Unfound

Chapter Three

"What do you mean, kinda?" Harry wanted to yell. And, he would have, if speaking at even a normal volume didn't make it feel like there were knives in his throat.

Gabriel visibly winced. It was a movement that Harry would not have noticed before, but the archangel looked different to him now. Now that his glasses were on, he could truly see him. The true appearance of who he was – his wings, large and intimidating and bronze in color. Similar to his eyes.

"It's just – well, for all intents and purposes you're an angel. I mean, you've got wings. You've got grace. Your essence is currently in a vessel. No halo, but that was always just artistic license anyway, right? Even I don't have one of those. But – you know, you also still have your soul? So, to answer your question – you're kind of an angel."

Harry took a deep breath. Which also hurt. What the hell?

"Vessel?" He asked again, remembering what had started this conversation in the first place. He glanced down. What was there was, at least, what he remembered to be his body. Maybe a little healthier, as he looked down at his stomach, which was no longer concave. His skin also had a slight glow to it.

"Yeah. That hot little bod you've got going there is 100% pure Harry. You were just born a human so, I think, you would probably have trouble occupying any other sort of vessel other than the one you were born in. Because of the whole soul thing."

"Gabriel, I swear…"

Gabriel gave him a look of sympathy that Harry took to be a look of pity. Which he hated. His head was too much of a mess for all of this.

"Look, it's a long story. But the long and short of it is that I got you back. I've been trying for years, and now you're here. A thank you wouldn't be out of place."

Harry gave him an incredulous look. "Thank you? THANK YOU? I chose death, Gabriel. I was happy. I was at peace."

"But were you really?"

Harry just sort of gaped at him.

"I found you in Heaven. By yourself. On the Hogwarts grounds. Do you remember?"

He had to think on that for a moment. Since he had been awake, he had been more focused on other parts of his being. Largely how everything hurt. But also, how much he felt. Harry could feel the weight of his wings on his back. He could feel the air rushing through his lungs. And he could feel the hurricane of emotions that he identified as human. But what he didn't feel was notable too.

He certainly wasn't bored.

Then, he started to remember. Hundreds of years in an instant. Long talks with Dumbledore. Quidditch matches with Fred and James. Walking the Hogwarts grounds with Lily. Telling Remus about Teddy.

And that last day.

"There you go champ," Gabriel said as if he could also see those memories returning. And maybe he could, for all Harry knew.

"You…you were there."

"Yes, I was."

"You – made a deal?" That part was fuzzy.

"I did. Dear old Dad needed my help. Really needed my help, Luci wasn't enough. Not that it mattered in the end, but we talked. And came to an agreement, of sorts."

"Dad, as in…"

"Yes, the Almighty Absent Father."

Harry was dumbfounded. "But why?"

Gabriel started to answer the question, but Harry didn't hear any of it. There was a loud buzzing and then voices. Hundreds of voices. Confused, angry, loud voices. He sat straight up, looking around wildly, trying to find the owners of those voices.

"Harry. I need you to concentrate."

"Huh?"

"Listen to my voice. Push those other voices out. Imagine turning the dial on the wireless to a different station."

"I – don't, I can't even – SHUT UP!"

The voices stopped all at once and it was almost as startling as when they had all started up. The utter silence was deafening.

He crashed back into the…bed…he was laying on.

"Easy there, tiger," Gabriel said, approaching Harry with caution. He reached out to put an arm on Harry's shoulder.

As soon as his hand met Harry's body, he was thrown back with a ball of green energy making a sickening crunching noise as he hit where the wall met the ceiling and slide down to the ground.

It took the archangel a couple of minutes to stop seeing birds buzzing around his head. "Woah," he said. "Did you just try and AK me?"

Harry was staring at him, eyes wide, unmoving. "No. I – I have no idea what that was. Are you alright?"

Gabriel gingerly got to his feet and cracked his back.

"It's been a few millennia since I've been hit like that, but yeah, I'll be fine," he grinned at Harry. The grin slipped off his face when he found that taking a step was too difficult. "We're gonna have to work on that though."

III

The Firebird broke down in South Dakota. It wasn't the first time that Ben's monstrosity of a car failed them, but it was the first time that he hadn't been able to fix it after just a couple of hours of swearing under the hood.

The problem was that they were stuck on the side of the highway – and they hadn't seen many cars pass them in a while.

"I don't think I can fix it," Ben said as he pulled his head out from looking at the engine. "I think it's the alternator."

"I could just cast a quick reparo and we could be on our way," Ted said, twirling his wand between his fingers, bored.

"No," Ben said harshly. "No magic on the Firebird."

"So, what do we do?" Ted asked, rolling his eyes.

"I guess we'll have to have it towed to the nearest town. The problem is that we're in the middle of bumfuck nowhere."

Ted looked around. His friend wasn't wrong – they were surrounded by fields.

"You can call someone, can't you?"

Ted knew that, theoretically, he could have a cell phone, but he didn't much see the point. His Aunt Luna had been working with a muggle to make technology accessible to witches and wizards and had offered him a prototype, but he didn't know who he would call. The only person he'd want to talk to on the phone was Ben, and he was currently with his best friend almost 24/7, so when they did separate, it was nice to not have a way to communicate and to just get off on his own.

"Yeah. I've got Triple-A, but…"

A police cruiser that had been just a little down the road came up behind where their car was parked.

