Unfound

Chapter Thirty-Two

America was very different from the last time that Sirius visited. Granted, he recognized that that was nearly forty years ago now. Merlin, I'm old, he thought to himself.

Thankfully Crowley had given him a full wardrobe full of clothes – mostly stuffy Muggle suits that he never would have worn if they weren't the only choice. He missed his old leather jacket and band tees.

Although he would never admit it, the time he spent locked up with Crowley had probably done him more good than bad. He wasn't exactly sure how long he had been there, but long enough that the food had helped fill out his too-thin frame and make him at least appear to be respectful. Crowley had brought in a barber that had shaved the beard that had started to grow since he had arrived back on this plane and trimmed his hair to that he didn't look, as the barber had put it, like a homeless vagabond.

Crowley's hideout was in New York state and while the wallet he had stolen was filled with bills – it wasn't enough for Sirius to a ticket on a muggle airplane. Not that he was convinced that that would be a good idea, in any case.

His magic wasn't recovered enough for him to be able to apparate to someplace he had never been before. Or even the large distance from where he was to Lawrence, Kansas. He couldn't risk splinching himself, considering that he was legally dead and possibly still an international fugitive. Sirius couldn't risk having a run-in with MACUSA. How in the world would he explain himself?

So, he had found his way to a Muggle bus station, where he stuck out like a sore thumb, in his fancy suit. If he weren't so concerned with the amount of money that he had left he would have bought something less conspicuous.

He was currently in a diner in Chicago. The bus ride here had been long and smelly and he still had so far to go. The next bus wasn't going to leave for another four hours – this one would take him to Kansas City, and from there he could catch another one to Salina, Kansas which was as close to Smith County as he could figure on public transportation. From there, he would figure out a way to get him the rest of the way. And once he arrived, he'd knock on every single door in the entire county, if that's what it took to find Harry.

The waiter filled his cup with coffee again. He winked at him and said, "Thank you, love," which made him blush and walk away. He grinned. Even at his advanced age, he still had it.

While having to eat again was an inconvenience, he did appreciate the hot meal.

He started pouring over the maps he had purchased again and looking through time table to see if there was any way for him to get there faster when he felt a pull in his gut.

Sirius panicked. He had never felt anything like that in his life. And then, with a great heave, and the feeling of floating, he was no longer in the diner.

He didn't have much time to take in his surroundings as he looked up and saw a kid – maybe in his early 20s, smiling at him and raising a hand. Sirius could feel power rolling off him.

"Hello! I'm Jack," he said.

III

"You know, you can't ignore me forever," Lucifer said.

Gabriel continued to ignore him. It didn't seem to matter where in this Dad-forsaken place he flew to, Lucifer was never far behind him.

Honestly, he didn't understand why Lucifer hadn't just finished the job he had started on the battlefield. Gabriel had been ready to die to protect Harry and the world from his brothers' influence. And he thought that he would die without ever having accomplished that when Lucifer had left him for dead as he had gone through the other side of the portal.

He had seen Mary come through – Lucifer with him. And he had resolved, once again, (who even was he these days), to stay and fight, so that she could get away. He didn't know what kind of life there was to live here in Limbo, but he wasn't going to allow Harry's last remaining parent to die at the hands of Lucifer. He had told her to run and had been prepared to fight to the death. Instead, Lucifer had pitched a hissy fit big enough to cause an earthquake before disappearing.

Leaving Gabriel to his own devices.

At least, for a little bit. Apparently, his older brother had gotten over it. And he just kept following him. The first half a dozen times, Gabriel had been prepared to fight. Now, he just ignored him, hoping that by not feeding into it, he would just leave him alone.

"We can work together. Get out of here, together. Come on, Gabe. It'll be just like old times!"

"You mean like the time that you betrayed me and everyone else in our family to create demons and try and destroy all of humankind?" He had finally had enough, he stopped walking and turned and faced him.

"Weeellll, not exactly like that," Lucifer responded. "First, you were the one who did the betraying. But that is all water under the bridge, right? Michael and Raphael are gone – we only have each other now. Come on, you know you wanna…"

"I wanna what, exactly?" Gabriel snapped. "What are we going to do? Our grace is failing – don't pretend that you can't feel that. Hell, you probably designed this place to do that."

Gabriel had been feeling it since the rift closed. Something had…changed. Or maybe, Limbo had already begun the process of draining his grace, but he had been too focused on the mission to care or pay attention.

"I did not!" Lucifer insisted. "Asmodeus must've done something. But that's what we gotta do. We've got to take care of my troublesome creation. You know, if he weren't such a little shit, I'd almost be impressed. I made him last, so he was the weakest, you know? I just didn't have the same enthusiasm as I did with the other Princes. Must be how Dad feels about all the angels he made after me."

"You want me to help you control the problem that you created? No, thank you."

"Yeah, but you see, this particular problem is more of a joint effort. I know that you're weak now, but surely you can feel them?"

