You're all so upset on Castiel's behalf I was actually a little surprised when I read the reviews! Anyway, I promise that he and Dean will make up - eventually. But Gabriel's going to have some bigger stuff on his mind - remember a few chapters ago how I mentioned I'd been looking forward to writing this arc of the story?

Yeah.

It's about to get big.

However, at the same time I have the challenge of not neglecting the Hogwarts plotline - remember Katie? Just because Draco's been removed from the situation doesn't mean that no one's been assigned to kill Dumbledore. And while Voldemort isn't visibly active doesn't mean he's not planning anything. So I've got a lot of plot on my hands and I have to untangle it into something legible for you guys. If I miss an explainer or something, don't be afraid to let me know that something doesn't make sense. Trust me, I'll thank you for it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter

"|You're home early!|" Gabriel was only mildly surprised when a small, curly-haired figure attached himself to his leg only moments after the surprised exclamation.

He couldn't help but grin down at Fenris. "Only for a little bit."

Fenris pouted. "Can't you stay?" He didn't seem bothered by the switch to English, making pride curl in Gabriel's chest.

"I'll be back for Christmas, remember?" Gabriel reminded him.

"That's weeks from now." Fenris complained, but Gabriel didn't hear any real bad feelings in it.

"Ah, you'll be alright." Gabriel took a few steps, and Fenris detached himself, padding alongside Gabriel silently - Fenris could be pretty sneaky in bare feet. "Any idea where Balthazar went?"

Fenris shrugged. "Probably out. Who's upstairs?"

"Castiel."

"Is he an angel, too?"

"Yep."

"Is he staying?"

Gabriel considered it. "No idea," he replied. "He came by to avoid someone, so it depends if they can make up, I guess."

"Let me guess - it's about Dean." Gabriel looked up as Balthazar entered the room.

"What gave it away?" He answered rhetorically. "I was wondering something else, though."

"What?"

"Have you noticed anything recently?"

Balthazar paused, giving Gabriel a searching look. "Anything, like what?"

"I don't know what I'm looking for." Gabriel admitted. "Something Death said-"

"Death said?" Balthazar looked stricken for a moment, then his face smoothed out. "So you've been having chats with a Horseman. What did he say?"

"Not to let my guard down." Gabriel said. "It was a few months ago. Heaven was taken care of, but he seemed to think there was something else coming."

"Anything big enough to attract his attention is nothing good." Balthazar shook his head. "I haven't noticed anything. I'll keep an eye out."

"For what?" Castiel's voice was a surprise, and both angels looked over to see him in the doorway, staring at Fenris.

"You explain," Gabriel told Balthazar. "I've got to get back anyway."

"No," Fenris groaned, grabbing Gabriel's hand.

Castiel's head tilted. "Gabriel," he said slowly, "Who is that?"

Gabriel grinned, pulling his hand away. "Fenris," he said, "This is your uncle Castiel. Go nuts. I'll be back for Christmas."

Christmas, despite Fenris's insistence that it was too far away, was rapidly approaching.

Hogwarts was covered with a blanket of snow, underneath which the castle was full of festive decorations. The usual gigantic trees, holly and mistletoe, people trying to trick other people into coming under the latter with them - even the threat of war couldn't change that.

There was, however, a new element at play.

"Slughorn's throwing a party." Gabriel said dryly. "What a surprise. This has what to do with me, again?"

Hermione sighed. "He's asked me to make sure you'll be able to come," She said. "He's really quite stuck on getting you to come to one of these, you know. Wouldn't it be easier to just go?"

"No." Gabriel raised one eyebrow. "A Christmas party? Hosted by him? I'm honestly curious how you thought this was going to go."

"I know you don't dislike Christmas that much," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. "And if anything you can come to keep me company. It's not like I can ask Fleur, but we're supposed to go with a date."

"Are you asking me out?"

"No. Come on, Gabriel. I'll have to ask someone and if they end up being an ass I'll need someone to talk to. I never know anyone else there." Hermione groaned.

Gabriel laughed. "Just checking. You know I'm going home for break?"

"The party's before break starts." Hermione told him.

"Damnit."

Gabriel wasn't blind.

He'd noticed that the girls in Ravenclaw - and quite a few of the boys - had been excited about something for the last few days, and the news of the party just put the pieces together. He'd also noticed that a few of them appeared to really, really want to go with him.