"Teddy, quick, your hair," Ben hissed.

Ted had forgotten. He had been bored while Ben was working on the car and his hair was currently a wild shade of blue that wasn't achievable by muggle hair dye. He ducked down and quickly changed it to a normal shade of brown.

"And your wand!"

Ted quickly stowed that in an arm holster up his sleeve.

A woman stepped out of the car just moments later. Ted didn't think she noticed.

She was middle-aged, with short, brown hair, and a friendly disposition.

"Are you alright, boys?" She asked as she approached them.

"Yeah," Ben said. "Alternator problems, I think. I was just about to call a tow truck."

The woman looked down on her watch. "Oh, this time of night?" It was around nine o'clock in the evening. "You're not going to be able to get a tow until tomorrow, probably."

Ben groaned. "Great, just great."

"Hey, don't be so glum," she said. "I can give you a ride into town, you can get some rest, and in the morning, we'll get your car to the closest mechanic."

Ben and Ted exchanged looks. The woman looked trustworthy, but a demon could be anyone. Not that they had come across a ton of demons during their road trip, but they knew to be careful.

"Christos," Ben murmured.

"What was that, son?" The woman asked, sharply.

"Christ just wasn't thinking we'd have to stop so soon, we were hoping to make it past Sioux Falls," he covered.

"Uh huh…well, my name is Jody Mills. I'm the local sheriff. You two look awfully young to be out here on your own."

"We just finished high school," Ted explained, this wasn't the first time that they had been questioned. He quietly cursed at himself for not shifting his appearance to make him look a little older to avoid the questioning. "Taking a gap year to road trip across the States."

"Oh, that sounds fun. You know, I have two girls around your age," she said. "If you want, I could even take you to my house for a hot meal."

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary," Ben said quickly. Ted was learning, but he was still not great at blending as a muggle. And this woman already seemed suspicious of them.

"No problem. Why don't the two of you collect your valuables and I can take you to a motel?"

"Will my car be safe?" Ben asked, anxiously.

The sheriff laughed. "Should be. We don't have a lot of petty crime around here. Not on my watch."

"Of course not," Ted said smoothly. "I'll just fetch our things from the boot? While you lock up?"

"Uh huh." Ben turned back to the car to close the hood and search the backseat for anything they might need.

They didn't know that Jody was carefully and subtly watching as Teddy went to the trunk. She had her suspicions about these boys. Sure enough, from a quick glance, she could see an anti-demon sigil painted onto the underside of the trunk door. Not unlike what the Winchesters had on the Impala. These boys were way too young to be Hunters, though, and that worried her.

"So, do you have a name to go with that adorable accent of yours?" Jody asked casually when the British kid came over to her squad car.

He blinked for a second. "Oh right, sorry. I'm Ted. Ted Lupin." He stuck out his hand, which Jody took.

"Nice to meet you, Ted," she said. "And your…friend?"

"My best friend," Ted said adorably. "Ben. We've been friends since my second year of Hog – school." He stopped himself short, just in case.

"Second year?"

"Seventh grade, ma'am," Ben said when he came in.

"Ah. That is a long time. Well, don't wait for a signed invitation, get on in the backseat."

Both boys looked at the backseat with a little trepidation.

"I'm not taking you to lock up, I promise. Unless you'd like to confess to some crime?"

"No, no crimes here," Ted said, with a charming smile and puppy dog eyes. 'His eyes look just like Sam's,' Jody thought to herself. It was going to take more than a nice smile on a cute face to get past her though.

They climbed into the backseat of her cruiser.

The first couple of minutes the boys talked quietly just between the two of them. Jody couldn't make out what they were saying, but they seemed deep in conversation.

"She'd bloody well kill us, that's what she would say!" Ted said loudly from the back.

"What was that?"

"Sorry, ma'am, I was just asking Teddy here…"

"It's Ted," he interrupted.

Ben ignored him. "What my mom would say about us being picked up by the sheriff."

"And I was explaining that his mum isn't as scary as my nan,"

"Who would kill us if she found out."

"Ah. Well, seeing as you are both of age, and you're not getting arrested for anything, I don't see any reason to call your parents at all."

"Good," Ben said. "Teddy's – "

"Ted,"

"- is just a worrywart."

"But I do think that you ought to call your parents to let them know where you are," she said sternly. "I know when my girls go on road trips, I worry about them."

"We will," Ben promised.

They made light conversation until they pulled into a motel parking lot. It was one that Sam and Dean stayed at – after Bobby's death, of course, when they were in town. Jody knew the manager.

"This look alright to you?"

"Yeah, perfect, thank you, ma'am – er, Sheriff lady," Teddy said, tripping over his words.

Jody laughed. "You can call me Jody. Here, take my card. If you have any trouble with the tow truck in the morning, let me know."

"Thank you, Jody," Ben said with a smile to rival Dean Winchester's. "We really appreciate the help."

"You're welcome. Stay out of trouble boys."

They agreed and headed into the lobby to get a room.

III

"Sorry, I think you'll find that the rest of the Heavenly Host is a tiny bit obsessed with you. Seeing as you are something…new." Gabriel said once he had limped back to Harry's side.

"That was angels?"

"Yeah. Noisy bunch, huh? Don't worry though, we're well warded here. They won't be able to find you. Although that will probably not stop them from looking. But they may try a prayer assault again once they get their act together and aren't just panicking en masse."

