That was fast! I didn't expect so many reviews so soon after I posted the chapter [362 reviews?!]. You seem relatively excited about the kids, at least.
Lots of fluff in this chapter. I couldn't resist. Also, just to specify: when I said that The Incident is a lot like what happened in Lost Boys, I'm suggesting that you read that at least a little to make sense of this. Because Gabe's kids are not a wolf/snake/horse. Hel is half dead though.
A question which has been raised: what about the rule against nephilim? Well, nephilim are the result of forbidden angel/human relationships...I wouldn't say that Pagan goddesses were exactly human, would you?
Gabriel is very good with loopholes.
"English"
"|Norse|"
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter.
The first few days of Christmas break was spent layering the house in brand-new wards. The fence, which stretched around the front and surrounded the backyard as well, was painted over with invisible Enochian runic wards, and by the time Gabriel had finished the house was completely impenetrable to anyone who had not been invited. Hel, of course, could come and go as she pleased, and it was very recently after Gabriel finished that she came through with her promise.
Of course, being Hel, she couldn't just knock on the door.
Gabriel was woken up in the middle of the night by a heavy weight on his chest.
He blearily opened his eyes and looked down at a curly, dark-haired head.
"Faðir," said Fenris, his voice muffled, as he was pressing his face into Gabriel's chest.
Gabriel stared for only a moment before sitting up abruptly, his arms coming up to hold Fenris. "Fenris," he gasped out. He was not going to cry. He was not. He was an adult and he could control himself.
Fenris sniffled into his shirt and Gabriel felt his stomach drop as he noticed the thick, angry red lines around Fenris's wrists. "No, no..." Gabriel belatedly remembered to switch to Norse. "|Shhh, Fenris, it's alright...|" A single thought had bandages wrapped around the marks, ones spelled with numbing magic. If the marks were caused by what Gabriel thought they were, he wasn't going to be able to heal them that quickly. "|Hey, sshhhh, it's okay...|"
Fenris sniffed again and curled closer to Gabriel's chest, tucking small legs up and revealing more marks around both of his ankles. Stifling a pang of anger, Gabriel conjured more bandages, ignoring the toll on his Grace, and looked at Fenris properly. He looked like he was about four or five years old, the same size he'd been when It happened.
The spells must have had more side effects than Gabriel had anticipated.
"|Fenris, shhh, I've got you.|"
"|Missed you,|" Fenris spoke into Gabriel's chest again. "|Hel said I was gone for a really long time.|"
Something hopeful and at the same time sad twisted in Gabriel. "|Do you remember what happened?|"
"|No.|" Fenris yawned, his tears subsiding. "|Hel said a bad man took me away and used magic on me and hid me so you couldn't find me.|"
"|I couldn't. Hel had to find you for me.|" Gabriel ran a hand through Fenris's hair. Coincidentally enough, Fenris looked very similar to his current vessel - dark hair, though his eyes were amber instead of green. Gabriel glanced over at the clock, which read five AM. "|Are you tired?|"
Fenris just nodded, already drooping against Gabriel. "|I'm cold.|"
"|That's because you're on top of the blanket, silly.|" Gabriel edged the green comforter out from underneath Fenris and draped it over the both of them, lying back down so that Fenris was resting on his chest. "|You need to sleep, it's too early to be awake.|"
"|Promise not to leave?|"
Gabriel swallowed thickly. "|Yeah. I'll stay here with you.|"
There was no way he was going anywhere.
Gabriel was woken up [again] by someone bouncing on his ribcage about four hours later.
"Oof!" Just because he was an angel didn't mean he didn't feel it. Fenris giggled, which made Gabriel smile despite the fact that Fenris had just literally jumped on him.
"Sun," Fenris said in English, pointing out the window where sunlight was streaming in.
"|Yeah, it's morning.|" Gabriel had nearly forgotten that he'd been teaching Fenris - and the others - English. "|Are you hungry?|"
"M-hm."
"|Come on, I'll show you where the kitchen is.|"
Fenris rolled off of Gabriel's chest and sat on the edge of the bed as Gabriel swept the covers off. Gabriel swung his legs over the edge and stood up, pausing when he saw Fenris raised his arms.
"|Carry me,|" Fenris said, slightly petulantly. Gabriel didn't even pause before picking him up.
"|Where are we?|" Fenris asked as they went downstairs. He was looking around and the large house - Balthazar hadn't even blinked an eye at what was practically a small manor.