Gabriel didn't want to play this game. He didn't want to play any more games. He had already resigned himself to existence on this terrible dimension, at least for the foreseeable future. It was really a drab place, which made sense because it was created by Lucifer, not by their father and not by him. If he had designed this place then it would be a hell of a lot more fun.

Currently, his general plan was to stay as far as possible from the wizarding population here in hopes of keeping Lucifer away from them. He wasn't even trying to get out. Because if he could leave, so could Lucifer, and they would be back at square one.

"I would've thought that you would care," Lucifer said with fake sadness. "I thought you loved your people. That's why you've been standing against me recently, isn't it? All for your "fallen garrison."" He made the air quotes. "Well, they've finally been corrupted. And it ain't pretty."

Gabriel knew that he was being baited.

But Lucifer just would not shut up. "They're still settling into their powers, of course, and they aren't as strong as us, but to mix a demonized soul with the small amount of grace of your people," he whistled, "it is something to see, and I've seen a lot."

"Luci, what the fuck are you talking about?"

Lucifer grinned. He finally had him. "I'm talking about demonized wizard souls. It took thousands upon thousands of years but their grace has finally dwindled down enough that they are…corruptible in a way that they weren't before. And unlike pure human souls that we have to spend centuries torturing to turn – which is fun, don't get me wrong – but boring, in the end, it seems that Asmodeus has come up with a way to turn them in a matter of weeks." The look on Gabriel's face was one of abject horror. Which, of course, Lucifer misinterpreted. "Don't worry, they hardly pose a threat to us. Especially this little…grace eradicating atmosphere that exists here. They have a hard time…hmm, what are the kids saying these days…keeping it up?"

Gabriel, of course, wasn't worried about his own safety. He had long since given up on that but… "What are we talking about here? Nephilim levels? Cambion? Or purer – Seraph?"

"Nothin' pure about them," Lucifer said, still smiling like the cat that caught the canary. This was going even better than he imagined. "And I'm sure that my son could strike them all down with a single blow. But other angels? They'll pose a challenge. And the damage they could do…"

Gabriel's eyes flashed. "Well, they're stuck here, just like us, so I think that…"

"Nuh uh little brother. You know that it's only a matter of time before I figure a way out. And if not that, before those Winchesters figure out a way back here. They're not going to leave Mommy dearest here forever."

Gabriel hadn't considered that but he held back a swear and schooled his features to convey neutrality. "I'm sure that they've assumed that you killed her. That's what I would have thought."

Lucifer faked a hurt expression. "Me? Why in the world would I harm a hair on her head?"

"Uh – 'cause you're you."

"You wound me, bro. I don't kill useful people. That's why you're still alive. I can still think of some uses for you. But Mary is even more valuable than you."

"Oh?" Gabriel asked, heart pumping.

"Yeah. I'm gonna get her and then when her whiny little offspring finally show up, or we get back to Earth, I'm going trade her for my son."

"But you don't even have Mary!" Gabriel said.

"Not yet. That's why we've got to be a team. You get me Mary, convince her to cooperate, then we can put our brains together and figure a way outta here."

Gabriel snorted. "Isn't Asmodeus your little stooge? Last I checked he tortured my…" Gabriel stopped and corrected himself. "He tortured Harry on your bidding."

"Times change," Lucifer said, his face closing. But Gabriel knew Lucifer better than just about anyone else.

And he realized something.

"You don't have control over him," Gabriel said.

"That's not…"

"Not only do you not have control over him…you're scared!" Gabriel could hardly believe the words himself as they came out of his mouth, but he could tell he was right. "You think he could kill you."

"That's not what I said," Lucifer defended.

"Ha! I never thought I'd see the day you'd be scared of something you created. What happened Luci? Lose control of your little…"

Lucifer moved swiftly, grabbed Gabriel but the front of his shirt, and pushed him roughly off against a tree, before getting directly in his face. "Listen here you…"

Gabriel shoved his brother off of him. "No. I don't have to. That was a touching speech, really, Lucifer, but I ain't buying what you're selling. At least not at the price that you're offering. You need me. You're weak. Now, if you would kindly fuck off, I have some rotting here forever to do, and I'd really prefer to do it without you."

With a flutter of wings, Gabriel flew off. It was difficult and felt more like swimming than flying, but he managed to get some distance away. He knew that Lucifer would be able to find him, but he had information now. Information he could work with. Finally, a purpose. First step – find Mary Winchester.

III

Sirius pulled his wand out.

"Oh, you're a wizard, of course," the kid said. "I'm a Nephilim."

That was enough to stop Sirius was cursing Jack immediately. "Gesundheit. What's a Nephilim?"

Jack frowned. "I thought that Harry would have told you."

That made Sirius drop his wand entirely. "Harry?" He croaked. "You know Harry?"

"Yes!" Jack said cheerfully. "He talks about you all the time. Well, yells about you, really. He wants to go and find you, but he doesn't have his powers right now so he keeps arguing with Sam about it."