Harry shook his head. "I would rather they didn't."

"You and me both," Gabriel agreed. "Now. You've been laying there like a bug on a rug for too long," he said. "Time to test out those sea legs of yours."

"Gabriel. I think we have more pressing matters at hand."

"Oh? And what might those be?" He asked innocently.

"Gabe. You told me – you said that my brothers needed my help. Where are they? Are they here? Do they need me now?"

A look of guilt crossed Gabriel's face.

"They are not in imminent danger," Harry interpreted.

"Well…" Gabriel said reluctantly.

"Gabe…"

"They're more-or-less always in imminent danger, are they not?"

"You mean you dragged me back down to Earth and they don't even need me?" Suddenly he got a horrible feeling in his gut that it wasn't that they didn't need him – it was that they didn't want him. Because if his brothers weren't here now, that meant that they had nothing to do with his resurrection.

"That's not what I said," Gabriel frowned. "They might not need you right this very instant, but…"

"Do they even know that I'm back? How long has it been anyway?"

"I already told you, five years. And no. Not yet."

"So, you didn't bring me back for them?"

"I brought you back for you. And maybe a little bit for me."

Harry's heart constricted. "They weren't even looking for me, were they?"

Gabriel, who wasn't one to hide his emotion in any case, certainly wasn't hiding them now, especially since Harry could really see him now. "They've had their hands full," he said, grudgingly. He wasn't a fan of the Winchesters by any stretch of the imagination, but he also didn't want to hurt Harry's feelings.

"With what, exactly?"

"Oh, you know, those two and their insisting upon starting the end of the world and then stopping it. They're incorrigible," he said lightly.

"So, you brought me back after they have saved the world – when they no longer need the assistance of – of a whatever the hell I am."

"Oh, come on Harry, you know what you are."

Harry looked surprised. "I do?"

"Yeah. Of course. You have wings, right? If you were able to get out of that bed, you could fly – which, by the way, most angels would trade their left tits to be able to do again."

"No," Harry said, once he realized it. "This – this is ascending?"

"Ding, ding, ding, Bob, we've got ourselves a winner!" Gabriel said in a game-show voice.

"I ascended," Harry repeated.

Gabriel said nothing.

It took a couple of beats. He had to think it through. "I'm the bloody Angel of sodding Death?!"

III

Ben groaned and flopped dramatically down on the bed across from Ted, who was reading the newspaper. Ted looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"Just talked to the mechanic. A new alternator is going to run about three hundred bucks."

Ted whistled. "That's a lot of money."

"Yeah, and that's only if I do the labor myself. We're gonna be stuck here for four days, at least. Possibly a whole week."

"That's alright. We'll just explore Sioux Falls! We always said that we'd go and stay wherever the road takes us."

"That's true. You don't mind?"

"Nah. Seems nice enough. Plus, I think I've found us a case, check this out…"

There was a knock on the door.

Ben and Ted exchanged looks.

"Your hair," Ben mouthed at Ted, who quickly changed it from its normal dark brown (a shade very similar to Harry's) to the brown it had been yesterday when they met the sheriff (which was closer to Sam's).

Ben looked in the keyhole. He didn't recognize the person on the other side, so he made a subtle hand gesture to Teddy to have his wand at the ready, just in case.

He opened the door.

"You Ted Lupin?" A girl with bright blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and a dark leather jacket asked bluntly. She wasn't very tall, but both boys could tell that this was not a person to be trifled with.

"Um. No. I'm Ben."

"Oh, the other one. Well, Jody sent me to check on you," she sounded very annoyed to have been sent on this errand.

Both boys just stared at her.

"Well? You going to invite me in, or what?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Ben said, and Teddy quickly stashed his wand.

She came barreling into the room.

"Um, we're alright, you don't have to stay – " Ted started to say.

"Look, Jody sent me because she's worried that the two of you are Hunters. I don't know why two snot-nosed brats like you would be, but…"

"Hunters? Like deer?" Ben asked innocently, while silently cursing to himself. He wondered what had given them away.

"Right. So, that's not a salt line on your windows, and…" she pulled up the mat in front of the door, "this isn't an anti-demon sigil on this rug."

"Those were here when we checked in?" Ted said with uncertainty. She shot him a glare. He thought that he might be in love.

"Uh huh. And this?" She picked up the newspaper that Ted had been reading that had an article circled. "It was a djinn, by the way, and I've already taken care of it."

"Oh, really? I was thinking that maybe it was…"

Ben frowned at him and subtly shook his head.

"I mean, what's a djinn?"

She snorted. "Smooth kid, real smooth."

"I'm not a kid," Ted bristled. "You don't look like you're any older than I am."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Is that so? Jody was able to catch on that you were Hunters from almost the moment she saw you. You're inexperienced. And that's dangerous. It's going to get you killed."

"What'd you know about us?" Ben asked, angry. "We've been hunting for months and are doing just fine. We don't need you or your mom protecting us."

"She's not my mom," the girl shot back.

That surprised both Ben and Ted.

"Look, I know you mean well, and you're not total lost causes with the precautions that you have here, but this is a dangerous world. We don't need babies getting into a messy situation and getting other Hunters killed when they come to the rescue." With that, she turned to leave the room just as suddenly as she came in. But, first, her phone beeped. She groaned when she read the text message. "And Jody says she wants you two to come to dinner tonight."

"Oh, we – " Ben started.

