Unfound

Chapter Four

Season 12, Episode 8 – LOTUS: Lucifer becomes "LOTUS" when he possesses the President of the United States, impregnating Kelly Kline, and causing Sam and Dean to embark on a dangerous plan to exorcise him and send him back to the cage.
Season 12, Episode 9 – First Blood: Sam and Dean are imprisoned in a government facility in Colorado. Castiel and Mary search for them.

III

Sam, Dean, and Castiel were on their way to Indianapolis to meet Crowley and Rowena when Cas started seizing in the backseat. As soon as he heard their friend cry out, Sam moved to quickly get off of the phone. "Crowley, I'm gonna have to call you back. Dean, pull over."

Dean did.

Cas was almost in a fetal position.

"What's happening? Did Lucifer knock up another woman?" Dean asked, worried.

Cas shook his head. "No – this is…something else – the angels, they don't know what to make of it."

"Like what?"

"No one is sure. Just – uh, give me a second here," he stopped talking and seemed to be listening intently.

"What?" Dean asked.

"They think it's a new angel."

"Is that a big deal?" Sam asked. "Surely there are new angels from time-to-time. Maybe Chuck and Amara decided…"

"No. There hasn't been a new angel since – well, since the beginning of time. And this one – it's different. And its presence isn't in Heaven. It's on Earth. And…"

"And what?"

"It's powerful. And of an order that…an order of angel that we've never seen before."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. But they didn't even have the chance to fully process the information as a cop car pulled up behind where they were parked – lights flashing.

"Aw, crap," Dean said.

III

"Ted, you've got to stop," Ben said in the motel room after a day of training. He was determined to get through to his friend before they went over to Jody's house for dinner. "We're going to get caught you are going to get in so much trouble."

"They have no idea! How could they? Plus, did you see how impressed Claire was when we hit all the targets today?" Ted had enchanted all of their weapons before training that day to not miss a target. Ben had not been impressed.

Ben groaned. "Don't tell me this is about your crush on Claire. Come on, man."

Ted blushed. "I don't have a crush on Claire!"

"Uh huh. Then why else would you have written to your Aunt Luna for a cell phone? I know it's because Claire called you a freak for not having one. It's not like I blame you, she's pretty hot, but she's also kind of a psycho."

"She is not a psycho!"

Ben scoffed. "Sure, dude. But your secret is bigger than some girl. You remember what Tommy said? This is having a Minster-of-Magic-As-An-Aunt level of unfixable. Also, I'm younger than you, why do I have to be the voice of reason?"

"You're just jealous," Ted shot back. He knew, on some level, that he was being childish. And he should be more careful. But it was so nice to be around people who had no idea who he was. Who didn't pity him for being an orphan.

Ben sighed. "I'm really not. I just think we could be learning actual skills here. These women know their stuff. We're lucky to get to train with them, it's more than Harry and Dean ever did for us. You're not always going to remember to enchant our guns. It's cheating and it could get us killed."

"It's not cheating, I'm a wizard, I can use magic to my advantage."

"And what if you drop your wand? Or there are anti-magic wards? Or if your wand is broken? You have to learn to do these things for real."

"Whatever, Ben."

Ben tried to pretend that what Teddy was saying didn't hurt his feelings. But he felt like he was losing his best friend. Ted had been getting more and more obsessed with finding Castiel and that Ben could handle. But this was something else entirely. It was reckless. He couldn't wait for them to leave Sioux Falls. He was always looking over his shoulder here, both with expectation and excitement, thinking that Dean might show up. His hunting wasn't quite at the level that he had hoped before seeing Dean again, but it was getting close and he missed the man.

"In any case, we're going to be leaving tomorrow. The car is done, I can pick it up in the morning. Where do you want to go next?"

"Well, Claire was mentioning a case in Idaho – that's headed towards the west coast, where we were planning on going next."

"Now you want to take cases with Claire?" Ben asked, upset.

"Why, yeah, why the hell not?"

"Because you're a fucking wizard and you're not allowed to fraternize with hunters!"

"I fraternize with you!"

"I don't count. I'm a squib, remember?"

"But you're really not."

"That doesn't matter. I'm registered as one, please Teddy, listen to me…"

There was a knock on their door. Ben shot Ted a glare that told the wizard that this conversation wasn't over.

"Hey losers, Jody sent me to come and get you for dinner," Claire said when they opened it. "She let Donna cook, so it's going to be something horrifically midwestern. It will probably have enough butter and fat to give you a heart attack before you turn 40."

"That sounds brilliant," Ted said. Ben rolled his eyes, even though he agreed. "Hey Claire, on the car ride over, can you tell Ben about that case in Idaho? I'm trying to convince him that we should go."

Claire gave him an appraising look. "Sure, kid," she said.