"|We're at home.|" It wasn't like he could call anyplace else by that title.
"|Where are Slepnir and Jor?|"
Gabriel didn't answer at first.
"Faðir?"
"|Hel's looking for them too right now.|"
Fenris looked at him, eyes wide. "|They got hidden too?|"
"|...Yeah. Don't worry about them,|" Gabriel told Fenris. "|That's my job. Your job right now is to get something to eat.|"
"|Okay.|" Just like that, Fenris accepted it. Gabriel wondered if he had ever been as innocent as Fenris was.
While Fenris was technically almost seven and a half centuries old, he only remembered the first fifty-ish years and consequently was still mostly a child. Added to the fact that he hadn't aged at all physically, he was exactly the same as he'd been before The Incident.
Of course, this also meant that Gabriel was unable to do any of the homework he'd bothered to bring, as Fenris kept trying to borrow his parchment and quill and anything he managed to write ended up covered in inky doodles, runes, and the occasional handprint. Gabriel thought that this was really a very small price to pay. Besides, his double could take care of the homework.
Fenris seemed perfectly content to wander the house and explore, but he didn't get very far - Gabriel was determined to keep him in sight, which meant that either they were both walking around or Gabriel snapped up some sort of game for them to play.
Luckily, he'd bought an assortment of Muggle games on his way back from King's Cross [there was no way he was introducing Fenris to the wizarding versions quite yet]. Fenris seemed to like them, but even if he didn't ask again Gabriel noticed every time he turned around to excitedly talk to someone that wasn't there and was brought up short by their absence.
Hopefully, Hel would be back soon.
Gabriel was woken for the second time in three days in the middle of the night. Not by a weight on his chest [even though there technically was, since Fenris had insisted on sleeping like that] but instead by something moving around in the dark.
Frowning, he carefully slid Fenris off his chest, sat up, and turned on the light.
There was someone standing right next to the bed.
"|I don't like the dark,|" Jormungand wailed. Gabriel was already swinging his legs off the bed and pulling him up into his lap. The light switch by the door flicked itself on and the room was suddenly much lighter as Jormungand buried his face in Gabriel's shirt. He was taller than Fenris, with lighter brown hair, but they had several similar features.
"|Hush, it's okay, the dark's gone now.|" Gabriel ran a hand over Jormungand's back in a soothing motion, wondering why a crying child was so much easier to deal with than a crying best friend. "|Shhh, I've got you.|"
The light-filled room did seem to calm Jormungand down a little, and Gabriel could hear Fenris stirring behind him. Sure enough, Fenris was peering around his arm at Jormungand in a few moments.
"Jor!" Fenris went from delighted to confused at the speed of light. "|Why is he crying?|"
"|He's scared, Fenris.|"
Fenris frowned, then hauled himself into Gabriel's lap as well and put a hand on Jormungand's face. "|No crying,|" he said stubbornly.
Gabriel smiled at his attitude. "|Jor, shhh, we're both here, see? No scary things.|"
Jormungand shook his head. "|Hurts.|"
Panic sprang up in Gabriel. "|You're hurt? Where?|" He ran his hands over Jormungand, who stiffened when Gabriel reached his sides and then relaxed in the same moment as the bruises vanished.
"|Better?|" Gabriel asked. Jormungand nodded, sniffing and reaching his hand up to rub at his eyes.
Gabriel ran a hand through Jormungand's curls. "|You're okay,|" he breathed, holding him closer. "|You're gonna be fine.|"
Fenris was only too eager to take his big brother on a tour of the house as soon as they all woke up again, after staying up until the sun could be seen peeking above the horizon. Jormungand allowed himself to be pulled along as Fenris chattered away and Gabriel made sure neither of them got into any sort of trouble [which was so much harder than it looked, how did Mrs. Weasley deal with seven of them?].
Eventually Gabriel managed to keep them both in one place long enough to have a decent meal and see if Jormungand was still alright. He seemed happy enough, and was listening intently as Fenris described the picture he'd made on what had started out as a History of Magic assignment, which ended in them both scribbling away with some paper and markers Gabriel had located in the closet he'd stored all the board games in.
Gabriel was sitting in the living room when sudden, rapid footsteps left the room and then some muffled talking sounded from the hallway. He turned around to see the paper and markers abandoned on the floor and, curious, poked his head around the doorway to see Jormungand trying to unlock the door. Fenris was standing next to him, shifting around eagerly.