The girl got in his face. "Jody said come to dinner. That means you are coming to dinner. Six o'clock. Alex will pick you up."

Ben gulped. "Yes, ma'am."

She laughed. "Name's Claire. See ya later." She left.

The boys looked at each other. "Woah," they said at the same time.

III

"This is not good," Harry said after he got over his initial shock. "Angel of Death?" He repeated.

Gabriel shrugged. "It's just a title. We all have them. I'm the Archangel of Revelation. Raphe was the Angel of the Trumpet. Which is pretty lame. At least Angel of Death sounds cool."

"It doesn't come with - I don't know, duties? Responsibilities?"

"Doesn't have to. Especially since there is no Death. Look, you're still you. You're an angel, but you're not, you know?"

"No. I don't know," Harry said wryly. He still hadn't wrapped his mind around the concept.

Gabriel sighed. "Search your feelings, Luke."

Harry looked at him blankly.

"It's a Star Wars reference."

"I know that, Obi-Wan," Harry bit back, annoyed. "I don't know what it means."

Wizard heaven may have only had wizards, but it still had movies. At least, any movies that wizards had seen in their lifetimes. James had been obsessed with Star Wars. Harry had watched it with him no less than a hundred times. His adopted father had been heartbroken when Harry told him that he hadn't seen the prequel trilogy.

"Is it all that different from being the Master of Death?"

"Yes, it bloody is. Take me back, Gabe, before it's too late. My friends – they'll lose their magic. I can't do that to them. To the world. What will happen to Heaven? Will that collapse? And what about…"

"Woah, woah, slow down there, slugger," Gabriel said, trying to calm him down. "The wizarding world is fine. I wouldn't have brought you back if I hadn't have ensured that. I told you, I made a deal with Dad."

Harry's memories were still jumbled. One second, he could remember everything and the next nothing. He shook his head as if that would clear things up.

"But why? Gabriel, you still haven't told me why I'm back. You crashed Heaven. You brought me down here. But why?"

"I told you why."

"To help my brothers. Well, I'm awake now. Shall I go help them?" He started to move out of his bed.

"No! You're not ready yet."

"Gabriel."

"Harry."

"You know what I want. Just tell me."

"I do know. But you're not ready. You can't even get out of that bed. Let everything sink in. Let your grace settle."

Harry gave Gabriel his best death stare as he sat up and swung his legs around so that they were now dangling off the bed. He was wearing loose pajama bottoms and no shirt. He almost rolled his eyes. Typical Gabriel. He supposed that he was lucky to be wearing any clothes at all.

Gabriel pursed his lips but didn't stop him.

Gingerly, Harry put some weight on his legs. Weird, he thought. Had this always felt so strange? It was roughly akin to getting on dry land after swimming, weightless, for hours. Or, in his case, hundreds of years. Well, I may as well jump in headfirst. He confidently placed all his weight on his feet and took one step forward.

He miscalculated, or rather, misremembered that there was a new weight on his back. He stumbled under his wings, sure that he was going to face plant. But before he could – acting on an instinct that he didn't even know he had, his wings started flapping. This stopped his fall and kept him on the balls of his feet with the rest of his weight resting on the motion of his wings.

Gabriel had rushed forward and physically held him to stop him from falling. But it turned out he hadn't needed it.

Carefully, he shifted to a standing position.

"Woah," he said.

"That was impressive," Gabriel commented, with his arms still wrapped around the younger angel. "I forgot what it feels like at first. You're reminding me of the first days when regular angels started coming down to Earth - oooh the blackmail I have…"

"Not helping, Gabriel. How can I help anyone if I can't walk?"

"You'll get there. Try again."

Harry swatted Gabriel's arms, which were still wrapped around him off. He took stock of his body - the weight of his wings took a deep breath and stepped. He didn't fall. He grinned and walked straight across the room.

"I did it!" He yelled.

"Oh yes. Very good. Now that you have the same motor function skills of a toddler, let's get you back to bed."

Harry looked up, surprised. "Why? I feel fine. Can we go outside? Where are we anyway? Oh, can we go flying?"

"Slow down there, buddy," Gabriel said. "Give it…"

He didn't have time to finish the thought before Harry went crashing back into the bed. It was as if all of Earth's gravity him all at once and he was suddenly exhausted.

"Did you do this to me?" He asked suspiciously.

"Not directly," Gabriel replied. "I put you in this vessel - your body, but the difficulties you're having and the tiredness you feel? That's just a process."

Harry lay back down.

"We will be able to go flying. Someday soon. It's the human part of you that's holding you back, but it never held you down for long before, so I expect it won't now. We're actually in one of your safe houses."

Harry looked around a little. He vaguely remembered. "Key West?"

"Yes."

He frowned. "This was supposed to go to my brothers."

"It's being held in trust. Or it was before I made it and the memory of it existing from the minds of the people who knew about it. Been hiding out here for quite some time now, actually. It's nice. You have good taste."

"You went back into hiding?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Yeah. Dad found me, of course. But I've been trying to fly under the radar. Being an angel out there is dangerous these days. Or it was. Last I heard my brothers and sisters sealed Heaven up - no one is allowed in or out."

Harry looked at him with utter confusion.

"Oh right. You wouldn't know. Storytime! This all started when the dickwad of an angel my father entrusted with his word conned a particularly naive and stupid angel into helping him close off Heaven and expel all of the angels…"

III

"…I don't know, Jody," Sam said, with amusement from the other side of the call. "I'm not sure you can say anything to talk someone out of hunting."

