Unfound

Chapter Thirty-One

Season 13, Episode 3: Patience

"You told me she left us, but they say…Dad? Is it true?" Patience confronted James once they were back in Georgia.

"Yes," her dad said tiredly. He was just relieved that she was safe.

"You said that she was fake!"

"She was! At least, I felt like she was, after. I always believed in her powers. Supported her decision to leave the wizarding community. Back in her time – they didn't understand people like her. Gifted but not powerful. I had total faith in her but…even her gifts failed her."

"What do you mean?"

"When your mother got sick, Grandma told me, she said, 'Tess will be alright.' She promised me, but then Tess…She apologized after, she said nothing's ever set in stone but I, I couldn't forgive her."

"So, you cut your mother out of your life?" Dean asked, incredulous. Missouri hadn't deserved that. The arguing father and daughter duo had almost forgotten about the presence of the others.

"This whole time I could have had a relationship with her," Patience said, grief evident in her voice. She felt like the entire foundation of her life had been torn down. It had been her and her dad against the world – both having lost their mothers. But this…

"Growing up with her, she was always on the road, hunting! I spent my entire childhood terrified of monsters, of losing her. I didn't even think that I'd get to go to Ilvermorny because she needed me. Almost gave up magic – real magic, to stay at her side. I didn't want that life for you, I…I didn't want her encouraging…"

"Encouraging what?"

"Grandma believed…She felt you had the gift."

"Merlin," Patience swore.

"But you didn't. Baby, you don't. I mean, you're eighteen! If you had the gift, we'd know it by now."

"How? I didn't take Divination or Runes. I stayed as far away from that branch of magic as possible because I knew how you felt about it! But I had a dream last night. I saw what happened before it happened I – "

"Your daughter is psychic, that's why the wraith is coming after her," Jody explained.

"So, we run. Or call in the Aurors – supernatural beings messing with the wizarding world and infiltrating places where magical children are…" He realized that all of that was going to take time and that was the one thing he was scared they didn't have. "We can work all this out later but right now get your things, we need to go."

Patience turned to Dean, Jody, and Teddy, unsure.

"No Aurors," Dean insisted. "I don't want MACUSA in my business." It was the last thing he needed.

James gave him an appraising look. "Patience, I said now," he insisted, wanting to have a word with this trio of people who had infiltrated his life with his daughter and brought nothing but trouble.

Patience turned and left the room. Her emotions were in total turmoil. Her magic may not be the strongest, but her grades were excellent. She was top of her class. Yeah, she had to work a little harder at it than others, but that had never seemed to matter. Now everything was in tatters. Hot tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Psst, Patience," the younger guy, Ted, was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "I talked to Dean earlier. He wants to get you to a safe house as soon as possible. Here's a portkey – it'll take you to my apartment in Kansas."

"You think the wraith could get here that quickly?"

"Yeah," he said. "He probably already knows where you live. But, I have a secret…"

Patience watched with fascination as Ted's face transformed. Creepily enough, her own face stared back at her. "You're a metamorphmagus," she said.

"Yep," he responded in a scarily close approximation of her voice. "I'll go get your stuff and go with your dad while you get someplace safe. Hopefully, the wraith will follow us, instead of you."

It seemed risky. And she had just met these people. But…then she saw herself tied to a chair. No. Not her – Teddy. She was safe. He was struggling against the ropes while the wraith monologued. "Ok," she agreed. "My trunk is in the closet. And, the rope around your left wrist is going to be loose." She didn't know where that last sentence came from – it just came.

Her own face grinned at her. She decided that it was extremely unsettling. She took the portkey, muttered the phrase written on a piece of parchment, and was off.

Ted made his way up the staircase and into the room that he knew had to be Patience's from the purple color and posters on her wall. Quadpot players, he thought, with a little disgust. Such a stupid sport, Quidditch is so much…

He opened the closet. Inside was a man, no, not a man, a creature, with a spike coming out of his wrist.

Ted shouted.

III

Sirius had been careful, but clever, in his escape from Crowley's lair. He had waited for a demon to come and pick up his dinner tray. (This was for a couple of reasons – one, it was a time of day when he could depend on seeing the bloke, but also, the food he was served was better than what he got at Great Hall feasts at Hogwarts, and he didn't want to miss out on one more great meal before going back to scrounging while he was on the run.)

