Epilogue

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, 8th May 2012

Harry gasped awake, his heart racing. It pounded against his ribs. He ran a hand over his face and saw the blurry image of the Common Room coming into focus as he slipped on his glasses. Ron was sleeping fitfully in his bed, mumbling words.

"No… Percy…" he whimpered in his sleep, and Harry's heart sank. How he wished the past week was a dream. That none of this was real. Those that they lost were still with them, and the damage was erased. But if that were true, Voldemort would still be out there, hurting and killing. Maybe it was the sacrifice for peace? Harry didn't like the sound of that.

Harry went to the window and looked out over the castle. Some of the areas were still badly damaged, although they were being worked on by curse breakers and people from the Ministry. It would take time, but the castle would be returned to its former glory. Professor McGonagall was appointed the new Headmistress after Dumbledore's death. It seemed fitting, as she had a deep care for the students. Speaking of Professor Dumbledore, he had been laid to rest the day before.

As they sat at the funeral, Harry thought of his last conversation with him. It was not at the Astronomy Tower but in King's Cross. After Harry sacrificed himself to Voldemort, he awoke in a dreamy version of the train station, where his journey began. Dumbledore shed even more light than Snape's memories ever could. The knowledge of Snape being a triple agent for both Voldemort and Dumbledore was shocking. It shed the former Death Eater in a new light. Harry would never truly like the man, as it was still no excuse for the emotional abuse he was subjected to under his teaching. Snape was laid to rest with the good side, once Harry revealed the truth to the remaining staff at Hogwarts. He was put to rest with Horace and Dumbledore.

Voldemort's body was moved to another location and destroyed, so he could no longer hurt anyone ever again. Harry was relieved about that. So now the Wizarding World began to regroup. The Death Eaters were rounded up on the orders of the new Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and it was very successful. Unfortunately, several Aurors were lost in the Battle, but more were to soon join their ranks. Harry was being put forward as an Auror, along with Ron. The boys along with Hermione were awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class for their work to bring down Voldemort. Harry was grateful, but also felt he didn't deserve praise when so much had been lost. In the end, it was just a fancy title and a hunk of solid gold, it wouldn't bring any of them back. Sirius talked to him over the days after the Battle, slowly helping him come to terms with everything. It would take time, but he would get there eventually.

Dean bowed his head and looked down at his feet. His heart was racing in his chest.

You can do this Winchester, he thought. Who was he kidding?

He sat on his bed, unmoving for the first few days, not even attending the funerals of the wizards that he had come to think of as friends. Jo was there to represent him and would tell him that the others had really missed him. Not out of guilt, but just to try to get him to talk to her. He also hadn't spoken much since the battle was over. There was nothing else left to fight. No more big bad monsters or students to teach. He felt like he was slipping into the abyss of darkness.

Cas was gone, now his little brother. Much like those horrible few days after Cold Oak, Dean felt the pain of the loss. It nearly crippled him. Jo sat with him a lot of the time, supporting her husband as she grieved too. She held him close, crying alongside him until she fell asleep. Mary and John kept checking in on him often. John could sympathize with his eldest, knowing exactly how he felt after losing someone he cared about.

The afternoon before Sam's funeral, Mary decided to take Jo and Jess down to the kitchens to give John and Dean some time to themselves.

"Dean, you have to get up." John frowned.

"Go away Dad." He didn't look up.

"Do you think if you don't go that it won't be real?" John sat by his bed. "That he'll walk back through that door?"

"I know he's gone!" Dean snapped. "You don't have to keep reminding me!"

"You aren't the only one who lost someone, Dean. Do you know how many people we've had to bury this week? Hell, people that I don't even know. Kids…. Damn Dean, and you've been up here, hidden away from everyone."

Dean glared at him, but he knew his father was right.

Dean looked down at his brother again. Sam was dressed in one of his usual outfits, face looking almost peaceful, if it wasn't for the wound in his cheek. Dean took a harsh breath, trying to keep his composure.

"I still can't believe it Sammy…" he began in a whisper. "It's not real, just a dream." God wouldn't be so fucking cruel to take Sam away from him again when he'd just gotten him back. He'd survived so much, it wasn't fair.

"You gotta come back, Sam. I need you back. Mom and Dad need you. You gotta meet your niece or nephew… You need to marry Jess, have kids of your own. Have a life… be bald, fat, happy and die an old man."

Tears leaked into his eyes. "It should have been me… I've always looked up to you. Man, when we were kids, you were so damn smart. You never took any of Dad's crap. I never knew how you did that. And you're stronger than me. You always have been." His shoulders heaving with sobs, he calmed down and touched Sam's shoulder. "Hey, did I ever tell you, that night that I came for you when you were at school? When Dad hadn't come back from his hunting trip? I must have stood outside your dorm for hours… because I didn't… I didn't know what you would say. I thought you'd tell me to… to get lost or get dead. And I don't know what I would've done… if I didn't have you. 'Cause I was so scared. I was scared, 'cause when it all came down to it, it was always you and me. It's always been you… and me."

