Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews! I ended the chapter on a bit of an awkward note, I know, but I couldn't continue it without dragging on the scene.
Anyway, I hope you're all looking forward to Halloween!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter
Everyone had filed downstairs, excited chatter filling the air. The Great Hall was decorated with huge carved pumpkins, and the candles had been spelled to glow black and orange in honor of the holiday.
Gabriel personally thought the holiday's only redeeming quality was the inane amounts of candy piled everywhere. He remembered the start of the pagan holiday, and what had happened the last time Samhain rose [why the humans named it after the demon in the beginning was beyond him] but the candy made him almost regretful that his plan had to be put into action today.
Gabriel knew Hermione must have been wondering where he was, and as he slipped away from the group he caught a glance of Michael looking around in confusion. Gabriel had come down with the rest of the Ravenclaw first-years, but took a sharp turn away halfway down and took his own path straight for the third floor corridor.
The third floor was irritatingly elusive, and Gabriel found himself on another turnoff-less corridor that led him to a tower on the other side of the school. Gabriel was fuming as he finally found the staircase that would lead to the forbidden corridor, swearing that he'd make a map of the school to finally be able to find his way around.
Unfortunately, Fate seemed to have other plans. Gabriel had never liked her, or her sisters.
Footsteps approached on an adjoining hallway. Gabriel quickly found a small alcove to hide in, cloaking himself with a whispered word. He stayed completely silent, and narrowed his eyes as Quirrel of all people walked past him purposefully. He was heading in the exact same direction that Gabriel had been going, towards the corridor.
What is he doing? Or rather, Gabriel amended his thoughts. What is that soul shard in him forcing him to do?
Making sure that the cloaking enchantment was still safely wrapped around him, Gabriel slipped out of the alcove, following the man down the stone hallway.
Quirrel came to a stop in front of the door Gabriel had locked just a week or two ago. Glancing around and completely missing Gabriel standing right behind him, he hurriedly unlocked the door and swept in.
Gabriel followed him in. Quirrel was rattling the handle of the door that barred the dog from leaving. Obviously he was having trouble with whatever spell Hermione used on it, though Gabriel felt like the minor enchantment should have faded by now.
He snarled angrily and took out his wand, muttering spells under his breath. The door sprang open, letting growls filter out into the hall. Quirrel conjured a harp, which began playing itself. From inside the door, the growls decreased until there was absolute silence. Gabriel followed the man in and saw the dog lying on the floor, dead asleep.
That's useful to know. Gabriel had intended to just incapacitate the dog, but if it was unharmed it would draw less attention. Quirrel had just begun trying to shift one of its paws off the trapdoor when someone else's footsteps could be heard rapidly clicking against the floor.
Quirrel seemed to panic, and as Gabriel watched he turned himself into some sort of human chameleon and stuffed himself into a corner. Gabriel could see the faint trace he left, a shadow where there shouldn't be one, but in the corner he was remarkably well hidden.
Snape of all people strode into the room, glancing around suspiciously. He saw neither Quirrel nor Gabriel, and as he took out his wand Gabriel noticed Quirrel jump. The latter subtly took out his wand and vanished the harp he'd conjured, giving Gabriel precious seconds of oh holy shit time to leave.
He wouldn't be able to do anything about the dog without alerting Snape to his presence, and the black-robed man was blocking the door. The Cerberus sniffed as he woke up, and Snape's attention darted to the dog.
Snape's quick reflexes saved him from being bitten in two. Gabriel let out a quiet "Oooh," as the dog's teeth bit into the professor's leg. Quirrel was fleeing the room, and his shadow darted obviously across the floor. Snape, however, was occupied with freeing himself from the Cerberus's left head, which gave Gabriel enough time to sneak out as well. Quirrel had vanished, and so Gabriel darted out of the hall, dropping his spell as he did so.
The man was nowhere in sight in the main part of the castle either. Gabriel heard a door slam behind him and decided it would be a good idea to leave before Snape caught him.
Now his plans had been completely ruined. Gabriel tried to think of another time he could try for the treasure, while cursing both Snape and Quirrel for foiling him. He'd have to make sure no one else could come in next time he made a grab for it.
Gabriel slowed as he approached a place in the castle that was far away enough from the third floor corridor. He walked along the unremarkable hallway, wondering if maybe he should just give it up for now. He might have gone back to the dorm to try and decipher the clue, but the location of the treasure had already been found - why bother with the code now, when he already knew what it said without any of the work?
Something thudding against the wall brought Gabriel sharply back to reality. Wrinkling his nose at the sudden stench, he turned around slowly and was confronted with the horrible sight of a troll standing behind him, wielding a huge wooden club.