He knew all sorts of spells that could keep the door from locking, but to do so wandlessly and silently would have been beyond him. But, thanks to his misspent youth, Sirius had other tricks up his sleeve. With a quick sleight-of-hand to get Crowley's wallet out of his pocket and a well-placed sticking charm, he had been able to lodge a quarter on the hinge of the door from the inside. Crowley was depending on the door latching behind him – but, of course, it didn't and the demon didn't see it coming.

He transformed into Padfoot and slunk out of the door. With the dog's sense of smell and hearing, it was easy to tell where his path would be blocked and where he would be able to pass.

Around a corner, he heard Crowley's voice, and stopped for a second, hoping to hear it moving away instead of toward him.

"If I knew the exact location of the Winchester's secret Bunker, of course, I would go straight there, Leonard," he was saying. "I have pinpointed it to somewhere in Smith County, Kansas. But the wards on the bloody place are too bloody strong. Keeps all the demons out."

Sirius didn't know where Smith County, Kansas was, but he was sure that he could figure it out.

He waited to hear Crowley's voice fade entirely as he went off to do – well, whatever the hell the King of Hell did before he started moving through the corridors. Padding quietly. Which was, of course, part of how he got his nickname in the first place.

It took him nearly an entire half hour to find the exit, with him getting more and more anxious with each bend and corner he peered around. But he came up against surprisingly few demons. He didn't concern himself too much with that. He slipped behind the shadows of a building with a demon that appeared to be taking a smoke break. It took all his restraint not to just take off running immediately. But he was patient. As soon as the smell of sulfur had completely cleared his nasal cavities, he took off in a dead run. He needed to get to Harry. And fast.

III

There had been no one in the bedroom when Jody, Dean, and James had run upstairs. The window was open, though.

"James – call Patience." Teddy being missed confirmed that he had gone through with their plan. Which was good but bad at the same time. Of course, it hadn't happened the way they had thought it would. Nothing ever does, he thought bitterly to himself.

"Call her? She doesn't have a phone."

Dean swore.

"Of course not. Could you do that – I do know, locator voodoo?"

"Locator…voodoo?"

"You know. You say a spell and it tells you where someone is. Ha – a wizard I know uses it all the time."

"I don't know a spell like that," James said. "Do you think it would lead us to the wraith?"

"No," Dean said. "I don't think the wraith has Patience. I think he has Teddy. But I'd like to check that first."

Jody was busy messing with her phone. "Got it. Patience is in Kansas," she said, relief slight in her voice.

"Alright – can you track Teddy too?" Jody shook her head. "I didn't put a tracker on him."

"Shit, one second," Dean pulled out his cell phone to call Sam.

"What is going on here? My daughter is missing!"

"She's not missing," Jody explained. "We had her switch places with Teddy so that the wraith would take him instead of her."

"You said the wraith was after psychics, why would he go after Teddy? Is he also psychic?"

"No. He – he can…I don't know the word for it. He can change his appearance?"

"He's good at glamours?"

Jody shook her head. "No. It's something else – it's a special ability…" for the life of her, she couldn't remember.

"A metamorphmagus?" James asked, surprised.

"Yes! That. Patience is safe and sound in a safe house that we have in Kansas. There should be no way for the wraith to track her. Now Dean is seeing if Sam can track Teddy."

"Yeah, got it," Dean was ending his conversation with his brother. "I got the coordinates, let's go."

III

Teddy woke up with a killer headache. The wraith must have hit him over the head. He did a quick assessment – he still looked like Patience. Next, he noticed that he was tied to a chair, tightly, he started fighting against the ropes holding him in place.

"You're awake," the wraith said. "You're probably wondering why I didn't drain you on the spot. See, the first witch I had, was a total accident. I didn't even know that your kind existed. Keep yourselves real secret, don't you? It was just a woman who had been discarded in a dumpster and I was desperate and starving. I thought I'd hit rock bottom – but, in fact, I found my path forward. And once I got a taste…see with a witch and, even more than that, a witch psychic, it's different. It's a rush. You know, I became clearer. I knew things. Everything because clearer, strong and focused."

His spike extended while he was talking. He walked around Teddy menacingly. Teddy gave a fake shudder of fear when really he was trying to keep his expression from showing how ridiculous he was finding this whole speech.