"|Jor? Where are you going?|"
They both turned around with a start. "|We were gonna go outside,|" Fenris said unrepentantly.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow as he stepped out into the hallway. "|Is that so? But it's snowing. Where are your shoes?|"
Both of them looked down at their [completely bare] feet.
"|Um...|" Fenris looked up sheepishly. "|I don't know.|"
"|You have to wear a shoes when you go outside.|"
Fenris thought for a moment and then shook his head. "|Can we play a game?|"
"|Go ahead. Why don't you let Jor pick, though?|"
"|Okay.|" Fenris took off down the hall, and Jormungandr reached for Gabriel's hand. "|You too.|"
"|Alright.|" Gabriel smiled down at him, taking his hand. "|Did Fenris show you any of the games yet?|"
Jormungand shook his head. He'd always been the quietest.
"|No? Well then you can see what we have and choose what looks good. Okay?|"
Nod.
It was always in the middle of the night. Gabriel thought that maybe Hel was trying to make a point about something, but he couldn't bother to be frustrated at her as someone shook him awake carefully.
Gabriel almost jolted upright again before he remembered Fenris on his chest. "Slepnir," he whispered, reaching a hand up to cup Slepnir's face.
Slepnir was kneeling next to him on the bed, but his eyes were on Fenris and Jormungand, who were sprawled out on and next to Gabriel. "|Hel brought me back,|" he whispered back.
"|Come here.|" Gabriel looped an arm around Slepnir and pulled him down to the bed on the only side that wasn't taken up by the blanket hog named Jormungand. "|Are you hurt?|" He kept his voice low to avoid waking up the other two - Fenris was hard enough to get to sleep, especially in the middle of the day.
"|No.|"
Gabriel sighed. Thank Dad. At least one of them was alright. "|Here, come under the covers.|" He flipped open the comforter so Slepnir could slip in.
Slepnir pulled the blanket up to his chin and tucked himself into Gabriel's side. He was the oldest, looking to be about ten and a good few inches taller than Jormungand, if Gabriel remembered correctly. Gabriel left his arm around Slepnir and ran a hand through his hair soothingly.
"|You alright?|"
Slepnir nodded, which Gabriel felt more than he saw even in the light which he'd taken to leaving on in the hallway for Jormungand. He stretched one of his arms over Gabriel and Fenris, who shifted slightly but stayed asleep.
"|What happened?|" Slepnir whispered. Dread coiled in Gabriel. "|I don't remember anything.|"
"|Don't worry about it, Slepnir.|" Gabriel sighed. "|It's taken care of now.|"
Slepnir didn't reply, but Gabriel could tell that his question had been far from answered.
"|Go to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up.|"
"|No, you have to do it like this!|"
"|Shhh, you'll wake him up!|"
"|I'm being quiet!|"
"|Not that quiet,|" Gabriel muttered, wondering what they were getting up to now.
There was a sudden hush. Then-
"|You woke him up, see!|"
"|Okay, enough fighting.|" Gabriel sat up, noticing that Fenris had decided at some point to drape himself over Slepnir instead. "|What is going on?|"
"|Nothing,|" Jormungand muttered.
"|Really,|" Gabriel said dryly. "|Because from where I'm sitting about three inches away it sounded like you were arguing.|"
"|I was just trying to show him how to do it right,|" Slepnir said petulantly and Gabriel realized that they were both holding half-folded bits of paper.
"|What are you making?|" Since when did Slepnir know how to do origami? Gabriel wasn't sure whether origami had even existed by the 1300s.
"|Hel showed me how to do it.|" Oh, that explained it. "|It's supposed to be a fortune teller.|"
Gabriel sat up all the way, grinning at them. "|Well, why don't you finish those after you've had something to eat.|"
Jormungandr looked disappointed, but Slepnir dropped his paper and slid off the bed right away, edging Fenris out of his lap. Fenris [who against all odds was still asleep] squirmed as Gabriel picked him up.
"|Noooo,|" he grumbled, batting at Gabriel's shoulder halfheartedly.
"|It's morning Fenris, time to wake up.|"
"|Sleepy.|"
"|Use full sentences, Fenris.|"
Fenris made a muffled sound and put his face against Gabriel's shoulder, evidently trying to go back to sleep. This time, Gabriel didn't question the warm feeling in his chest and just tried to get downstairs faster before Slepnir or Jormungand, who were both already in the kitchen, set something on fire.