Ted grinned at Ben.

III

It was nighttime. Sam, Dean, and Castiel had driven far enough away from the place where they had just almost been arrested by someone high up in the US government if Arthur Ketch was to be believed, to pull over again to have a chat with the man. He had just saved their hides, so they supposed that it was fair.

On the drive over, Sam and Dean had filled Cas in on Ginny's visit and what she had to say about the organization. Cas, wisely, had not said a lot. They did not talk about wizards. Cas knew that he was on very thin ice when it came to anything wizarding world-related and this car ride was the first time since he had gotten back from Purgatory that the brothers had mentioned anyone from that world to him.

He hoped this meant that they had begun to forgive him. Not that he thought he deserved it.

The three of them got out of the car to speak with the Brit.

"So, it's all very simple, really," Ketch said, his voice oozing with nonchalance. "Mick Davies asked you to join our effort, which we're taking international. My instructions are to strongly encourage a, 'yes.'"

"So, what? You've just been following us?" Castiel asked.

"Not at all. We're good dogs. We only come when called. And he," he nodded to Sam, "…called."

Dean turned to face Sam. "You what?"

Sam turned a little red. He had been thinking about calling Ginny when he had snuck aside. But then he remembered how she had insisted that they stay completely away from the British of Letters, and wanted to spare himself the lecture.

Hermione had been another option, but Sam hadn't wanted to get his friend in trouble, especially since Ginny said she was working on the diplomatic side of things. So, instead, he had a momentary lapse in judgment and decided to reach out directly to the British Men of Letters.

"I – I didn't, uh, I hung up," he admitted.

"Yes, you did, which made Mr. Davies think that you were in trouble, which you were. So, he rings me. Bing, bang, boom. Meet Bob. He's your uncle. Oh, and, um, you're welcome. Hmmm?"

"And why should we believe anything you have to say?"

"You, halo," Ketch said, addressing Cas. "Do you sense I'm lying?"

Cas did not look amused. "My name is Castiel. And…no. But the truth can be situational." He had used that loophole himself many times.

"Oh. Oh, I do enjoy an angel," Ketch said condescendingly. "But I understand your hesitation. You haven't exactly seen us at our best. Lady Bevell is a bit…excitable."

"She tried to kill us," Dean pointed out. He was also thinking about Draco Malfoy. He wasn't sure if the ferret was an official Man of Letters, but he had been a pain in the ass.

"Like I said, excitable."

"And you're better?" Sam demanded.

"I don't care about you one way or the other," he said coldly. "I'm not an ideologue."

"And all you wanna do is help these American Hunters to clear this country of monsters?" Castiel asked, sarcastically. He was beginning to wonder if all British people were infuriating.

"We understand things are different here. We're eager to collaborate. The British Men of Letters are centuries old, lads. We can offer expertise, weaponry, skills."

"Like we saw on out on the road?"

"I'm an artist, Mr. Winchester," he opens the trunk of his car, where there was an impressive array of weapons. "I paint in many colors."

"Was that a grenade launcher?" Dean asked, excitably. Sam shook his head at his brother slightly.

"Quite."

"Ah," Dean said, barely containing himself, giving Sam a slightly pouty look for the disapproval he was getting.

"Our engineers have spent years blending sorcery and technology. For instance, we don't always decapitate vampires. Inefficient, really, especially for large nests," he pulled a weapon out of the trunk. "We irradiate them, reorder their DNA. Their own blood becomes lethal to them."

"Cool," Sam comments, but his heart isn't into it.

"Mm. The toys are the fun part, hmm?"

He opened a case that was in the trunk. Lying nestled in the pads was a familiar-looking egg.

Dean's eyes went wide, as did Cas'. Sam didn't know what was happening.

"That's a hyperbolic pulse generator," Cas breathed.

Ketch looked up, surprised. "You know what this is?"

"Yes. Harry had one…" He stopped short when he saw the glares coming from his friends. "Uh, no, I don't know what that is," he finished, unconvincingly.

"I knew it!" Ketch said with triumph.

"Knew what, exactly?" Dean asked.

"I know that Harry Potter had stolen some of our weapons. But no one believed me. Tell me, what did he need it for? Could he even use it?"

"He was in charge of your department, so it wasn't stealing," Dean defended, probably unnecessarily.

Ketch looked surprised. "Oh. You do know more than you let on, hmm? I told Mr. Davies that you weren't so ignorant of your brother's dealings. He insisted that he would keep you muggles in the dark."

Sam, Dean, and Castiel stubbornly refused to say anything else on the topic.

"We need that hyper egg thing," Dean finally said, when Ketch seemed happy to let the silence go on.

"And what might you boys be working on?"

"Well, you want us to trust you, you're gonna have to trust us first."