"But I gotta tell you, your grandmother was by far the best I ever had. That got me to thinking; you are made of the same stuff. Huh." He moved to the other side of Teddy, smelling him. "You're young and healthy, with you I'll really stretch this out. I'm going to feed on you and feed on you. I'm going to milk that big, beautiful brain of yours, forever."

Got it, Teddy thought and he was able to work his hand out of the ropes on his left hand. Thanks, Patience, he thought.

"First, disgusting," he said. "Second, I'm not psychic. You're wasting your time."

The wraith turned his back to Teddy.

"Well, your granny thought you were, saw it when I ate her up. But hey, guess I better make sure for myself, right? Time for a little taste test."

When he turned around, Teddy was ready for him. Now that his hands were free, he had his wand in one and a silver knife in the other.

"Anyone ever tell you you talk too much?" He asked. He tried to hit the wraith with a stunner. It dodged.

The wraith's face twisted with rage. "You think you can use magic against me? I saw what your grandmother saw in you. You're weak," he sneered. He fought back, knocking Teddy's wand out of his hand. Which is kind of what Teddy wanted.

"Yeah? Weak this," Teddy closed the gap between them and stabbed the creature in the heart with the silver knife. It went down with a splat.

"Woah, kid," Teddy heard behind him. Standing there were Dean and Jody. "Nice kill. Lame line."

Jody pushed past Dean to go inspect Teddy, who had slipped back into his normal appearance. "You ok?"

"He knocked me out – I'd like to see you do better with a concussion," Teddy countered Dean.

"I think he's fine, Jody, if he's able to mouth off like that," Dean said, smirking.

"I'll be the judge of that," Jody said. "Harry's going to kill Dean, you know," she said as she looked at the cut on Teddy's head from when he was bludgeoned by the wraith.

"Whatever," Teddy responded. "He doesn't even have to know," he grabbed his wand from the floor and cast a quick episkey and the wound healed.

"I think he outta know," Dean said. "You're one hell of a Hunter."

Teddy was torn between embarrassment and extreme pride. That was a high compliment coming from Dean. "Thought you didn't want me to hunt," he muttered.

"I don't," Dean said. "I wanted to keep you away from it, but I can see when someone's a lost cause. And that's you."

"Thanks?" Teddy said. Dean clapped him on the back.

III

Ginny frowned at her phone. For the most part, Harry had been keeping his distance from her. Which she was both grateful for and annoyed by. At the end of the day, Harry had been her best friend for years and she had missed him deeply. So, she had buried herself in work and done her best not to think about him. That had mostly worked. Until he had bloody texted her. She wasn't sure if she was irritated or just impressed that he knew how to do that at all.

With a deep breath, she hit the callback button.

"Gin!" He answered immediately. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so quickly."

She winced and took a sip of her before-bedtime wine. "Yeah, figured I'd nip it in the bud. I'm surprised to hear from you. I was at the Burrow earlier today and, from Mum's description, you are moments away from kicking the bucket. Again." She winced at the slightly bitter tone in her voice. Alright, maybe she wasn't completely ok with him cutting her out of his life.

"Er – I'm fine, actually," he said, sounding a little nervous. "I've been healed."

"So, you can do magic again?" She asked.

"Uh, no. Actually, that's why I'm calling you. I need – magical – help."

"You need magical help," she repeated back.

"Yeah. Look, it's a long story. A really long story. But I need you to do the four-points-spell for someone."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Sam should be able to do that. Or, I think Luna is still around…"

"No, neither one of them can," he said, cutting her off, sounding frustrated. "Look, this was a mistake. I didn't want to involve Hermione but…"

"Uh no," Ginny said. "You don't get to shut down like that. I thought we were friends, Harry."

"We are," he said quickly.

"Yeah. Sure feels like it – after months of radio silence. I had to get updates on you from Mum, Harry. My mother knows more about what is going on with you than I do."

"I'm sorry, Gin," he started and sounded it. "It's just that…"

"I don't need an explanation," she cut him off. "Just…try harder, won't you? I want to be in your life, Harry. Who do you need to find?"

"Er, that's the difficult part. I don't know what all you know, but…well, it's a long story. But Sirius. I need your help to find Sirius."

