Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 3

"So do you want my help?" Hariel asked and Sam closed his eyes.

"No more mood swings, cravings..." He trailed off and opened his eyes to stare at the angel who smiled gently at him and then frowned.

"Cravings? For what Sam?" Hariel asked and Sam swallowed, staring down at the floor.

"I..." Sam couldn't continue. He hadn't told anyone, sure Dean knew he was using his powers but to admit to how?

"It's alright Sam." Hariel soothed and Sam looked up at him.

"I...Ruby...she gave me her blood. And now..." Sam trailed off and Hariel sighed.

"Addicted?" The angel asked gently and Sam looked away but nodded.
"Sam addictions don't just go away, you can learn to manage your cravings but they will always be there. I'll help you as much as I can but you have to really want this." Hariel explained and Sam nodded.

"So what do we do?" Sam asked and Hariel shifted on the bed so that they were facing each other fully.

"Well first there's the Vow and then you get to hear a story." Hariel told him, grinning slightly and Sam couldn't help grinning back.

"Michael?" Dean asked suspiciously and the man nodded.
"As in..."

"As in the one who sent Hariel to you." Was the answer and Dean swallowed, another Archangel and this one seemed a little...annoyed.
"But that's not why I'm here. I am here about your brother. Oh don't worry, he's perfectly safe. Hariel's taken quit the liking to him and is with him, trying to fix what you did." Michael told him and Dean winced slightly but refused to show any fear or guilt in front of the angel.
"So I am here to talk to you about what has been happening." Michael said as he moved to lean against the fence.

"How is my brother any of your business?" Dean demanded.

"You mean other than the fact he is Lucifer's vessel and the only one that can break the Seals to release him?" Michael asked and Dean went pale.

"What?" He choked out.

"You heard me. Do you love your brother?" Michael suddenly asked and Dean just stared at him.
"Well?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Answer the question Dean."

"Yes! I love my brother."

"That's funny, because you really don't act like it. Did you know that Hariel found him curled up between your beds sobbing his heart out? Samuel was so out of it he didn't even notice the door open or that he wasn't alone, not a good thing for a hunter. Yes, Sam has made mistakes but he does not need to be constantly reminded of them when he is trying to improve."

"So I shouldn't get mad that he's hanging around a demon? That he does what she says?" Dean snapped and Michael straightened up to stand over him.

"Have you really lost all compassion? He watched you die Dean and you were all he had. Of course he clung to whoever was there. She gave him a way to fight back against the ones who took his family. And now you're pushing him further away. Congratulations, you may be the one to push Samuel into the arms of hell." Michael sneered at him and Dean backed away.
"I lost my brother to Hell; you don't have to lose yours. Hariel has offered to help Sam; you will not ask questions about what they are doing. And as you humans say, get your head out of your arse." With that the Archangel was gone and Dean jerked awake behind the wheel of the Impala.

Sam watched in awe as the light around their hands settled into their skin, sealing the Vow.

"That was..."

"Flashy?" Hariel offered and Sam smiled.

"Yeah." Sam answered as Hariel released his hand. The Archangel got up and went over to the kitchenette, returning with two cans of soft drink. He sat down on the bed opposite Sam and took a drink before staring at Sam.

"Guess its story time." He took another drink, enjoying the sugar and caffeine. For some reason Heaven didn't carry Coke, maybe the other angels didn't like sugar highs?
"My human name is Harry James Potter and as you know I'm older than I look, twenty nine in July. My parents were magical...not the sort you're used to dealing with but people born with magic. I was born during a war that I really don't need to go into so I'll give you the important bits. My parents were killed when I was just over a year old, on Halloween which would explain why I've never liked that holiday. I was sent to my mother's sister who was non-magical, had a rather...interesting childhood but at least the war had come to a temporary stop. I started magic school at eleven and the war began to heat up again. I...I lost everyone I loved over the course of seven years. But in the end I ended the war by dying. Then I woke up, the only living being left on the battlefield. After that I wandered around for a while until Michael showed up rather intrigued by who he had been sensing. I will admit he scared me half to death." Hariel said and Sam chuckled at that.

"We were a bit scared too when Cas said you were an Archangel." Sam told him and Hariel sighed. It was time to come clean and he sort of dreaded it. Would Sam be so happy for his help when he learnt what Hariel was?

"Yeah...half-Archangel technically." He admitted softly and Sam's eyes went wide.
"Apparently about three hundred years ago Raphael had a good time with a mortal woman. Nine months later, well you get the idea. So the angelic heritage lay nice and dormant in my mother's family line until I died. No big deal, apparently it has happened before, never with an Archangel though so in that I'm unique. It's my Dad's side of the family that makes things...rather complicated." Hariel stopped there, drinking more of his Coke.

Sam frowned, knowing instinctively that something big was about to be revealed. He put his Coke down and leant forward a little, hesitantly reaching out to lay his hand on Hariel's arm. He didn't know how the angel would react but he had willingly shaken his hand before and Dean had admitted that Hariel had even carried him after knocking him out. Hariel looked up at him and smiled slightly in thanks.

"There's a really good reason I have no problem with you Sam...it'd be rather hypocritical of me after all." Hariel whispered and then he stopped forcing back half of his biology. Sam gasped as he felt the familiar power in the room but it was balanced by the angelic power already present. He just stared at Hariel in shock.
"I'm half-demon too. Which really does make me unique."

"Um...how? I mean wouldn't the angle half hurt the demonic half or something?" Sam managed to ask and Hariel shrugged, making Sam frown and then he realised what was wrong.
"I don't like being a hypocrite either Hariel." Sam said and then smiled when his new teacher relaxed.
"Do the other angels know?"

