TW: New tag added for this chapter – typical (SPN) canon violence.
Unfound
Chapter Six
There was a knock on Dean's door.
"Go away, Sam!" He yelled from his bed, not in the mood for another lecture. He was doing just find brooding on his many mistakes and missteps all on his own.
Of course, the door opened anyway. Even though it was locked. He was going to have to talk to Harry to see if there was warding he could put on his door to stop his youngest brother from using the unlocking charm whenever he damn well pleased.
"I don't want to hear it, Sam," he said without looking up.
"Er – it's not Sam."
Dean looked up, surprised. "Oh. Hey Harry. Did you need something?" He wasn't the complete ass that Sam thought he was – he was also concerned about the well-being of their newly-resurrected brother. Dean started to get up from his bed. "We could…"
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. I just forgot that I nicked these when I took the memories of you and Sam from the people in the facility," he gave Dean a box.
Dean took it and looked inside. It had all the weapons that he kept on him – the switchblade, as well as his gun, the clothes he had been wearing the day they had been taken, and about three cell phones.
He smiled. "Thanks, Harry. This is one of my favorite shirts."
"It's a black t-shirt, Dean."
"Yeah. It's my favorite black t-shirt," he said as if all of his shirts weren't identical.
Harry rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
"Harry, wait," Dean called out.
He stopped. "Yes?"
"I'm – sorry."
"For what?" It was an honest question.
Dean looked at him with disbelief. "For this whole mess. For not telling you about Mom right away. And about…"
Harry gave him a look and crossed his arms.
"Are you going to make me say it?"
Harry said nothing.
"Fine. For not telling her who you are. Who you really are. We'll get there, I promise." He took a deep breath. He didn't want Harry to think that he was the problem. "It's just – I don't know what'll set her off. I don't want her to leave again."
Harry's face fell a little before he recovered. Dean didn't notice.
"It's fine, Dean. It's probably for the best. I'm sure she long forgot about me, in any case. And if she had trouble accepting the two of you, I can't imagine what she'd say about having something not human as a child."
"Hey! You're human. Ish."
"I'm not. I'm not sure I ever really was."
"Harry…"
"Dinner's just about ready. 20 minutes." He left.
Dean punched his pillow. "Fuck!" Why couldn't he do anything right?
III
"Aren't you gonna eat?" Dean asked with surprise, when he saw that the table was set (which was weird in and of itself) for three and Harry was already half-way out the door when the rest of them had gathered for food.
Sam also frowned at their brother. "Come on, this looks great, why don't you join us?"
Harry shrugged. "Angel," he said as way of explanation. "I don't need to eat. You've also both been missing for a month. I figure you could use the family time."
He slipped out of the room before either of his brothers could protest any further.
Which did nothing to improve Sam and Dean's moods.
They both sat in complete silence, glaring at each other, while angrily eating the cottage pie that Harry had made.
Which Dean found challenging because it was so damn good.
He was aggressively stabbing the pie for another slice when Mary had had enough.
"Alright, what the hell is going on here?" She demanded. "Someone needs to tell me what is happening. Now."
"Why don't you ask Dean?" Sam said nastily while scowling over the table at Dean.
"Why don't you ask Dean," Dean repeated in a higher pitched, mocking tone.
"I'm asking both of you," she said in her best 'mom' voice.
"You know what, Sam? I'm sick of your shit. It just needs time. Give us like five seconds to get used to having him back, and then we can take the deep dive into the heavy stuff. Give the kid a break. Aren't you the one who said I was too hard on him? You want to send him down the same path again?"
"It wasn't me that sent him down that path," Sam shot back. "You treated him like crap. God, Dean, you haven't changed at all, have you? As long as it's easy for you, it's what's best, right? You don't care who hurt along the way."
"Woah, woah," Mary said, trying to break up the argument.
"You know what, Sam, you want to spill the information so much, why don't you tell Mom? I'm leaving." Dean took his plate and stormed out of the room. Only to storm right back in, take the apple pie that Harry had made for dessert, and walk right back out again.
"Sam?" Mary asked, looking to her youngest. "Please."
Sam massaged his temples. "It's not really my story to tell," he said, his voice strained. Yeah, he had given Dean a hard time for lying to their mom, but he also wasn't sure what Harry wanted. Or even where to begin.
"You think Harry is going to open up to me? He can barely look at me. Don't think I haven't noticed. I'm not asking him. I'm asking my son."