"Sirius Black?" She asked, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Yes."

"Your dead godfather, Sirius Black? Fallen through the veil, never to be seen again, Sirius Black? Gone for over 20 years, Sirius Black?"

"Uh, yes," he said.

Ginny put down her glass, now very concerned. "Harry, have you started drinking again?"

"What? No! Look, just do it…please. I'll explain once I find him. You said that you didn't need an explanation. Gin, please."

Not quite believing him but also wanting to confirm that he hadn't gone completely 'round the bend, Ginny did the spell. To her shock, she came up with a location. "He's in Chicago," she said, not quite comprehending what that meant. What did this mean? Could anyone just come back to life these days? Harry was one thing but…

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said, which sounded like he was about to hang up.

"Harry, wait," she said.

"Yes?" He asked reluctantly.

"I think I need that explanation now. How…?"

"As I said, it's a long story. But without going into the unnecessary details, the son of Lucifer opened a gateway into another realm and Sirius popped back through to Earth."

"The son of…"

"Lucifer. Yeah. His name is Jack. I'm surprised Molly didn't tell you about him. But Gin, I'm sorry, I've really got to go. We'll catch up later, yeah?" He hung up the phone.

Ginny shook her head and finished her glass of wine. The decision of whether or not she was going jump back into Harry's world could wait until the morning.

III

"Patience, this is out of the question! Think of your future. Going down this path…it'll just lead you to where it led your grandmother. Ostracized from wizarding society and living among filthy…" James paused as he saw Dean, Jody, and Teddy walk into the foyer where he had pulled Patience away from them when they had returned to Georgia.

"You were saying?" Dean asked, challenging him to finish that sentence. The wizard had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"It's nothing against you," he said. "You saved my daughter's life. But she wouldn't have even been in this kind of danger if my mother hadn't involved herself in…in…your world." The last part was said with a certain about of disgust and disdain.

"That wraith was looking for witches and wizards," Jody pointed out.

"Weak witches and wizards," James corrected. "And Patience isn't weak. Not like…"

"Oh, I'd be careful what you say about Missouri," Dean warned, looking even less amused than before. "She was one of the strongest people I've ever known."

"And I never got to know her," Patience said. "Dad, look at Ted. He's a wizard and a hunter and he's just fine. Maybe I can explore my abilities more after graduation. I could find someone to teach me…"

"No," James said firmly. "You have real magical potential. Do you know how long it took me to distance myself away from your grandmother into a respectable career? I won't see you squander it while you live under this roof. That's final."

Patience looked troubled but didn't argue.

There was awkward silence from all of them seeing a family moment that was obviously not meant for any of them to see.

"We better hit the road," Dean said, just wanting to get out of there. He actually agreed with James. Patience would be way better off sticking with her magical studies. He didn't want to see Missouri's granddaughter go the same way that she had gone.

"Right, of course," James said, gratefully. "I'm sure you need to get back on the road."

Dean nodded.

Jody looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself and just followed Dean and Teddy out of the door.

They started to load up the trunk of the Impala with the gear they had used in the hunt when Patience slunk outside.

"Hey!" Jody said, happy to see the young woman.

Dean closed the trunk. "You know, I said it before, but good work in there."

Ted was beginning to think that someone had replaced Dean with all the compliments he was handing out.

"Thanks, I guess," she said. "I didn't really do anything."

"You trusted us. And your gift. And you did enough to get away from the wraith in the first place," Dean pointed out. "Sounds like you've given some thought to what's next."

She looked upset. "I don't know. I start my apprenticeship in just a couple of days. And if they caught whiff of this…"

"Hey, if you have trouble with MACUSA, you just let me know," Ted said. "I've got some connections that could help you out." He had only known Patience for a small amount of time but he felt strangely… protective of her.

She looked at him with surprise. "You have connections in MACUSA?"

"No…well, yeah, I guess. My best mate is the stepson of one of the bigwigs. But more than that, my aunt in Hermione Granger Weasley."

She looked at him with surprise. "What? Wait…" her eyes went wide with recognition. "You're Teddy Lupin. You're Harry Potter's godson."

Ted blushed. "Yeah. Suppose so," he said.

Jody could see that Ted was uncomfortable. "And your gift?" She asked her, changing the topic.

