Holy crap. 443 visitors in only a few hours?

I take it you guys are really into this story.

Ehehe. Judging from the reviews, you guys liked my little plot twist! I won't say more, but trust me, this chapter has plenty on that front!

To clear up a little confusion about Michael: yes, he can hear angel radio. It's a little indistinct, but he can sort of tell what they're saying, he just didn't want to say that he could hear angels with Gabriel standing right there because he didn't want to freak his friend out because none of them knew what was going on.

But yes.

Definitely angel radio.

I hope you enjoy the Michael and Gabriel scene with the tree. I had to rewrite it like five times - this idea has been in my head for a while, so the original scene got written sometime back in September and rewritten at various times since then.

With that said, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter

It was so obvious when Gabriel looked that he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before.

The tree was enormous, perched at one end of a small valley that the locals said had been there forever, and Gabriel approached slowly, half out of a long-ago instilled sense that he should be careful and half in complete disbelief, because he knew that Grace, and he knew that what he was seeing should be completely impossible.

"Michael," Gabriel muttered to himself, staring up at the tree, and he didn't mean the Ravenclaw he'd befriended over the last five years...although, in a sense, he did.

But Michael, the archangel, couldn't have Fallen, and that wasn't just because the Michael Gabriel remembered probably would have court-martialed the angel who had suggested the merest possibility. It was because, according to everyone who had actually been there, Michael had been tricked into the Cage along with Lucifer years ago.

So it was not possible for Michael's Grace to be sitting there in the tree in front of Gabriel.

It was not possible, or at least incredibly unlikely,for him - or rather nir - to have ended up in the exact same place as Gabriel.

Gabriel was going to need a second opinion.

Balthazar didn't jump when Gabriel entered the room, but he did cast a glance at the flickering lights. "Something the matter?"

"I need to talk to you."

Gabriel's serious voice made Balthazar put his drink down. They were in a crowded bar, which was no surprise, considering it was Balthazar he was talking to, but no one seemed to have noticed Gabriel's unorthodox entrance. "Should we go somewhere else?"

"Yes." They were suddenly out behind the bar instead of inside it, and Gabriel gritted his teeth but refused to put a hand to his back. Balthazar seemed to notice anyway.

"Wings bothering you?" His voice was tinted with slight jealously.

"Shut up, I'm not here about that."

"Then what are you here for, Gabriel?" Balthazar glanced at the alley disdainfully. "Certainly not for the pleasure of our surroundings."

Gabriel inhaled slowly. "You heard Metatron's message a few minutes ago."

Balthazar straightened. "Yes," he said after a moment. "He's even more insane than I imagined. Is this because-"

"No. Let me finish, Balthazar." Gabriel paused, trying to figure out how to word what he was going to say next. "Do you remember Michael?"

"Your wizard friend? Yes, I do."

I wasn't the only one who heard it."

Balthazar frowned. "They did? That's impossible."

"That's what I said."

"So you, what, came to me for answers?"

"...I went looking, and I found a tree."

Balthazar's posture changed in an instant. "You're joking."

"Unfortunately not."

"Whose?"

Gabriel sucked in another breath and let it out at the same time that he spoke. "Michael's."

"Yes, your schoolfriend, you said that already..." Balthazar trailed off, eyes widening as he realized what Gabriel meant. "Good God, no, you can't possibly be serious."

"Deadly."

Balthazar lunged forward so that he was almost nose-to-nose with Gabriel. "How?" He hissed. "Gabriel, you know as well as I do, Michael was locked up in Hell! If he's out and about-"

"I checked," Gabriel snapped back, and the idea had indeed already occurred to him. "I checked, alright, and Lucifer's Grace is nowhere to be found."

"Check again!"

"Balthazar, Lucifer almost killed me! I think I have more reason than you to want to be completely sure that he's not up here!"

Balthazar took a step back, breathing heavily. "You can't give him his Grace back."

Gabriel ignored the misgendering, though at any other time - when it was Michael Corner he would have been defending - he would have snapped at Balthazar and corrected him. He didn't reply to the demand, which made Balthazar look at him sharply.

"Gabriel, you can't give it back."

"You can't stop me!"

"I wouldn't care if this was anything else, but this isn't just your funeral if this goes wrong, Gabriel, it's all of our funerals!" Balthazar shouted, his face going slightly red.

"Well, I can't just leave them as a human!"