Ketch handed the egg over.

III

"Look, it's not that your green balls of energy aren't cool, but they aren't going to be the most useful," Gabriel said. "Plus, you use them anywhere near a witch or wizard and you're going to give them a coronary."

Harry was laying in a hammock on a porch overlooking the ocean. He was taking a well-deserved break from angel training. Or rather, he was allowing Gabriel some recovery time.

Harry smirked. "You're just sick of being tossed about like a rag doll."

"Yeah, well, I'm of advanced age, my hips can only handle so much. But, to that end, I got you something."

Harry sat up in the hammock, now used to using his wings to help him balance. "What is it?" He was sure he wanted whatever it was. The last time Gabriel had brought him a present it was…disgusting.

Gabriel handed him an intricately carved box.

'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,' it read.

Harry could almost feel what was inside. "Is this?"

"Yep. Dug it up myself."

Harry opened the box with reverence. Nestled within was his wandblade. He took it out, carefully, unsure if his ascension would cause the wands within to bite.

"Oh," he said as he picked it up. The wandblade was…happy. He felt warm and loved and safe. For a moment, all his worries went away. Peaceful.

Green and gold magical fireworks exploded all over the room. Harry couldn't see it, but his eyes glowed green.

Gabriel tried to keep the complete glee he was feeling inside. 'Take that Luci,' he thought to himself. 'My creation will be able to take on yours, no problem.'

III

"Wait a sec," Claire said to the boys as they were about to get out of their car. "Tonight's your last night, and I know Jody's going to give you the go-ahead. Reluctantly."

"You really think so?" Ted asked.

"Yeah. She saw you at target practice. Your left hook could use some work though." She didn't want the kid to think she was going soft on him.

"Can you believe it, Ben?"

"Yeah. It's almost magical how good we were today," he said sarcastically. Ted glared at him.

"I wouldn't go that far, kiddo," Claire laughed. She liked both boys (although if anyone asked her, she would vehemently deny it) but there was something about Ben that reminded her of Dean Winchester. She wasn't sure if that made her like him more or less. Teddy was just adorable – like the little brother she never wanted. Donna had teased her that the boy had a crush, but she found that ridiculous. "Actually, Ben, would you mind giving Ted and me a moment?"

Ben shrugged. "Sure." He got out of the car.

Ted could hear his heart start pounding a little.

"Teddy…"

"Ted," he corrected.

"Whatever. Ted. There's something I haven't told you."

"What's that?"

"You know – you know that Jody isn't my mom, right?"

"Yeah, you told us that."

"Well, I live with her because, like you, both my parents died."

Ted had kind of figured that out, but he let her keep going.

"But, also, like you, they were killed by angels."

"What?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know it was just your godfather, right?"

"That was killed by angels. My parents died when I was a baby. Harry – he basically raised me. With my nan, but…"

"Right. Well, the angel that killed my dad helped me find my mom – it's a complicated story, but we're kind of ok. He's not the total dick that he was when my dad died. And, if I'm honest, my dad chose…you know, it doesn't matter. There was a time when I was…obsessed with killing angels."

"Did you kill any?" Teddy was fascinated.

"No. They're damn hard to find. Even harder to kill. But I decided to focus on helping people by killing monsters instead of seeking revenge. I think it's what my parents would have wanted. Jody thinks I shouldn't be hunting at all, but – I have to help people if I can. I can't let what happened to me happen to others."

This was a lot of information. And more vulnerable than Claire had ever been with him. Ted just sat there, wide-eyed, and listened. "You're amazing," was all he could get out.

"Well duh," she said. "But that's not the point. I have something that can kill an angel. Not that I think you should go hunting for one, but I thought it might make you feel better. Maybe make you sleep better at night. It did that for me."

"You have a weapon that can kill an angel?"

"Yeah…it's here," she opened her glove box and pulled out a shiny silver blade. It looked a lot like Harry's wandblade, actually, the one that he had been using in the last couple of years alive. "It's an angel blade. It can kill angels."

She handed it over to him. Claire couldn't – wouldn't kill Castiel. But maybe Teddy would be able to get to the one that had torn his family apart. She had been impressed with the kid's skills. He was going to be one hell of a Hunter. Of course, she would never say that out loud.

"Wow. Just – wow. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, kid. Be careful with it."

"Thank you, Claire."

"Just shut up. Let's get inside."

Ted agreed.

III

Meanwhile, Ben headed into the house, not wanting to watch the Teddy/Claire love fest that was going on outside.

"Hey there Benji," Donna greeted when he walked in. He smiled a little at the nickname. The blonde woman was bubbly and friendly, but Ben knew better than to underestimate her. "Where's the Teddy Bear?"