"Only Michael. I suppressed it when Castiel was here although he was so in awe over being in the presence of an Archangel he may not have noticed anyway. Michael kept me away from the others for a reason, my safety. It took time for me to adjust to my new powers and until I did I was rather vulnerable to even the lowest ranked angel."

"So your Dad was a demon?" Sam asked and Hariel shook his head.

"One of his ancestors was. Two dormant bloodlines brought together in one baby. No one saw that coming. And nothing would have happened if I hadn't died on the battlefield, apparently if I'd died a natural death nothing would have happened. So when Michael found me he was rather confused, I felt like an Archangel but also like a demon. Took him a while to figure it out and then I got my own private little area of Heaven for the next nine and a half years. My being around is probably half of why Michael's so okay about you. Biology isn't the whole of who you are. Frankly you remind me a lot of my mortal self so I'd help you just for that." Hariel explained and Sam slowly relaxed and smiled at Hariel.

"So what's first?" Sam asked and Hariel took a deep breath.

"First step...detox. When was the last time you, well drank?"

"Two hours before the fight." Sam admitted and Hariel nodded.

"Okay, well I can try and help clean it out of your system though I'm not sure if or how well it will work. If that doesn't work...two options, we can try and wean you off it or you go cold turkey. Cold turkey will be faster but riskier." Hariel explained and Sam closed his eyes but nodded.
"It's also going to be impossible to hide if you're with Dean." Hariel warned and Sam nodded.
"So let's try the healing. You might want to lie down." Hariel told him and Sam lay down, swallowing nervously.
"Its okay, let me know if it hurts." He placed one hand on Sam's forehead and the other on Sam's stomach and smiled softly at Sam. Slowly Hariel's hands began to glow and then it slowly began to spread over Sam's body.

Dean opened the door to find Hariel leaning over Sam who was glowing. His hand went to his gun but a strong hand stopped him and Dean glared at Castiel.

"He is healing." The angel told him and Dean lowered his hand.

"Healing what?" Dean demanded and Castiel shrugged slightly.

"We will have to wait until they are done. It appears Hariel is about halfway done." They stood in silence for another twenty minutes and then watched as the glow slowly receded and Sam became visible again. Hariel removed his hands and Sam slowly blinked.

"Did it work?" Sam whispered groggily and Hariel reached down to gently brush Sam's hair back and check by touch.

"Looks like I got most of it. Can you sit up?" Hariel asked gently and then helped him when Sam swayed.

"Sammy?" Dean called and his brother looked over at him before flinching and Dean closed his eyes.
"Sam I...I'm sorry." Dean said softly and Sam's eyes snapped open to meet his. He could see how badly he'd hurt Sam and he hated it.
"Sammy?" He tried again and Sam slowly got up off the bed, taking a hesitant step towards him and then Dean was wrapped up in Sam's arms. He hugged his brother back, feeling Sam's tears soak into his shirt. This...this felt more real than their reunion after he'd been brought back from Hell.

Hariel stared at Castiel and then motioned for the other angel to follow him, both of them vanishing from the room.

"Sam what was he healing? Are you okay?" Dean asked, pulling back to look Sam over.

"Dean I...it wasn't an injury." He admitted quietly, pulling away and Dean pushed him back towards the bed, sitting beside him.

"Sam I know I've been an insensitive jerk since...I...urgh this sucks." Dean grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Dean?"

"You're my baby brother Sam, no matter what. It's just...I..." Dean trailed off and Sam reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

"You remember, don't you? And then I was going around with Ruby, a demon." Sam whispered and Dean shrugged.
"I won't be seeing Ruby ever again Dean, that's why Hariel was doing what he did. Trying to undo what she..." Sam trailed off.

"Sammy did she do something to you? Are you gonna be okay?" Dean demanded fearfully. Was that why Sam had been so cold? He was going to show Ruby what he had learnt in Hell next time he saw her. Sam seemed to shrink in on himself and Dean reached out to him, wrapping an arm around him.
"It'll be okay. I...I know I haven't been exactly supportive of you lately but you're still my kid brother." Dean promised and Sam stared at him, making it really hit him how bad things had gotten between them.
"Sammy." He pulled Sam into a hug and mentally groaned, they'd hugged more in the last while than they had in years, so much for no chick-flicks.

"I'm sorry Dean, m'sorry." Sam whispered and Dean tightened his grip, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

"Sammy please tell me. I promise, no more hitting or yelling." Dean told him, Michael's warning clear in his mind. He would not be the one to push Sam into Hell's arms.

"I...she gave me her blood. That's how I was using my powers. That was what Hariel was trying to fix. But he couldn't get it all." Sam whispered, refusing to look at his brother and Dean closed his eyes. Blood...his baby brother had been drinking demon blood.

"What will happen now?" Dean asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

"Withdrawal. Hariel said he can help wean me off it or I go cold turkey." Sam admitted.

"Which is safer?"

"Weaning." Sam admitted softly and Dean squeezed him.

"Then that's how it'll go."

"Are you mad at me?" Sam asked shakily and Dean sighed.

"I'm mad you listened to that bitch but hey, when you died I made the deal after a day. We both screwed up. There's...in hell I...it wasn't four months Sam; it was more like forty years. The things that...I can't..." Dean trailed off and Sam stared at him before nodding.

"It's okay. Whatever happened down there...you didn't deserve it." Sam told him firmly and Dean smiled slightly.
"I'll help you and you'll help me?" Sam offered softly and Dean nodded.

"Deal."

TBC...