"Come on," Gabriel complained. "Don't I get a break?"
The troll responded by swinging its club at him. Gabriel leaped out of the way, nimbly avoiding being crushed. "Alright then."
He dodged another swing, this time jumping up onto the club itself. As the troll raised it back up, seemingly confused about where Gabriel had gone, Gabriel jumped onto its head and brandished his wand.
He wasn't sure what he was trying to do, really, but he might as well try something. Gabriel brought his wand down sharply with a yell. Nothing appeared to happen, except for the troll slowly tottering over to collapse bonelessly on the floor. Gabriel leaped and rolled as he hit the floor, bringing himself effortlessly to his feet.
He surveyed the troll. It was impossible to tell whether it was dead or just unconscious. The thump it had made when it hit the ground had probably been heard through the entire castle, and Gabriel once again decided that fleeing was probably the best idea.
"So we have no idea who killed the troll?" Dumbledore sat in his office, surrounded by the four heads of house - sans Snape, of course. Halloween had been one disaster after another, it seemed.
"None," replied McGonagall. "And the remarkable thing is that it was totally unharmed, save for the fact that it was dead. Usually this is only seen with-"
"The Killing Curse," Dumbledore finished heavily. "The wards have registered no one using that spell, Minerva, and I hardly think that one of the Professors performed it."
"Well, then what killed the troll?" Sprout put in. She looked worried, her flyaway hair even messier than usual. "Albus, if something else is in the school - well, it's been hard enough with that dog here!"
"Pomona," Dumbledore reassured her, "I promise, we will get to the bottom of this."
"Have the wards gone off at all?" McGonagall asked. Dumbledore sighed.
"There has been not a thing out of place, according to the wards. They did not register the troll getting in, and I found traces of several spells on the creature which may have allowed this," he said. "However, I am just as in the dark as you are as to the identity of its killer. It is no Dark creature, that much I am assured of."
"Then what is it?" Flitwick asked.
Dumbledore met their gazes. "I have no idea."
"Harry!" Michael looked up as Gabriel entered the dorm. "There you are! I didn't see you at the feast!"
"Didn't feel like coming," said Gabriel nonchalantly. He took a seat next to Michael. "What are you doing?"
"Potions homework." Gabriel glanced down at Michael's parchment with a sinking feeling.
"...We had-"
"Yes, we did." Michael had already experienced Gabriel's forgetfulness when it came to homework. "Would you like the list I wrote down?"
"Why did you do that?"
Michael shifted in nir seat. "Well, you know, I know you always forget about unless someone reminds you."
"...Thanks." Gabriel wasn't sure what the tingly feeling in his chest was as he accepted the parchment from Michael, and tried to ignore it.
"Hold on, since when does Sprout assign homework?"
"So what are you doing for Christmas?" Hermione squeezed in between Michael and Gabriel at breakfast a fortnight or so later.
"Christmas already?" Michael turned to stare at her. "It's only November!"
"November nineteenth," Hermione corrected nir. "That's only a month. It's about time to start thinking about it, anyway."
Gabriel groaned under his breath. Christmas. Great. Just what he wanted to think about.
Hermione poked him. "Why are you groaning about Christmas? Don't you like it?"
"Not really," Gabriel muttered. Seeing Michael and Hermione's shock, he elaborated with a completely fictional tale, at least where the Duresleys were concerned. "My family's pretty religious," he said, "So we've never celebrated Christmas in the modern way. Not presents or anything like that, just-" he affected a deep voice. "The birth of Jesus Christ."
"That's tough," Michael sympathized, while also looking incredibly confused.
"Does the magical world even practice Christianity?" Hermione asked. "I mean, because of the religious backing of the witch hunts and all that."
"Not as far as I know." Michael said, shrugging. Ne turned back to his breakfast. "But I don't really know - I mean, I'm only a half-blood. You'd have to ask a pretty old pureblood family to find out. I don't know if there's any one religion that everyone follows."
"Then why celebrate Christmas?" Michael shrugged helplessly in answer to Hermione's question.
"Beats me."
"When do we get off for winter break, anyway?" Gabriel asked them.
"You're not leaving, are you?" Michael looked worried at the idea.
"No..?"
"Oh, good." Gabriel gave nir a look that said please explain. "My family's gone on holiday," Michael told them, "And they won't be back until January, so I've got to stay here over break."
"What about you, Hermione?" Gabriel turned to her. Hermione looked a little embarrassed.