That confirmed what Crowley had said. That Sam and Dean had taken Harry's powers and made him a Muggle. Sirius' blood boiled. "Take me to Harry!" Sirius demanded. "I need to get him out of here."

The mood in the room shifted suddenly, so much so that, once again, Sirius found himself off-kilter.

"No," Jack said simply. "No, you can't take him away!" He shouted. Sirius could feel the power behind those words. Whatever a Nephilim was – it was powerful. And unhappy with him.

There was a knock on the door before Sirius could say anything else.

"Jack?" Came a voice from the other side of the door. "Everything alright?"

It wasn't Harry.

"Hide," Jack hissed at Sirius. Sirius wasn't inclined to follow the order, but he found that he was magically shoved into…he didn't know what. "Everything's fine, Sam," he called.

"Can I come in?" He didn't wait for a response before coming in.

Jack seized up, seeing Sirius right in Sam's line of sight. But, somehow, the large man's eyes just went over the wizard and focused in on Jack.

Sam frowned. "Hey," he said. "What's wrong? Why do you look so freaked out? What was the shouting about?"

"Nothing," Jack said, unconvincingly. "It was the Netflix."

Sam looked over at the screen to see what was playing. It was the Great British Bake-Off. Strange thing to be shouting about. "Hmm," he said. He sat down on the bed. "I've been meaning to talk with you, anyway. I know that the last couple of days have been tough and I wanted to check in."

"Everything's fine," Jack repeated, a little too quickly.

Sam sighed. "Is this about Harry? I know that…"

"He already apologized," Jack said, cutting Sam off. "Really, Sam. I – I'm not upset."

"You've been shutting yourself up in this room for hours. Look, I know that Dean hasn't been the most welcoming and Harry was harsher than he should have been but we're all here for you."

"When will Ted be back?" Jack asked, changing the subject.

Sam noticed but responded anyway. "He and Dean are on their way back to the Bunker now," he said. "Dean called from the road just a bit ago."

"The hunt went well?"

Sam looked down. "Uh – kind of. They were able to save Patience but…our friend, her grandmother, Missouri, was killed by the wraith."

"Oh. Ted and Dean couldn't save her?"

"We can't save them all," Sam said. "I'm sure they tried."

Jack looked troubled.

"Jack, you know that you're safe while you're here, right? The wards we have on this place – they are very strong. While we work out who is after the two of you, it's safest for the two of you to stay here."

"That's bloody bullshit and you know it," Sirius started to rage, seeing red that this man was talking about Harry in that way. "You hear me, you wanker?" Sam didn't react to him at all. Sirius tried to pick up a pen from the desk and throw it. But he found he couldn't.

Jack did his best to ignore Sirius, relieved that Sam couldn't see or hear him. "I know. Is that why you and Harry have been arguing all the time?"

"One of the reasons," Sam said sheepishly. "I'll try to stop. Harry's still pretty mad at us about the whole… grace-binding thing, and he is desperate to find his godfather. He'll come around, eventually," Sam did not actually think that Harry would come around until he had his powers back, but hopefully, he could convince the man to stop being so combative. For Jack's sake, if nothing else. He stood up from the bed and noticed something on the floor. "Jack, is that a wand?" He frowned. It wasn't his or Harry's.

"Um," Jack looked down, "yes," he confirmed.

"Where did you get it?"

"I – uh, found it," he said, picking it up from the floor.

"Jack, no!" Sam shouted, expecting the wand to hurt the young man. Jack frowned at him a little.

"What?"

Sam relaxed. "Normally, if you pick up a wand that isn't yours, it can hurt you."

"Hmm. I'm fine," Jack said. He waved it a bit. "It doesn't work for me, anyway," he said.

"Where did you find it?"

Jack had no idea how he was supposed to answer that question. "Um – "

"Were you exploring the magical wing of the Bunker?" Sam asked, worry laced in his voice.

Jack didn't know that there was a magical wing of the Bunker, but that made more sense than explaining that he had a wizard trapped in the room and he had dropped his wand. "Yes," he confirmed. "Are you mad?"

Sam shook his head. "No, of course. Just – maybe don't go into those rooms without me? I'm happy to show you around them, but that's the one part of the Bunker that I really haven't cataloged yet, and I don't know if there is anything dangerous in there."

"Sure, Sam," Jack agreed. "Can I get back to my show now?"

Sam looked surprised. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Just – uh, if you need anything, let Harry or me know?"

"I will."

"Good, good," there was something off and Sam couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Well, Harry is rage-cooking dinner right now. I give it an hour or so before he's done – and there will be more food than any of us know what to do with. Come down to the kitchen then?"

Jack nodded.

"Ok, good. I'll just…leave you then."

"Bye, Sam," Jack said. Sam flashed him one last confused look before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Jack waited a couple of seconds to make sure that he had really gone before he turned to Sirius, who looked slightly translucent to him. He wanted the wizard back so that they could talk, and suddenly, he was corporeal again.

