good friends with Potter."

"Why would I care about that Potter brat?" Zachariah snarled, not even attempting to hide his disdain.

However, what troubled him, was that Lucifer obviously had no interest in playing along and fighting things out with Michael once he convinced that younger Winchester to say yes. That made the angel wonder just how Lucifer was able to stay here since he couldn't possibly have found a suitable host that would be able to hold him. It was something he would have to investigate.

"Other than the fact that Lucifer residing here not only endangers my plans but also yours?" Dumbledore asked in surprise. "For a start, it does look like Potter is keeping Lucifer very effectively from pursuing his fight with Michael but he also managed to attract Gabriel's attention."

Dumbledore knew a few basics of Zachariah's plans. It was evident to him that the angel only told him the bare minimum, but it was enough to know that Lucifer wasn't supposed to be here.

Then there was also this feeling he had. He couldn't explain it, but he had a strong feeling, that Lucifer and Harry had to be separated as quickly as possible. It was as if the two staying together wouldn't end well for him, Zachariah and their plans.

"Gabriel is dead," Zachariah deadpanned, ripping Dumbledore from his musings. "He died during the last war."

"That is what everyone thinks isn't it?" Dumbledore asked with a smile. "But what if he left heaven and went into hiding instead? When he was sorted, his name read as Loki-Gabriel Laufeyson."

"How sure are you, that it is really him?"

Zachariah wasn't really convinced that the archangel was still alive, but Dumbledore's suggestion had merit. It sounded like Gabriel to chicken out of the war and hide in the mortal plane. From what he heard, Loki was a trickster, so that description also fitted the archangel quite well.

"I'm certain," Dumbledore answered. "The wards here around Hogwarts told me who he is. He is definitely Gabriel."

Hearing that, Zachariah began to mutter under his breath. He didn't know what to think about this development. It could be beneficial that the archangel showed up again or highly detrimental to his plans.

However, if what that mud-monkey Dumbledore told him was right then it seemed that the archangel had fallen because why else would he willingly work together with Lucifer. He would have to talk to Raphael about this.

"How close are Lucifer, Gabriel and that Potter?" he finally asked.

Dumbledore hummed. "Gabriel and Lucifer seem to be on a friendly basis. What worries me however are Lucifer and Harry. They seem close...very close. It is as I said, Harry is keeping Lucifer grounded and from reigniting his fight with Michael. However, I know that we cannot allow them to get any closer."

Zachariah thought that through. The news that Lucifer was close to a human was surprising as it was widely known that Lucifer despised humanity even more than he did. Though, him being close to that hairless ape could be fortunate for him. He would only have to get to the brat, and Lucifer would do whatever he wanted him to do.

It was ingenious actually since it would be by far more accessible to abduct the mud monkey than trying to force Lucifer directly. He would just have to get him alone.

"It is good that you shared this with me. I'll see to it that the matter is solved," Zachariah absently told Dumbledore before he vanished without another word.

Dumbledore growled upon the angel's departure. He had hoped to be presented with a solution to this matter, but it seems that Zachariah wasn't in a sharing mood, not that he ever was.

With a sigh, Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and returned to his work. It seemed that he would have to find a solution himself in the case that the angel failed. This was far too important.

The weekend went by in peace, but that didn't reassure Lucifer even a little bit. He knew that Gabriel had something planned and the longer nothing happened, the more suspicious Lucifer grew.

However, nothing happened. Well, nothing in the way of pranks at least.

It was the first flying lesson though that things went a bit tense.

Lucifer was utterly bored by it, and he could tell that his brother was the same. They both can fly without the aid of brooms whenever they want. Alas, it was mandatory for them to attend and so they did.

What worried them both was the state of the brooms, however. Not one of the brooms was in a condition where one would say that it was safe to fly them. But they and the other students were supposed to learn how to fly with them. It was a catastrophe in the making, that was for sure.

So, while Lucifer and Harry listened to Draco's boasting of his flying capabilities, they stood next to the rows of brooms, waiting for Madame Hooch to arrive.

Harry heard how that Granger girl worriedly recited everything she knew about flying. Next to her, Gabriel was reassuring an equally worried Neville that he wouldn't let him come to harm.

It didn't take long before Madame Hooch walked over the lawn at a brisk pace. Once she reached the students, she curtly called them to order and told them to step next to one of the brooms. After everyone did so, she explained to them that they should hold out their hands over the broom and sharply command it to come "UP".

Several shouts of "UP" echoed over the training ground.