Sam took a deep breath. He didn't want to act without Harry's permission, but he was also having a hard time saying no to his mother.
"I can tell you some of it."
"Thank god. Anything."
Sam tried to be careful with his words. "Harry – he wasn't born an angel."
Whatever Mary had been expecting, it wasn't that. "What?"
"He…he was born human. When we talked about Dad making us run laps as kids, Harry was a kid too. Although Dad didn't have quite the sway over him that he would have liked. I never saw anyone stand up to Dad the way Harry did." The thought of it still made him smile. And terrified him a little bit.
"But he's an angel now?" Mary had no idea that humans could become angels. It didn't make any sense.
"Yeah. That's new. You see – it's a very long and complicated story, but we spent a couple of months together as teenagers until he was – until he had to return to England. We lost contact for years. The he popped up again and helped us take down Lucifer."
Mary had heard the brief synopses of what had happened with Lucifer. And she wouldn't admit to her boys, but she had also read the books. Neither her sons nor Chuck had mentioned Harry. It made her very suspicious.
"But you never mentioned him before," she said, trying to get to an answer.
Sam sighed. "He was a sore subject. Still is, apparently. I can count on one hand the number of times Dean has actually allowed me to bring him up since he died five years ago."
"But why?"
That wasn't question that Sam wanted to answer. As pissed as he was at Dean for this entire situation, it didn't seem fair to spill all his brother's secrets to their mother.
He spoke carefully. "We told you about how Dean and Harry didn't get along when we were kids, right? Well, when Harry came back, he and Dean got really close. Honestly, sometimes I thought they were the same damn person," he tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice. Harry was the brother they both needed – the one that Sam and Dean couldn't be to each other. "The year that…that my soul was in the cage, Harry and Dean got really close. I still don't know all that they got up to together, but when I was back, they were really close."
"Like brothers?"
Sam desperately wanted to tell her in that moment, that, yes, that was exactly when Harry really became a brother to Dean. But he needed to keep both his brothers in mind and he didn't think that telling their mom now was the best course of action without both their consent. "You could say that," he finally said. "But then…I came back."
He went on to give a brief outline of what had happened with the civil war in Heaven, the gate to Purgatory, and…Cas. Nothing about wizards. Or Harry being the Master of Death.
"Cas…he betrayed us. And part of that betrayal forced Harry to choose dying or hurting people that he loved. He chose death. He died trying to save us from a threat that we didn't believe him about until it was too late." Sam knew this was not only a semi-accurate retelling of events. But it was better than the nothing Mary was getting before. "And Dean has always blamed himself, so he didn't want to tell you, you see?"
"I – I think I understand." She didn't really, but she understood better than she had before. "Wait. Is he the friend that left you his fortune?" She asked, connecting some dots.
Sam looked surprised. "Yeah. How'd you know about that?"
"I met Ginny Weasley not that long ago. She mentioned that her boyfriend was the one that bankrolled the two of you when she dropped off a credit card for me."
Mary was going to ask more questions, but she didn't have the chance because Dean rushed into the room.
"I just checked my messages," he said, holding up one of the cell phones that Harry had just returned to him. It was charged enough when he went back to his room that he was able to turn it on. "Jody called. We have to go. Now."
"Is she ok?" Sam asked, standing.
"Yeah."
"Claire and Alex?"
"Yeah, I think they're fine too. Come on, I'll tell you on the way."
Sam forgot about their argument and just rushed off to get his things. He could tell that this was something very serious.
Mary stood up from the table. "I'll come too," she said.
"No!" Dean said.
She looked hurt.
"No, I need you to stay here with Harry, Mom," he said. "He can't know…oh God, he's gonna kill us when he finds out. Like, full out smite. Please, stay here, keep him distracted."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Mary asked.
"I don't know! Try to teach him what you've learned about computers. That should take up the majority of the time, kid's clueless when it comes to technology."
"I'm clueless when it comes to technology."
Dean waved him off. "No. Trust me. He knows less. Look, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to spend time with you. Just – stall him as much as you can, please?"
"Ok," she agreed.
"Great. Great." Dean ran a hand through his hair. "Mom, when we get back, we'll explain everything, ok?" He had no intention of actually explaining everything to their mother, but he was hoping this side-trip would give him some time to come up with an acceptable story.
She nodded.