"Trying to get Claire to fall in love with him," he mumbled. He was trying to pretend it didn't bother him that his best friend's loyalty had switched so quickly.

"He's barking up the wrong tree," Jody said, as she came into the room to set the table. "Hey, kiddo, could you grab the forks in the kitchen."

"Of course, Jody."

He did the chore. Jody and Donna were great. He knew, as a Hunter, that he really shouldn't trust too easily, but it was hard not to with these two women.

"Hey, Jody – you've been in Sioux Falls for a while, right?" He asked after laying the forks down on the table.

"Yeah, nearly my whole life," she responded while fiddling with the table cloth.

Ben took a deep breath. Ted would kill him if he knew that he was asking this question, but he thought…

"Do you know someone named Bobby Singer? He has a salvage yard on the edge of town?" He thought that maybe they could drop in on the old man on their way out of town. Ben had only stayed at his house briefly all those years ago, but if anyone knew how Dean was doing, it would be him.

Jody's face closed off a little. "Donna, could you go tell Alex it's time to eat?"

"Yeah, on it," she said, quickly leaving the room.

"How do you know that name, Ben?" Jody asked, seriously. Alarm bells were going off in her head like crazy. She had missed something huge when it came to these boys.

"He – uh, is a friend of my sort-of stepdad. And, well, I thought that maybe he might know how he was doing. Please don't tell Ted. He doesn't think we should look for him." Ben wasn't too sure about that either.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, kiddo, but Bobby Singer passed. Oh – four years now."

Ben's face fell. "Oh. Well, that's ok."

"But I might know something about your sort-of stepfather. Boy, that's a mouthful. A name might make this easier."

Ben looked nervously at the door. He wasn't sure if he was ready. And Ted wouldn't like it. But screw Ted, if he was too busy flirting, who cares what he thought.

"Dean?"

Jody nearly dropped the plate she was holding. "Not Dean Winchester?"

"Yeah? You've heard of him?" That shouldn't surprise Ben, he knew the Winchesters were well known to Hunters.

The sheriff was pale, her mind whirling. "And Ted – his godfather. He wouldn't be Harry, would he?"

Ben was cursing himself ten times to Saturday. How had Jody known that?

"Uh – "

"Don't you lie to me, Benjamin."

"Don't tell Ted I told you! He's convinced that if Sam catches us hunting that he'll – well I don't know exactly what he'll do. I don't know Sam as well as Ted does, but…"

Jody had to sit down. Not only were these kids too young to hunt, but she was helping – "Ted's their nephew. Holy crap on a stick. They're not going to kill you, they'll hunt me down."

"Well, he's not really their neph – "

"Na uh. No, if he's a kid of Harry's then he's a nephew of Sam and Dean. I know the boys too well. Oh – and if he's Harry's godson, he's also a wizard, isn't he?"

Ben winced.

"Why didn't I put this all together before?" She didn't ask anyone in particular. "Fuck. I've got to call them."

"No! You can't!" Ben exclaimed.

"Ben, if something happens to you and Sam and Dean find out that I knew you were hunting…they would never find my body." That was probably an exaggeration, but she knew that if their positions were reversed and Sam and Dean knew something about Claire and Alex like this and they didn't tell her…

"Please, Jody, we're leaving tomorrow. You don't have to tell them anything. You can always say you didn't know – we did lie to you to cover it up."

Jody took a moment to consider. Not because she was doubting what the right thing was, but the kid was panicking.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Jody said, authority in her voice. "We're going to have dinner. You have that long to wrap your head around it, but after dessert, either you're going to call Sam and Dean or I am. I'll let you choose, but the Winchesters are going to know in any case."

III

"Sam, you have to let me hold the egg thingy," Dean said quickly, pulling his brother aside. They were getting ready for Lucifer's arrival – Kelly sitting on a bed in the motel room while the rest of them hid.

Sam was surprised. Dean was usually happy to let him handle anything…magical. "Why?"

"I guess we never really talked about it afterward, there didn't seem to be a point. When you were soulless you didn't ask, and when your memories came back, we had other problems. But Harry said that wizards can't use it."

"Can't or shouldn't?"

Dean shrugged. "I dunno, something about earth magic not mixing with whatever kind of magic you do. I didn't exactly ask for a dissertation on the topic."

Sam's mind went off like crazy. He'd been doing both types of magic, somewhat interchangeably since Gadreel had healed him. He didn't know what that meant. Although, it hardly mattered at this very moment. "Fine, can you do it?" He asked skeptically.

Dean gave him a face.

"Alright, fine, here," he handed the Hyperbolic Pulse Generator to his older brother. He went into the room with Crowley and Rowena. They gave him a look.

"Change of plans," he said.

They didn't say anything.

Dean heard Lucifer slam Kelly against a wall after she said she wanted to get rid of the baby and say, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist."