It was no surprise that Harry's and Lucifer's instantly jumped up into their waiting hands. Draco's though just rose to knee-height before falling down again, which greatly annoyed the blond boy. Other brooms stayed on the ground entirely like Neville's or that of Granger.

It took some time but finally, everyone had their broom in hand – some through cheating by picking it up when Madame Hooch wasn't looking – and they were told to mount it. Madame Hooch walked through the row to ensure that everyone was sitting on and holding the broom correctly.

To Draco's dismay, she told him that he was using the wrong grip even if he used it for years now.

Once she was sure that everyone was ready, Madame Hooch walked to the front.

"When I blow my whistle, you push off from the ground as hard as you can, hold your brooms steady, hover for a few moments, lean forward and land," she explained them. "On my sign! Three...two...one..."

However, before she could blow her whistle, Neville's broom suddenly decided to take off with the boy on it on its own accord. It shot off towards the castle, hitting a few walls before rounding a tower.

"Come back here in an instant," Hooch shouted after him, but it was evident to everyone with half a brain that this was impossible because the broom was out of control.

Harry instantly reacted by dropping his broom and phasing in his wings before he took off and after Neville. It, however, quickly became evident, that it wouldn't be easy to get the other boy off the broom without hurting him. So, Harry stayed close to him the entire time in case that the broom managed to throw Neville off, hoping that he would be able to catch him.

It was when the broom managed to dislodge Neville, by hanging him from the sword of one of the statues standing on one of the towers, that Harry had the chance to rescue him.

He reached him just in time because the robe that prevented the other boy from falling wasn't designed to carry the weight and quickly ripped.

The second Neville's robe gave way due to the weight; Harry reached him and luckily could catch him before he could fall far, grabbing him around his midsection.

However, Harry wasn't used to carrying so much extra weight, so that he struggled to stay in the air himself. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold Neville for very long, so he quickly descended and roughly landed in a heap with the other boy though without either of them getting hurt in the process except for a few scratches.

"Phew, that was close," Harry muttered while sitting up and dusting off his robes. "You're alright?"

Neville nodded weakly. "You...thank you," he spoke so silently that Harry had a hard time to understand him. "Why did you save me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Harry asked in return. "You are a nice boy, and I didn't want you to get hurt. Besides, Lucifer and I like you."

"L-Lucifer likes me?" Neville squealed.

Harry nodded. "He does, but he was worried how you'd react should he approach you. You know with him being who he is and all that," he explained with a shrug. "Can you do me a favour?"

Neville looked doubtfully at Harry, not believing that Lucifer would like him, but nodded upon the question.

"When Lucifer approaches you, give him the benefit of the doubt, will you? You'll see that he isn't so bad once you get to know him and as I said, he likes you," Harry explained the other boy.

"O-okay," Neville answered with a slow nod though he still doubted Harry. That was when something different caught his attention. "You...you have wings?"

"Yup," Harry said with a broad grin, popping the 'p'. "Blame Lucy. He was the one who told me that my only limitation with magic is my own imagination."

"Did you just call me Lucy?" Lucifer asked indignantly.

"As if I would do such a thing," he retorted with an innocent smile, winking at Neville.

"Don't think that I'm fooled by that smile of yours," Lucifer growled playfully. "Anyway, are you okay Neville?"

"A bit shaken but other than that...," Neville tentatively answered with a small smile.

"Nice to see how much you worry about me," Harry joked while standing up and holding out his hand towards Neville to help him up.

"You survived far worse things," Lucifer said dismissively.

"Be careful, one might think you don't like me anymore," Harry retorted.

"Hmmm, is that so?" Lucifer asked while walking behind Harry and leaning forward to whisper in the boy's ear with a smirk. "How about this: I'll help you with your wings later."

Harry blinked a few times surprised when he looked at his wings. Thanks to the rough landing, several feathers were sticking out at odd angles or completely broken. He wanted to groan because it would take a lot of time to get them back in their pristine state. But then Lucifer's words echoed through his mind, and he turned around with a smile.

"I'll take you up on that."

In the meantime, a distraught Gabriel came running over to Neville, who was closely watching Lucifer and Harry and examined him on injuries. Once he was sure, that the boy only suffered from a few minor injuries, he healed those and turned to Harry.

"Thank you for saving him. You didn't have to, but you did without even thinking about it, and for that, I owe you one," the archangel solemnly stated. "Do you have injuries that should be healed?"