"They're so young though, Sam," she said. "They just graduated high school. Doesn't that seem – well, awfully young for this sort of thing?"

"Dean and I started hunting younger than that," he said. "But yeah, it's young. I don't know, maybe try to find out why they are hunting in the first place. Everyone gets into the life somehow." There was a pause. "No, Dean, I don't think that would help," Sam sighed.

"What is Dean saying?"

"Nothing useful. Said he'd be happy to come kick their asses for you."

Jody laughed. "If I wanted that I would just sic Claire on them. She can open one hell of a can of whoop-ass." She didn't like Claire hunting, but she didn't have any doubt in her ability to beat up a couple of recent high school graduates.

"What are their names?" Sam asked. "If you can't talk them out of it, Dean and I will keep our eyes out for them when we're out hunting."

"They are – oh, they're here, I've got to go, Sam. Thanks for the advice."

"I'm not sure I helped, but you're welcome, anytime."

"You really didn't," Jody chuckled. "Don't forget to call every once in a while, you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," he returned and then hung up.

Alex came in the door with the two boys trailing behind her. To Jody's amusement, they were both wearing slightly nicer clothes than they had been the day before when they met. They had dressed up, which she thought was adorable.

"Welcome, boys, thank you for coming," she said with a smile.

Ted returned the smile. "Of course, thank you for inviting us."

Ben just looked around. Ted elbowed him. "Um, yes, thank you," he said.

"These are for you," Ted said, pulling flowers out that Jody hadn't seen from behind his back.

Jody was touched. "Oh, that's so nice," she said as she took them. "Someone taught you some manners, most Hunters have none of those."

"My nan taught me to never come empty-handed," Ted explained.

"Well, she taught you well," she replied. "I've just got to pull a couple of things out of the oven. Alex, show the boys to the dining room and tell Claire we've got company."

Alex rolled her eyes but gestured to the other room. They followed behind her.

III

"Gabriel, it's been three days since I've been able to successfully walk and talk and act like a normal human."

"Oh, Harry you've never been normal, that's what I love most about you."

"Shut up. And also, aren't we kind of brothers now? That means you should probably stop hitting on me."

Gabriel grinned. "As I said before, Mr. Potter, you are one-of-a-kind, you don't have any brothers or sisters, so no, one of these days, I know you'll give in."

Harry huffed. "I do so have brothers," he argued back.

"Well, fine, yes, technically speaking you still share DNA with those apes. At least while you are using your old human body as a vessel."

"You know, it creeps me out when you talk about me that way. What, did you dig up my corpse? I would have thought that Sam and Dean would have insisted on salting and burning me." He said it with confidence, but he couldn't help but doubt as he spoke. Maybe his brothers hadn't cared about what happened to his remains at all.

Gabriel frowned. "They might have wanted that, yes, but that is not a traditional wizarding burial. Did you really think that your friends would have allowed that?"

Harry shrugged. "Honestly, at the time, I didn't think my friends would care much at all about what happened to my body. They hate me, right? For doing what I did?" Harry was at peace with his choices. He didn't regret dying to save the wizarding world, especially since no further harm (caused by him, specifically) came to his brothers from his action. But he figured that his friends would be less-than-pleased. Sad, sure, but ultimately, he knew that anger would win out.

Gabriel looked at him with sadness in his eyes. "Ah, so things haven't changed, have they?"

Harry shrugged. "I've had a lot of time to come to terms with it. I assumed I'd get an earful when they made it to Heaven. I was also thinking that would be a nice, long time. And hey – I haven't had huge urges to drink, so that's a step in the right direction."

"I don't know. I always found your alcoholism amusing."

"That's because you're an arsehole."

"That's true," Gabriel agreed with no qualms. "But Harry, honestly, all that time away and you think that your friends, your true family is angry with you? They love you. And have been trying to do right by you since you died. At least if the memorials built to you is anything to go by."

Harry groaned. "Are there a lot of those?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No. Just the one."

"Really?"

"Yes. They knew that you wouldn't want it. Have outright fought and browbeat anyone who has tried to put up another. I have to say – that Percy Weasley is a shark when it comes to defending your legacy. They tried their best to respect your wishes. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realize that you are back."

Harry frowned. "They're not going to know."

"Huh?"

"Why would I tell them? My own brothers don't want me back, why would anyone else?"

"No, Harry, that's not…"

"Not what? You're always talking about what a bad influence Sam and Dean are on me. I thought you'd be happy. I think, someday soon, I'll be able to return to wizard heaven and I can probably take you with me. So, you can be with your people, and I can be with mine, and my brothers can live in peace."

"Harry, we don't know if you can enter Heaven without destroying the human part of your soul."

"I know that. It doesn't matter though, in the end, does it? For what my plans are. Maybe I'll be able to go back and forth and maybe not, but when I go back, I intend to stay."

Gabriel just stared at Harry. It was a rare occurrence, but he truly didn't have any words. He clearly was going to have to rethink his strategy.

"Give me a couple of weeks. We'll get you in tip-top fighting condition. Ready to kick ass and take names."

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not already ready to do that?"

"You can walk around. You can shoot scary green waves of energy, but you don't have any control or finesse. But, that's not all. There is more afoot than you know."

"Then bloody tell me!"