Sirius could feel the shift. It made him slightly nauseous. He didn't know what the kid had done to him, but he didn't like it. Now, he had a giant to take on so he glared at Jack, didn't say anything, but grabbed his wand out of his hand and started heading towards the door.

"No, wait!" Jack called out. But not too loudly, because he didn't want Sam to come back.

Sirius ignored him and went to open the door. It wouldn't budge.

"What's the plan here, kid?" He growled.

"I…I don't know," Jack said. "I – just. Can we wait? Just until…"

"No, we can't bloody wait," he went back to the door and started pounding it. Jack still wasn't sure how he was doing it, but he quickly magically made his room silent so that the noise wouldn't attract Sam again.

"Please," Jack said. "I can go get Harry?" That made Sirius stop his attempts to leave the room. Which Jack decided to take as an opportunity. "He's really been wanting to find you. But I need you to promise me something," he said the last part very intensely.

"Sure," Sirius agreed quickly. "Anything." Not anything, he thought to himself, but he was prepared to promise anything to see Harry again.

"Just – don't take him from the Bunker? If he's not here then…" Jack didn't finish his thought.

Sirius wasn't sure if that was a threat or not. But that was an easy enough thing to agree to. "Yeah, of course."

Jack sighed with relief. "Good. Just – um, stay here," he said. He waited for a second because Sirius was standing close enough to the door to just dash out. Jack stared at him until he got the message.

"Oh, right, yeah," Sirius said and stepped toward the back of the room.

Jack left the room quickly, closing and magically sealing the door behind him.

III

"Go away, Sam," Harry called at the knock on his door. He had just finished a silent dinner with Sam and Jack and wasn't in the mood for a lecture about it. He knew it was childish, but he felt entitled, seeing as he was being treated like a child by his brothers. He needed time to himself to think.

"Um, it's Jack," came an unsure voice from the other side of the door. That got Harry's attention. Jack hadn't willingly sought Harry out.

"Come in," he said.

Jack came into the room and closed the door behind him, further surprising Harry. He looked a little freaked out.

"Is everything alright?" Harry asked. "Did something happen with Sam?"

"What? No."

Harry relaxed a fraction. "Ok. What's going on then?"

"I – I did something. Something I don't want Sam to see."

Harry tried to keep his face neutral. He didn't believe that Jack was evil. But that didn't mean he was capable of hurting others. After all, even he had hurt people with his powers when he had come back without meaning to. And was a full-grown adult with years and years of magical training. "You can tell me, Jack. I'll help you fix it, whatever it is."

Jack looked confused. "It doesn't need to be fix – you know, I think you just need to come and see," he said, not sure how to put into words what he had done. Magic was so confusing to him still. He couldn't get a pen to float when Sam asked but he managed to bring a whole man into the Bunker, through the wards, without realizing what he was doing.

Harry stood up from the chair he had been sitting in before. "Alright, lead the way."

Jack was relieved. "It's just in my room."

"Ok," Harry said.

The two of them walked over to his room. "Just – don't be mad?" Jack questioned before he opened the door.

"I'm sure, whatever it is, I can handle it," Harry assured him, even though he wasn't sure that he could.

Jack opened the door and as soon as Harry stepped inside, he closed it behind them. Which Harry thought was a little strange, but maybe the kid was just taking privacy very seriously now. It wasn't until he noticed another person in the room that he realized that something was really off.

There was a skinny man – smartly dressed in a suit. Harry looked at him for a second – feeling like he should know him.

"Harry?" He croaked – his voice heavy with emotion. Sirius found it hard to believe that the man in front of him was the skinny fifteen-year-old he had left behind all those years ago. At the time, he had been the spit and image of James. But that wasn't the case anymore. Sure, he still saw James in there, but more than anything he saw – "You look like John Winchester," he blurted out. "But older than the last time I saw him."

"Do I?" Harry hadn't really thought about it. "I've still got Dad's eyesight," he scrunched his nose to emphasize the golden round-rimmed glasses he was wearing. He was very much questioning that eyesight right now. He could barely bring himself to believe what he saw. "Is it really you?" he said in a whisper as if the words would make the man disappear.

"Yeah, Harry, it is," Sirius said.

Harry stood stock still. He had no idea how to process this.

"Sirius," he clarified. "Sirius Black," he spoke slowly as if he was afraid that he was going to frighten Harry off.

"Sirius," Harry repeated. "Sirius," he said again, fully realizing what that meant. "Padfoot. I can't – I didn't think – I mean, Sam and Dean said, but…" Before he knew it, he was across the room and he threw his arms around his long-dead godfather, tears starting to fall down his face.

With no hesitation, Sirius returned the hug, his eyes misting over as well.

"I am so sorry," Harry muttered, not pulling away from the man. "I am so sorry, Sirius."