Dean burst out of the bathroom holding the golden egg. He put his hand on the sigil painted on the door he had come through.

"Dean!" Lucifer yelled, annoyed.

"Vade retro," Dean said.

"We've done this dance so many times."

"Princeps Inferni!"

The Hyperbolic Pulse Generator started to glow white. It worried Lucifer enough that he stepped away from Kelly and towards Dean. Light shot out of the device, slowing his advance. Dean struggled to hold the device and stay in place when Sam burst into the room from the room where he had been standing with Rowena and Crowley.

"Dean!" He yelled.

Lucifer tried to take a swipe at Sam, but nothing happened. The light continued to take over Lucifer's entire form.

"Rowena, now!" Sam yelled.

Rowena was standing behind an altar of her own creation. She dropped something into a bowl and flames appeared. "May tay, ez loh, say tah!"

The wind and noise in the room picked up.

"This isn't over, Sam!" Lucifer yelled.

"Go to hell," he shouted back.

"May tay, ez loh, say tah! May tay, ez loh, say tah!" Rowena continued to chant.

White light streamed out of Lucifer's mouth, swirled on the motel room floor and into a heating vent. The room was quiet. The President collapsed onto the floor.

Castiel crouched down next to him. "He's alive. He won't remember a thing."

"Oh, Jeff," Kelly said, also coming to his side. "Oh my God. Jeff? Oh my God!"

"We gotta go," Sam said. "Get her out of here, go!" He instructed Cas.

"Wait, wait," Kelly said, worried for her lover on the floor.

"Kelly, you gotta go," Sam insisted. "Go!" Cas carefully led Kelly out of the room.

"We got him. We got Lucifer," Dean said in a daze.

"Mr. President?" Sam asked as the man on the floor started to wake up. He groaned and looked like he was about to get up.

"Ok. Alright. Take it easy, Tiger," Dean said, trying to help him out.

A guard crashed into the room and, upon seeing the man on the floor called out, "Mr. President!" He turned to Sam and Dean, who did not have their weapons within easy distance. "On your feet! Hands on your heads!"

Sam and Dean moved to comply, with guns pointed in their faces.

"Whoa," Sam said.

"Hands on your head!"

"Ok, listen, we were just trying to – "

"Shut up! You're under arrest for the attempted assassination of the President of the United States."

III

"This is Dean's other, other cell so, you must know what to do," played, and Jody cursed.

"Dean, it's Jody," she said after the beep. "I know I told you and Sam about the young hunters I came across, but there is something…well, I didn't have the whole story. Please, call me back as soon as you get this."

III

Mary was sitting in a diner when her phone rang. She was surprised to see who it was.

"Castiel?"

"Mary, where are you?"

"I – I, uh…Lawrence, Kansas. Cas, what's wrong?"

"Uh, uhh…well, I-I need you to meet me at the bunker."

He hung up the phone. Mary had no idea what was happening, so she quickly settled up and ran out to her car.

She did the three-and-a-half-hour drive in two hours and forty-five minutes. She had tried calling both her boys and neither of them answered.

"You left them?" She asked after Cas finished telling her the entire story. She had thought her boys would be safe, especially with an actual angel watching over them. Clearly, she had been wrong.

"No, I…Dean told me to go. The woman – " Cas faltered.

"The one you lost?"

"I didn't. I…I thought that she – "

"Stop making excuses," Mary lashed out.

Castiel looked down, feeling the burden of having lost Sam and Dean. Mary sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was a gesture that Castiel recognized – both Dean and Harry performed the same motion when stressed.

"Why…if they needed help, why didn't they call me?" She knew why, of course. She had chosen to go chasing a ghost rather than staying with her boys. Because it was easier. Because she was a coward.

"You were out," Castiel explained.

Mary sighed again. "How did we let this happen, Castiel?"

III

Castiel was only here out of utter desperation. Sam and Dean had been missing for a month and there was no trace of them anywhere. Crowley had been no help. Rowena had laughed in his face. Heaven was still on lockdown. Mary was as clueless as he was.

Without wings to bring him here, he had had the entire twenty-eight-hour drive to think about how dumb this move was. How he was more likely to get killed than to get help. But he had to try. It's what Sam and Dean would do.

He had always known about this location. This is where he had fled after Castiel had taken in all the monsters from Purgatory. The archangel had chosen to stay in this location long after Castiel's power had faded. It was a taunt. A come-and-get-me, if you dare. Castiel had not dared.

Until now.

With just two seconds more of hesitation, he got out of his truck.

He didn't even make it to the door before it flew open.

"Oh look, it's my old pal, Cassie," the words may have sounded nice, but the demeanor and tone told Castiel that this was probably one of the worst ideas he had ever had.