"I will," Gabriel said. "I'll tell you everything."

"Great. I'm waiting." Harry said impatiently. "Tell me so I can go about my merry way."

Gabriel had to think quickly. "I don't think so."

"Then I don't need to stay here, I can…"

"Wait," Gabriel interrupted. "I'll tell you. But not all at once. Some of it – it's hard to explain. And I don't want it to cause you to go off on some crazy crusade. When you are ready and we're both confident that you are not a danger to yourself or others – including the Winchesters, I'll tell you, and you can leave."

Harry huffed. "I don't really have a choice, do I?" He wouldn't put his brothers in danger. Gabriel was the only one who could help him. He knew this.

Gabriel grinned. "Nope. But I'll give you one little tidbit, as a good-faith gesture."

Harry made an impatient noise.

"Like all things with my father, there were three conditions to bringing you back. You see, he had to tweak his agreement with Death to make this possible."

"But you said Death is dead."

"I did. And he is. But that doesn't mean that the deal didn't still stand. You know, it doesn't matter, something about cosmic energy still existing and yadayada. The details aren't important. What matters is that there were conditions."

Harry was fairly certain that the details would be important. But they weren't important at this very moment.

"And those were?"

Gabriel smirked. "First, you get some rest. Then we'll see what you can do. After that, we'll get down and dirty with the details."

"Fine," Harry agreed. He put his hands out in front of him and threw the green energy at Gabriel, making the archangel soar through the air and crash into the wall just outside of the door.

"Ow," he said, as the door slammed shut in front of him.

Potter, 1, Harry thought and he settled himself into bed.

III

They had just gotten the food on their plates when Jody jumped straight into the questioning.

"So, what got you into hunting?" She asked.

Ben choked on the roll that was in his mouth and Ted had to swallow quickly to avoid spitting the sip of water he had just taken out all over the table. Claire was opening laughing at the two of them.

"Er – both of our father figures were Hunters," Ted answered for the two of them.

"Father figures?" Jody asked.

"Were?" Claire asked with her usual tact.

The boys exchanged looks. They reminded, even in the little bit of time that she had spent with them, of Sam and Dean. A lot more innocent, of course, but she could tell that they were close.

"My, uh, sort-of stepfather, and his godfather," Ben explained.

That wasn't enough of an explanation for anyone at the table.

"My godfather wasn't really a Hunter," Ted said.

"But he hung around them," Ben said.

"True."

"Your godfather…hung around with Hunters but wasn't one?" Jody supposed she could understand that. She didn't exactly classify herself as a Hunter, but she did take cases from time to time.

"Right. He – uh, worked in law enforcement before he…retired? Quit? Anyway, he and Ben's kinda stepfather were, they were bro…buddies, which is how Ben and I met."

"What killed him?"

"Claire!"

"What? You were going to get there, eventually."

"An angel," Ted said with an edge in his tone.

"Angels are dicks," Claire said.

"They are," Ted agreed.

"Are you going after this angel that killed him?" Claire asked, almost casually.

"I sure as hell hope not," Jody said. "Angels – they are really hard to kill."

Ted did his best to hide his panic. How had he been found out so quickly? Thankfully, controlling facial expressions was something he was best at so he just tried to look depressed at that fact. "Yeah. I know. So, no, we're not going after him, although if I were to ever see him…well, I don't know that I could stop myself from trying to kill him," he lied. "But us mere mortals don't mean a thing to them, do we?"

"Sometimes we do," Claire said. "Not all angels are bad, you know," she said, feeling only a little bad for having classified them all as dicks. Castiel had come through for her a couple of times now. Even if he was a doof.

Ted snorted. "I've not met a good one." He had never met one at all. Harry had kept him away from all of them. A fat lot of good that did, in the end.

"So, if you're not looking for the angel that killed your godfather, why are you hunting?" Jody asked, changing the subject. Talking about Castiel was always sticky with Claire and she didn't want to get into it with her.

Ben shrugged. "Guess we wanted to see if we could. We're mostly just on a road trip, but, if we catch wind of a case, we take it." It wasn't far from the truth – for him.

"You're just casually hunting?" Alex asked.

"That's moronic," Claire chimed in.

"Girls," Jody chided. "Look, boys, I know that hunting can seem like fun – like an adventure. But it's not. It's dangerous and deadly. And once you get in, there is no getting out."

Neither one of them responded. She sighed. She could tell she wasn't getting through to them. But she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"I talked to Moe the mechanic," she said, changing the subject. "He said that your car isn't going anywhere for the next couple of days. For my own peace of mind, I would like you two to join us for dinner every night, check-in, chat."

"We couldn't possibly…" Ben started.

"Or, Benjamin Braedan," she said, using the full name he hadn't given her, "I could call your mom and let her know what you've been up to. I might, in any case."

Ben gulped. "Please don't!"

"Please, Jody, don't tell his mum. We'd be in so much trouble."

Jody gave them a knowing look. "Here's the deal. You will come here for dinner every night. The weekend is coming up. My friend Donna is going to come and visit and she and I are going to make sure that you are as prepared as possible for any hunts that you might take. If we are not satisfied, I will be calling your parents. For your own safety."

Claire laughed at the looks on their faces. "You're really in for it now," she taunted. "Donna's not gonna go easy on you."

"Claire, you too," Jody snapped.

"What? Why? I don't need any training."