Patience shook her head, deciding that she could process this all later. "You heard my dad. He thinks I should put it away. Dad says we should just get back to normal. Maybe he's right."

"He is," Dean said. "This life, hunting, monsters, there's no joy in it. There's nothing but pain, horror, and death. So, if you get a chance at normal – even wizarding normal – you take it." He turned and got into the Impala, clearly having said his piece. Ted followed suit. Patience turned back to the house.

"Wait," Jody called out to her. She stopped moving as the woman came towards her. "I may be out of line here but you don't have to listen to him. To either of them if it's not what you really want. I had a daughter, I guess, Claire, and I asked her to stay in line, to fight who she really was because I thought it would keep her safe. It didn't work, it never does. Your gift… or maybe you're right, may it's it'll go away. But it doesn't? You try and force it down to make someone else happy, you will only make yourself miserable. It's your choice. But if you never need someone to talk to or someplace to go, my door is always open." Jody handed her a card.

Patience took it.

Jody headed over to the passenger side of the Impala and Patience watched as it drove off.

III

Mary didn't know how long she had been captive in this godforsaken place, but she did know she was sick of it. They hadn't physically tortured her, but her muscles ached from being in the same position for so long and she would kill for a drink of water as she had been gagged. At least she wasn't hungry. It might have something to do with Limbo itself because she knew that otherwise, she would be weak from how little she had eaten.

Most of the time, she was tightly tied up in the tent. She had little to do while she was stuck inside. Mostly, she had been trying to observe as much as possible. Keep track of the guard's schedule and see as much as she could through the tent's flap when it opened for a couple of seconds.

A couple of times a day (although the time seemed to be at random intervals and she didn't know day from night in this place, so it could be much more or less than she realized) she was dragged out of the tent and taken to several different "work areas" of varying levels of horror.

First, was one where they forced her to watch as they tortured captured witches and wizards. Although she rarely saw the head honcho, whoever had taken her over took special pleasure in pointing out the techniques that had been used on her Henry while he had been captive.

What she saw there was enough to fuel her nightmares for years.

But it was nothing compared to the other parts of the camp she was taken to. Mary wasn't quite sure what the strategy was – it seemed foolish to allow her to see so much, but maybe they just didn't fear her at all, but once a witch or wizard had been tortured to the point that they became demons, then the real horror came.

They were powerful. More powerful than any demons she had seen. Possibly stronger than the original Princes of Hell. Possibly stronger than Asmodeus, although they all seemed disturbingly loyal to him. And where there had only been four, there were now dozens, with dozens more in the making.

She hated those outings but she wasn't sure if she hated them more than being tied up tight in this tent.

It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to get loose from her bindings either – but they seemed to be magical and there was nothing that she could do to loosen the knots and escape.

Mostly, her mind churned. She wondered what had become of Gabriel and Lucifer and her boys. Thinking about her boys was torture in and of itself. Were they safe? Had Henry died from his injuries? Were Sam and Dean able to get back to him on time?

She was deep in worry when she heard some commotion outside of the tent. She sat up (as much as possible in her current position). There were shouts and banging sounds. Had Sam and Dean come at last? Mary knew that she hadn't been able to keep track of the passage of time very well, but it seemed a little quick, even for them.

More sounds and scrambling. The guard that was always there, watching her, stood up.

"Don't you move," he commanded.

She sighed. As if she could do anything. Or respond.

He ran out of the tent and she could hear him shouting from outside.

She felt a tug at the back of her neck. "Blergggg," she managed to say through the gag.

"Shhh," came a voice behind her. "I'm going to get you outta here."

The voice was male and British.

"But I'm not going to take the gag off. Not 'til we're clear of this all. It'll be ok. I'm here to help."

There were a few muttered spells behind her and she felt the knots come loose. She sighed with relief and stretched her back muscles as much as she could. Soon enough, the ropes around her feet came off as well.

"Can you walk?" Came the voice.

She nodded and hesitantly got to her feet. Her legs were so asleep that it would take a moment for the blood circulation to allow her to actually take a step.

"Quickly," he said. She finally turned to see him.

He wasn't what she was expecting.

He was short and had a mousy face and gray, balding, hair. His face had a generous number of warts and…honestly, he looked more like the witches of children's fairy tales than a rescuer.