What not many knew was that Gabriel had claimed not only the twins but also Neville as his friends and he cared deeply for them. Now not having been able to do much to save Neville, because it would have drawn the attention of the wrong kind upon him, disturbed him greatly.

Sure, he could – and would – have caught him with a spell once he fell from the broom. But trying to get him off of it would have been far too dangerous because of the erratic flying of the broom. In the worst case, he would have slammed Neville into some object or wall.

However, when he suddenly saw Harry sporting wings and taking off after Neville, he had been shocked and surprised. Shocked, that Harry even had wings – though with how close he was to his brother Lucifer it wasn't that much of a shock – and surprise that Harry would try to save Neville without a second thought.

For Gabriel, Harry was like a little brother, one that was evidently essential in keeping Lucifer from burning down the world. Not that he liked him only because of that fact.

No, Harry was one of those people who drew you in naturally. He had charisma, a wicked sense of humour and was apparently, from what Lucifer told him, very vicious when you angered him. But all the time he also had a certain innocence to him. It was fascinating, and Gabriel would lie would he say that he didn't like it. All of this fuelled his desire to keep Harry safe. That and his happiness because thanks to Harry he had his brother back.

"Thank you, but I have only a few scratches," Harry told him with a smile. "Nothing that Lucifer cannot take care of."

That was when Madame Hooch finally arrived though both Lucifer and Gabriel wondered what took her so long.

It was until Lucifer spotted Weasley with a bright red head and Malfoy who looked far too smug that he concluded that something must have happened between those two hence why Madame Hooch was so late.

"Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom, are you injured?" she asked them in a clipped tone.

"No ma'am," both answered simultaneously.

She narrowed her eyes but didn't comment on it. "Very well, but you both will visit the infirmary for a thorough check. Mr Potter, five points for helping and saving a fellow student in need and five points for a marvellous piece of self-transfiguration."

Harry beamed at her and ruffled his wings a bit in pride.

"Thank you, though I have those wings for some time now, I merely phase them out when I don't need them," he told her with a shrug while doing just that.

"This is even more astonishing, Mr Potter. Alas, you both have to go to the infirmary. The rest of you will stay on the ground until I'm back or you'll be expelled quicker than you can say Quidditch," she exclaimed to the rest of the students who were crowding around them, curious what was going on.

"Don't worry Madame Hooch, I'll go with them," Gabriel spoke up and earned himself a curious glance from Lucifer for it.

"I'll accompany them too," he added.

Madame Hooch looked back and forth between the two, assessing whether they would indeed go to the infirmary or not before she nodded.

"But should I learn that you didn't go to the infirmary, it will have severe consequences," she warned them.

Both nodded and began to lead the two boys towards the castle when Draco suddenly called after them.

"Mr Longbottom, please wait a moment," he called out and walked over to them followed by Weasley's hateful glare which he ignored. "You...lost something."

Draco held out his hand towards Neville, in which laid a small glass ball with white smoke in it.

"My Remembrall," Neville exclaimed surprised, picking up the orb. "Thank you, Mr Malfoy."

Draco though merely waved him away. "Hardly worth mentioning. I merely saved it from whatever fate it would have befallen had Weasley gotten to it. He was quite adamant that I give it to him, I wonder why," he mused while holding out his hand again though this time in a gesture of benevolence. "And please call me Draco. It seems that we'll interact quite frequently in the future."

"Then call me Neville," he replied, shaking Draco's hand.

Gabriel smiled at Draco, thankful that the boy protected what wasn't his and showed that just because he was a Slytherin, he wasn't automatically a bad guy.

"We should get to the infirmary," Gabriel reminded them.

With a last thankful smile from Neville, they left Draco behind and walked to the castle.

Lucifer and Gabriel were standing to the side, watching how the school nurse fussed around Harry and Neville, ensuring that they were both okay.

"Hands off Harry, Gabriel," Lucifer suddenly growled.

Gabriel blinked a few times, confused as for why his brother was suddenly so protective over Harry when it clicked in his mind, and he began to laugh.

"As I said on the train, I would never try to steal someone from you who is obviously good for you," he replied once he cooled down again. "Or do you think I want to bring the Apocalypse over the planet? All I want to do with Harry, outside normal interaction, is to protect him. Besides..."

The angel suddenly hesitated, not knowing whether he should tell Lucifer about the twins or not. On the one hand, it would give the other archangel great leverage against him, but on the other, he had a feeling that Lucifer would understand him and not use it against him.

Taking a deep breath, he came to a decision and continued.

