A/N: Guys, I loved your reviews and your reasoning! Especially Katzztar, your deduction was on par with Sherlock Holmes! Though you made the mistake of misinterpreting the emphasis on the live part. It just meant as a differentiation since they aren't alive anymore.

Though I have to set a few things straight, my list of my most hated characters of Supernatural to be precisely.

In third place is Metatron. Don't ask me why exactly but I simply don't like him.

Second place, no surprise, Zachariah. He's a feather brained idiot a douchebag and ten other things I don't want to say here.

Then there is a gap…a huge gap…a massive gap…a gap twice the size of this universe and the next ten.

After this huge gap then comes number one of those characters in Supernatural I hate the most.

Chuck Shurley aka God aka *insert a long list of the worst insults on this planet*. I mean honestly if there is someone out there who watched season 11 and still likes him please give me one good reason for why I shouldn't hate him!

Okay, before I now enter a rant…a last word before you can enjoy the chapter, it will NOT be a Severus x Lily x James pairing! Poor Severus…

3.284 words

Chapter 35: Hide and Seek

"Who are you?" Loki asked again. When he only received a smirk form Dumbledore he scowled. Dumbledore's smirk just broadened in response.

"How about you find out on your own? Let's see how good you are, shall we? …Gabriel?"

Loki instantly tensed up when he heard that name and was ready to leave should this situation turn against him, or at least more than it already had. Everyone else though was quite confused.

"How…?" he asked weakly.

"Stop worrying you're scaring Harry," Dumbledore retorted sternly when he saw how Harry was looking at Loki with a look of fear probably thinking that he would leave him. "I'm neither here to reveal you, nor to drag you back or some such tripe."

"Ah yes?" Loki snapped, fury replacing his worry. "Then why come here and call me out? Why come here if not for me? What do you want?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "At the moment I probably want the same thing as you do, hiding," he told him only to earn himself a snort. "The best will probably be that I tell you how it all began.

"You know, it was such a long time ago…before everything went to hell, I was free to be who I wanted to be, and I was happy. I had my family. Nothing could dampen my mood, except for your sometimes annoying pranks maybe," he told them, and everyone listened raptly.

"Then the war began and with it came discord. Soon I was forced to become someone who I didn't want to be, a strong-willed warrior…a cold-hearted bastard, I became what everyone expected me to be. It wasn't who I truly was, but I didn't see any other way, then you vanished – presumed dead – and with it any remaining happiness I had. I only worked on autopilot afterwards, did what needed to be done…so many died in the hope of keeping together what remained." Dumbledore's voice broke. Tears started to flow down his face.

Loki observed the other angel with shock and surprise, he had the nagging feeling that he knew the angel, but for the life of him he couldn't say who it was, and the only one that sprang to his mind was impossible, or maybe it wasn't...? However, in the end, it didn't really matter who the other angel was if he really only was here to get away from things. How could he blame him if he did the exact same thing in the first place? He chanced a glance at Harry and saw that his brother was right, he was frightened, so he gave him a reassuring smile and watched how the boy relaxed a bit.

"About a century ago," Dumbledore finally continued, turning Loki's attention back to him. "Zachariah then suddenly got the notion that it was time to free Lucifer and restart the fight. That was when I realised that I had to do something, but I didn't know what. I couldn't dispose of Zachariah because he had more followers in this than I thought possible and I also couldn't go against him otherwise and so I did the only thing I could by secretly trying to delay the inevitable.

"Thirty years ago Zachariah also managed to drag some of the demons to his side. They began to plan out how to break the seals, and all I could do was watching helplessly. What caught my attention though was what happened about twelve years ago. You see one of the conditions for the demons agreeing to work with Zachariah was that he brought them the soul of Riddle. But that was where Zachariah ran into a problem, he didn't know how to locate them so he turned to someone he knew would help him, Dumbledore. Zachariah promised him eternal fame and getting him out of his demon contract though from what I learned he never intended to go through with the last one.