"You sure as hell do. Don't think I don't know about the hunts you've been taking behind my back."

"Fine," Claire said, before dramatically slamming down her fork. "But I'm going to kick their asses," she said as she stood and stormed off.

"Dessert, anyone?" Jody asked cheerfully.

Ben and Ted didn't dare refuse.

III

Rest, it seemed, did not take as much time as it once had for Harry. Not that he had been one for a lie-in in the first place. Sure, knocking Gabriel on his arse had taken something out of him, but within hours he felt good-as-new. Well. Almost.

Harry hunted Gabriel down – finding him in a hot tub that he was fairly certain was not there when he had bought the place.

"Care to join me?" The angel had asked, a lecherous grin on his face.

Harry didn't dignify that with a response.

"Yeah, yeah, you're not into me, I get it. I will wear you down one of these days," the Archangel said, stepping out, thankfully wearing some swim trunks.

"So – uh, my magic is green?" Harry asked, holding his hands out.

"Your grace is green," Gabriel corrected. "Which is really quite unexpected. But it matches your eyes."

"Right. Grace."

"Wanna try and see what you can do?"

"Yeah. But – erm, shouldn't I just be able to do what I could before. When I wasn't quite an angel? Do you think much has changed? Other than the addition of wings, that is."

"I honestly don't know. That's half the fun!"

Harry frowned. "It's not. Look, I was in my room earlier, trying simple things. Summoning objects to me. Turning the lights on and off. Locking and unlocking doors. It was all easy. I really don't think that control is going to be an issue."

"Show me," Gabriel commanded.

Harry rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Silently and windlessly, he summoned a book from the bookshelf to himself. It flew over, no problem. And no green light.

"Alright. Now, transfigure that book into, I don't know, a toad."

Again, as easy as breathing, Harry did it. He also quickly turned it back into a book – just to avoid what happened with the puppy he had created for Ben.

"Good. Good. Now try and stun me."

"Really? You saw what happened earlier. I don't want to hurt you, old man."

"You watch your tone," Gabe said with a fake stern voice.

Harry threw a stunner at the Archangel. The normal red light didn't shine, but it also did not affect Gabriel, who just blinked.

He raised an eyebrow. "That can't possibly be the best you've got," he said. "I didn't even feel that."

"You shouldn't feel a stunning curse," Harry said. "It should just knock you out. But you're an archangel, you couldn't possibly think that was going to work on you."

"Maybe not." Gabriel looked at Harry in a way that the former wizard did not like. With a mischievous grin, Gabriel materialized an angel blade. He twired it in his hands a couple of times. "Let's see what you do with a real threat," he said, and with no warning, and perfect aim, he threw the sharp object at Harry's heart.

Harry didn't have time to think. He reached his hands out. Waves of green light seemed to almost freeze time. The projectile slowed until it met the force of Harry's grace when it returned to reality's time and was quickly thrown away from Harry. As the waves reached Gabriel, it also blew the angel back, straight into the wall, and with a satisfying splash, he was returned to the hot tub.

Harry looked down at his hand with wonder.

"Ouch," Gabriel said from the water.

"What was that?" Harry asked. "That could kill me!"

Gabriel gingerly got up from the water. Harry could already spot bruising. "Yeah. I'm not sure it could." He picked the angel blade up from the ground and handed it to Harry. "Try to cut yourself with that."

Harry didn't question it. He took the sharp end and made a small cut on the top of his left arm. The cut bled, green grace shining through. But it was only there for a moment before it healed itself.

"That's what I thought," Gabriel said. Before Harry had a chance to stop or react, Gabriel took the angel blade out of his hands and plunged it straight into his chest.

Harry couldn't believe it. Why would Gabriel go through all this trouble to bring him back, just to kill him again?

As he processed that thought he realized something.

"I'm not dead."

"Brilliant observation," Gabriel said sarcastically. "Did that even hurt?"

Harry glanced down. "Uh – I'm bleeding?"

"Yeah, I can see that genius, but does it hurt?"

He had to think about that. "It stung." But it didn't hurt anymore. He clenched his hand on the handle and pulled the blade out. Other than a big hole in his shirt and blood on the blade itself, he was completely fine.

"Bloody hell."

Gabriel grinned.

III

There was a knock on Mary's motel room door. She wasn't expecting anyone and she knew her boys were a couple of states over, so she pulled out her gun, and she carefully cracked the door open.

"Yes?"

"Mary Winchester?"

That made even more alarm bells go off in Mary's head. "Who wants to know?" She demanded.

The woman on the other side, who looked to be about the same age as Mary was when she died, was short and red-haired. She also had a British accent.

"My name is Ginny Weasley. I'm a friend of Sam and Dean. They asked me to drop something off to you."

That didn't make Mary trust her any more than before, but she opened the door.

"If you're their friend, you won't have trouble with me testing you."

Ginny gave her a grim smile. "Of course not. I don't have holy water or silver on me, I'm assuming that you will provide those?"

Mary stepped out of the doorframe to allow the woman entry into her room. She silently handed the woman a flask with holy water and a silver blade.

"Cheers," she said, as she took a sip, and carefully cut her hand with the blade.

When she passed both tests, Mary calmed down a little.

"Why did they send you?"

"I suppose because I was in the area," she said breezily. She was in the US to check in on Teddy, who did not call home often enough. She had taken the boys out to lunch, but Teddy had insisted that she leave after that. Once she was assured that both of them were fed and in good health, she had left them to their adorable road trip. "And it was the quickest way to get you this," she held out a card.