"Gabriel," Castiel greeted. "I – uh…"

"You what? Have you come to kill me? Make me human again?"

"No, of course not. I – uh, well, I really shouldn't have…"

"No, you shouldn't've. You have quite the cohones coming here at all."

"You made sure I knew where you were," Castiel argued.

Gabriel grinned nastily. "I did. I never thought you'd be stupid enough to actually show up here. Especially sans any sort of firepower. Where are your apes?"

"That's, uh, that's why I came here. Can we go inside?" Castiel asked, trying to move past the archangel and into the house. Gabriel blocked his way.

"No. I've got company."

"Whatever women you conjured surely won't mind," Castiel sassed, forgetting just who he was talking to.

Gabriel glared daggers. "First of all, I don't need to conjure women to get laid, comprende? Second of all, I could smite you on the spot, and I might just, so say what you need to say and then leave."

"It's about Sam and Dean. They're missing."

"You lost your pets? And that's my problem, why?"

"I can't find them. My powers – they are still weak and you know I can't fly."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Mine. Gabriel, I know I made mistakes…"

Gabriel scoffed. "No kidding."

"But surely you know that this world needs Sam and Dean. You have to know that I wouldn't come here if I had any other options."

"Needs them? Really? Maybe needs them to clean up whatever mess they created. Or was it not them that let Lucifer out of his cage, for a second time, that got us into this whole Nephilim situation in the first place?"

"They didn't let Lucifer out, I did," Cas ground out.

"That's right. That was you. Thank you, by the way, great work, as always."

"I know that there is…bad blood…between us, but surely Harry would want…"

Gabriel was on him in a second. "Don't. You. Dare. Talk. About. Harry."

Cas could feel his power and shuddered a little. His older brother hadn't been kidding, he could have killed him on the spot. "Fine. But, Gabriel, please."

"No."

Cas looked down. "What do you want? I'll give you anything?"

Gabriel's eyes flashed. "You don't have a single god-damned thing I want, Castiel. Leave. Now."

Castiel knew that this was pointless. Before he turned to leave, he tried one more time. "If you change your mind…"

"I won't," Gabriel interrupted. "See ya, Cassie." He turned and slammed the door.

III

All of Mary's contacts in law enforcement were retired. Or dead. She had gone to see Missouri, but the woman was out of town. When she had called her, Missouri said that there was something blocking her from seeing Sam and Dean. She could see that they were alive. And not being tortured. But she had no idea where they were. Or who was keeping them.

Mary couldn't believe that she had allowed this to happen.

After weeks of searching, she decided that she didn't have a choice. As a rule, she was very suspicious of the wizarding world. Out of necessity, more than anything else, she had trusted Missouri. But Missouri had left the community that had taken her child.

But she would do anything to find her boys.

The phone rang.

"Hello?" Came a British voice on the other side of the line.

"Uh – yes, hi, Ginny?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is actually Hermione, I'm Ginny's sister-in-law. She's currently wrangling my children, but I'll go get her. Whom may I say is calling?"

"Um. Mary. Mary Winchester. She's friends with my – with Sam and Dean."

"Oh! It's so nice to speak with you!" The woman sounded excited. "I've heard so much about you."

"Have you?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry, my name is Hermione Granger-Weasley. I know your boys too – not as well as Ginny, of course, because I've always been rather tied down to the UK, but when Ginny told me about you, I was so excited. I really wanted to…"

"Hermione?" Mary heard in the background.

"Ron – please go get Ginny, it's the Winchesters."

"Those wankers?" Mary could hear the eye roll in the man. She bristled a little. "Don't give me that look, I'll go get her."

"I'm sorry about that, Mrs. Winchester," Hermione said. "Ron – my husband, he still upset about – well, we're all upset, of course, but he took it particularly hard, he'll come around eventually."

"Took what hard?"

"Give me that," Mary heard Ginny demand.

"Dean?"

"No. It's – it's Mary."

There was hesitation on the other side of the line. Mary wondered if this was a mistake.

"Oh. Of course. Is everything alright, Mary?"

Mary felt dread in the pit of her stomach. What had she been thinking? Wizards couldn't be trusted and, from the sound of it, her boys had done something to make enemies with some of them. The one thing that she didn't need were more bad guys involved with Sam and Dean – there were more than enough lurking in the shadows.

"Yes. Of course. Sorry – I, I shouldn't have bothered you."

"No, Mary, really, if…"

Mary hung up and took a deep breath. She'd wait a week and see if there was anything she could dig up. If she came up empty, then she would try calling again.

III

Sam had been tortured by Lucifer himself. He had endured pain beyond what would make most men lose their minds.

But this was something new. Having to live in his own thoughts 24/7 with no one to talk to was more effective than he had ever realized it would be. Which was funny, because this was exactly what he and Dean had done with Crowley, so he should know.