"There are those twins in Gryffindor. I don't know what it is but when I'm with them...it is hard to describe...I feel at peace. Sorry, I don't know how better to describe it," he growled in frustration.

This time it was upon Lucifer to blink confused at his brother while he thought through the times, he had seen his brother together with the two redheads, because what other twins could he mean. That was when he realised the similarities to his interactions with Harry, how smitten he was with the boy and his own feelings when he was in Harry's company.

Could it really be? How high was the probability that two archangels found their soul mates not to mention at nearly the same time and in the same area? However, should what his brother just said be right, then he indeed has found his soul mate...or mates in his case.

Amused over his own thoughts, Lucifer began to chuckle only to earn himself a glare from Gabriel.

"Don't worry, I'm not laughing over what you just told me but this whole...thing," he explained. "I mean, when we both still were in heaven, I highly doubt that either of us would have thought that one day we would be standing, side by side, in a school for magic and talking about soul mates."

At first, Gabriel was confused as to what his brother was talking about when he registered the last part of his statement.

"Soul mates? Do you mean...?" Gabriel asked with so much hope but also insecurity that it hurt Lucifer to hear it.

Just how badly had Michael mistreated and hurt his brother that he would jump at every chance to get some resemblance of a family? Or friends that wouldn't abandon him and stab him in the back?

At first, he believed him when he said that he didn't want to fight with Michael anymore, without having any proof or reassurance that he really meant what he said. Now when Lucifer merely hinted at the possibility that the twins were Gabriel's soul mates, the archangel, again, jumped at the opportunity like a thirsty man would at a barrel of water.

In a rare open show of affection, Lucifer turned to his brother and hugged him close.

"Yes, I mean it. The twins are your soul mates," he whispered in Gabriel's ear. "A blind man would see it."

He could feel how his brother went motionless with shock. It was a few minutes later Lucifer heard a soft sob before Gabriel returned the hug with a bone-crushing one of his own, tears freely flowing down his face and dampening Lucifer's robes.

The devil though took it stoically and merely held his brother, letting him vent his feelings that he evidently kept locked away for far too long. He didn't doubt that hadn't they reconnected and Gabriel would carry on suppressing everything without having the possibility to vent from time to time, he would eventually break.

"I swear here and now that Michael will pay for what he did to you," Lucifer muttered after a while.

No matter how long it took, how patient he would have to be, Lucifer would make it abundantly clear to Michael that he wouldn't tolerate him hurting their younger brother. To think that he was branded as the evil one...but he would never deliberately hurt his brothers except in self-defence. Or if they did something inexcusable like hurting Gabriel.

With a hiccup, Gabriel looked up and at Lucifer, his eyes widened in alarm.

"You want to...? Please, please don't!" he pleaded. "I couldn't live...not because of me."

Lucifer snickered, placed his hand on his brother's neck and pulled him forward so that Gabriel's forehead rested on his.

"Oh, my dear clueless brother. I wasn't talking about fighting Michael in a senseless war," he told the other archangel. "You forget that I'm also known as a deceiver and a lie-smith. Not to mention that I was the one to teach you how to get around undetected and how to talk yourself out of trouble."

Gabriel perked up on that. He had a feeling where his brother was going with this though it bore one huge problem.

"But Michael holed himself up in heaven, waiting that Winchester finally says yes to him," he muttered. "Not that he ever would since he knows that you have absolutely no interest in his brother or starting the apocalypse."

He couldn't help himself, Lucifer chuckled again.

"Do you remember when Michael was locked out of heaven and needed over a decade to get back in?" he said amusedly.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes while pulling back to look straight into Lucifer's eyes.

"Yes, he accused me of being behind it despite my alibi and gave me a week-long lecture. Not to mention that he bitched about it for the next centuries," he growled. "Let me guess, that was your work?!"

"I will neither confirm nor deny any involvement in that incident, but what I can say is that getting Michael out of heaven and keeping him out is not the problem," he replied with a smug smirk that told everything.

Gabriel blinked a few times before he began to laugh.

"You're unbelievable!" he said when he heard talking coming from where the boys were sitting on a hospital bed.

"I wonder..." he muttered, looking at Harry before falling silent again, thinking about something.

"Harry is your soulmate, isn't he?" Gabriel finally asked with astonishment. "That is how you recognised what the twins are to me."

A content smile stole itself on Lucifer's face while he was watching Harry and Neville talking to each other about the incident.

"Yes, he is," he answered after a few moments of silence between the two angels. "You cannot possibly begin to fathom how much changed since I first met him. The last time I was so happy was long before I was thrown out of heaven. Should ever anything happen to him..."