Mary took it. "This is a…credit card?" That's what it looked like. It had her name on it and everything.

"Yeah. A special one, though. Let me show you?"

Mary handed the card back to her. She held it in her hand and said, "Jenny Wesley," she said. Mary watched as the name changed.

"Huh? Is there a computer in the card?" Mary asked. She knew that computers were getting smaller and smaller.

Ginny laughed gently, "No. Here, you try, change it back to your name."

Mary did so. She was really impressed. "But how does it work?"

"Magic," Ginny winked.

Mary had her gun out in a second and pointed at Ginny.

"Woah, it's ok, I'm a good witch," she said, putting her hands up.

"You're a witch?"

"Yeah. But not like the kind of witch you're thinking of," she said. "No demon deals."

That didn't help anything. "The baby-stealing kind?"

Ginny looked at her with surprise. "I didn't think you knew about that."

"I do! I know all about your kind," Mary hissed.

"Look, Mary, could you lower your weapon? I promise I'm not going to hurt you. Also, I've never stolen a baby in my life. In fact, my friend is currently working with MACUSA to try and convince them to reverse those laws."

Mary reluctantly lowered her gun. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's a…passion project of hers," Ginny said. It was far more than that to Hermione, but Dean had explicitly told her not to say anything about Harry to his mother. (Whom Ginny had been shocked to find out was alive.) She had spoken with him on the phone and told him that she wouldn't hand over the credit card unless he would promise that it wasn't going to someone like Castiel. He had reluctantly told her about Mary. Then her curiosity was too great to not meet the woman and she had begged to be allowed to deliver the card.

"Would you like to have a seat?" Mary asked her.

Ginny smiled. "I would like that, yes, thank you. I can't stay long, I'm afraid." It wasn't that she didn't have the time, it was that she didn't trust herself not to give too much away.

"That's alright. How do you know my boys?"

"Dean and I were neighbors a couple of years back," she said. "I was – well, I still am, good friends with his then girlfriend."

"Dean had neighbors?"

Ginny laughed. "Yes, it was short-lived, but we had a great time while it lasted. I don't think – he was never really happy in that life."

"And how did you become his…" she indicated to the card in her hand.

Ginny hadn't been prepared for that question. "Er – Sam and Dean had…well, my boyfriend, he…" She took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm in charge of the estate of someone who passed and left a lot of money to Sam and Dean."

"Your boyfriend?"

Ginny wondered if she had said too much. "Yeah. But he was – he was more than that. Anyway, he wanted to be sure that Sam and Dean were taken care of…after he died. Most of his money is in wizarding accounts, so it needs a witch or wizard to be the official guardian, and actually, my brother handles most of it, but he can't get away from his family as often as I can so…" She was rambling and she knew it.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Mary said, gently.

Ginny looked down. "Thank you."

"Your boyfriend was quite generous, wasn't he?"

"The most generous. Never met anyone so willing to give away all his money. He would have done anything for Sam and Dean."

That took Mary aback a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah. And I know, if he had known you, he would have wanted to help you too. Any family of theirs was family of his. Same goes for me." There was so much that Ginny wanted to say and couldn't. Harry's mother was beautiful. She knew that he would have loved to get to know her.

"That's – really kind."

"It's nothing."

"It's not!" Mary insisted. "I – I haven't been here for my boys, and it's good to know that they have had people looking out for them. Like you. And your boyfriend." Her boys didn't really need her, she could see that. She wondered why they hadn't mentioned that they had inherited money from a friend. She had assumed that they made their money the way John mentioned in his journal – through hustling pool and credit card fraud.

Ginny stood up. "I do have to get going." Mostly, she wasn't sure that she would be able to keep from crying for much longer. And that might lead to some awkward conversation.

"Of course. Um – what's the credit limit?" She didn't want to max the card out.

"The what?"

"The credit limit? You know, the amount I can spend before the card gets shut down?"

"Oh. I don't think it has one of those," Ginny said.

"Really?"

Ginny shrugged. "If it's going to be over, I don't know, a hundred thousand dollars, maybe have Sam and Dean let me know? Actually…" she conjured a piece of paper. Mary was a little shocked at the casual use of magic. "Here's my number. Feel free to call me if you need anything." She gave Mary one last smile before disapparating.

AN – Ah! I'm so excited for you to read this chapter. I know that I made you wait quite a while for Harry, but hopefully it was worth it. I also really hope y'all love Ben, Teddy, and Claire as much as I do. Writing Claire is so much fun.

I am sure that this chapter will bring out my Harry/Gabriel shippers (what do we think, Habriel or Gabry?) and I love y'all but I want to let you know that I see it as a very one-sided, unrequited thing. Partly because, in my head canon, Harry is demi-sexual. Harry is my favorite – I identify strongly with him and so because I'm ace, in my head he is acspec too. That doesn't mean that I don't like you shipping them, please continue to do so. I just don't want anyone's hopes to be too high because if it happens (and that's a pretty big if) it won't be for a very long time.

I will be putting little summaries of episodes in author's notes in the future! This chapter is not set in a specific episode, so that will not apply here. I'm also going to be more off-script in this fic than I have been in the past.

Thank you again so much for all the interactions. I really, truly, appreciate all of them, especially comments and reviews. I can't wait to hear what think!