Honestly, all this was just making him more determined not to go, but he didn't want to leave Hermione stranded, especially since he'd bailed on all of the ones so far.

Michael seemed unaffected by the Christmas buzz, which wasn't that different from previous years - ne was just less upbeat about the holiday than ne'd been in previous years. Ne hadn't asked what Balthazar had wanted, and Gabriel hadn't volunteered the information.

Gabriel had definitely not mentioned Slughorn's party to Michael, though he had a sinking feeling that ne had been invited as well. Hopefully, the party would be large enough that he didn't have to mingle with his sibling, but it was impossible to know without looking ahead, and Gabriel didn't feel up to searching through timestreams for the right one.

Which still left a date.

He was sure that at least half of Ravenclaw tower would go with him if he asked, but Gabriel didn't know any of them and they didn't know him as anyone but Harry Potter, which meant that the majority of the student body was not an option, however nice that boy who Gabriel was fairly sure was on the Quidditch team looked.

There was, however, one good option.

Luna was staring up at a lone piece of mistletoe magically hung from the topmost point of an archway when Gabriel found her, head tilted to the side and wearing a pair of bizarre pink glasses. She was looking at it so intensely that it took her a moment to realize Gabriel was there.

"Oh, hello," She said, taking off the glasses and peering at Gabriel. "You're very bright, you know. I can barely see the Nargles."

"Can't help it," Gabriel replied, leaning against the archway. "What were you looking at them for?"

"Curiosity." Luna's eyes were soft as she looked back up at the plant. "These Nargles look a bit different, and it's always nice to get a new view of things. I thought they might be a different species."

"Maybe." Gabriel shrugged, looking up as well. "I think that's holly, though." Now that he was closer, he saw that the plant had red berries, not white.

"Hm." Luna looked disappointed. "That makes sense, I suppose. Did you come down here to find them as well?"

"Nah, never been one for creatures. I was looking for you, actually." Gabriel pointed with a flourish.

"Oh?" Luna took off her glasses from where they were resting on her head, tucking them into a pocket of her cardigan. "What for?"

"Nothing big, but there is this party coming up that I've been persuaded to attend."

Obviously Luna knew what he was talking about, because her eyes widened and her mouth rounded into an O.

"You want to go with me?" She seemed incredulous, to the point where part of her really didn't believe he was serious.

"Why not?" Gabriel shrugged. "You're the most interesting person I know, aside from Hermione, and she'd take it the wrong way if I asked her. Plus Fleur would probably get all territorial. I could ask a guy, but I'd rather go with someone who..." He gestured to himself. "Knows about me."

Luna was still acting like she was in shock. "You mean as friends?" She asked, excitement bubbling up.

"Sure." He knew Luna wouldn't take it to mean he was asking her out.

She gave Gabriel the biggest grin he'd ever seen a human make. "I'd love to," She said happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "No one's ever asked me to anything before, you know. Except for the Yule Ball, but that was you, too."

Gabriel grinned, sideways like a smirk but more well-meant. Luna's exuberance was rubbing off on him. "Morons," He told her. "Anyway, it's on Saturday, at eight. Ish."

"I've heard." Luna said, nodding. "Shall we meet at eight, then?"

"Sure. Entrance hall?"

"That sounds wonderful." She was still grinning. "Thanks!" Luna skipped off, arms swinging loose and Gabriel wasn't sure if she meant to do it, but they brushed over one of his wings like a crackle of static electricity, making Gabriel jump and pull his wings in tight.

Luna kept going, unaware of the effect, and Gabriel shook it off, forcing himself to relax.

He wasn't aware that seeing also equaled touching - not that anyone had ever tried with him, but even insubstantially so it was the first time someone had touched his wings in a long time.

He shook off the staticky feeling and started the walk back to the tower.

The hopeful looks turned to resentful glares, and by the time Saturday at eight rolled around there was practically a club of sulky Ravenclaws in the common room. Gabriel ignored them, using his wings to skim over stairs instead of just walking - partly because he could, now, and partly because he'd taken a little too long to get ready and he didn't want Luna to think he was ditching her.

She was waiting in the entrance hall, right on schedule, and Gabriel raised his eyebrows at her silver, ruffly dress.

"Fancy," he commented, making Luna startle as he leaned on her shoulder, elbow bent so he could prop his chin on one hand. "I feel under-dressed."