Christmas Eve was a cheerful affair, despite none of the three boys really understanding what the holiday was for. Gabriel had bought some Muggle crackers and Fenris was thrilled with the blue tissue-paper crown inside his, and would have worn it to bed if Gabriel hadn't stopped him.
There was a minor argument over a miniature plastic ring toss which was resolved when everyone lost interest in it as soon as Gabriel mentioned that if they went to bed on time they might get to open a present early.
Christmas was full of excited yells and Slepnir proudly wearing the knitted dragon sweater Gabriel had shrunk down - he hadn't disliked it, but when he received it from Mrs. Weasley all he could think about was his sons' recent dragon infatuation after he'd found a DVD of that Viking movie.
Seeing them all slumped over each other as they slept off the time they should have slept last night [Fenris had woken them all up at six] made Gabriel seriously wonder whether it would be worth it to go back to Hogwarts.
He had to, of course.
People would talk if he simply vanished. By now he would be able to teach himself spells well enough, his magical core had mostly settled, but there was the tournament to consider as well as his celebrity status. His magic was his strongest defense at the moment, and if Gabriel didn't continue to compete he'd loose that and, by proxy, the wards he'd assembled around the house.
Harry Potter, of course, could not just disappear from the magical world right now. People would talk. They would come looking. And like it or not, he could not hide forever, not right under their noses, and Gabriel was not going to condemn his sons to a life in hiding.
Which meant he had to figure out what to do when the time came to return to Hogwarts, like it or not.
Gabriel sighed and wondered if Sigyn would actually kill him if he turned up on her doorstep. Provided he could actually find her, of course.
Hel turned up shortly after everyone woke up for the second time, wearing a glamor which hid the left half of her face under a completely normal-looking appearance.
"Hel!" She was promptly mobbed by several excitable boys, and Gabriel only grinned as she disentangled herself from them.
"You did not think I would miss Christmas, did you, Dad?" She asked Gabriel, who only shrugged.
"It's nice of you to turn up, Hel."
"I wouldn't miss it, after all the trouble I went through to locate my brothers."
Jormungand tugged at Gabriel's shirt. "|What are you saying?|" He demanded. Gabriel laughed.
"|Sorry, Jor. Hel forgot you aren't good at English yet.|"
"|I'm good at English,|" Jormungand muttered rebelliously. Gabriel laughed again and turned around towards the living room, calling over his shoulder "Come on, I'm sure Fenris will want to give you the grand tour."
"|The house is really big!|" Fenris had rushed up to talk to Hel. "|There are only two floors though.|"
"|Indeed?|" Hel looked down at him with a smile. "|And what is your Christmas tree like?|"
"|Really big!|"
"|It's not that big,|" Slepnir teased. "|You're just short.|"
"|Be nice to your brother,|" Gabriel chided. "Hel, can I have a quick word?"
"Of course."
Gabriel managed to distract the three boys with Uno cards before he and Hel slipped into the adjoining kitchen. Gabriel closed the door.
Hel was studying him intently. "Something is wrong."
"No, no," Gabriel waved away her concerns. "It's just...I'm going to have to go back to Hogwarts."
Understanding washed over Hel's face. "You need someone to take care of them."
"Yeah, so..." Gabriel pulled a letter out of his pocket. Hopefully this wouldn't blow up in his face. "Do you know where Sigyn lives?"
Hel was staring at him in outright shock. "Sigyn?"
"I know, it's probably a bad idea."
"But Sigyn?" Hel shook her head. "Why not Vali and Narvi?"
"They're alive?"
Hel gave Gabriel a thoroughly unimpressed look. "When your sister is Queen of Helheim it is possible to escape many impossible things. And they never actually died, you know."
"They-" Jesus Christ. Gabriel hadn't even dared to hope that Sigyn might have saved the twins. "I - I guess they would be easier to approach than Sigyn-"
"She still keeps in contact with them, you know."
"Sh-" Gabriel cut himself off, aware that there were three kids on the other side of the door. Hel was watching him with an amused expression.
"I will take the letter and ask the twins if they are willing," she said, plucking the paper from Gabriel's hands. "Just this once. I am not a mail courier."
"No, of course not-" Gabriel looked at her incredulously. "I only asked because I've got no idea where she is and I couldn't go even if I did."