Sirius frowned. "Whatever for?"

Sniffling, Harry finally let go. "I – the Ministry. I believed what Kreacher said and…and…" all of sudden Harry felt fifteen again and his grief poured out.

Sirius hugged him again. "I don't blame you. My own recklessness paid a large part in that."

That just made Harry cry harder.

It was several minutes of this before Harry was able to pull himself together. "I don't understand," he said.

"Well, it's a long story, but, to make it shorter, I was in Limbo, when…"

"No, no I know about that. Well, some of it, at least. But you were in Chicago. Ginny – she did the spell, and she's not one to cock that up. How are you – how'd you get…"

"That was me," Jack said, breaking in awkwardly. He felt like he shouldn't have been in the room for what he just witnessed. That it was…private. But it was also fascinating. He hadn't seen this side of Harry before.

"Jack!" Harry said with surprise. He had forgotten that he was in the room. "You did this?"

Jack was unsure if Harry was happy or angry. "I – yes," he said nervously. All of sudden, Harry moved and threw his arms around Jack, taking the young man by surprise. None of the Winchester brothers had ever hugged him before. He liked it. "I don't know how I did it," he admitted.

"That doesn't matter," Harry said. "You did do it. We'll figure out the rest later. I just can't believe – " He turned his attention back to Sirius who was watching this interaction quietly. "You're alive," he said to him.

"I could say the same for you," Sirius responded. "I thought that bastard of an angel, Ca – "

"Jack," Harry interrupted, not wanting him to hear this part. "Would you mind giving us a couple of minutes? Maybe go distract Sam?" Harry frowned. "How did you hide this from Sam? Wasn't he just in here?"

Jack shrugged. "I used my powers to hide him when Sam came in the room."

"He did," Sirius confirmed. "It was like I was an invisible ghost. I was yelling up a storm and no one could hear a thing. Couldn't pick anything up either."

That wasn't something that Harry knew Jack could do. He'd have to ask more about that later.

Jack wasn't sure that he could do that but he just agreed with a nod. But – he was confused. "How do I distract Sam?"

"Shouldn't be that hard," Harry responded. "Ask him to show you how to use the internet. Or – better yet, ask him about the cataloging system in the Bunker. You'll be bored to tears, but the man can go on about it for ages. It's like asking Hermione about what's in Hogwarts, A History."

Jack didn't know who Hermione was but at least his instructions were clear. "Ok. I'll do that. But Harry?"

Harry gave him a questioning look.

Jack hesitated for a second. "You – you're not planning on leaving, are you?"

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know. Just – away. Ted would be sad."

"Don't worry, Jack. I don't have any plans to leave. It'd be difficult without my magic, in any case. But now I don't have a reason to leave."

Jack nodded, satisfied. He left the room.

Harry stared at his godfather. He couldn't believe it. It felt like three lifetimes ago that he had fallen through the veil. The man before him looked different. Healthier – although Harry wasn't sure how that was possible. He also looked…young. Not young. The same age as him. He did some quick calculations in his head. Going by his date of birth, Harry was technically a year older than Sirius now. But none of the maths actually made sense so it was easier not to think about it.

"Harry?" Sirius asked, pulling him out of his reverie of thoughts.

"Yeah. Sorry. Just trying to figure out… it doesn't matter. I just – I don't know how this happened. I mean, I know, Sam and Dean told me…"

"Sam and Dean are liars," Sirius said harshly and quickly.

"What?"

"They're liars – they're manipulating you. I was trying to get here as quickly as possible. I can explain more once we get out of here, but we've got to go." The urgency in his voice took Harry aback.

"What? Didn't you just hear me promise Jack that I wouldn't leave?"

Sirius shook his head. "I did. But that's why we have to go before he can stop us. Who knows how long he'll stay away. Now is our only shot. I've got my wand, I can side-along apparate us out of here," Sirius went to grab Harry's arm.

"No!" Harry protested, pulling away. He remembered the time that he side-along apparated with Castiel and it had nearly killed him. Even with his wings out of commission, he couldn't imagine that he wouldn't be too cosmically heavy to side-along apparate.

"It's true then," Sirius muttered.

"What's true?"

"They've brainwashed you! Harry, you've got to trust me. I'm your godfather, I only want what's best for you. And Sam and Dean are dangerous men."

Harry felt vaguely annoyed. He was as a grown man. More than that, really, a grown supernatural creature with great powers, when they weren't bound. "If I had a knut for every time someone said that to me…"

"Others have tried to warn you?" Sirius asked, surprised.

Harry waved him off. "Ron and Hermione were on a kick for a while. And Gabriel, he never shuts up about…"

"I met Gabriel," Sirius jumped in. "He promised that he would reunite us. Granted, he implied that would be in heaven. But he seems to really care about you. And if Ron and Hermione think they're a problem then surely you have to see that something is wrong. They've done something to you. How else can you explain ignoring everyone who loves you to stay with these wankers?"

