'I can't allow you to do this', Dumbledore said, head bent. The headmaster was sat at his desk, glasses resting on his hooked nose, and fingers intertwined under his chin. He looked every part the strong and knowing master. The other occupants of the room fumed silently at his grandfather persona, considering he was reprimanding them for helping where someone else was hindering. 'I cannot allow you to mess with a student's mind, in such a way, it is unethical', he pointed out, looking directly at Castiel. The angel put an arm around the boy stood next to him, pushing the young wizard behind his body slightly. Harry was clearly not safe around this man.

'What's unethical is the assault of Harry's mind by one of your teachers', Castiel defended, glaring at the wizened old man. Castiel noted that Fawkes was missing from the office, a worrying fact, considering the fire bird had been doing his best to keep the darkness impinging on Dumbledore at bay. 'What I have done means that Tom Riddle will be completely unable to breach Harry's mind, and that is the best result for all of us', Castiel explained.

Something flashed in Dumbledore's eyes, before they quickly returned to their regular twinkle. Castiel spotted it though. The headmaster evidently knew that Harry's mind was best defended due to Castiel's actions, and this angered him for some reason.

Castiel mulled over this quickly. If Harry had continued the training with Severus Snape in the way they had begun, then instead of building up his defences, his mind would have left wide open for attack. Tom Riddle would have had a free reign of Harry's innermost thoughts and feelings, and the young wizard may not have even realised he was being spied on. So how would that benefit Albus Dumbledore? Did he want Harry to face Tom or something of that like?

With that thought, Castiel's eyes widened by a fraction. The thought had triggered something within the room, and the angel could just about see the murky and blurred swirls of red mist surrounding the headmaster. The wisps of mist caressed the old man as he sat at his desk, seemingly unaware of his ethereal surroundings. They tangled around him ominously, and looked to be entering Albus' body through his eyes, which now could be seen to have a dull look to them.

Castiel's eyes quickly, but discreetlt, followed the red mist tendrils to their origins. When he reached it, it took all of his training in the garrison not to react. He deliberately kept his eye trained away from the malicious figure hovering over Albus Dumbledore, the smile gracing it's face terrifying and sinister.

He glared at the headmaster, before snapping 'I will continue to help Harry build his defences Headmaster, regardless of your wants. This goes beyond my job as a teacher, it now falls to be to a responsible adult for Harry to depend on, since he doesn't seem to have many of those in his life'. He spun around, pulling Harry gently with him, and left the office.

(break)

Castiel slouched on the sofa, hands over his face, trying to think up a game plan. The two brothers watched the angel, knowing to leave him to think, but worried as to why this had occurred so quickly. Both Dean and Sam knew that Castiel would have to explain what he did with Harry to the headmaster, but they didn't expect the angel to get in trouble because of it, and they certainly hadn't expected to see the angel snapping that the venerable wizard. It had been quite a shock for the two of them when the angel had stormed in with Harry, cast an arsenal of protective spells on the room, and thrown himself onto the sofa with vigour.

As for Harry, the boy had retreated to his spot on the rug in front of the fire. His eyes were closed as he sat in the yoga position Cas had taught him, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he worked to sort and make sense of what had happened in the office earlier that afternoon.

Suddenly it clicked. His eyes flew open and he looked over at the angel.

'You figured it out didn't you?', he asked quietly. 'You know what's wrong with Professor Dumbledore, and why he's changed so much this year?'.

Castiel sighed from behind his hands, and then sat up straight. He looked straight into Harry's eyes, sparkling green clashing with bright blue, before taking his spot in front of Harry. He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and squeezed lightly, trying to comfort the boy, to prepare him for what was to come.

The two hunters also sat on the floor by the two magical/mystical beings, grateful that they would finally be getting some answers.

'From what I can tell Harry, your headmaster is being manipulated by a very powerful being', Castiel informed the boy, hushing him when he looked as if he was going to interrupt. 'I believe the being is an old Greek god called Ares, the god of War', Castiel said, hearing Sam gasp next to him.

'Wait, Cas, a Greek god?', Sam clarified, shocked at what they would have to face. They'd faced minor gods before, but Ares was one of the big twelve, one of the Olympians.

Dean however was calmer than he had been for a while. Sure, it would be hard to beat a god of war, but it wasn't anything they hadn't faced before. He'd ganked god's already, so this one shouldn't be any different.

'All right Cas, so what do you know about the situation?' Dean asked his angel, wanting to know all the bases before they went for the hunt.

'What I know of the god of War, the only thing that would affect the Headmaster to this day, is that he can make deals with people of power to prevent or begin wars', Castiel informed the group. 'Harry, has there been a time in Dumbledore's past that you're aware of, in which he was in a war?' he asked the boy. The angel had his suspicions about the length of time that Dumbledore had been manipulated due to the strength of his tethers, but he kept them to himself for the moment.

Harry closed his eyes, looking into his very limited historical knowledge, before the answer came to him. 'Dumbledore did defeat a Dark wizard called Grindelwald a hundred years ago or something. He was reigned a hero because of it', Harry informed the hunters.

'I see', Castiel said in a pained voice. 'I believe I know the origin of this then. If Dumbledore did in fact make a deal with Ares to win the war against Grindelwald, then Ares was well within his right to demand a payment. I fear that the payment he decided on was… a war for a war. By preventing a war with Grindelwald, Ares was deprived of all the souls of those who would have died in the war'.

Castiel sighed, wondering if he should continue, as Harry would be upset by the next part. He looked into the wizard's eyes, lightly brushing against his mind. He only found determination, with a hint of anger, and so decided to continue with the theory.

'Due to the strength of manipulation magic I could see around Dumbledore, I do believe that Ares has been puppeteering Dumbledore for quite some time already. Some twenty years is what I estimate. I can guess that he planned for a war with Tom Riddle to occur, so that he could have souls to consume – a magical war would be more filling for a god than a mundane one'.

Silence fell in the room after he finished. Sam and Dean exchanged looks, before looking at Harry with worry. The boy seemed to be quivering with anger, his entire body vibrating. A shockwave of power burst from his small frame, knocking the large men to the walls of the room, and an unconscious Harry was left lying in the centre of the rug. The fire was snuffed.

A/N sorry the update took so long. Hope you enjoy it.