Balthazar stared at him for a good few minutes before he spoke again. "Do you have any idea-" He cut himself off in an incredulous huff of laughter. "Hell, you were still back on that Earth when the whole Apocalypse nonsense went down! You were there for almost all of it! And you're suggesting we just, what, set Michael up in style again and hope he doesn't give it another go?"

"They."

"And you're still defending them!"

"Michael's still human right now," Gabriel growled. "So yeah, I am."

Balthazar seemed to realize he was still holding his drink and downed it all in one go. "And you're just going to ask them nicely to not end the world and hope Michael listens?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, you don't know! Well, that just solves everything, doesn't it?" Balthazar laughed in derision.

"Listen to me, Balthazar. I don't know what the fuck's going to happen, but something happened that let Michael out of the cage, and they Fell. I don't know about you, but that's not exactly typical Michael behavior." Gabriel crossed his arms, glaring at his younger brother.

Balthazar didn't back down in the slightest. "Well, I wouldn't know, would I?" He replied, looking at his empty glass. "I mean it's not like I ever met any of you properly. Hell, even you and I didn't see much of each other until recently."

"Trust me," Gabriel retorted. "I know Michael, Balthazar...or at least I did."

"Well, that's brilliant, but I don't see-" Balthazar faltered under Gabriel's determined stare, and shook his head. "I can't convince you, can I?"

"Probably not."

Balthazar sighed. "I think the Winchesters rubbed off on you. This is exactly the type of thing they would attempt. And what are you going to if you can't talk Michael down or whatever?"

Gabriel's hand drifted closer to his angel blade, and Balthazar caught the movement. "I'll take care of it."

"You're not serious." Balthazar's expression had shifted back into incredulity.

"Balthazar-"

"The last time you went up against another archangel, you only survived because you faked your death!"

"Well at least this time I know they might be at least a little hesitant about killing me!"

They faced each other in silence for a few moments before Balthazar snorted and looked away.

"Fine. Have fun with your suicide mission. And, uh, if things don't go your way...warn me so I can go as far away as possible first."

Balthazar left without waiting for a reply, which was good, because Gabriel didn't have one.

Gabriel sighed, looking down at nothing in particular. "Might as well get this over with."

Michael jumped when he realized Gabriel was behind him. "Don't do that?"

"...Sorry." Gabriel took in Michael's red eyes. "Did I miss something?"

Michael hastily wiped nir eyes. "No, it - there were, uh, death eaters outside the ministry. They tracked down a bunch of muggleborn and half-blood families." Ne took a deep breath. "They, uh, don't know what happened to my mom."

Gabriel didn't voice the thoughts that were warring to be said in his mind. "Right. Sorry about that."

"Don't. I don't-" Michael took a deep breath. "Is there a reason you popped up behind me?"

"Yeah. About earlier." Gabriel must have taken longer than he thought, if it was nearly morning by now.

"...Oh. You mean, uh," Michael tapped his head. "Me hearing things?"

"Yeah."

"So you know what's going on?"

"Yes."

"And you can fix it?"

"...Sort of."

Michael frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's..." Gabriel ran a hand over his face. "Difficult to explain. We're going to have to take a short trip."

"To where?"

"I honestly have no idea what it's called, I just know how to get there."

Michael inhaled slowly and then nodded. "Okay."

Gabriel tried not to think about how this was his brother he was talking to, his older brother, the one who he'd actually looked up to so many years ago, and put his hand on Michael's shoulder.

They were instantly transported to the valley where the tree was and both of the pair stumbled slightly as they landed, though for different reasons.

"Where is this?" Michael turned around and caught sight of the tree. "Holy crap."

"Yeah." Gabriel huffed. "I know."

"That is..." Michael was still staring up at it. "Is it even possible for trees to get that big?"

"Obviously, if this is here." Gabriel watched Michael, who was drawing slightly closer to the tree without noticing. With a start, the latter refocused on Gabriel.

"So, uh, why are we here?"

Gabriel nodded at the tree. "Because of that." Nervousness was mounting in him and Gabriel was starting to wonder whether Balthazar hadn't been right, whether he was making a huge mistake, whether or not he should take Michael away right now and avoid the possibility of needing his angel blade.

"The tree?" Michael looked up at it again. "Why?"

"...It's hard to explain." Gabriel walked under the large branches, drawing closer to the trunk, aware that Michael was following him. "I...there's not really a good way to say it."

"Then try." Michael sounded determined. "Harry, you've barely looked at me since you came back. What's wrong?"

You're my brother, and you're not my brother. "Like I said, it's difficult-"

"Bullshit." Michael was much closer now. "I think, if there are weird voices in my head for ten hours, I deserve a bit of an explanation."