"I'll be right behind you, should that ever happen and may father have mercy with whoever decided to harm Harry for I will not," Gabriel stated matter-of-factly.

Lucifer looked at his brother in shock and surprise.

"What?" Gabriel deadpanned. "Did you really think that should heaven or anyone else for that matter be so intelligent as to target the one person who is good for you and who keeps you from bringing the apocalypse over us, that I would sit by and do nothing? That I leave you to deal with it alone – again?

"Lucifer, I chickened out once and where did that lead? One of my brothers imprisoned, the other thinks that enslaving humanity is the way to go and about the rest, I don't even want to start.

"I in the meantime was alone, with no one to turn to because I honestly don't want to know what Michael or Raphael would do should I show up in heaven again after having fled. I could never tell anyone anything about it either, in fear that they might find me and force me back.

"So yes, should they ever target the one brother I got back thanks to fate, pure luck or whatever else the reason is, and who is, from what I can tell, the most reasonable one of all of them, I won't abandon him. Never Again!" Gabriel told him with conviction and a fire in his eyes that Lucifer had seldom seen. "Michael made his bed, now he can lie in it."

Lucifer stood there in stunned silence, not knowing what to say or think about what his brother just told him. Gabriel just effectively pledged his loyalty to him.

Were he still the bitter angel that left the cage, he would probably take sadistic pleasure in trying to break his brother out of a twisted desire to blame him or some such nonsense. The other possibility would be that he abused his brother's unconditional loyalty.

However, he wasn't that person anymore. Harry grounded him and helped him to keep his anger and bitterness in check. That, in turn, let him see things much clearer and unclouded by his hatred of everything. It allowed him to see what he would miss if he turned away from his brother.

"Thank you," he finally said with a soft voice before he continued firmly. "Though you should be careful lest you're declared to have fallen."

Gabriel merely raised his eyebrow.

"So what?" he said with a shrug. "Should they declare me fallen because I actively try to prevent the apocalypse, so be it. I'm not ashamed of standing with you as long as you promise me not to start the war again."

Lucifer chuckled, not showing how much it warmed him to hear these words. Inside it was an entirely different matter though.

It had been a long, long time now that anyone showed such an amount of trust and loyalty to him without having any deeper agenda behind it. Gabriel was just happy to have his brother back and to possibly thwart the apocalypse. Okay, maybe he also wanted to prank him, but that was hardly worrisome.

"I promise you that I will not restart the war. However, I cannot promise you that Michael won't try," he said with a deep sigh. "Though I hope that I can keep him at bay and with your help, not to mention Harry, it should be far easier to keep any damage to a minimum."

That was when Harry and Neville came over, being done with the check-up.

"You alright Gabe?" Harry asked concerned, having seen the minor break down of the archangel earlier.

"Don't worry, I'm more than alright," Gabriel answered with a chuckle. "The better question is whether you two are okay."

Neville nodded. "Madame Pomfrey thoroughly checked us through. She healed Harry's scratches and gave me a minor calming draught."

"Good," Gabriel piped happily. "Now come on, dinner is to be served in ten minutes."

With that, he turned around and walked out of the infirmary with a spring in his step, followed by the others, who were collectively shaking their heads. They all knew by now that Gabriel was insatiable when it came to food and in especially sweets.

Harry and his heroic deed was evidently the topic of the evening. It didn't take long at all until everyone in the castle heard the story of how Harry used his magical powers to grow himself wings and rescue Neville, who was not only not from his house but shockingly from Gryffindor.

Many who had thought that Harry's sorting into the Slytherin house meant that he was becoming dark, now sang his praises.

Harry, however, found all that highly amusing, especially how easy it was to turn the opinion of the students in his favour. Sure, there were still quite a few who hated him for being a Slytherin and not even saving a Gryffindor changed that, but Harry wasn't overly concerned.

At the head table, Harry too was the main topic.

"Say Rolanda, is it true?" McGonagall asked the flying instructor.

"If you mean with true, dear Minerva, that Mr Potter grew himself a pair of wings before taking off and rescuing Mr Longbottom, then yes, it is true," she explained her colleague who gasped in shock and surprise. "However, according to Mr Potter, he has those wings for some time now and merely phases them out when he doesn't need them."

"He phases them out?" a surprised Flitwick questioned. "That is a remarkable piece of magic."

"He even demonstrated it in front of the entire class," Hooch said in a proud tone.