"They haven't brainwashed me," Harry responded. "And Ron and Hermione came around. Gabriel – well, he's a bit of a different story but he's never been overly fond. Even before I was in the picture. They're my brothers. My family. I trust them."

"I'm your family, Harry," Sirius argued. "Do you know that they're the reasons you don't have your powers? Have they even told you that much or did you just blindly…"

"Of course, I know they're the reason my powers were bound," Harry said, really getting annoyed now. What kind of idiot did Sirius think he was?

"They're trying to keep you under control! Like some sort of pet that they can unleash at any point to…"

"They didn't do it to control me," Harry snapped, even though he had said that exact thing to Sam not that long ago. He took a deep breath. "They did it to protect me. I may not agree that I needed that protection or that they went about it in the right way, but, trust me, they would have been personally better off if they had let me keep my powers." He couldn't believe that he had to argue this side of the argument.

"Protect you?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Who did you need protection from? You're a powerful wizard, Harry, from all accounts I've heard. I know you defeated Voldemort. And that you managed to destroy all the dementors. Not just hear on Earth – but also in Purgatory. I need you to think and snap the fuck out of it and come with me. You have got to have some suspicions."

Harry sighed tiredly. "It's a really long story, Sirius," he said. "And I hate to admit it – but they were right. But, if you ever tell them I said that I'll deny it." Deep down, he knew that his brothers and Gabriel did what they did because they knew that he was willing to sacrifice himself for them again. And while he maintained that it should have been his decision, he couldn't confidently say that, in their shoes, he wouldn't have done the same. Didn't mean he wasn't angry about it, though.

"You've changed," Sirius said with no small amount of disdain.

Harry snorted. "Of course I've changed. I was fifteen when you died. I'm – well, I don't really know my exact age, but based on the year I was born, thirty-seven now."

"The Harry I knew…"

"The Harry you knew died a very long time ago," Harry flinched a little as this came out harsher than he had intended. He sighed again. "I think we should go talk somewhere…safer."

"I thought you were staying here because it was safe," Sirius threw back at him.

"I am. You're not. If Sam finds out…"

"Ha!" Sirius laughed, although there was no joy underneath the sound. "You are scared of them. What's keeping you here then? Why are you even still in the United States? Let's go home, Harry," he pleaded. He just wanted to get Harry as far as possible away from Sam and Dean. It was clear to him that everything Crowley had told him was true and that Harry was stuck here. Well, Harry had been on his own for too long.

"This is my home. I have a lot to catch you up on. But Dean's going to be home any second now with Teddy and I'd really prefer not to have to fight him off from you. Not sure I'd win, right now, in any case. There's a place in the Bunker where almost no one ever goes. Just – follow me. Please?" Harry was desperate.

Sirius didn't understand what had come over Harry but he wasn't going to abandon his only remaining family. He would just have to play along for now. Always going from one prison to another, he thought bitterly. "Alright," he agreed.

"You've got your wand?" Harry asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Can't get in without one and I don't…well, I have one, it just doesn't do me any good at the moment. Follow closely behind me and keep quiet."

III

Jack knew that he should go straight to the library, where Sam was doing research, but he needed a second to collect his thoughts on what he had just seen.

Even though he hadn't been alive for very long he had experienced his mother's life while he had been in the womb. He understood, he thought, about the intricacies of the relationship between a child and a parent. His mother had been close to her mother and father. And he had looked forward to sharing the same sort of relationship with Castiel.

But the more he saw, the more he was grateful that Castiel was an angel, not a human. He was sure that meant that their relationship would have been less…messy.

Ted loved Harry. That was obvious. And Harry loved Ted. And yet, somehow, they also both annoyed and were frustrated by the other. They didn't understand each other. Sirius, Harry's godfather had made the man cry, which had been shocking to Jack. Maybe the difference was the god in front of the father? Jack didn't completely understand what made one a "godfather," but it seemed to come with all sorts of complications.

It's all so confusing! He thought, in frustration. Why couldn't anything be simple?

Dean was angry. Sam was less angry but there was still something lurking under the surface behind every interaction he had with Jack. He wanted something from him. And Harry was sad. He tried to pretend it was anger but Jack had felt it when he had healed him.

He yearned for the calm assurance that had surrounded him before he was born. Not all of this – emotion. Emotion that he just didn't understand.

Castiel, he thought. He prayed. Castiel, please. His eyes glowed gold and a tear slid down his face. He brushed it away.

Now wasn't the time for wishing for things that he couldn't have. And Harry had asked him to distract Sam. So, he would.

III

Harry had cajoled Sirius into restoring the wards that protected this room from being discovered by Muggles and some additional ones to keep Sam and Teddy out.

This area of the Bunker was completely different from the rest of the structure. The austere cement floors and tiled hallways weren't present in this space at all. In fact, this part felt more like one of the house common rooms at Hogwarts than anything else. More Ravenclaw than Gryffindor, though. There were rows of bookshelves, just like in the library, and desks and chairs, but that was where the similarities ended.

