A/N: Welcome back. I know the chapter is a bit shorter and not all that exciting but it is needed for later…so please just endure it.

2.339 words

Chapter 27: The Aftermath

It was an hour after the chaos in the great hall. Loki and Harry were currently standing outside the teachers' lounge waiting for them to arrive for the meeting. Flitwick was the first to arrive, but that was no surprise since the Ravenclaw common room was the closest. The small man opened the door for them and told them to come in and make themselves comfortable. Harry and Loki went over to one of the couches standing together with a few armchairs in front of a fireplace in which a fire merrily burned. Flitwick offered them something to drink while sitting down in one of the armchairs himself. Moments later each of them had a cup of tea in front of them with lemons, milk, and sugar on a small tray in the middle of the table.

Shortly after the tea was placed in front of them, McGonagall together with Sam and soon after them, Sprout also arrived followed by Snape. Surprisingly enough Dumbledore didn't come.

"So what was all this?" McGonagall questioned the three children. "And just how is it that you can handle a gun that well?" she said with a pointed look towards Sam.

Sam looked a bit sheepish at that question before looking over to Loki, but the pagan only snickered.

"I think we should start from the beginning then everything will become clear. First, how much do you know about the Christian religion?" Loki finally replied.

McGonagall and Sprout looked a bit bewildered upon hearing that question while Snape's face stayed blank. Only Flitwick seemed to have an inkling as to what Loki's question was about.

"All I know is that they are not that forgiving about magic," Sprout answered with a sad face. "Many of the witch hunts centuries ago stemmed from the belief that all witchcraft is inherently evil."

"Yes, they believe that for being able to wield magic one has to make a deal with the devil," Flitwick added.

"Yeah," Loki said with a nod. "That is partly right, and it's where it gets complicated. First, you should know that the deities of any religion you can think about are in fact real, no matter if it's the Norse pantheon, Hinduism, the old Greek gods…as long as enough people believe in them, they're real.

"So it's also the same thing with Christian beliefs. Hell exists, heaven exists, angels exist, and yes even the devil exists. Or as he was known before his fall, the archangel Lucifer."

"But what does all this have to do with what happened today?!" Sprout interrupted him not getting what Loki wanted to tell them.

"If you'd let me continue, you'll know. The thing is that two of the archangels, Lucifer and Michael, had a massive quarrel about two millennia ago, give or take before Lucifer was declared to have fallen. This quarrel got so out of hand that a war broke out in heaven; that's where the angels usually live, and this war was so bad that it threatened all that existed. Michael, in the end, banned Lucifer from heaven, and not much later captured him in a cage in the dimension that's called hell. He sealed this cage with 666 seals and made it so that 66 of those seals have to be broken for Lucifer to be able to get out. Which seal needs to be broken doesn't matter, though the first and the last are fixed.

"It seems that a few demons from hell and, I highly suspect, also a few angels from heaven, decided that it was time to get Lucifer out and let him and Michael finish what they began all that time ago."

This time Flitwick interrupted him. "Wait do you mean to tell us that this sudden appearance of violent ghosts is connected to that?" he asked.

Loki nodded solemnly. "Yes, it is. This was actually the seal called the Rising of the Witnesses. Luckily we learned about it beforehand and could stop it before it got out of hand, but I doubt that it will be the last seal that will influence the life here at Hogwarts," he explained with a deep sigh. "The wards around Hogwarts are strong and should protect the children against most of that will come this way, but it seems that even those wards are not going to help against everything."

"Is there any way to keep them safe?" Sprout asked with concern in her voice.

"Unfortunately not. I already helped things by teaching about most of the supernatural things that could endanger the students but even then…they are only children." Loki sighed again. Everyone could clearly see that the pagan god wished that there was an easy way to protect everyone, but there simply wasn't. "All I can do is forewarn you should a seal be broken that might affect Hogwarts, but that is regrettably everything I can do."

"I'll have to talk to Dean, but if he's okay with it, I'll also stay here and help with things. Since he's with his new girlfriend, I somehow doubt that he would have too much a problem with not having me around," Sam spoke up with a snicker. "I have a vast knowledge and experience in how to deal with most of the supernatural stuff."

"That makes me wonder how you gained that knowledge, not to mention the experience in the first place." It was the first time that Snape spoke up.

Sam winced, that man could be more intimidating than a demon. "Yeah well, I'm not exactly eleven," he replied with a sheepish smile.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" McGonagall questioned in a clipped tone, her face pinched.

"I'm actually 24."

Everyone looked at him disbelief, only Flitwick looked at him in contemplation.

"Am I right to assume that Loki has something to do with your sudden…rejuvenation?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "When we learned that I'm a natural wizard Harry taught me a few spells he knew, and I even learned some on my own, but it was rudimentary at best. Not much later Loki learned about it and suggested that I come back to Hogwarts with the two since my brother was about to be…indisposed for some time," he explained.

"And may I ask what your normal occupation is Mr Winchester?" Flitwick now inquired, having an inkling as to what the answer would be, not many distinguished between natural and demon-deal magicals and also the statement that he had much experience in dealing with the supernatural was a big clue.

Here Sam looked at Loki, not knowing whether it would be a good idea to tell them but Loki nodded encouragingly.

"I'm an American hunter," he told them, confirming Flitwick's suspicion.

"I suspected as much," he said thoughtfully.