"Harry must have his father's talent for Transfiguration if he can do such a thing at the age of eleven," McGonagall mused in astonishment.

"And his mother's for Charms," Flitwick added.

Severus, who was carefully listening in, had to withhold a snort. It might be that Harry's blood adoption by Potter had boosted his abilities in Transfiguration, but it indeed wasn't because the man was his father.

Even a week later, he still had problems wrapping his mind around the fact that Harry is his son. Not that he showed that to Harry because he didn't want his son to believe that he didn't want him. Far from it.

Over the last week Harry, Lucifer, Lily and him had met in the evenings for an hour or two, sometimes together with Draco. At first, they just sat together and talked, but when the homework got more, Lily helped them with charms by teaching them more obscure knowledge about the charms they were currently learning.

Severus, when not correcting returned essays, taught them in-depth knowledge about potions ingredients and the potions themselves. Though neither of them would directly help them with their homework aside from explaining things if they didn't understand something.

Anyway, when Severus heard what his son had done, he was both proud and annoyed. Proud of what he had managed to do and annoyed that he had acted so Gryffindorish. He would have a word with him.

It was later that night when Harry was contently lying in his bed on his stomach, as Lucifer slowly and carefully treated his still battered wings.

They had visited his parents previously – during which Harry had received a minor scolding for his Gryffindorishness from his father – before retreating to their room for the night. It was then that Harry remembered the state his wings were in.

"So, the twins are Gabriel's soul mates?" Harry suddenly asked. "I don't know whether I should be happy for him or worried about what the three of them could do to the school."

Lucifer though tensed upon that question and stopped his ministrations, which earned him a low growl from Harry. It had been a constant fear that should Harry learn what he was for him, that it would scare him and that he would consequently leave him.

"How do you know about soul mates?" he tentatively asked while continuing to heal the broken feathers.

It had surprised him, but Harry's wings were actually very sensitive to touch, much like his own. Usually, wings gained through self-transfiguration never were that sensitive. It was a fascinating mystery but one he doubted that he would solve it anytime soon.

"One evening, I needed a drink when I heard you and Alastair talking about it...talking about us," Harry admitted. "So, I did some reading."

Hearing that Harry already knew about what he was to him, Lucifer, even if involuntarily, tensed further, only to elicit a deep sigh from Harry while the boy looked him directly in the eyes.

"Luc, has it still not registered with you, that I won't leave you for anything in this world – not voluntarily at least?" he asked with concern. "From what I learned about soul mates I can confidently say that I'm more than happy that you're mine. It couldn't be anyone better."

Lucifer pulled him close and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm glad that you see it that way," he said with a smile. "Call it irrational but with everything that happened to me I doubt that the fear of losing you will disappear any time soon."

Harry chuckled. "I know, and I'm more than willing to remind you that you won't be able to get rid of me if needed."

Lucifer couldn't help himself and chuckle along with Harry.

"I love you," Lucifer whispered, but Harry heard him nonetheless. "However, I think you should sleep now. I'm done with your wings."

With another chuckle, Harry phased his wings out, turned around and snuggled close against Lucifer after the angel laid down next to him. Soon he was asleep while wrapped in Lucifer's protective embrace.

The next three days went by without anything noteworthy happening. However, it seemed that most of the Slytherin house finally had enough. So they cornered Harry, Lucifer and Draco that evening in the common room.

"You three are a disgrace for this house," one of the higher years snarled at them. "Especially you Lucifer...pretending to be him!"

"Not this again," Lucifer groaned.

"Especially you Malfoy," another student added in disdain. "I would have thought that one of your social standings wouldn't take the side of outsiders."

"Two outsiders, who together with Draco, earned more house points than you all together," Harry retorted. "So, what do you have to complain about?"

"You consort with Gryffindors, not to mention your displays during the flying lesson!" another one sneered.

"Harry saved Neville, so what?" Draco asked confused. "It seems that you forget, that Neville is the heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. They have more influence in this world than any of you could ever dream of heaving. It would be the height of stupidity to reject a possible friendship with him."

Harry looked at his friend surprised. Did Draco truly help Neville only to take benefit from the other boy's power in this world? However, Draco, when he saw Harry's gaze, slightly shook his head at him.

Harry frowned until it dawned to him that this was just a mere front for the other Slytherins. So, he decided to play along.

"The same goes for me. Have you ever thought about the fact that Neville now effectively owes me a favour because I saved his life?"

It seemed that the others didn't know what to answer to that and it seemed to mollify a few because they could see the value in the actions of the group.