"I'm going home. I've never been away this long before, so it'll be nice to see my parents again." she said. "It's too bad that I won't be here to celebrate with you."
"It'll be fine." Gabriel waved away her concerns.
"I'll send you something really good to make up for it," Hermione promised, stubbornness crossing her features.
"You do that."
Michael pulled Gabriel aside after class one day. "Do you have any idea what kind of thing Hermione would like as a present?"
Gabriel stared at Michael's worried face. "Why are you sending her a Christmas present?"
Ne shrugged. "She's your friend, and I'm your friend, so I figured it would be nice."
Gabriel stared with narrowed eyes at Michael, who began to fidget in place.
"Oho," Gabriel suddenly realized what was going on. "You like her!"
"I do not!" The blush on nir face spoke otherwise.
Gabriel smothered a laugh. "Sure, Michael. Send her a book - that's a safe bet."
"But what kind?"
"A history book?" Gabriel suggested randomly. "Something with absolutely no pictures. That will break the deal for sure."
"Really?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yes, Michael. I'm suggesting you send her the Encyclopedia Britannica for Christmas. She'll be thrilled."
Michael glared at Gabriel, with no real feeling behind the look. "Don't do that."
"Do what?" Gabriel's innocent look was lost on Michael, who had turned nir back on Gabriel to head to their next class. "Hey, why are you leaving without me? I thought you enjoyed my wonderful company."
"Sure, Harry." Michael called over nir shoulder. "Whatever makes you happy."
November came and went, dumping a load of snow over the highlands in which Hogwarts was located. The younger students took to wearing their gloves and cloaks in the corridors, while the upper years cast warming charms on themselves and occasionally helped out those who couldn't. The pumpkins from Halloween were long gone, and in their place were twelve huge evergreeens decorated with magically conjured ornaments. There was an angel decoration on top of each of them, a silly gold thing with a long dress, white wings, and a thin wire halo, and Gabriel had to restrain himself from replacing them with versions of his brothers.
[Okay, he might have broken that particular resolution. But it was hilarious to see people's faces when they saw what the angels had been replaced with - Gabriel had taken a load of cotton balls, spelled them to glow light blue, and replaced the angels with giant masses of them glued together. It wasn't the wizards fault that they couldn't appreciate a good representation of an angel's true form. The best bit was that everyone blamed a pair of twins from Gryffindor, who were apparently notorious for this kind of thing].
Winter break was a welcome pause from classes and homework, even to Gabriel, who had done barely any of his since the year began. He had only started to do better after Hermione started threatening to force him to do it in front of her so she could make sure it was done right. Michael had helped her do it, suppressing giggles behind nir hands as Hermione practically shouted at Gabriel.
Hermione was back at her parent's by now, and before she left she had promised to send the presents so that they would reach Hogwarts on time. Gabriel had smiled and waved, but he was possibly the only person in the castle who was not feeling the holiday cheer.
"Why are you so..." Michael gestured vaguely at Gabriel in a moment of frustration. "Like this?"
Because it's not even Christ's real birthday, this holiday is stupid, and it's reminding me of being forced to go talk to Mary, which was one of the most frustrating things I have ever done. Gabriel faked a small smile. "It's nothing, Michael. I'm just used to a more subdued Christmas."
Michael did not look convinced. Ne tried changing the subject. "You said your family's religious, right? What is this holiday for anyway? I never learned that."
Gabriel's explanation of the events leading up to the modern holiday soon amassed a crowd of curious, non-Muggleborn Ravenclaws, who started asking all sorts of questions about Christianity until Gabriel locked himself in the dorm to get a reprieve. One thing he did not intend to spend winter break doing was answering questions from tactless classmates about his family and himself, or answering the latter in the third person.
Christmas morning arrived with Michael slamming open the door of the boys' dorm to wake up Gabriel. "Harry!" Ne hissed, shaking Gabriel, who had pretended to be asleep as soon as he heard the door open.
"What?"
"It's Christmas!" Michael shoved a small box at him. "Here!"
Gabriel took the box in bemusement.
"It's from me, open it!" Michael said impatiently when Gabriel made no sign to tear open the wrapping paper. The other boys in the dorm had woken up with the slammed door, and were eagerly setting upon the small piles of packages at the end of their beds.
Carefully, Gabriel removed the paper. Inside was a small box, which held a circular medallion inside it stamped with a pattern of an owl. The medallion turned out to be a pin, one easily attached to clothes or a bag.