She pulled the gag out of her mouth. "Who are you?" She rasped.

His eyes shifted from side-to-side, only adding to her impression of him as some sort of small rodent.

"I won't go anywhere with you until you tell me," she said, perhaps foolishly. After all, not he didn't look all that intimidating. She may be able to escape from him once they got out of there.

"Peter," he responded, hesitantly. "Peter Pettigrew." He looked nervous.

She raised an eyebrow, wondering if she should recognize the name. She did not. "Alright Peter Pettigrew, let's get the hell out of here."

III

Dean and Ted dropped Jody off at her car. Ted had offered to apparate back to Kansas, but Dean didn't really love the idea of being alone with his thoughts at the moment, so he had encouraged the kid to ride in the car with him.

Currently, they were at a Gas 'n Sip. Ted was inside picking out some road snacks while Dean filled his Baby up.

His phone rang.

"Hey," Dean answered when he saw who was calling.

"How was it?" Sam's voice came through. "Uh, Jody told me about Missouri."

"Yeah, just another day at the office," Dean replied, pushing down whatever feelings he had about the woman's death down as far as he could. "How's the kid? He go dark side yet?"

"Nope. He is, uh, he's pretty messed up. But we can talk about that when you get back here. There's something a little more…pressing to talk about."

That got Dean's attention. "Yeah?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Harry?" He guessed.

"Yes. And no. Look, I need you to stay calm about this," Sam said, making Dean's nerves stand on edge.

"What?"

"It's Sirius Black."

"What about him?" Dean growled.

"Uh, Harry found out where he is."

"Where? Tell me. I'll go gank the son-of-a-bitch right now."

"With Teddy?"

"Yeah. Why would the kid have any sort of attachment to him? He may actually be able to help."

"Isn't he like…his cousin? Or uncle? I dunno – his mom was something to him…"

Dean hadn't thought of that. He looked up to see Ted at the checkout counter. "Whatever. Then I'll drop him off and you and I…"

"As if Harry would tell us where he is when he knows that you want to kill him," Sam sighed. "So, that's a no-go."

"Then make Harry tell you!" Dean yelled. "He killed Cas in cold blood. Last I checked, that should be reason enough to go after him. How'd he get away from Crowley anyway?"

"No idea. But, Dean, I think this is something that we need to talk about. Harry won't like…"

"I don't give a fuck what Harry would like," Dean said angrily. "He's got no say in this and no way to stop us."

"I just don't think…"

"Fine. I'll go after him myself. Maybe I'll take the kid with me, actually. He should be able to get the job done. And seein' as he claims to think Cas was his father then he should be more than happy to help."

"Dean, he's a baby!"

Dean snorted. "Doesn't mean he don't have the power. Look, I've gotta go. We can finish this…conversation…when I get back, alright?" He didn't wait for Sam to respond before he hung up. Teddy was coming out his arms full of bags. He would have to do some fast thinking, but if he could somehow get back to the Bunker without Teddy in hand, that would be one less complication.

"Got everything?" Dean asked him. Teddy nodded.

"Yeah, think so."

"Pie?"

"Of course – didn't know what flavor you'd prefer so I got a couple…"

Dean grinned and grabbed the bag. "Nothing wrong with extra pie," he said, removing the nozzle and placing it back on the pump. "Keep this up, kid, and I'll let you ride shotgun, even with Sam in the car."

Ted smiled and got in.

"So, I just got off the phone with Jody," Dean lied as he started the car.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was thinking…"

"Is it Claire?" Teddy asked anxiously, suddenly remembering the conversation that he had had with Jody about going to help his friend after she was told that Castiel was dead. In the aftermath of everything that had happened, he had completely forgotten.

Dean didn't let the relief show on his face. "Yes," he confirmed, even though he had no idea what he was confirming.

"I feel terrible. I completely forgot that Jody and I were going to tell her about Castiel together. Uncle Dean – would you mind if I apparated straight there from Lebanon? That should get me back in time before Jody arrives."

"Wouldn't mind in the least," Dean said, surprised that his plan worked.

"Great!" Teddy said. "You're the best. And you'll explain it all to Harry?"

"Yeah," Dean said. Not that he thought Harry would appreciate the explanation.