There was no electricity in this room – all the lights came from candles that were either in sconces on the walls or floating over tables. There was a grand fireplace that Harry assumed, at one point, had been connected to the floo network. The walls that didn't have bookshelves on them had great, domed windows, that had once been enchanted to show the outside world, although the spell must have worn off years ago.

Connected to the main library was a small hallway that contained four bedrooms. Harry hadn't really gone in those, but he suspected that they would be similarly outfitted with more ornate and comfortable furniture than their Muggle counterparts.

"What is this place?" Sirius asked after looking around for a second.

"Uh, I'm not entirely sure," Harry said. "Sam told me the history of it one time, but honestly, it was pretty boring, so I was only half paying attention. Have you heard of the Men of Letters?"

"Of course," Sirius said. "My mother hated them. Thought the entire organization was a disgrace. So, of course, I was fascinated."

"Hm," Harry said. "I never thought that I'd agree with your mother on anything, but the entire organization was a disgrace. It's been disbanded now – or it's about to be, in Britain. Hermione's giving it her best to, at least. This Bunker belonged to the American Men of Letters, though."

Sirius didn't really care about the American Men of Letters. Or the British ones, for that matter. This idle chit-chat wasn't why he was here. "That's all well and good, but Harry, that doesn't explain anything to me."

"I know. What matters is that, for now, Sam and Dean can't get to you. Which is what I was hoping for, in any case."

"Let them come," Sirius growled. "I can take them."

"I'm sure you could," Harry said. "But I would prefer that both you and they remained alive and unharmed. And you killed a very close friend of ours and I've seen them kill others for less."

"A very close friend of yours? Didn't he murder you?"

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. "No. Not really. He helped me along the way and he certainly wanted me dead at the time, but, ultimately, the decision was mine."

"That's not what he told me."

"Castiel has a skewed view of it. Sirius, it's ancient history. You shouldn't have killed him."

"You're right. I shouldn't have. Sam and Dean should have for what he did to you!" Sirius shouted.

"I really don't want to argue with you, Sirius," Harry said, tiredly. "We can debate what Castiel may or may not have deserved some other time. I want to hear about you. Last I knew, you were stuck in Purgatory. I assumed that you had died there before I could come and get you. What happened?"

"Sam and Dean didn't tell you that I was alive there?" Sirius challenged. "I saw both of them, you know. I fought by Dean's side for the better part of a year. I fought by Castiel's side for a lot of that too."

"I'm sure there's an encyclopedia worth of things that Sam and Dean haven't told me."

"Are you alright with that?" Sirius asked, incredulously, not believing this was the same boy who had thrown fits about being kept in the dark about the Order of the Pheonix.

"Of course, I'm not alright with it," Harry said. "But I'm hardly an innocent party in it all. I've been less-than-forthcoming with them in the past." And the present, he thought to himself. "But we're working on it."

Sirius didn't respond to that. He didn't know how to.

"Can you – can you just trust me for now?"

The pleading look on Harry's face was almost criminal. How could Sirius deny his godson anything when he was giving him that look?

"Alright Harry," he said, agreeing for now. For once, he had time. He might not like being locked up here but as long as he was here, he was confident that Harry wouldn't leave him behind. It was going to be more difficult than he had originally thought, but eventually, he'd get Harry to see that he was better off without these so-called brothers. "What do you want to know?"

Harry smiled. "Why don't we start with your fall through the veil?"

"Well, that bitch Bellatrix hit me with a stunner and…"

III

"… even though they hadn't really come to Earth in millennia, that's how the angels got involved again." Sam was telling Jack about the Apocalypse (1.0). He was pleased. So far, Jack hadn't shown much interest in learning about his angelic side, but something Harry said to him must have triggered his interest. "Do you have any questions so far?" He had been talking for a very long time.

Jack looked at him with a serious expression. "If Castiel saved Dean from Hell and helped you defeat Lucifer, why did he then kill Harry? Mom said he was good, but I'm confused. You both like Harry and Castiel."

Crap, Sam thought. That was an extremely difficult question to answer. He was about to attempt to start and answer it when the outer door to the Bunker opened.

"Dean!" He called.

"Hey," the eldest Winchester responded as he came down the stairs.

"You look like shit," Sam said. "Have you slept at all?"

"Yeah, I missed you too," Dean grumbled. "I'm fine."

"Is Ted with you?" Jack asked, looking for his friend.

"No," Dean said, moving past the two of them and into the kitchen, where Sam assumed he was going to get a beer.

Sam watched as Jack's face crumbled.

Dean came back into the library, beer in hand.

"Where is Teddy?" Sam asked not missing as Jack schooled his features to be more neutral.

"He went to Jody's to talk to Claire," Dean said shortly, not wanting to get into it. "Where's Harry?"