It was also particularly painful to have Dean in the room next door. To know that his brother was close but he couldn't talk to him, or strategize. He had tried tapping the wall, but there had been no response. He was assuming that the sound hadn't traveled.

So, he did what he could. He exercised. He practiced Latin spells in his head. Hell, he had tried to do actual magic, but, even with an improved core, he wasn't strong enough to do wandless magic.

He remembered how Harry had once fried computers just by trying to type on them as a child. He knew from his studies that accidental magic in children was fairly common, but he wasn't able to replicate it. Sam tried to push all his emotions to the surface and aim them at the electronic keypad that kept him locked in this room. Any emotion – sadness, anger, extreme panic, but none of it worked.

Sam retreated into his mind. He started to try and live in his happy memories. Mostly, he thought of Hogwarts. Trying to remember every detail – the spells written on magical blackboards, the potions spelled out in ancient books, and the feeling of air on his face when he flew.

After a couple of weeks, though, none of that was enough. He delved deeper and tried to reconstruct entire days in his mind. From waking up until falling asleep. And it was in those that he noticed some things that he hadn't before.

He went back to when Cas had gone off the rails and it seemed that all hope was lost. A beam of sunshine had found him on a cloudy day. He went back to flying on the Quidditch pitch, alone and missing his brothers. Sometimes, it had felt like someone had been on a broom next to him. Especially when he sank into self-deprecation – a slap on the side of his head.

There had been other things too. Small.

He had spent an hour searching for a particular book in the Bunker, with no luck at all, only to find it on his desk, open to the page he needed.

He'd argue with Dean and go sulk in his room – he'd fall asleep and awake to find a consolatory cup of coffee or beer on his bedside table. Dean claimed to not have made the gesture, and Sam hadn't believed him but…

There was a common denominator in all those things. He had been thinking of Harry.

Thinking of how they had needed his help with Cas.

How he wished that he could be flying with his older brother.

Remembering how Harry could have just summoned the lost book.

How Harry would have taken his side in the argument, would have backed him up.

Sam hadn't really noticed or thought much of any of those instances in the moments when they happened. And maybe him making the connection now was just his mind slowly going insane. But if not, he figured it didn't hurt to ask.

He prayed.

"Hey, Harry," he thought, feeling a little stupid. "I have no idea if you can hear me. This is probably – probably stupid, but I can't think of anything else to do. Dean and I – we're in trouble. Lucifer possessed the President of the United States and we had to send him back to the cage. And we did! But we got caught by – some government agency. You don't owe us anything. I think you know that. But if there are any strings you could pull? I dunno, open the door, alert your friends? I don't know what will happen to us if we're locked in here much longer."

Sam stopped praying. He looked around. Nothing changed. He sighed. He probably was just crazy.

III

"Who was that, Gabe? I thought you were in hiding here," Harry asked when the archangel came back into the house.

"That doesn't mean that I can't get pizza delivered."

Harry looked at him.

"What?"

"Where's the pizza then?"

"There is no pizza," he looked at Harry like he was an idiot.

"Then who was at the door?"

Gabriel looked away.

"Gabe…"

"Harry, you're not ready."

Harry's heart stopped for a second. "Was that my brothers? They don't know I'm back, do they?"

"Calm down, it wasn't your brothers. I doubt they've ever come this far south. Why'd you think I chose this, of all your safehouses? Winchesters rarely make it to Florida."

Harry crossed his arms. "I'm pretty sure you picked this place because it was crazy expensive with close proximity to Spring breakers."

"You got me there," Gabriel chuckled. But he didn't give any more information.

"Gabriel, you will tell me who was at the door!" The room shook a little bit. 'Oops,' Harry thought. Maybe his powers weren't quite as under control as he thought.

"It was Castiel, alright? Happy now?"

Harry looked at him shocked. "Castiel?"

"Yeah, I didn't stutter, did I?"

"But Castiel is dead."

Gabriel snorted.

"He's not dead? Dean told me he was dead! Why would he lie about something like that?"

"Dean told you?"

Harry waved him off. "Yeah. That time I came back for this trial thing – you know, it doesn't matter, he told me that Castiel was dead."

"Well, as it turns out dear old Cassie was born under the same cursed star as all you Winchesters. He got better."

Harry had to sit down.

"Are you going to have some sort of mental breakdown over this?" Gabriel asked. "'Cause I think you're kinda overdue for one. Which is why I didn't want to tell you who was at the door in the first place."

Harry felt – well, he felt a lot of things.

Scared, for one. Castiel had proven to be a very powerful enemy and if he was still around it must mean that his brothers were in even greater danger than he knew.