"It's a protective charm," Michael explained as Gabriel stared at the gift. "I had to send away for it, but I thought it looked like the best gift for you. It's supposed to be an angel - I don't know which one, but he's the patron saint of messengers." Gabriel had gone to get a drink of water, and he nearly choked on it at that, because he was the patron saint of messengers. "That's why it's got an owl, see? Because they send messages. It'll keep any owl safe if you pin it to whatever you're sending." Michael stared anxiously at Gabriel. "D'you like it?"
"It's great," said Gabriel, clearing his throat. "One moment-" he turned to pretend to rummage through his trunk as a cover for having completely forgotten to buy Michael anything. Hastily conjuring something, he turned back around and gave it to Michael. "I forgot to wrap it," he said, putting on a sheepish face.
Michael turned it around curiously in nir hands. "What is it?"
"It's a Muggle toy," Gabriel explained. "It's from this game that got pretty popular. I think it's Japanese."
"Oh." Michael gave the small Pikachu figurine a thoughtful look. "Sounds interesting." Nir gaze diverted to the end of Gabriel's bed. "Don't open those right away," he said hurriedly. "I'll go get mine and we can open them together."
"What?" Gabriel turned to follow Michael's gaze as ne ran out of the room. There was a small pile at the base of Gabriel's bed, too, brightly wrapped packages stacked on top of one another. Gabriel picked one up in disbelief, seeing that it was indeed addressed to him.
"Oh good," said Michael, coming back in with several boxes of nir own in nir arms. "You waited. Come on then, what did you get?"
Gabriel sat down with him and proceeded to open the present he'd picked up. It was from someone named Hagrid, who he vaguely remembered as being the giant man who had taken them up to Hogwarts on the first day. He had sent Gabriel a wooden flute, which looked hand-carved and sounded vaguely owlish when Gabriel blew into it.
Hermione had sent him a very long letter along with her present, with a large warning written on the outside to READ THIS FIRST! It was full of details on how her vacation had been, and asked about how he was doing, and whether he'd gotten her present in time. It was signed sincerely, Hermione, P.S. Have a great Christmas, even if you don't like it.
Gabriel stared at the letter for so long that Michael finally asked "What, did she send you a love letter or something? You're staring at that letter like it's got the secrets of the universe."
Gabriel laughed. "Don't get jealous, Michael, I'm sure she's all yours." Michael had thrown a sweater at him [nir mom had sent nem one] and Gabriel had dodged it, setting to unwrapping Hermione's gift. She had sent him a boxed set of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, along with a box of Bertie Bott's. Gabriel had never read the books, or really any popular human literature, and he set it aside carefully as he moved on to the other things.
The Dursleys, of course, had sent him nothing. Michael had obviously told nir mom about Gabriel, because he received something from her as well, to Michael's eternal embarrassment. She had given Gabriel a knitted scarf, in patterns of blue and bronze to show House pride.
"Tell her thanks," Gabriel said, and Michael nodded, nir cheeks still flushed red.
The last present was an oddly squishy package. Gabriel opened it to see a strange, cloth-like material fall out. He picked it up, running his hands over the silvery folds. "What's this?"
Michale shrugged. "Looks like clothes to me."
Gabriel stood up, still holding it, and the material revealed itself to be a cloak. Seeing a hint of strange power on it, Gabriel faked disinterest and tossed it into his trunk. "Wonder who sent that."
"Maybe the note will tell you," Michael suggested with a hint of smugness, pointing at a slip of parchment Gabriel had overlooked. He knelt down had picked it up. It was written in narrow, loopy cursive, and read;
Your father left this in my possession before he died.
It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well. -A Very Merry Christmas to you
There was no signature on it, and Gabriel told Michael so. Michael did not seem at all put out by this, and only shrugged.
"It's odd, though," he said after reading the note Gabriel handed nir. "Return your dad's old cloak? Bit of an odd present."
"I suppose whoever sent it thought I'd like something of my parent's," Gabriel said. "Not that big of a stretch."
"I guess."
Later that night, Gabriel sat in bed wondering why his chest felt all warm and tingly. What was causing it? Happiness?
Gabriel's train of thought shuddered to a stop. Happiness. Was it because of Michael? The letter Hermione had sent? He had gotten rather close to them. Casting his mind back, Gabriel couldn't remember a friend he'd had where their relationship had not been either 'we'll tolerate each other for the sake of the other people in this room' or 'you know we work pretty well together but let's agree not to contact each other again because we barely know each other' or the 'with benefits' kind.
Of course, Michael and Hermione were also the only two who had met him and befriended him as a human and not an angel or pagan god or trickster or any one of his many disguises.