Ted didn't really want to see Harry right now. And with Sam and Dean around he was sure that his godfather was in hands that wouldn't let him make any more stupid mistakes.

They pulled out of the station. "Oh," Ted said. "Did I tell you about the prank that Ben and his mates pulled a couple of weeks ago? It was hilarious."

III

The problem was that Sam had done something to all the motorbikes in the garage. And after Harry had so cleverly picked the locks that Dean had put on the door. He logically understood this after he had gone through the first four but it wasn't going to stop him from trying to turn the key on the last ignition. He did it. Nothing.

Oh! Fuck, wank, bugger shitting arse head and hole!

Harry kicked the motorbike as hard as he could. Which only resulted in pain in his foot and the damn vehicle not moving an inch.

He tried to fuel the pain from his foot, his rage that the only mode of transport had been taken from him, and his intense worry for Sirius in a spark of magic. Anything at all.

Nothing.

That was enough that made him punch the stupid little mini wall that separated the motorbikes with such force that he knocked himself down and landed painfully against the machine that still didn't budge under his weight, much to his annoyance.

"Harry!" Sam called out as he watched his brother fall. He ran over to help him up off the floor, offering him a hand. "You alright?"

Harry scowled at him, ignored the hand, and stood up gingerly. "I'm fine," he said while he brushed himself off to make it so that Sam couldn't see that he was blushing. "No thanks to you."

"I'd beg to differ," Sam said, with amusement in his eyes. "Those things are death traps."

"I think I'd manage."

"And don't think of trying the cars either. Only one works and Ted has it parked at his place. Dean hasn't gotten around to tuning up the rest of them."

Harry gave a heavy sigh. "How do you expect me to get anywhere? Walk?"

Although the situation wasn't particularly funny to Sam, the indignation in Harry's voice was, and he laughed.

"The hope is that anywhere you go, you'd take us with you," he said. "Harry – there are some serious players after you. And Jack. The Bunker is the safest place you could possibly be."

"I don't want to be safe! I want to go get Sirius." Harry refused to acknowledge that he sounded like a teenager right now.

"Yeah, that much is evident," Sam responded, mirth gone from his voice. "You may not give a shit about your safety, but Dean and I do."

"I'm not a child," he pouted in as manly a way as possible.

"No. But you sure as hell are acting like one." Harry turned and glared. Sam held his hands up. "Look, I'm sick of arguing this with you. What we did…binding your powers, it wasn't the best, I know. I don't feel great about it, but, come on man, you've got to stop taking stupid risks. Dean'll be back soon as we can talk about the Black situation. Together. Come up with a solution. Together. I'm just asking you to be patient."

Harry deflated a little. Just a little, though. "Fine, whatever." He'd have to find some other way out of here. "I don't know how to drive a car anyway. Dean never got around to teaching me."

"Oh, trust me, you don't want Dean teaching you. He is the absolute worst. No, not the absolute worst, Dad tried to teach me first and it was a disaster. It was kind of amazing that I didn't crash the Impala during one of our screaming matches," Sam remembered fondly.

"Who taught you then?"

"It was a combination, but the only one who had the patience and fortitude to teach me was Bobby."

"Oh."

Sam took a second to miss his ornery, honorary, uncle.

"You never told me what happened to him, you know," Harry said quietly.

Sam looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I had assumed, because if he was alive, he would have been, you know, here, or one of you would've mentioned him." Harry had been dying to ask about Bobby ever since he got back but hadn't found the time to bring up the potentially sore subject.

"He, uh, he died just about six months after you," Sam said.

"So soon?" Harry was surprised. And a little heartbroken.

"Yeah. It was a tough year. First you, then Cas, then Bobby…" All of that was on top of the fact that his mind had been fractured. Honestly, as often as he had beaten himself up for not looking for Dean, after a year like that, it was not surprising that he just accepted it as just another loss.

"How'd it happen?"

"In action, of course," Sam said. "He was shot in the head by a Leviathan. But he…he managed to stay with us long enough to give us the information we needed to defeat them."

"And Ellen and Jo?" Harry asked – fearing the worst.

"Still alive," Sam said. "At least, as far as we know. After Bobby they…they've stayed away from us. And hunting. They went deep underground while the Leviathan were around to avoid being collateral damage and they never resurfaced."

