Team Free Will (a name that had seemed to stick to the trio) walked into the Headmaster's office for their official briefing after the day's classes had ended. Due to their late entrance to the UK thanks to a delayed flight, they had been unable to fully talk to the venerable man before their first lesson; a quick hello, and they had rushed to the lesson with the fifth years. The only information they had about the yearlong case, as Dean thought of it, was what Bobby had told them when asking them to take it. That an evil wizard – no, not the type that made a deal for magic, but rather one that was born with it – was trying to take over Britain, and that an old contact has asked for help. Seeing as the power-hungry wizard probably wouldn't be happy until world domination, the Winchesters agreed; not soon after, the angel had informed the brothers that the case was more important than they thought, that the survival of the boy named Harry was essential in life's plan, and that he would explain more at a later date.
'Ah, gentlemen, please take a seat', the old man behind the desk said. The two men and one celestial being surveyed the powerful figure in front of them: eccentrically dressed, long white beard that made him look like the Merlin in the old Disney movie, and twinkling blue eyes behind glasses, the kind that seemed to see past all of your walls and into your minds recesses. Dean decided he didn't like the old wizard; he gave him the heebie-jeebies. Judging by Sam's demeanour to the left of him, and Castiel's sudden stiffening to his right, they both agreed with his silent assessment.
'Could you please refrain from attempting to enter the minds of my friends?' Castiel snapped, tone harsh and face stony. 'I myself have placed shields around their minds, I will feel any attempted intrusions', he informed Dumbledore.
Dean growled low in his throat, angry that the man had tried to intrude on he and Sammy. 'Dude, what the fuck? If you want us to help you out, you can't do shit like that', he griped, half rising from his seat and ready to storm out of the room. A steadying hand was placed over his own, and he turned to look at Cas. Wait, let's see what he says Cas seemed to be conveying through his look. He sat back down with a huff.
'I apologise', Dumbledore smiled, trying to placate them. 'You can never be too careful about people's motives when it comes to young Harry these days, and it's become somewhat of a habit to scan for malignant thoughts', he explained, before lifting a clear bowl with sweets inside and offered it to them. 'Lemon drops?'.
All three declined, now warier of the wizard.
'Well, on to business then', Dumbledore said after clearing his throat. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him, suddenly becoming more serious. 'As far as I am aware, your class structures are fine, I'm certain you will do well as teachers despite lack of experience. From what I've already heard from the students who had classes with you today, you've made quite the impression on a lot of them, even convincing some that Voldemort has indeed returned'. He stared down at the three in front of him, eyes sparking behind his half-moon spectacles. 'I have also heard that you have offered Harry and his friends extra training, is that correct?' he asked.
'Yeah, we figured the kid would do good with it', Dean said. 'I mean; it can't hurt for him to be better prepared right? Seeing as Voldemort or whatever seems to be baying for the boy's blood'.
'I agree, thank you for the insight. I do wonder at the extended offer to his friends however, it seems like a lot of work', Dumbledore said.
'Oh, that's okay', Sam piped up. 'We don't mind the extra work. We know that the dark side will probably go after Harry's friends, that's kind of how they work. It's best that anyone close to Harry be prepared so that the kid won't have to deal with the guilt of any… casualties.' The other two nodded in agreement, not mentioning that Cas had asked the brothers to offer the lessons with a promise of later explanation. The Winchesters knew that Cas (as an angel) knew a lot more than he led on about the situation, and expected answers as soon as they were in their rooms.
'I see', Dumbledore said. He stared down at the three, perhaps believing that his teacher authority would cow Team Free Will into revealing their secrets, but the silence just stretched in the room. A sudden flash of light filled the room, and with a musical trill, Fawkes appeared on his perch. With an uplifting tune, the phoenix flew over to Castiel and perched upon his lap.
'Hello Fawkes', Castiel greeted the bird.
'Hello Castiel', a melodic voice replied directly into the angel's mind.
'I see what you mean about your bonded Fawkes, he has a stain hovering around him that I can't quite place or understand', Castiel spoke back. As the Winchester's were used to his quirks, he didn't worry about their reactions to his staring match with the bird; Dumbledore, however, stared in interest.
'I am now even gladder I contacted you then. Do you think you can help him? My tears could not heal him', Fawkes informed the angel, looking down in shame.
'Yes, I will talk to Dean and Sam about it later today, and we will figure something out', Castiel promised, before adding, 'do you know if he bugged our rooms with listening devices?'.
'Yes, expect monitoring devices to be there. I suggest scrambling the devices, instead of completely blocking them. Then Albus will simply hear mundane conversations instead of anything important', the creature said.
'Of course, thank you Fawkes', Castiel replied, before looking up at the wizard and speaking aloud. 'You have a very intelligent friend here professor'.
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose, and he glanced at Fawkes who was now in Sam's lap and having his breast stroked by the hunter (who looked to be awed by the experience). 'Yes, Fawkes is a joy and unendingly loyal companion', he agreed. 'I was not aware he could speak to those other than his bonded though'.