Gabriel sighed. "Just...touch the tree."

"What?"

"Touch the fucking tree, alright?" Gabriel immediately regretted his tone, because even without looking he could tell that Michael had taken offense. "Look, Michael-"

"Something's wrong." Michael was staring at Gabriel when he turned around. "I don't know what's got you so freaked out about this, but I can handle it, alright? Just tell me!"

Gabriel stared and then dropped his gaze. "Michael, please, just...it'll make sense in a minute. Trust me."

Michael didn't answer for a minute.

"Just touch the tree?" Ne said eventually, disbelief entering nir tone.

"Yeah."

"..Alright."

Gabriel watched as Michael approached the thick trunk, eyes scanning the tree. Ever so slowly, he reached his hand up and laid it on the thick bark.

There was a moment when nothing happened.

Then, the world exploded into a blinding white.

The hot, white light died down almost as quickly as it had come. Gabriel lowered the arm he'd thrown up defensively in front of his face, and actually had to blink spots out of his eyes - if he'd been human, he'd have been incinerated for sure.

Michael was still standing next to the tree, hand outstretched, and it almost looked like ne was gasping for breath. Gabriel didn't have time to reflect on this because in the next moment Michael was whipping around and his eyes locked with Gabriel's.

"Gabriel." Gabriel told himself he was imagining the note of relief in his sibling's voice.

"Michael."

"I-" Michael stopped before ne could get any farther, seemingly connecting his new and old memories. "You're not dead."

"Of course not." Gabriel scoffed.

"But we all felt it-"

"I think I can fake my death well enough that none of you notice."

Michael paused, but didn't look away. Nir body language still held hints of Michael Corner, and Gabriel tried to ignore it. "...Why?"

Gabriel didn't have to ask what Michael meant. "Ohhh no," he said, finger stabbing out to point at the elder angel. "I am asking the questions right now. For example, mind explaining how you got out of the Cage?"

Michael straightened. "You know-"

"Yeah, I know. I heard about it, even all the way over here."

Michael sighed, seemingly in resignation. "Our Father-"

Gabriel started laughing before Michael could get any farther because really? That was the excuse ne was going to pull?

"I'm serious." Michael looked it, too, but then again ne always did.

"Suuure." Gabriel let the word linger in his mouth. "Pull the other one, Michael."

"I'm not lying to you, Gabriel." That made Gabriel pause, because he could tell now that he looked - Michael wasn't lying, not about that, but knowing that his sibling was telling the truth didn't make Gabriel any happier.

"And why would Daddy dearest get off His ass, wherever the hell He is, just to pull you out of Hell?"

"Don't-"

"If you say one word about disrespecting Dad I'm going to shove your ass off this fucking planet."

Michael didn't say anything, but Gabriel could see his frustration plain as day. "...That's not exactly how it went."

"Then what did happen?" Gabriel spun around, gesturing widely. "Enlighten me, Michael."

"He offered us a choice. Both of us." Michael continued before Gabriel had a chance to reply. "He said we could either stay in the Cage until the next time the seals broke, or we could become human."

"And you...chose...humanity." Gabriel was tempted to look around and see if he spotted any flying pigs.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you," Gabriel said immediately.

"I'm. Not. Lying, Gabriel. Why would I?" Michael spread nir hands.

"Hm." Gabriel put a hand to his chin in mock thought. "Let me think. Just off the top of my head, or do I have time to think and make a longer list?"

"Gabriel." Gabriel would be lying if he said his hand didn't jump to his angel blade, and he knew Michael must have noticed, but the latter didn't say anything [although Gabriel thought he saw nem wince momentarily, but it must have been a trick of the light].

"I'm sorry, you can't seriously expect me to buy that story." The problem was that Gabriel thought he did, but he'd always been good at pretending.

"I expect you to be able to tell that I'm not lying. About any of it." Michael's frustration had bled onto nir face by now, and ne took a step towards Gabriel.

"You're one of the only beings in this entire fucking universe that outranks me, I can't exactly tell." Gabriel tried to disguise the fact that he'd taken a step backwards at the same time. He was not nervous, damnit, it was just because they hadn't talked in a while. That was all.

"Yes, you can."

"You could be tricking me," Gabriel shot back.

"I'm not the Trickster god." Almost amused disbelief colored Michael's voice. "Loki, really?"

"You didn't find me, did you?"