"You'll be fine," Luna said flippantly, eyes scanning Gabriel's modified suit. He'd really just snapped it up out of nothing - who kept fancy dress clothes with them at boarding school, even if they were an angel? "I've noticed that Muggles set a much higher bar for these sort of things, clothing-wise. Daddy's taken me to a few fancy parties before and once all the adults have a few drinks no one cares what you're wearing."

Gabriel laughed, taking his weight off her and rocking back onto his heels for a moment. "Sounds like my kind of party. Hermione's meeting us up there - hope you don't mind."

"I wouldn't mind talking to Hermione again," Luna said cheerfully, linking her arm with Gabriel's and making the bracelet she was wearing jingle. "She's nice, if a bit narrow-minded. Are we going down to the dungeons?"

"Guess so. It's in his office, far as I know."

"I was wondering," Luna said offhandedly as they walked down staircase after staircase. "Yours and Michael's wings look so different. Why?"

Gabriel was tempted, for half a second, to refuse to answer. The fact that he knew he was being unreasonable about it made him change his mind. "Well, for one thing, Michael's older," He informed Luna. "They've got more power, which means theirs are bigger."

Luna nodded - obviously she'd have noticed that difference. "But they're a different color."

Gabriel didn't ask how she could see power. He didn't know how far a Seer's gaze could go, but he'd met enough in his lifetime to know it wasn't a good question to ask, even if he was curious. "Humans get the idea that we've all got these fluffy white numbers," he comments. "Artists, at least. I can name maybe three off the top of my head who actually do. White's boring. We've got all sorts of colors."

"So you're like birds," Luna says slowly, "Except instead of color varying with species, it varies from each one of you to the next."

Gabriel laughed again. "That's one way to put it, except we're nothing like birds."

"How so?"

"For one, I was here first."

Luna was the one who laughed then. "So birds were based off you?"

"Maybe. You'd have to ask my Dad to know for sure." Gabriel let the thought linger in his mind, thinking about the differences. "The problem is that my kind of wings can't really be compared to bird wings. They're on a completely different plane of existence. It's like asking if going from one dimension to another is like visiting a different country."

Luna nodded again, as though that made perfect sense. It probably did - she was a Ravenclaw. "Can your wings be physical?" She asked, curiosity swirling through her.

Gabriel shrugged. "Never tried."

Luna hmmed, thoughtfully, and then they were standing in front of a door draped in green cloth leading into an elaborately decorated room that was far larger than any office should have been.

Slughorn's office was decorated in a way that most people might have thought was overdone, but Gabriel wasn't most people [and if anything, had an even more elaborate and ridiculous taste]. The reddish lanterns cast an odd light, especially mixed with the shimmery green curtains [mixed with the occasional red or gold stripe of cloth] draped everywhere, but it was less of an interesting effect and more of one that reminded Gabriel vaguely of his exploits in America during the seventies.

"It looks nice in here," Luna observed. "Slughorn's very preoccupied with his appearance, you know. How other people see him. It's probably why he invited you."

"That so?"

There was one other thing about the room - it was absolutely packed with people. There were house-elves carrying around small trays which appeared to be levitating themselves around the room, but most people were obviously guests, clustered into groups or pairs and all talking animatedly, filling the room with chatter. A stringed instrument, or several of them, sounded from somewhere in the room. There were many older people, but to his relief, Gabriel didn't see Slughorn anywhere.

"Let's get something to eat," Luna said. "Dinner feels like ages ago."

"Suit yourself." Gabriel allowed himself to be pulled over to a buffet table, plates laid out with all sorts of miniature sandwiches and such that 'higher-class' people seemed to favor.

Slughorn, if nothing else, considered himself high-class.

"I wonder where Hermione is?" Luna remarked, taking a few tiny cupcakes from a platter. Gabriel, on consideration, took one too - it was sweet, after all. "She said she'd be here. Oh, hello, Professor Trelawney."

Gabriel turned around.

Trelawney was standing near them at the table - the room was so crowded with people he hadn't sensed the one, individual soul approaching. "Hello, my dear," Trelawney said faintly, eyes lingering on Gabriel for a moment. He hoped she wasn't remembering that he'd taken her class a few years ago. "You seem quite troubled," She told him vaguely.

"I'm really not," Gabriel replied. Trelawney was quite drunk - he didn't need angel senses for that; there was a cloud of sherry fumes around her.

"The signs are very clear," Trelawney insisted. "Danger is prevalent in your path."