"In his room," Sam answered. He looked down at his watch and frowned. "Actually, he's been in there for a while. I haven't seen him in the last couple of hours."

"Sam was just telling me about why Castiel killed Harry," Jack said quickly, hoping to distract both Winchesters. He didn't know how much more time Harry would need but he didn't want to risk making the man angry with him.

Dean nearly choked on his beer.

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Jack," he said.

"Yes, Sam?" Jack asked, looking up at him, his eyes wide and innocent.

Too innocent, Sam thought. He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just going to go check on Harry. He said something about wanting to go to the store and now that Dean is back, we can go." He started moving out of the room.

"Wait!" Jack called out.

That confirmed Sam's suspicions and he picked up speed, now a little concerned. He didn't think that Jack would do anything to hurt Harry, but he couldn't think of any reason the Nephilim would have to try and keep him away.

He rushed down the hallway, his heart beating quickly. How could he be so stupid? Jack had never shown that much interest in anything before. If he had done something to Harry, not only would Sam not be able to forgive himself, Dean wouldn't forgive him either.

Harry's door was partially closed. Which was even more concerning – Harry always closed it all the way, especially when he was pissed. Admittedly, he was angry more often than he was not, but that in and of itself was a concern. Sam barged into the room.

"Harry?" He asked as he went in, out of breath with worry.

His brother was sitting at the desk, a piece of paper in front of him, and a pen in his hand. He raised an eyebrow at Sam.

"Yes?"

Sam relaxed, relieved. "I – uh…hadn't seen you in a while," he finished lamely.

Harry put the pen down. "I wasn't aware that I needed to check in," he said evenly.

"No, of course not," Sam said quickly. "Just – uh, Jack…you know, never mind. Dean's back."

"And that's why you barged in here? Ever heard of knocking?"

Harry sounded annoyed but there was an edge missing from his voice that had been there before.

"Yeah, of course, sorry," Sam said. "Everything alright?"

"You mean other than the fact that am I stuck in a Bunker underground with my two over-protective brothers, powerless, and unable to leave and go find my godfather? Yeah. I'm great," sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"You're not stuck here, man," Sam said. "It's just that leaving without us could be dangerous, we don't know what could be waiting for us just past the wards."

"Right," Harry stood from the desk. "Is there something I can help you with? Or may I continue with my free time? Do I need to ask your permission to sit and write letters to my friends now? If that's not permitted, do I also need to ask you when I can eat? When I can piss?"

Again, there was a total lack of heat in his words. He almost sounded…happy. Sam didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth though. "Of course, not," he said. "But did you want to go to the store?"

Harry sat back down. "No, thanks. I can just give you a list. Maybe take the kid. He could use a break from this place. Better yet – send him and Ted."

"Ted didn't come back with Dean," Sam said and quickly followed it with, "he went to go visit Claire with Jody. He's fine."

"He better be," Harry grumbled.

"You sure you don't want to go?" Sam asked again.

Harry hesitated. "You know, that'd be good," he said, standing back up. "Dean coming too? I'm very curious why he needed to bring in a teenager to help with a case."

III

"Castiel, please," a voice said.

Castiel woke up.

Someone was calling for him.

He didn't recognize the voice and before he could identify it, it stopped.

He sat up.

Previously, he had never thought that he would wake or sit up ever again. The last thing he remembered was getting stabbed in the back with his own angel blade.

The world around him was…strange. He was no longer on Earth. He could tell that much. But this wasn't Heaven either.

It looked like a library. But all the shelves were black and gray. And all the books were plain black. He started to stand so that he could get a closer look.

"Not so fast, Castiel," came a female voice behind him.

He turned around and his eyes went wide. "Billie?"

She smiled unpleasantly at him and held Death's scythe in her hand. "Yes. We've got a lot to chat about."


I'm not titling chapters anymore, but if I was, then one would be called something cheesy like, "The Return of Angels." (I am very happy that I gave up on giving my chapters titles. After this is all done, I might go back and add them, but they were the bane of my existence for a bit.)

The ball is really rolling now and we've gone through most of the backstory for what's to come. Next week's chapter is going to be focused on some relationship building and healing so we can get on with it. Also, did y'all know that when you bookmark a fic on Ao3 and write a comment on it, I can see it? Mostly, they're nice. One I saw recently (I forget to check) said something about not having much brother bonding. The next chapter is my comeback to that comment, haha.

On that note, I do have a little bit of bad news. I am going to post through the end of October and will then be taking November off from posting. (I know this will disappoint all three of my readers, I am sorry!) This way I can focus on Nanowrimo and hopefully get really close to finishing this fic so there are no more delays. Real life (which is very overrated, if you ask me) has been kicking my butt and this will give me time to focus on some things that I need to turn to for my own mental and physical health.

Thank you so much to everyone reading (I do know it's more than three of you, I promise). Sarcastic bookmark commentors included, I truly appreciate y'all taking the time to read this silly story of mine. Especially considering that it has become quite the time commitment!