However, quite a few were still incensed, and it didn't look like they would step down anytime soon. Harry also noticed that it was mostly those with a family that consisted of Death Eaters, that continued to antagonise them.

They were led by three students that the group of friends could clearly identify as those Gabriel transformed into girls. It was one of the who spoke up.

"If you don't turn us back now, you'll suffer," the leader of the three and obviously also the rest of the antagonists shouted at them.

"I can only repeat what I said a few days earlier. That wasn't my doing," Lucifer calmly replied. "Though I heard that the conditions of you turning back into boys is that you apologise to us for trying to attack us."

However, it was evident that the students were at the end of their patience. So, within seconds, everyone had their wand drawn.

Draco looked a bit worried at the fact that they were outnumbered by five to one.

Lucifer though stayed calm while Harry readied himself to curse those idiots into the next week.

Both groups stood in the middle of the common room, staring at the respective other group and waiting for the other to make the first move. A Muggle-born might think that it was high noon and they were currently standing in a western town, waiting for the duel to begin.

It was after a few long moments that one of the Slytherins couldn't take it anymore and shot a borderline dark curse towards Draco.

That was the sign for the other Slytherins to also start to shook curses at the three first-years.

However, what shocked everyone in the room was that none of the curses hit their mark. It seemed that around them with a six feet diameter was an invisible shield protecting them. That however incensed the other students even more and their curses became darker and darker in nature.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't protect those I see as friends?" Lucifer asked sarcastically.

Harry just wanted to retaliate when the voice of his father echoed over them.

"What is going on here?" Severus snapped.

In an instant, any cursing ceased, and quite a few looked abashed that they had been caught by their Head of the House.

"It seems that this group of Slytherins has a problem with us being friends with a group of Gryffindors," Harry replied.

"And when it looked like they were about to curse us, I put up a shield to protect us," Lucifer added. "Considering that some of the curses flying in our direction were pretty dark and would have left us in the infirmary for days at least, it was a good thing I did."

The glare he threw the assembled students told them more than clear that they pissed off the wrong person. Since Lucifer let some of his very intimidating aura to leak out, they began to realise that just maybe he was indeed who he claimed to be.

As it was the students all stood stock still in fear of what might happen next.

Severus also looked over the group of about fifteen teenagers, whom he very well knew had Death Eater parents, with anger and disappointment.

"I have to admit that I'm sorely disappointed in all of you," Severus finally addressed the students. "Not only did you attack another student without deliberating how powerful and resourceful he is first but you also did so in a very Gryffindorish manner. What did you think would you achieve with it?"

"Sir, Potter and this Lucifer turned us into girls and refuse to turn us back," one of the three whose gender was switched, bristled indignantly.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow. "I know for a fact that neither Mr Potter nor Mr Morningstar is responsible for your predicament. Furthermore was I informed that the condition upon which you'll turn back is that you apologise not only to Mr Potter but also to Mr Laufeyson."

It took a few minutes in which the three Slytherins didn't try to squirm under their Head's gaze but eventually the broke.

"Mr Potter, please accept our sincerest apology," the leader of the group said.

Harry though snorted. "Sincere?" he asked. "And what are you apologising for anyway?"

"For...for calling you a...freak," he muttered as if hoping that no one would hear him.

Harry looked at him for a long moment before he nodded.

"Very well," he replied. "Just see to it that it doesn't happen again."

"Before you're dismissed," Severus spoke up. "I want from each of you a three feet long essay on why it is the height of stupidity to attack someone whose strength and skills you don't know. To be handed in next Monday."

Many groaned that they now had to do even more homework but seeing Severus' disapproving glare they fell silent and left the room as if a pack of hellhounds was after them.

"You three are alright?" he asked his son and his friends.

All three dutifully nodded.

"Good. Thank you for protecting Harry and my godson," Severus added towards Lucifer.

"Always," Lucifer merely replied. As if he would let any harm befall Harry or Draco.

"Then I bid you a good night. It is getting late after all. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

It was unfortunate that their daily meeting in the evening had to be cancelled because of this incident, but there wasn't anything he could change. Severus was just glad that Harry and Draco weren't harmed though he had a suspicion that Lucifer was very protective of the two.

The next morning then the three formerly male students approached Gabriel and apologised for insulting him. After a nudge from Neville, because Gabriel himself didn't want to reverse what he did, they were turned back into boys. Afterwards, Neville scolded Gabriel for being petty, much to the twins' amusement.