"Together they then formulated the Prophecy that would bind a certain child Dumbledore knew would be born soon and Riddle together, solving their problem. They had planned out your entire life Harry, how you would face Riddle again and again, in the end defeating him. I couldn't let that happen. While I have to admit that for a long time I blamed humanity for the war and thought very poorly of them, I also knew that God would never have wanted an, at that time not even born, child that never did anything wrong to suffer in such a way. Not to mention that God gave the humans free will and taking that away in such a fashion…it went against everything I believe in.

"However, I knew there was only one point in time I could safely intervene without tipping off Dumbledore and Zachariah. So on Samhain, after Riddle attacked you, I came to your house and weaved a strong protection around you, one that, while not preventing bodily harm, would heal you during the night and at least keep you alive."

Here Dumbledore sighed deeply. "You don't know how much it pains me that I couldn't do more, but I feared what Zachariah would do if he learned about it."

To his utter surprise, Harry stood up, walked over to him and embraced him in a firm hug. "Thank you," he muttered.

"No…I failed you," Dumbledore replied looking down.

Harry leaned back and smiled at him. "No, you didn't. I could feel it…every night when they finally left me alone I could feel it. When I had to sleep outside because they locked me out again, I could feel it. A warm protection that enveloped me and kept me safe, warm and alive, that took my pain away and healed my wounds. Despite not knowing what it was, it's what kept me going, what gave me strength, what kept me from giving in to the despair."

"Then at least that worked," Dumbledore gave him a tentative smile.

"It seems that we also owe you a thank you," James spoke up. "You might not have been able to do much but you did more than most when it comes to our son, and for that, we'll be forever grateful."

"What confuses me…you said that it was you who placed me with my…them when I came here last time, but you weren't posing as Dumbledore over the school year, I would have known," Harry muttered. "So how can you have been the one to place me there? Or did you order Dumbledore?"

"He played his role," Loki answered. "It would have been highly suspicious had he talked about that event from the point of an outsider when it is known that Dumbledore had been involved. So he mixed past events from Dumbledore with a bit of his own truth. Take his statement from last time that he didn't want to separate me from you hence why he refused me to teach History of Magic, I assume you threatened Dumbledore to refuse?"

"Indeed, but how did you know that I haven't been posing as Dumbledore throughout the year?" he asked Harry curiously.

"Your aura," Harry stated as if it explained everything and in a way it did though most were confused, so he elaborated his statement. "Over the school year it was mostly black – probably due to the deal – mixed in with…I don't know how to describe it but the feeling I got wasn't good at all, and it would fit his behaviour. But then there was the Rising of the Witnesses, and his aura began to change – becoming a bit friendlier – though the black still stayed. However, when you stepped into the man's office at the MACUSA, it was a blinding white and still is. Uhm, you couldn't possibly do something about that? It gives me a headache…."

"You're an Auramancer! Give me a moment," he stated surprised before he closed his eyes and concentrated. "Better?"

"Yes very, thank you," Harry answered relieved, Dumbledore's aura had dulled somewhat, it was still white but not as blinding anymore. "What's an Auramancer?"

"It is someone who can see and partly influence auras," he explained.

"I can influence them?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Yes and no," Dumbledore stroked his beard wondering how best to explain it. "Every being has a base aura, something that is defined by the life they live or the beings they are. I don't know whether you met one yet, but Vampires, for example, have a blood red aura while demons have black ones with sulphuric yellow streaks in them. Those auras can only be changed with extremely radical methods and in more cases than not eradicate what makes them the person they are.

"But what you can do is create additional auras. Think of it like an additional layer that doesn't influence the base aura but can boost certain abilities be it physical or mental. One example would be an aura to boost one's intelligence. It isn't that it suddenly makes you a genius, but you'd think a bit quicker and retain information better. The better the aura you weave, the more it boosts the ability though it has its limits."

"Cool!" Harry exclaimed already thinking about how he could use this though he would have to get a few books on that matter.