His voice was choking up, tears dripping down his face. His heart was beating fast, filled with grief. John and Mary held onto each other, and Jo was supporting Jessica as she cried loudly. The students gathered in a small area of the grounds.

All too soon, it came time for the funeral.

Dean was the last to emerge from the castle. He carried his little brother down to the casket that was waiting for him, though awkwardly due to his size. John and Mary had offered to help him, but he refused.

"Mom, Dad, I've spent so much time with him when we were growing up. I need this… I need to do this alone." He told them

They didn't understand why he needed to do this alone, but they let him go. Ever since they were young it was just the two of them, Mary was dead, and John was gone all the time hunting down monsters. Dean thought it would only be proper for him to be alone with his brother one last time before he was all alone again.

Dean walked, stone-faced down the mossy hill from the school. Hiding his emotions was what he did best. He never showed people how much pain he was really going through. Not only was that his role as a big brother, but as a hunter too. Never show that you care about anyone. Your enemy can use that against you, a superhero complex if you will. The only one who could ever see through Dean's façade was now gone from this word, never to return.

Mary, John, Bobby, Jo, and Ellen were waiting for him, as well as half the student body. Since the brothers had first come to the school, everyone had come to know and love them like family. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing closer to the hunters, Hermione had silent tears streaking down her face, and Ron held her in his embrace, trying to hold back his own tears. Harry was emotionless as he watched the procession. So many of his friends had died that he had lost count.

Dean finally made it to the casket. This time he didn't push Mary and John away as they helped him lower Sam's body into the coffin. Dean couldn't bear to burn his little brother's corpse. It was cruel. When he thought about it, the rest of his family, apart from Sam, had gone in flames. His mother had died in the fire, and Jessica had too, just twenty-two years later, their father, whose body was burned two days after his death, and finally, Adam. He had spoken to the hunters about it. The tattoo would still work to keep anything evil out. Bobby had told him that the tattoo they both had, was one of the main reasons he had allowed Dean to be buried. Dean cleared his throat as he stood back up.

He figured he had to say something, to start the eulogy. "I'm not good at this. Sammy always was the smart one, you know." He laughed a little. "But I wanted to say a few words about my brother."

Everyone was silent as Dean composed himself. "When we were kids, I was always responsible for Sammy. I always felt like he never got to have much of a childhood, we moved around so much that it was hard for him to make friends, so I was all that he had, other than my Dad. My brother sometimes made my life a living Hell, and I would know a thing or two about Hell. But I wouldn't change a single day of it. He, uh, made some wrong choices over the years," He paused to look meaningfully at his father. "But he made them for the right reasons. There's nothing that I wouldn't do for this kid, I even went to Hell for him." he paused again; he tried to keep his emotions in check. "I'd do it again too." If there was anything that Dean could do to bring Sam back, he would do it in a heartbeat. Then his façade crumbled, and his true feelings showed.

"Dammit Sammy I'm your bigger brother, I was supposed to die first…" Tears slipped down his face. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Jo finally came over and consoled Dean. Mary had tears in her eyes as well, John was holding her close.

As Dean looked at his brother and watched as the other hunters and the students came to pay their last respects, he thought that he had seen Sam's eyelid twitch and then again when he thought his finger had moved. But he disregarded it as a trick of the light. Hopefully God wouldn't be so cruel as to let Dean believe that Sammy could still be alive, not after everything they had been through.

Dean sighed. He pulled the small cord from his pocket. Hanging from it, was a small vial. Filled with silvery blue liquid. A few hours before, Dean had extracted some of his memories, the best childhood, teenage years and adult years he spent with Sam. He had put them into the small vial. It was his last gift to his little brother. Gently, he lifted Sam's head before he slipped it around his brother's neck.

"Love you little brother," Dean whispered. Winchesters never told each other that, it just wasn't said much. Their expressions of love were simpler, like giving up your bed for the night, getting dinner, or not eating the last of the cereal.

Dean's head bowed as he placed his hand on the coffin lid. Applying pressure, the coffin lid began to close, but just before it shut, Dean gasped as a pale hand wrapped around his wrist from inside the casket. Several of the watchers screamed. Dean looked down in horror and was met with the confused and scared eyes of his little brother.

"Dean, what the-? Why am I in a coffin?" Sam gaped.

"Sammy… you've been dead for the last week," Dean choked, the words tumbling out, before the rational side of his brain caught up. What the fuck is happening?

"What?" Sam gasped. He blinked against the light of the sun, pushing himself up. Some of the students screamed at the sight. They hadn't seen anything like this before. Sam looked a little dazed.

"You're alive…" Dean breathed. "But h-how…?"

"I-I don't know…" Sam mumbled. He felt drowsy and dazed, used to the odd feeling after being resurrected. What a fucked up thing to say…

Jessica rushed to his side, nearly pushing Dean away.

"Sam!" she exclaimed, helping him out. Her face was pale as a sheet.

"Jess… You're okay…" Relief flooded through his veins. "I'm so sorry babe…"

Jess threw her arms around him, crying.