Annoyed, as well, that he would likely have to come face-to-face to the angel again. It wasn't that he was scared of losing – he knew what was waiting for him in heaven, but Castiel fought dirty.

Also, this was way down deep a little hurt. It's not like he wanted his brothers to hunt the angel down, but he would have thought that they wouldn't have kept hanging around the angel that had worked so hard to kill him.

"Earth to Harry?"

Harry looked up. His eyes glowed green. "I'm not going to have a breakdown. I'm just surprised, is all. What did he want?"

"Don't know, don't care," Gabriel lied. Harry knew he was lying. "Look, you don't need to worry about Castiel, you are certainly stronger than him now. His wings are broken, he can't fly, and he is largely cut off from his powers. He's a puppy. You know – he just left, we could catch and kill him if you wanted. Maybe torture him a little bit first. You know I'm pretty creative."

The look from the other man told Gabriel just what he thought of that idea.

"Just thought I'd offer," he said, raising his hands. "Hey – you want to go flying again tonight? That always cheers you up."

Harry knew that Gabriel was still holding back on something, but he didn't feel like arguing with the archangel. Honestly, it took most of his mental energy to just stay in the present moment.

Being back was…strange.

He was in a constant state of cognitive dissonance. Sometimes he felt the soul-crushing depression that had led to his death in the first place, while other times, the peace that he had gotten in Heaven seemed to take precedence. He remembered Heaven, although parts of it were fading the longer he was on earth. It was almost like he was back from a long vacation. He could still feel the positive after-glow of rest but the realities of this world were beginning to weigh him down again.

"Sure, let's fly," Harry agreed.

"Where to this time? You know, I hear that Victoria Falls is beautiful this time of year…Harry, what's wrong?"

"Shh," Harry said with urgency.

"What…"

"Gabe, shut up."

Gabriel shut up.

Harry could hear Sam. It had been a long time since his brother had prayed to him. And it was the first time since he had been back that it had happened. The message was short but urgent.

"What's happening?"

Harry's jaw locked and his eyes flared. "Was Castiel here because my brothers are in trouble?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I just got a prayer…from Sam. I've got to go."

"Harry, no, you still don't have everything under control!" And he didn't. Whatever he was now, was powerful, and he still had trouble regulating those powers.

But he didn't care. "You knew they were in trouble, and you didn't tell me?"

"Like I've said to you a million times. They are always in trouble."

A powerful force pushed Gabriel across the room and thudded into the wall.

"Don't follow me," Harry said harshly. And he was gone.

III

Dean felt like he was slowly dying. It was the worst kind of death too – a boring, meaningless one. One of no consequence where he would just fade from existence. Not the kind of death he ever imagined for himself.

And he thought a lot about death these days.

He had always known that he wasn't going to live to a ripe old age. But if he stayed in here for any longer, he might lose his mind before death took him. And he didn't like that idea either.

It was clear that Cas wasn't coming for them. Or their mother. Or anyone, really. If they were going to, they would have done so already.

So, he started to think. If he was gonna die, he wanted to do it on his own terms. And he happened to know someone who might be willing to help him with that.

Dean was just beginning to contemplate the blood ritual he would need to do to summon Billie when he heard the alarms in the building begin to blare.

He stood, ready to fight, as the door to his cell was blasted open.

Before he had the chance to even see what was on the other side, he felt a whoosh of air.

Instantly, he was transported to some sort of wooded clearing. Before he could observe anything more than he was now outside, Sam appeared next to him.

"What? Sam? What happened?" He pulled his brother into a hug. Damn, it felt good to have human contact.

Sam returned the hug. "I don't know. I heard the alarm, then my door was knocked off its hinges and next…"

"Yeah, me too." Dean let Sam go to start to look around. All he saw were trees. "Did you make a deal with something?"

"From in there? How could I?" Sam's heartbeat a little faster. He didn't make a deal, but maybe…no, he knew better than to hope…he looked around more carefully, but still saw nothing.

"I dunno, all of this is just really strange."

Behind them, they heard someone clear his throat.

They turned. It took them both a second to recognize the man standing there. Recognize wasn't the right word. Perceive. Because how could this be possible? Both of them wondered if they were hallucinating.

"Harry?"

AN – Happy, happy Friday! It's been a long time since I've done a cliffhanger, hasn't it? Needed to make up for all that lost time. 😉

I'm so happy to get later season characters into this story. Especially Billie, Donna, and Rowena. Oh boy do I have some fun backstory coming at you for Rowena, the Scottish witch with a very Harry Potter-related name. I'm still working on how I'm going to get Garth in – especially because he makes no appearances in this season.

Thank you, as always, to everyone who has interacted with this story. I live for your comments and reviews, lol, so please keep them coming, especially if they are to yell at me about the ending of this chapter.