"I think we got off track. Why did you come here?" Loki intervened before they could get any further away from the original topic.

"Ah yes, my apologies. Harry is right, I only came to take Dumbledore as my host after the end of the school year. Actually what drew me here was you," here Dumbledore snickered lowly over Loki's shell-shocked face. "It was half a year ago around Christmas, and by then I was frantically searching for a way to get away from the new impending war when I felt a shift in the heavenly sphere. Don't worry it was so small that I doubt anyone else felt it, and I wouldn't have either hadn't I taken a stroll through the garden at that time.

"When I felt it I was curious and went to investigate. You cannot possibly fathom my shock and surprise when I found you very much alive and caring for just the boy I wanted to protect from Zachariah's machinations. But I didn't confront you fearing how you might react so I took the opportunity to investigate things a bit and it gave me an idea to get away. If you could hide for more than two millennia so could I. However, I didn't want to hide just anywhere to be able to intervene should Zachariah do something so I searched for a possibility to hide here at Hogwarts.

"At first I wanted to try and get the DADA post but then the second seal broke, and that gave me an excellent opportunity. It seemed that Dumbledore's meeting with his sister's ghost changed something in him, let him see the error of his way. So I approached him and gave him a choice, I could give him a nice place in heaven together with Grindelwald, whom I learned he had imprisoned, with the possibility of seeing his sister or he could continue on the path he was on and be doomed. Two days after the children left he agreed and here we are, he gave me his body and he now is together with the people he loved the most. I had to tweak his body a bit for it to be suitable for me but besides that…."

Everyone stared at Dumbledore for a long time after he fell silent until Loki broke the silence.

"I don't know what to say…and you knew?" he asked Harry who nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I? I could feel from the first moment when he stepped into the room at the MACUSA that he had been the one who protected me all those years. He also didn't rat me out to them so I thought the least I could do would be to keep my silence as long as I could. I could feel he's not a threat to me," Harry said with a shrug.

"And you have my gratitude for that," Dumbledore nodded towards the boy that was currently sitting on the armrest of his chair. "So now that you all know why I decided to come here, what will you do?"

"You swear that you only came here to get away from heaven and Zachariah?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Mainly yes, but if I can thwart his plans along the way all the better. I'm not overly fond of the idea of the fight renewing."

"So what if suddenly lo and behold Lucifer shows up here?" Loki questioned further.

Now Dumbledore's brows furrowed completely in confusion. "While I cannot see any reason for why he should show up here at Hogwarts…I don't know, I would have to see about it should it really happen."

"Oh, I can see a very valid reason for him showing up here, don't you think…Michael?" Loki glared at the other archangel.

"So you finally recognised me? I have to admit that you have a point there but…I have the hope that if I don't appear threatening to him, he would not instantly reignite the war. It was never my desire to harm or kill him, all that I did only served the purpose of saving as many as possible. That is also the reason for why I helped Balthazar steal the artefacts and fake his own death, I didn't want to imagine what someone like Zachariah would do, had he gotten them in his hands," he said with a wistful smile.

"Balthazar is alive?" Loki suddenly sat up straighter.

"Very much, yes. The last time I checked he was playing crossroads demon, making deals with humans," Michael/Dumbledore shrugged.

"And you let him be?" Loki asked surprised.

"As if I care what humans do with their souls, free will and all that remember?" Michael snorted before getting serious "So what now?"

"The most important thing will be to keep Zachariah away from Harry and certain truths. About the seals we don't really have to worry, Dean and Bobby are on it, and they'll disperse any attempts on seals that would do too much damage or the wrong kind of damage, but there are a few things Zachariah is better off learning later rather than sooner," Loki mused.

"I already heard that Dean's little visit in hell had a little…side-effect," Dumbledore snickered. "It will be a mighty shock for Zachariah when he learns about that, though you should warn Dean that he should be careful, I fear that Zachariah might become desperate."