Michael didn't have a response to that, and Gabriel drew a small surge of vindictive pleasure from the fact that he'd rendered his sibling speechless.

"So what happened to Lucifer?" He asked nonchalantly, fighting to keep his hands from straying to where he knew a scar still rested right over his heart. "You know, after you broke out."

"What do you think?" Michael said - and was that sadness in nir voice? "He stayed in the Cage."

Honestly, Gabriel hadn't really expected anything else, he'd just wanted to make sure there wasn't a human Lucifer running around somewhere. "So, what now? Jailbreak him and give it all another go?"

"No."

What. The. Ever. Loving. Fuck.

"What?" Gabriel gave saying something else several tries and then settled for just outright staring at Michael in shock.

"No, that's not what I'm going to do." The last time Gabriel had seen Michael this resolute, they'd been standing in front of God getting orders. Ne didn't look the least bit unsure.

Gabriel managed to find his voice again. "You're joking."

"I'm not, I swear."

"...How long were you human?" The question was mostly rhetorical, but Gabriel was curious to see if Michael would answer, because the Michael he remembered - well, ne wasn't anywhere close to making a decision like this.

Michael actually smiled a little, but ne wasn't looking at Gabriel - instead, ne turned around to stare up at the tree which had so recently housed nir Grace. "A lot longer than just fifteen years."

"Reincarnation." Gabriel snorted. "That explains a lot."

Michael didn't immediately reply, but ne turned back around and nir eyes flicked to a spot behind Gabriel. Ne frowned, staring in what almost looked like worry. "What happened to your wings?"

Gabriel defensively tucked his second pair around where the third had been, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was still two short. "Nothing."

"Don't be stupid." Michael winced, actually winced, and Gabriel noticed that the former's third set of wings were rather bedraggled and scraggly, feathers missing in bunches. "What did Metatron do?" Anger colored nir voice. "He was declaring himself God."

"I told you already. His little spell, locking everyone out of Heaven." Gabriel grinned sardonically. "The usual. Chaos abounding. From what I can tell, things kind of got even shittier upstairs after you got locked up."

"Even worse?" Michael sounded puzzled. "What else happened?"

"Oh, this and that, et cetera, mostly horrible stuff."

"Gabriel." Michael sounded so severe that for a moment ne was exactly as Gabriel remembered. "What happened?"

"Wow, order me to tell you, why don't you, that'll work for sure."

Michael sighed heavily, more likely out of frustration than anything else. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Yes."

"Will you?" For a moment Michael sounded exactly like an exasperated older sibling, which Gabriel supposed that ne was.

"Maybe."

"Gabriel-"

"Don't try and guilt trip me into telling you, Michael, it's not going to work." The words came out sharper than Gabriel had intended, and he glanced back at Michael to try and gauge nir feelings, but ne was impassive as usual.

"I was going to ask why you're mad at me." Michael's voice had gotten quieter.

"I'm not-"

"I'm not stupid, Gabriel. And refusing to tell me is really just childish."

"You say that like I care," Gabriel muttered.

"You should."

"Thanks. Glad to know we're back to you telling me what to do."

"I'm just trying to figure out what I missed." Michael's voice was heated now, and ne'd come closer to Gabriel. "And why you're being so stubborn."

"I am not your subordinate anymore," Gabriel snapped, "And not-"

"Yeah, you made that pretty clear when you left." Michael wasn't yelling, but the words stung.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, until Gabriel broke the silence.

"You know why I left."

"I know you had a job-"

"As what?" Gabriel demanded. "Dad's mouthpiece? The mediator when you got into an argument for the billionth time?" He gave a short, sharp laugh. "What, you - you expected me to just hang around while you were all at each other's throats? While you practically tore each other apart?"

"It wasn't-" Michael futilely tried to protest.

"No, it was that bad!" And now it was Gabriel who was yelling, both sides staring the other down and wings spread wide in clear intimidation moves. "And you were in the center of it, Michael! I don't know if you turned a blind eye or you were just too busy being General to see what Zachariah was doing under your fucking nose - and don't even talk to me about Naomi - but things were shit!"

Michael stood impassively while Gabriel shouted, eyes flashing, but totally silent. Gabriel took the opportunity to keep talking.

"So yeah," he said, words drenched in venom. "I left. Because I didn't want to see Heaven turn into a royal fuckup of an army instead of a family - not that we ever were in the first place."

"Don't say that." Michael's voice almost broke, and Gabriel stopped in surprise for a moment.