"Leviathan? The evil Purgatory monsters that Castiel released into the world?"

Sam winced. Of course, Harry would focus on that part of it.

"So, Castiel not only killed me, but he is also responsible for killing Bobby?" Harry could understand why his brothers had picked Castiel over him. They had barely known him. But over Bobby? He just didn't understand the hold that this angel held over them.

"Cas couldn't control Dick Roman," Sam defended. "Look, I thought that you had forgiven Cas. That's what you told him. And me."

Harry had thought he had forgiven Cas too. He had thought that he was above all of that, especially after hundreds of years of separation from the situation. But the longer that he had been back on Earth the more those years seemed to fade and made everything fresh again.

"Well, what if I haven't?"

"Then I think it's pretty shitty that you chose to be angry now when he's dead and can no longer make amends. Not to mention convenient," Sam couldn't keep the edge out of his voice. He regretted that he held on to his own anger against the angel once Harry had come back now that he was dead. Yeah, what he had done was shitty but Castiel wasn't solely to blame for Harry's sacrifice.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to create any sort of inconvenience for you," Harry ground out, "I know how the two of you usually handle those."

Sam stared in stunned, stung, silence as Harry brushed past him and out of the garage.

III

Jack liked sitting in the quiet. But the Bunker was rarely quiet. He could hear Harry and Sam's argument from his room (ok, he could hear just about everything from his room – even the cars in the distance) and he just didn't understand.

Nothing made any sense to him. Nothing was like what his mother had prepared him for. He had felt so much love and light from her and Castiel. Even though he had lost them, he would have thought that their friends and family would carry that same warmth. But that wasn't the case. It was cold out here and he was surrounded by men who seemed to have more anger than anything else.

Before, he had been so sure that he was good. How could he not be when someone like his mother had loved him? But Dean was convinced that he was evil when he didn't even understand what evil was.

Dean confused him. From what he had overheard, the man blamed him for Castiel's death. But no one wanted Castiel to be alive more than him!

In a way though, he preferred Dean's way of treating him to the mixed signals that he got from Sam and Harry. At least he knew that Dean didn't like him – hated him even, but both Sam and Harry wanted something from him. Something that he couldn't give. He couldn't control his powers. He didn't know how to reopen the portal to Limbo. And he wasn't sure that he wanted to, either.

Ted was the only one who seemed to actually like him around here. He was patient and kind and had shown him how to use magic in the easiest way possible. When Ted explained, he could more than see the magic, he could also understand its flow.

He had heard Sam say that this Sirius Black man – the one that Harry wanted back and Sam and Dean wanted to kill (for killing Castiel – except, he thought that was his fault) was family for Ted. Maybe if Ted had more family in the Bunker, he wouldn't leave again. He seemed awfully angry with Harry, so maybe someone else would be better.

Jack missed Ted. He wanted his friend to stay.

So, he thought hard. Sirius Black – he wondered what the man would be like. Would he be friendly like Ted? Angry like Dean? Wanting something from him like Harry and Sam? He'd like to know more about the man, really.

Suddenly, there was a crack in the air.

Right there, in front of him, was a thin man who looked shocked to be standing there.

"Hello!" Jack said brightly, raising a hand in greeting. "I'm Jack."

Well, that escalated quickly, didn't it? Please note, that wasn't how I originally planned for that to go. But these characters never follow my plans. And also, this is all going to get very fun very fast. (Believe it or not, I am currently working on a chapter of fluff it is way harder to write than angst.)

A couple good surprises in this chapter, right? I hinted at Peter a couple of times over the stories. Did any of you catch it? (It was extremely subtle – don't feel bad if you missed it entirely.)

We will see Patience again. I've played with the idea of her being a love interest for Teddy – but I also really like the idea of Teddy/Ben. I'm not sure that there will be time for a romance at all but let me know what you think.

I've been trying to get that conversation about Bobby in for ages – finally got there. I love the idea that Dean would be too worried about Baby and John would be too impatient to teach Sam to drive. (My own driving lessons with my parents were a similar nightmare – my aunt had to teach me.)

One last thing – I snuck in a quote from my favorite movie into this chapter. It made me smile so I hope those of you who spot it enjoy it as well.

As always, thank you, thank you, thank you! Can't wait to see you back here next week.