'It's because of my celestial powers', Castiel told the man with an awkward smile. 'I can speak to various magical creatures', he said – they had all decided that while the man was a contact of Bobby's, there was no reason that he should know too much about how they worked.
'I see', Dumbledore said. 'Thank you for meeting with me gentlemen'.
With that clear dismissal, the three men bid adieu to the wizard and the phoenix, and promptly left the room.
'Alright, what was up with that thing with the bird Cas?' Dean blurted as soon as they entered their rooms. Cas held a finger to his lip, indicating that Dean should be quiet, and then indicated to the room in general. Dean quietened, eyes slightly widening at his slip-up. Nodding to the angel, both he and Sam watched as the celestial being dug out a wand from his trench pockets. Cas mumbled words under his breath, waving the wand around, making sure to go around the whole place.
The rooms were pretty nice. As they were teachers' quarters, they were fairly large, and the headmaster had given them a family unit. Three bedrooms, one shared bathroom, and a common seating area. No kitchen, but that would be fine as they had been informed that all meals were taken in the Great Hall – and should they get peckish, they could just go to the kitchens.
Castiel re-entered the common area, flopping down on the couch with a groan.
Dean looked at Sam before going over to the sofa. Dropping onto it, he sat next to his partner, and took Cas' smaller hand into his own larger and more calloused hands. 'Cas, what it is?' he asked, concerned. His lover looked tired, and his eyes had lost some of their spark.
Cas turned towards him, pushing his face into the crook of Dean's face, nuzzling it. Sam sat on the chair across from the sofa, now used to the actions of his brother and his partner, and waited for Cas to reply.
Sighing, Cas looked up at the two. One of Dean's hands reached up to stroke through Cas' dark hair in a calming gesture, and the angel began to talk.
'Father, this is bad. I didn't realise how bad everything was', Cas moaned, gripping Dean's hand tightly.
'Cas, an explanation please?' Sam prompted, and Dean shot him a shut up look.
'Look, just as you two were assigned a prophet and a destiny that seriously impacted the world, Harry Potter was given the same. However, his case was difference because a prophecy was made about him, and events occurred – what happened after those events were not written or planned', Cas sighed. 'Harry Potter is in more danger than we in heaven realised, and it is imperative that he survive. He is suffering from serious malnutrition, and he has an exceptionally low self-esteem. He cannot fulfil his destiny while he's so self-deprecating, and he certainly can't do so with his family circumstances. We have to do something about this Dean, we have to'.
Dean soothed his partner, massaging his scalp as he stroked his hair. 'We will Cas, we'll do whatever we need', he promised. 'Now, what was the deal with the flaming chicken?' he asked.
'God Dean', Sam glared. 'That was a phoenix! An actual phoenix! I've read the lore about them, and get this', he started excitedly, hands flailing. 'Phoenixes can heal with their tears Dean, and they can carry huge weights, and they can't really die! When they die, their bodies burn up, and they're reborn from the ashes! And get this Dean, they are pure symbols of good! The phoenix earlier let me touch it Dean, it sat on my lap…' Sam drew off.
Dean smiled softly at his younger brother, who was deep in thought. The older Winchester had always known that his younger brother was the epitome of good, but Sammy never saw himself the way Dean did. Maybe now, with the phoenixes actions, he'd see himself in a better light.
'That's great Sammy', Dean started. 'But can we talk about why Cas was staring at the thing like he knew it?' he continued (after getting to know his partner's facial expressions, he had recognised the recognition on Cas' face when he looked at the bird).
'Fawkes is one of the reason's I wanted you to take this case', Cas informed them. 'Not only do we have to help Harry, but Fawkes contacted me a while before Bobby told us about the case. He told me about Dumbledore, and that he was worried because the wizard was acting strange. Since he's such a strong being, I knew that we had to fix things, because if Dumbledore goes dark side – as you would put it – then we could be in a lot of danger'. The angel slumps down, leaning his head on Dean's lap and stares up at his partner's face.
'So, you're telling me that not only do we have to teach seven different year groups how to fight evil, we also have to help a pubescent teenager with his emotions and self-hate, as well as providing extra training, and on top of that sort out an exceptionally strong wizard that could be turning evil, not even considering all the extra crap that is guaranteed to be thrown our way?' Sam clarified, tone incredulous – after all, Cas hadn't told them just how serious the case was, or how much work they's have to put in.
At Castiel's nod from his position on Dean's legs, Sam sighed.
'Then I'm off to bed. I have a feeling sleep will be a luxury this year', the tall man said before entering his bedroom.
The two men left over glanced at each other with soft eyes. 'Let's go to bed Cas, I could use some shut-eye', Dean said, intertwining his fingers with the smaller mans. Cas nodded and the two silently got ready for bed (though Cas didn't actually sleep), kissing chastely before sliding into bed.
Sleep was welcomed to the hunter as the day's events caught up with him, and he slept soundly with his angel watching over him.
A/N yes this is Destiel, and it may get steamier in the future (you were warned in the story description). Un-beta'd so yeah…