To distract himself, Gabriel quietly got up and pulled the mysterious silver cloak out of his trunk. It was still practically humming with the strange enchantment Gabriel had sensed, but whatever it was it wasn't a predatory spell. Gabriel swung the cloak over himself, and nothing happened.
At least, until Gabriel looked in the mirror. Having settled the cloak over his shoulders and drawn it closed, nothing below his neck was visible.
"Awesome." Invisibility without having to draw on his limited reserves? It was the perfect combination. Gabriel was seized with a desire to go out and explore, something he hadn't dared to do - the earlier conjuration had used up a pathetically large amount of his Grace. Too bad his pagan reserves still hadn't returned.
The door was silent as Gabriel left, and the halls of Hogwarts were almost creepily so. Gabriel crept around in the darkness, trying to decide what to do. Explore? Make a go for whatever was under the trapdoor? The latter was an appealing prospect...
Something made a tiny noise in the darkness. Gabriel whirled around, the cloak dragging on the floor, slightly too long for his eleven-year-old body. There was no one in sight, but Gabriel caught a bit of movement.
The caretaker's cat was wandering around as well, and she seemed to have pinpointed on to him. Gabriel wondered whether she was smelling him or she was some sort of magical breed of cat. Either way, the caretaker himself would be after her in minutes if she got him, and running wouldn't help, especially in the long invisibility cloak.
Gabriel slowly walked backwards. The cat followed him unerringly, and as Gabriel rounded a corner backwards he almost crashed into someone and tripped.
"Who's there?" called the figure, the bright colors making Gabriel wince. They clashed horribly, even he could see that. He looked up and saw that it was Peeves. He was looking around suspiciously, and Gabriel had a sudden idea.
"Peeves," he hissed, flipping off the hood of his cloak. "For once in your existence do something helpful and get the cat out of here."
Peeves looked petrified to see him, and no wonder; all of the ghosts had been avoiding Gabriel ever since his first night at Hogwarts. Obviously they recognized what he was, and that he had the ability to send them off to the afterlife anytime he liked. He nodded quickly and toppled the suit of armor over, sending it on top of the cat.
Oh well, that wasn't at all helpful.
Gabriel scrambled up and took off down the corridor, not wanting to be found. He darted into the first unlocked room he found, shutting the door as quietly as possible. He heard someone running past and someone shouted "Peeves!"
The poltergeist crowed in delight, his laughter fading away down the corridor and the caretaker's shouts fading with him. Gabriel listened until he was sure that the man was gone, and turned around.
The room he'd darted into was full of dusty, unused desks piled in the corners. There were cobwebs everywhere, and Gabriel took the cloak off in an attempt to keep it out of the reach of the dust. There was an old mirror standing in an empty space that had been cleared, and Gabriel approached it, looking up at the inscription on the arching top and paying no attention to his reflection.
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
"The hell?" Gabriel muttered. "Oh, it's backwards." He reread the words. "I show not your face but your heart's desire."
Heart's desire?
Gabriel should have left the room as soon as he figured out what it said. He really should have. He'd had more than enough experience with messing with things that turned out to be something other than he expected.
But Gabriel was curious.
What was his heart's desire?
Gabriel took a deep breath and dropped his eyes to the dusty, reflective surface. His heart dropped somewhere into the region of his stomach.
"Oh," he said. "It's you."
Gabriel carefully placed one hand on the mirror, his reflection doing the same. The person standing behind his mirror image smiled benignly. Gabriel sank to his knees and stared up at the presence that most definitely wasn't behind him in real life.
He wasn't sure how long he stayed there, but eventually Gabriel collected his wits. He picked up the cloak from where he'd dropped it and stood up again, preparing to tear himself away.
"Why weren't you there?" The question escaped him before he could help it. Gabriel berated himself for talking to a mirror. It wasn't like it could answer him.
The reflection seemed to dim a little, and the person behind him put a hand on his shoulder. Gabriel's hand moved to his shoulder, as if he thought he might be able to feel the hand in real life. Nothing was there.
"Well, thanks for all the help you gave us." A surge of repressed feelings built up in Gabriel, and before he knew it he was practically shouting at the mirror. "You made us do all of that! Not a single bit thanks, after all we did in your name! You only ever spoke to four of us and expected blind loyalty, well you got it!" he spat. "Where were you when he fell? Where were you when everything went to shit and we needed someone? Where were you when we needed you?"
When I needed you, his mind added, and Gabriel harshly turned away from the false image. Something dripped down his face and he discovered that he was crying, salt drops drying on his face in spite of the chill.
He didn't look back as he left the room and the false image of his Father behind.
Wow. I think I got a little emotional writing this.
Read and review?