"You know this as well as I do, Michael." Gabriel snapped, regaining his bad temper immediately. Thunder rumbled, but Gabriel was too infuriated to care what he might be unconsciously doing. "How many of the younger angels even met Dad? Oh, that's right - I was the last one who ever did! I'm fourth oldest, Michael and no one younger than me ever so much as heard from Him save for Joshua! You can't seriously say that that's reasonable!"

"I'm not saying you're wrong-"

"But I'm wrong?" Gabriel interrupted acidly.

"Gabriel-"

"Michael, come on." Gabriel watched Michael let out a breath, which evaporated in the suddenly-cooler air in a burst of mist. Ne didn't say anything more for several moments.

"Am I really the reason you left?" Ne finally asked.

Gabriel met Michael's blue gaze evenly. "I don't know what you expected to hear."

The tension had bled out of the air, but storm clouds still hovered overhead, casting a grey light over the scene. Gabriel had turned around again and was about to leave when Michael spoke again.

"I'm sorry."

"...what?" Pigs had definitely grown wings somewhere in the world, or else Gabriel was dreaming.

"I said I'm sorry."

Gabriel stared at his sibling for several moments. "...You sure you're Michael?"

"I know I don't usually apologize-"

"That's an understatement."

"I'm trying to-"

"I know what you're trying to do. I heard you." Gabriel studied his brother. Michael's wings were tight at nir sides, so that you could barely see anything wrong with them.

"And?" Gabriel refocused his attention at the question.

"And what?" He scoffed. "You think 'I'm sorry' is going to make everything sunshine and rainbows?" Gabriel swept a hand around, gesturing to their surroundings. "No. I don't think so."

Michael straightened slightly, nir expression one of dawning realization, and maybe resignation. "You don't trust me."

"I'd be an idiot if I did."

Michael gave a dry laugh. "That's really what you think of me?"

"You haven't done a whole lot to convince me otherwise." Gabriel shrugged, as if to say what can you do?

"So the last few years-"

Was Michael really going to try that? "That was Michael Corner," Gabriel interrupted. "Not you."

"And I'm not them?" Michael asked.

Gabriel focused hard and for just a moment he saw the vessel and not his sibling. "No," he finally replied. "You're not. You know that as well as I do."

Michael studied Gabriel back just as intensely. "You've changed," Ne said eventually.

"Eight hundred years will do that to you."

Michael looked like ne was on the verge of letting out whatever comment ne was restraining himself from making. "You may not trust me, Gabriel, but what about the other way around?"

"Can you trust me?" Gabriel made an eh face, shrugging. "I'd say yes, but you've got a habit of disagreeing with me."

"Being frustrated," said Michael, "And disagreeing are two different things."

"See, you're doing it now."

Michael huffed, glancing away and propping nir hands on nir hips.

"Look," Ne said, "I don't want to fight with you, Gabriel."

"I'm not looking for a fight," Gabriel retorted.

"Can we just-" Michael extended nir hand and then dropped it back to nir side. "Could we agree to at least try to get along?"

"You mean fake it?" Gabriel couldn't say he hadn't been expecting that.

"If only for the sake of anyone who might be nearby."

Well, when Michael put it like that...

"Fine." Gabriel said shortly. Michael extended nir hand and they shook on it, only for a few seconds before Gabriel let go and stepped back again.

"I guess I'll have to go back and explain what happened to the Order," Michael mused aloud, casting a final glance at the tree.

"Probably a good idea."

"You'll still show up at Hogwarts?"

"You're not that scary, Michael." Gabriel tried for his usual shit-eating grin. "I'm not going anywhere."

Michael grinned slightly, but much more subdued. "I'm going to assume I'm not welcome to come over."

Gabriel paused, stiffening slightly, but he didn't get a chance to respond.

"They're cute," Michael said, making Gabriel's eyebrows shoot up. "Your kids, I mean. I think I said that before but I might as well repeat it now."

Gabriel took a moment to find his voice again. "I would have thought you'd react worse than that."

"I think if our Father had a problem with you being a dad too, he'd have done something about it by now." Michael laughed. "They're not Nephilim, after all. You always did have a way with loopholes."

"Nice to know your memories of me are so complimentary."

Michael sobered, grin fading. "I remember more than that."

"Don't get nostalgic on me, Michael, it doesn't suit you." I don't want to go there right now.

Michael seemed to understand Gabriel's unspoken meaning. "...I'll see you at Hogwarts, then."

"Sure." Gabriel hesitated, gave Michael a slight nod, and then left before he could change his mind.