"Sure." Trelawney may have given him an actual prophecy, once long ago, but that didn't make her a prophet - certainly not a Heavenly one, or Gabriel would have known her as soon as he set foot in Hogwarts. He turned back to Luna. "You don't know anyone else here, do you?"

"There's supposed to be a vampire here," Luna told him, and Gabriel's eyebrows shot up.

"They invited a vampire into a school?"

"It's probably because he's Rufus Scrimegour."

Gabriel frowned. "Who?"

Luna looked surprised. "He's the minister."

"Oh." So that was why the name had sounded familiar. "He's a vampire?"

"No one else believes it," Luna said [it must be a Quibbler thing], "But Daddy says he's got proof, just as soon as he's allowed to publish it. He had a very long editorial about it back when Scrimegour first took over, but somebody from the Ministry came by and said he wasn't allowed. It just shows that they don't want the truth to get out there."

"Huh." Gabriel shrugged. "Well if I ever run across him, I'll let you know if you're right."

Luna beamed at him. Odd shadows flickered across her face and Gabriel looked up, seeing tiny lights darting around the nearest lantern - fairies, he realized, and grinned at the idea that wizards had of how harmless the creatures were.

"Harry!"

Oh, boy.

Slughorn appeared next to the table, so quickly he might have used magic to get there. He was beaming, and wearing a ridiculous tasseled cap.

"Wonderful to see you," He told Gabriel exuberantly. "I knew you'd come to one of my little parties one of these days, though I did ask miss Granger to make sure you were free - oh, but there's so many people I'd like you to meet!"

"I'm good," Gabriel said, taking a cup of something red from the table and taking a drink to give himself an excuse not to say anything else. Slughorn either didn't notice or didn't care, because he didn't look at all bothered.

"Nonsense," he chuckled airily. He made as though to grab Gabriel's arm, but Gabriel neatly sidestepped and looped his arm through Luna's instead.

"Oh look," he said, "There's Hermione." Hermione was in the room, but she was on the other side of it, and Gabriel could see only flickers of her soul through the crowd. "Didn't you say you wanted to talk to her?" He pulled Luna through the crowd, following Hermione as she moved across the room and taking them steadily further away from Slughorn.

"That was a bit rude," Luna observed.

"He irritates me." Gabriel tapped Hermione on the shoulder once they got close enough. She jumped, relaxing once she turned around and saw who it was.

"Oh - hello, er - Luna?"

"Hello, Hermione." Luna replied. "Who are you hiding from?"

"What? Er-" Hermione rather guiltily let go of the curtain she had been holding protectively in front of herself. "If you must know, Cormac McLaggen's been hounding me all night. He doesn't believe that I've already got a girlfriend."

"Doesn't believe in same-sex relationships?" Gabriel asked, taking another drink from the goblet.

"No, I didn't say girlfriend, he just thinks I'm making up the fact that I'm in a relationship," Hermione huffed. She looked at Gabriel properly, and her eyes narrowed. "Are you drinking?"

Gabriel looked down at the stuff in his cup more closely. Mead? Huh. Slughorn had surprisingly good taste. "Apparently." He took a pointed sip, raising his eyebrows at Hermione. "What, like it's the first time I've ever had something alcoholic?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Just don't get drunk."

Gabriel was about to tell her he couldn't when a tall boy shoved his way through the curtains. From the way Hermione stiffened next to him, Gabriel guessed that this was Cormac Whatever.

Well, then.

"Have you seen Hermione?" He asked, completely oblivious as to Hermione's presence.

"Nope." Gabriel took another drink, letting himself taste the slightly sweet drink. "You're really gonna spend all night looking for one person?"

Cormac blinked, confusion passing over his face for a half second before being replaced with what appeared to be a default determined scowl. "You're right," he said, not really speaking to Gabriel at all, and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

"What was that?" Hermione questioned after a moment.

"Interference," Gabriel replied. "You're welcome."

"You didn't even move," Luna observed.

"I don't need a cue. It just makes me look cooler." Gabriel grinned at her. "You've never done something just because you liked doing it?"

"Fair point." Luna nodded.

"You know what?" Hermione sighed. "I'm not even mad. It'll be nice to actually enjoy this party."

"There's supposed to be a vampire," Luna said.

"I know," Hermione replied. "I ran into him already, actually. I've no idea why Slughorn thought it was a good idea to invite him, but it seemed like he was more the plus one of some - biographer he brought in."