"What is a hunter? I never heard of them." McGonagall was confused.

Flitwick chuckled lowly. "That's no surprise, especially if you've never travelled to America. They are what we would classify as a Hit Wizard, though they are not necessarily magicals. In America they are those who keep anything supernatural in line, like those vengeful ghosts we encountered earlier," he explained patiently.

Now McGonagall looked at Sam shocked. "You go after dangerous things without even having magic yourself? Do you know how dangerous that is?" she asked incredulously only to receive a deadpan look from Sam.

"My brother and I have been doing this for quite some time now, so yeah we know how dangerous it is, but good preparation and knowing what you're doing goes a long way. Even if you don't have magic to assist you," he told her in a cold tone.

"And here I thought your main weapon was sheer dumb luck," Loki said with a grin earning a smirk from Snape.

"Oi," came the indignant cry from Sam. "We always research what we're up against and find their weaknesses."

"And then you storm in with guns blazing and wonder why everything goes to hell in a handbasket," the pagan retorted.

Sam though only huffed and crossed his arms over his chest which looked like a massive pout in his eleven-year-old body.

Harry, on the other hand, couldn't keep it to himself anymore and started to laugh.

"You two married or what?" he said after some time, but neither deemed it worthy of an answer.

"I think we got vastly of the topic," Snape interjected. "So these events will occur more regularly now?"

"Unfortunately yes. Most of those seals are localised events, but a few can affect Hogwarts. It isn't helping that Hogwarts is a magical nexus built on two crossing Ley-lines, which for teaching purposes is ideal, but also draws in unwanted…problems."

"Should we close Hogwarts for the time being?" McGonagall asked worriedly.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. As I said, most of the seals won't affect Hogwarts and those that do I hope we'll be warned beforehand," Loki shook his head.

"Then why didn't you warn us about the ghosts?" Snape questioned, one of his eyebrows raised.

Loki sighed deeply. "I have to apologise for that, but I didn't think it would reach to Hogwarts. The next time should there even be the faintest possibility that it might reach here, I promise you, I'll inform you."

"See that you'll do, that could have seriously harmed the students," McGonagall replied, but she could see that it weighed heavily upon the pagan's consciousness. "Very well, it is getting late, and I think you should get back to the common room."

The three children nodded and were just about to stand up to leave when Snape spoke up. "Mr Potter would you please stay for a moment, I have something I'd like to discuss with you," he said.

Harry once again nodded and stayed behind while the others all stood up and went to leave.

"We'll wait outside for you," Sam called out before he left.

Once everyone had left, Snape leaned forward in his chair placing his elbows on his knees, obviously thinking how to broach the topic while Harry fidgeted nervously.

"Harry," he began taking a deep breath. "I won't ask you to tell me what happened between your relatives and you, but I want you to know that I know how it is to have a…less than ideal home life. Should you ever want to talk about it or simply need somewhere to stay over the summer…my door will be open to you. I promised your mother that I would take care of you and protect you and I won't fail her again."

Harry sat there stunned speechless. Sure, Snape and he got along quite well once they overcame their initial differences, but that he would offer him to stay with him over the summer hols? That he certainly hadn't anticipated. Then there was also the comment that he knew how it was with a less than ideal home life, that made Harry curious but he knew better than to ask the man, it was up to Snape to share such things and not be pestered about it.

In the end, Harry gave him a tentative smile. "Thank you, Professor, it means a lot to me…," he began but was interrupted.

"Please call me Severus, but only in private," he said with a stern glare which was softened by his smile.

"Thank you, Severus," Harry repeated. "But don't worry, I'll probably stay with Loki most of this summer, or Sam…I think Neville said something about meeting up during the summer too. Oh and there's also Sirius. You see there? You really have nothing to worry about in that regard."

"You staying with a hunter or that incompetent mutt is nothing to worry about?" Severus raised an eyebrow questioningly, though you could tell that his jab towards Sirius was without any bite in it.

"Do you really think that Loki would have left me with Sam and his brother over the winter holidays if I wouldn't have been safe?" Harry questioned, what he would never tell the man however was about his little encounter with Ruby, he somehow doubted that Snape…Severus would let him out of his sight ever again should he learn about it.

Severus pierced him with a long look but in the end, conceded that the boy had a point. "Very well, but I will nevertheless get you an emergency portkey that will bring you to my home should something be wrong," he told the boy in a tone that brooked no argument and so Harry could only nod. "Good, I think your friends are waiting, go on."

"Good night, Severus," Harry said with a smile and a small wave of his hand before he stood up and left the room, meeting Loki and Sam outside. Together they went back to the common room where they then got ready for the night.

Over in America Bobby gratefully fell into the armchair that was standing in his study. It had been one hell of a day for him even if he had been prepared. He had done the counter-ritual down in his safe room so that he wouldn't be interrupted by some ghost, but it had been tiring nonetheless. His deceased wife, as well as every other victim he hadn't been able to save crying bloody murder just outside the room, also hadn't helped matters at all. Even knowing that she wasn't herself and that what she said was thanks to the ritual hadn't really helped, it just hurt to hear his wife blaming him for her death, which was true after all, he had killed her because at that time he hadn't known how to deal with a demon possession correctly.

For today, however, Bobby was done, and he was glad that he could spend the evening with a cold beer and perhaps watching a nice show on the TV.

A/N: Next chapter will then contain the beginning of the holidays. 'til next chapter!