A few days later Lucifer, Harry and Draco were sitting together with Gabriel, Neville and the twins at the Gryffindor table for lunch, much to the dismay of quite a few Gryffindors.

It became a regular occurrence, that either the Gryffindor side of the group joined the others at the Slytherin table or the other way around. In the beginning, many of the students – especially Gryffindors – took offence that Slytherins were sitting at their table.

The loudest of them was Ronald Weasley, who thought that slimy Slytherins shouldn't be allowed to sit at the Gryffindor table. It was only when Professor McGonagall pointed out that nothing in the Hogwarts statutes banned students from sitting at the table of the other houses, that most were silenced. Though there were still quite a few, who were unhappy with it.

Enjoying the meal and ignoring the idiots – namely Ron who muttered profanities under his breath – they chatted with each other when suddenly Gabriel's mobile rang.

Confused as to why the Winchesters – they were the only ones who had the number – would call him he picked it up.

"Hey Winchester, what can I do for my favourite hunter?" he asked jovially.

The others watched as the smile soon vanished from Gabriel's face and was replaced by a deep frown the longer he listened to that Winchester.

"Wait can you repeat that? I'll put you on the speaker," he replied.

He pulled the phone from his ear and pressed a button so that the others could listen too while putting up a few privacy charms around them.

"I said that Dean suddenly vanished and I cannot find him anywhere," the man, Lucifer and Harry could clearly identify as Sam Winchester, explained. "I already called everyone I know, but no one has seen him or an idea where he is. It was because I hoped that you could locate him, that I called you."

Now Lucifer also frowned. No one simply vanished from the face of the earth. He had a strong suspicion that it was an angel who abducted Dean in the hope of forcing him to say yes to Michael. So, he closed his eyes and tried to locate him but drew a blank.

"That is strange," he stated. "He isn't in this universe anymore. Neither in heaven, hell or anywhere in between those two."

Gabriel's eyes widened in shock and surprise before worry took over. He closed his eyes and tried to locate the man. Luckily, he had marked both Sam and Dean in case that something happened and he needed to get to them and fast. It turned out that it was a good thing.

Soon, he found Dean, but to his surprise, he was in a parallel universe.

"Found him," he said after a few moments of concentration. "Lucifer is right, he is in a different universe, but I can hone in on him. Luc, can you follow my tracking?"

Lucifer nodded and concentrated on his brother and the tracking he used to find Dean. Not soon later he also connected to the man's tracking charm.

"Got him!" he exclaimed. "I suggest you go get Sammy while I go ahead and see what all this is about."

Gabriel though looked sceptically at him.

"What?" Lucifer asked. "I am as interested in what those blasted angels are on about now as you are. If I can thwart their plans to restart my fight with Michael in the meantime, all the better.

"Besides, I want to help you the same as you want to help me. I'm not abandoning you either."

Gabriel looked at him stunned, and it took him a few moments before he nodded slowly.

It seemed though that Sam was equally confused.

"Err, what?" was his eloquent reaction.

"Later, Sam," Lucifer replied while standing up and readying himself for the travel into another universe. "We have more important things to worry about at the moment."

To his surprise though Harry and Draco also got up and latched onto him.

"What is this supposed to mean?" he asked the two.

"We're not letting you go alone," Harry stated matter-of-factly, Draco nodded along.

The archangel looked from Harry to Draco and back. He instantly knew that it would be futile to argue against them as he had a feeling that Harry would convince him anyway. So, with a shake of his head, he teleported away.

Gabriel laughed at his brother's misfortune.

"I'll see you in a moment, Sammy," he said before hanging up.

He just wanted to vanish to get Sam before following his brother, when he became aware that he was in the same situation as his brother. The twins and Neville suddenly clung to him too.

"He will never let me live that one down," he growled but took them with him anyway.

What neither of them saw, however, was Dumbledore's concerned gaze. Whoever saw it yet, thought that it was a concern for the group. No one though would have assumed the real reason, that Dumbledore was concerned that Harry was too deeply involved with Lucifer to do what he expected him to do.

When Lucifer together with Harry and Draco landed, they were standing in the middle of a vast wasteland. In the distance, a few withered trees and shrubs stood but other than that no life was to be seen.

Also, the city they could see to their right was abandoned and derelict.

Lucifer just wanted to set into motion and walk into the direction he could feel Dean in when he felt a ping against his senses. Confused, he turned towards the city as he could sense the ping coming from there.

"This is strange," he muttered.

A/N: 'til next chapter!