"It wasn't Rufus Scrimegour, was it?" Gabriel asked, grinning.

"What - why on Earth would Scrimegour be a vampire?" Hermione asked, bewildered.

"He got turned while on an Auror mission," Luna said seriously. "Daddy found the old records and discovered that there was information missing from one of them, so obviously the Minister got turned into something else. It's not lycanthropy, or else there would be records of him buying Wolfsbane."

Hermione still looked bewildered, but this time it was directed at Luna. "No," She replied, "It's not Scrimegour. I don't think he'd come to a party - he's sure to have a lot of work to do, dealing with running the Ministry and Voldemort and such."

Gabriel ignored the collective flinch of anyone nearby who had overheard the name, noting with amusement that some of them were apparently just realizing who they were standing next to.

"Even so," Luna mused, "He's probably still part of the Rotfang conspiracy."

"The what?" Gabriel faced her properly, realizing he'd turned towards Hermione instead.

"Rotfang conspiracy," Luna repeated. "They're a group of people within the Ministry trying to take it down with a combination of Dark magic and gum disease."

Hermione rolled her eyes and Gabriel nearly choked on his drink, he was laughing so hard. When he calmed down, someone else had approached their party.

"Harry, there you are." Oh, great. Slughorn was beaming, and there was a student in blue robes standing slightly behind him, as though reluctant to come closer to the group. "I was just saying - oh, but do you know each other?" Slughorn swept the student closer. "Theodore Nott - I believe he's in your year, Slytherin though-"

"Can't say we've met," Gabriel replied, glancing at the boy and then returning to ignoring him. "Don't know a lot of Slytherins."

"Ah, inter-House friendships are always to be pursued!" Slughorn said happily. "I see you found Miss Granger - in any case, I was wondering-"

"Actually, I was in the middle of talking to Luna," Gabriel interrupted Slughorn before he could get any further, not bothering to turn and look at him, instead staying focused on Luna. "You were saying?"

She shrugged. "There's not much else to it," She told him. "Daddy hasn't been able to find out much so far, but he's definitely getting closer."

Slughorn looked intrigued. "What was your last name again?" He asked, seemingly forgetting about Theodore Nott.

"Lovegood."

"Ah, the Quibbler!" Slughorn's interest faded. Luna just smiled at the fact that he'd recognized the name. "A very...interesting paper. I can't say I've read it."

"Not many people do," Luna replied. "At least, not many at Hogwarts. We get a fair few subscribers, really."

"Apologies for interrupting this...fascinating...conversation," Said a voice dryly behind them. It was Snape, whose eyes lingered on Gabriel warily for a second before he turned to Slughorn. "I need to borrow my student for a moment."

"Oh come off, Severus, it's the holidays!" Slughorn boomed jovially. Snape remained impassive.

"Nonetheless, I need to speak to him." Nott shook of the hand that Snape tried to put on his shoulder, stepping backwards.

"I'm fine, professor." He tried to play it off as polite, but Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the forced feeling and the mix of coldness and disdain that a sixteen-year-old couldn't hide.

"Your grades are not," Snape retorted. "With me, Nott. I would like to speak to you privately."

Nott's face didn't change, but Gabriel got a very clear impression of exactly what he wanted to say. Gabriel turned away, ducking farther away from the crowd and knowing that Hermione and Luna had followed.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked as Gabriel leaned up against the edge of an alcove, knowing that no one would be paying attention to them back there.

"There's something else up with Snape and that kid," He said, nodding to where the door was - they were already on their way out. "I want to find out what, but I don't want to look like I'm zoning out in the middle of that crowd. Give me a second here."

The pair had set off along the hallway outside Slughorn's office, ducking into an abandoned classroom. Even if Gabriel had been physically closer, he doubted they would have noticed anyone eavesdropping.

"You are being sloppy." That was Snape, standing a few feet away from Nott.

"It wasn't," Nott snapped back. "I planned it out. I don't see where you come in, here. It's my assignment."

"You are a boy," Snape growled. "You cannot possibly think you can accomplish this on your own-"

"What if I do?" Nott demanded. "I can. I've been planning. No one suspects me-"

"That will only last for so long!"

"You're only worried I'll do it and overshadow you!" That made Snape shut up, and Gabriel frown. This was a death eater thing. Nott continued when Snape didn't immediately speak. "You're worried that you'll lose all the fame that being Dumbledore's spy gets you-"

"You will treat me with respect."