"Shut up, you big idiot," she mumbled into his shoulder. Sam laughed a little as he held her close.

"Holy crap," Dean mumbled, wiping the tears away. The wizards were still looking on in shock and surprise. Dean walked forward and pulled his brother into a hug when Jess finally let him go.

"Look there's something in the water!" They heard someone shout.

Everyone turned to see the surface of the black lake was being disturbed by ripples coming from the centre. A trail of bubbles was coming closer to the edge of the lake. They wondered if it was a belated attack from the battle. But just before Dean could draw his weapon, a head of dark hair broke through the surface.

"Oh great what now?" Dean went to go for his gun, focusing his attention on the Black Lake. He noticed that the rest of the hunters that were left had taken up positions around the lake. Dean walked over to the lake and aimed his gun at the head. "Whatever you are, you son of a bitch, you'd better come out before I unload this gun and send you back to Hell."

"I've been to Hell Dean, it's not that great of a place." Castiel's voice echoed through the air. His head broke through the surface and the rest of his body followed soon after that.

"Cas?" Dean breathed. "Christo!" he yelled.

"I am not a demon; it is me, Dean," Castiel replied, blue eyes focused on the Hunter. Dean swallowed and walked forward, anger boiling in his blood. "What was the last thing you said to me?"

"I apologized before telling you that the Leviathans had to die," Castiel replied. Dean smiled.

"Okay Cas," Dean continued. He and Castiel turned to the others. They moved a short distance away.

"Sam," Castiel smiled. "I see my spell worked."

"Spell?" Dean and Sam asked in unison. Castiel walked forward. "What in the hell are you talking about?" Dean asked, hearing how angry his voice was getting and trying to dial it back.

"Shortly before your death I placed an Enochian spell upon you that you would both be reborn after you die," Castiel explained, smiling. "It worked; I see."

"What does that mean?" Sam asked.

"It means I wanted to protect you, despite my actions," Cas replied with sincerity. "When Crowley threatened your lives, I couldn't sit idly by. But I also couldn't arouse suspicion. I regret that it went badly," he said before Dean could mention the stabbing. It was a great regret, along with working with the King in general. "I was working with you. I brought the Hunters back to give you a fighting chance. I couldn't let them win once I knew. I had to do something, and you wouldn't talk to me…"

"We had a good reason Cas," Dean replied. "You were a dick this past year."

"I did apologize for that." Cas reminded him.

"You brought everyone back?" Sam clarified. Because of Cas, they both had the loves of their lives back… Their parents back… The brothers turned to look at their loved ones as they looked down at the lakeside.

"I did," Cas nodded. "I had to do something to help you, to give you the upper hand. In the end, good will triumph."

Dean nodded. It would take time for things to go back to the way they were, but he was willing to try.

"You brought them back…." They all turned to see Fred being held back by his mother who was crying. "So, you can bring my brother back too? Please…" he begged. "H-his name was P-Percy… Please." Molly was trying to comfort him.

"I'm sorry," Cas replied, and Fred's face fell. "My powers… I'm not strong enough… the spells were placed months ago… I do not even understand how I am alive. The mysteries of Heaven are too complex." Fred looked down in understanding and nodded. George put his arm around his twin.

"It's okay mate," George muttered. "I'm still here, and he is too."

"George is right, son," added his father with tears in his eyes. The Weasleys went quiet then.

It was most definitely time for healing all around. The Battle was over. Now, time to rebuild.

One Year Later

Dean and Jo Winchester left their house a little less than a year later. Dean held a squirming baby girl of almost four months of age. Ellie Winchester was looking at the world around her, green eyes, cooing and gurgling. Dean laughed.

"You're gonna make me drop you, kiddo. Then your mother will kill me." Ellie had the starting of what would be her father's hair colour, a sandy blond. Her features, even though she had her father's eye colour, were completely her mother's.

"Come on sweetheart," Dean grinned, hearing her laugh and giggle. He chuckled as he strapped her into the back seat of the Impala.

So much had happened in the last year. Sam and Castiel had been working together to get rid of demons. A new demon, Marcus, had taken over since Crowley's death. Cas had helped to put Heaven back in some sort of order. Sam and Jessica married a month after the battle had ended, and they had their own baby now, Dean Winchester II, who was only two months of age. Dean was proud of the name but knew it would get damn confusing when the kid got older. John and Mary lived with Bobby in his home. Sam and Jessica lived nearby, as did Dean and Jo.

He closed the back door on the Impala and smiled. Ellie was born almost a week overdue, on November 2nd, 2012. The day, just 29 years before, was barely spoken of, the day that tore the Winchesters apart. Everything came full circle. Dean would have scoffed at this type of fairy tale ending years ago, saying that it could never happen, but it did happen.

Dean slid into the driver's seat and turned on the radio. Kansas' "Carry on My Wayward Son" blasted through the stereo. Dean , after settling down, life was perfect. The road so far in the past year was everything Dean had dreamed of and more.

The End