"The shock will be even greater when he learns that you chickened out of his well-laid plans of you and Lucy battling it out," Loki snorted. "What I would do to be the fly on the wall when he learns."

"Mischievous as always, aren't you Gabriel?" Michael shook his head.

"It's Loki now," Loki growled.

"Ah yes, I forgot…sorry, but it's been such a long time since I last saw you. I missed you, brother. Anyway, Zachariah will have too much to do with kick-starting the apocalypse rather than worry overly much about Harry. As long as I can convince him that I'm Dumbledore and that everything goes as planned, he won't look this way anytime soon. Though I have the feeling that Fate has joined in on the entire thing. There are just a few things that fit too conveniently together like you coming to Hogwarts and coming across Harry, which not only threw a wrench in Zachariah's plans concerning Harry but also practically cancelled the apocalypse."

Loki groaned. "I knew it, and I hate her for meddling in my life, but then I wouldn't wish to change anything. Ah, I can only hope that she knows what she's doing," he sighed before he turned towards the Potters who until now enjoyed their tea while listening. "Then all that remains is getting you two reinstated as alive. After that…originally I wanted to take you on holiday, Harry, but I understand if you'd rather stay with your parents," he told Harry, but the boy could see that he was a bit sad about the prospect of him staying with his parents.

Harry looked at his parents before he looked back at Loki. "I've stayed with my parents for about half a year now, I think I can survive a few weeks without them," he answered the pagan, whose face instantly brightened up.

"Maybe we can go on a holiday too, what do you think luv?" Lily asked James.

"America looked quite interesting," James mused. "And maybe we'll be able to dig Remus out of the hole he went into hiding in."

"Tell that flea infested rug that he owes me a drink or ten," Sirius piped in.

"You're not coming with us?" James asked surprised.

"Nah, I have my own mission," Sirius answered with a lopsided grin. "When I stayed with Dean I met that lovely woman, Ellen was her name I think. I want to go visit her and her daughter Jo."

"Do I have to worry about you?"

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, but you and seeing a woman for more than a few times? Not in this universe!"

That comment did it for Sirius who tried to hex James but was quickly bound and disarmed by Severus.

"Do I have to remind you that you are currently in my rooms?" he sneered. "So act accordingly."

Michael chuckled lowly. "I think we imposed ourselves on you long enough after all."

"Finally peace again. Maybe now I might get something done without interruption," Severus muttered, but everyone could see that he wasn't as troubled by it as he made out to be.

"Then you shall have it," Michael said while standing up.

"Before you leave…how am I to call you from now on?" Severus inquired.

"Dumbledore would be for the best I think so that we don't draw unwanted attention," he replied.

"Loki, can you give us a lift to the Ministry?" James asked.

"Do I look like a taxi to you," Loki retorted incredulously but nonetheless walked over to him and Lily, placing a hand on their shoulder. "Harry, do you come?"

Harry nodded, but before he walked over to him, he hugged Michael and Severus each which they gladly returned. Once he and Sirius, whom James unbound at one point, latched onto Loki they vanished.

"Why Dumbledore?" Severus asked before the other man could reach the door.

"Not because I thought he deserved it mind you, but he was the best choice," Michael replied with a small smile. "I know what you're thinking about and you shouldn't worry about it. You're infinitely better than Dumbledore ever was." Michael reached out and grabbed Severus' left wrist so that the dark mark was visible.

"Believe me I know exactly how it is to make the wrong decision. Every day I wonder what would have happened had I not confronted Lucifer about him disagreeing with father's wishes. Would we still have fought? I don't know and I never will but what I know and what I learned the hard way is that we have the freedom to choose what we do. In the end, all that matters is that we live the life we want and nothing and no one should tell us what we want to do," here he placed a hand over the mark, and when he pulled away it had vanished to the shock of Severus. "Don't let the past dictate your future. You're a good man never doubt that."

With that, Michael turned around and left a shocked speechless Potions Master behind.

A/N: Nothing left to say. 'til next chapter!