Hel nodded, half-smiling. "I was kidding, Dad." She tucked the letter away into her pockets. "I will give them the letter, and if Sigyn does show up and your soul ends up in Helheim rest assured I will keep hold of it for a while to ensure she is gone."
"...Right." It was a joke, but Sigyn had been angry enough the last they'd seen of each other.
Hel smiled and opened the door again, tucking the letter away. "|Now what is this game you are playing, Fenris?|"
The disturbance, of sorts, came at the edge of the wards several days later.
Frowning, Gabriel checked to see who it was. It looked like the twins and holy shit Sigyn was with them.
At least Fenris was asleep for the moment and Slepnir and Jormungand were upstairs, so if there was a fight none of them would see it.
Sighing, Gabriel let the three of them in.
He met them at the door and even Sigyn's eyebrows shot up when she saw him.
"Come in," Gabriel said, internally sighing as he realized he'd have to explain what had happened all over again. It was getting very frustrating, but at least the three boys hadn't asked any questions so far.
Sigyn brushed past him without another word. Vali and Narvi were slightly warmer, nodding hello and even a muttered greeting of "Dad." Then again, they hadn't had much time to get annoyed by him or inherit the famous pagan dislike of angels.
Gabriel closed the door behind them and tried to brace himself for what was about to happen.
"Why have I been called here?" Sigyn asked as soon as they were all sitting in the living room.
"I asked Vali and Narvi to come," Gabriel pointed out.
Sigyn snorted. "If you think I am going to let my sons visit you without me then you are sorely mistaken."
"Mom," Vali complained.
"Why are we here?" Narvi was looking at Gabriel with interest.
"Did Hel explain about Slepnir and the others?"
"She mentioned that they had been freed." Vali put in, making freed sound almost like a question. Of course, they wouldn't know exactly what had happened. "She didn't say why you wanted to see us, though."
"Or that you had somehow become a fourteen-year-old," Sigyn said, eyebrow rising again.
Gabriel was forced to explain the whole story [again] as the three of them listened with mounting incredulity. Luckily they already knew about the angel thing, even if Sigyn hadn't been entirely understanding.
"So you have to compete in this...tournament thing," Vali summarized, "Or you'll lose part of your power, and because of this you can't take care of Slepnir, Jor, and Fenris?"
"Basically."
"I can't picture you following the rules," Narvi said in an undertone.
"I do so because I'm low on power and it would attract too much attention. I can keep a low profile, you know."
Sigyn looked like she'd very much like to say something, but was holding her tongue. "So you called us here to act as babysitters?" She asked coolly.
"I called Vali and Narvi to ask if they'd help out with their siblings," Gabriel said tersely. "I didn't expect you to come as well, since I didn't think you'd be interested."
"How long would we stay?" Narvi asked quickly, eyes flicking between Sigyn and Gabriel.
"It depends on how long you're willing, I guess." Gabriel sighed. "I have to go back for the rest of this year - which is from the seventh 'till late June. I might be able to work out a way to skip out on the last couple years I'm expected to go, but that's probably not going to happen. My vessel also has something of a reputation, so more than just a few people would notice if I just up and vanished."
Vali looked thoughtful. "How many more years would there be after this?"
"There are seven total; I'm only in fourth. There's some sort of important exam in fifth, I might be able to drop out after that, but again it's not an assured scenario." Gabriel explained. "In all likelihood, unless the headmaster finds out that I'm more than just this Potter kid, I'll have to stick it out."
Vali glanced over at Narvi, who made a face back at him. This continued for several moments before they finally seemed to come to a decision.
"What the hell." Narvi shrugged. "I don't have much else going on." Sigyn looked at him incredulously.
Vali grinned. "It would be nice to see some more family."
Sigyn sighed heavily. "Whatever I hold against you," she said, pinning Gabriel with a glare, "Does not extend to children. I suppose I can help out."
Well. It was more than Gabriel had expected her to do.
"Thank you," he said honestly, letting out a breath. "It means a lot."
"Save it," grumbled Sigyn. "This is not a favor to you." But her voice wasn't as venomous as it could have been.
*raises eyebrows* Well? What do you think? I got through a lot in this chapter, and hopefully you appreciate the effort that went into this.
You're lucky; originally I wasn't going to include Sigyn but then I decided it would be cooler to have her live. No promises of romance!
Read and review, as always!