"When you deserve it!" Nott was getting braver. "He may think you're worth it, but I don't. He gave me this assignment."

"You fool, your father failed at his task and got himself killed to boot. This isn't a reward. He is hoping that you fail."

"You think I don't know what he thinks of my father? What you think?" Nott demanded. "I'll prove all of you wrong. I'm going to succeed where he failed - and at the task I've been given."

"You're a fool." Snape said softly. "You were feet away from a pagan god, one who has openly shown that he is against the Dark Lord. Doubtless he already knows of your assignment. How could you possibly think that was a good idea?"

"He didn't do anything. He barely even looked at me."

"He's spent six years pretending to be nothing more than a mediocre wizard, you idiot boy. Do you think simply knowing what the Dark Lord is planning will make him break that disguise?" Snape sounded disdainful to the extreme. "In front of a crowd, no less."

"I didn't-"

"Think? No, obviously not."

Gabriel stretched his awareness further, poking at their minds with the lightest touch. There was nothing in their surface thoughts - Snape was angry [and worried, but not about Nott] while Nott was filled with a mix of pride and a steely determination to do whatever it was he was supposed to be doing.

What was it...?

Gabriel prodded further into Nott's mind, seeking his train of thought, and snapped back hurriedly when Nott's head moved sharply.

He'd sensed the intrusion?

"What?" Snape said irritably.

"You're trying to read my mind!"

"I'm not even looking at you, how could I-" Snape stilled, seemingly reaching a confusion. "Get out."

"What?"

"Leave. We'll finish this conversation later."

Gabriel, realizing that he wouldn't be able to take any more of their thoughts without being noticed, withdrew.

The bright light and noise of Slughorn's party was almost a shock when he grounded his senses in his vessel again, blinking open his eyes. Luna was staring at him intently, and curiously.

"That looked odd," She said. "What did you find out?"

"Nothing good," Gabriel replied. He had a funny feeling he'd just found out who was behind the cursing of Katie Bell.

He didn't mention it - for one, he wanted to be sure, and for another, Hermione would most likely insist that they tell Dumbledore.

Call him paranoid, but Gabriel didn't trust Dumbledore. Was he a powerful, 'good'-allied wizard? Yes. Was he trustworthy? No. Not only had he told the entire order about Gabriel, but there had been something about him the last time they spoke that made Gabriel think that however much he was being told, there was still more that Dumbledore wasn't letting him know.

He was, however, attempting not to let that bother him.

Much.

The train ride back to London for break passed quickly, mainly because Gabriel wasn't on it - he'd gone straight home, skipping the train entirely and only making it appear as though he was on it - he'd gotten on the train, but anyone attempting to find him on it would be disappointed.

"Faðir!" Jormungand was the first one to notice he was there, spinning around and hopping down from his chair.

"What, did you forget I was coming?" Gabriel didn't move as Jormungand crashed into him, grinning at Adam. "What were you doing, making cookies?"

"It's Christmas," Adam offered, moving to cut out another shape from the dough flattened on the counter. "It's a tradition."

"Cookies are a tradition I can get behind." Gabriel fake-groaned as Jormungand tried to pull himself up, giggling. "Geez, kid, how many of those have you been eating? Has Adam been cooking for you the entire time I've been gone?"

"He's better than Tía," Jormungand told Gabriel. It took Gabriel a moment to remember that Tía was his and Fenris's name for Sigyn, since she wasn't their mother but still a close family member. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she took care of them when he wasn't around.

"She left already, didn't she?" He asked - despite last year, Sigyn still tended to leave whenever he came home.

"Yeah." Jormungand clambered back onto his stool, reaching for a bottle of sprinkles. "She says she likes being able to do other stuff."

"She's got the right," Gabriel mused, taking another bottle himself. "Mind if I help out?"

"It's your house," Adam said. "Go ahead."

"Sure, but they're your cookies." Gabriel glanced at the oven. "I spy more over there."

"Yeah, that was the first batch. Fenris got bored after we put them in the oven and ran off somewhere." Adam got up and bent down to peer through the glass of the oven door. "You should go find him - he'll be glad to see you're home."

"Nah, I think I'll indulge myself a little first." Adam probably thought he meant the cookies, but really Gabriel was just enjoying being able to have a sort of domesticity in his life.

He'd forgotten how much he'd missed this.

Review, please! This chapter's a little longer than the usual, but I hardly think that's a bad thing.