He ran over, and to her surprise, gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Just – be nice to him. He doesn't look it, but…he's fragile."
"When am I not nice? Especially to an angel that can cook."
"Thanks, Mom. We'll call. Let us know if you hear anything from Cas."
Dean met Sam at the car. "Where did you tell Harry we were going?"
Sam shook his head, "I didn't talk to him, I think he's still in his room."
"Hey Harry," Sam prayed. "Dean and I are going on a quick trip. We should be back in the next day or two. Keep mom company for us?"
Dean smirked. "Dude, that is one weird ass way to get in contact with him."
Sam shrugged. "It works, doesn't it?"
III
"I'm gonna kill them," Sam said once Dean had told him about Teddy and Ben's career choice. "What the hell are they thinking?"
"Fuck if I know," Dean growled. "But you're going to have to get in line."
They drove in silence, except for Dean's usual music. A couple of hours in, Sam flicked the stereo off.
"Hey!"
"Dean, we have to talk."
"Come on, Sam. Don't you think we have bigger issues right now?"
"Not really. We still have a ways to Jody's, but we have to talk about Harry. It's not fair, what you did to him."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was a jackass and then he killed himself. Don't worry, I won't be forgetting that fact anytime soon."
"Not that. I meant with Mom. You don't think that she deserves to know that he's her son too? You know that he thinks that you didn't tell her because you're ashamed of him."
Dean made a face. "What? That's crazy. He's crazy."
"He's depressed. Not crazy. And has self-worth issues."
"Really? Still? He seems much better to me. I don't think he's been drunk even once."
"Being sober is a sign of good mental health, Dean."
Dean shrugged. "I'm just sayin' – he's adjusting, but he's fine."
"That's what you said about mom too before she took off to god-knows-where."
"Harry isn't the same as Mom."
Sam was trying his best not to yell at Dean again. But his brother was pushing it. "Yeah, I know. But it's just not about Mom, you know. There is a lot that he still hasn't told us."
"What? He went to Heaven, Gabriel made a deal with Chuck, and he came back. What else is there to tell?"
"Uh, I don't know. Maybe something about his powers? He mentioned that he was able to beat Gabriel up. Gabriel is an archangel. Doesn't it concern you that Harry has that much power?"
Dean looked at Sam sharply. "Do you think he's dangerous? Really? Harry?"
"No. I don't think he's dangerous. Not to us, in any case. But I still think it would still be good to know what he can do. And what exactly that deal entailed. What did he have to give up? Why would Chuck agree to bring such a power player brought down on the board?"
"Who knows why Chuck does anything," Dean muttered.
"And did you know that he doesn't want to contact his wizarding family? I asked him about it and he practically threatened me into agreeing to not say anything."
"He threatened you?"
"No. I mean, sort of. Just went all angel on me about it. But doesn't that concern you?"
Dean was sick of this conversation. "Harry's a big boy. He can handle himself however he would like."
"Dean, I don't think he would have even told us that he was back if I hadn't prayed to him," Sam said quietly. "He's not alright."
Dean said nothing. But he vowed that he would be a better brother this time. Even if that meant listening to Sam. "We'll tell Mom everything."
"Good."
"After we kick Ben and Teddy's asses."
"Agreed."
III
After hearing the rumble of the Impala leaving the Bunker (his hearing had really improved since becoming an angel) Harry stopped hiding in his room to go do the dishes from dinner.
It was really irritating that his brothers had taken off without him.
Even more irritating that Sam had prayed to him instead of coming to find him.
If he had wanted, he could have just flown and joined them in the Impala – it's not like he was trapped here, but he really didn't want to venture out into the world much. Although he felt like his angelic powers were under control he wasn't sure how he would fare in the public space.
There was something therapeutic in doing dishes. It was just so delightfully human. It had always been one of the chores that he had minded the least at the Dursley's. That may have been more about how they would all clear out and leave him alone while he was doing it than the task itself, but still, the water was warm and comforting.
He was lost in several dozen trains of thought that he didn't notice when Mary entered the kitchen.
"You need help with those?" She asked.
He dropped the dish he was holding into the soupy water.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," she said as she sidled up next to him. "I'll dry."
He didn't say anything, but he handed her a plate after he finished washing it. They did that in silence for a little bit.
"The boys told me that you used to be human," she said, somewhat out of the blue.
He looked over at her carefully, trying to discern which of his brothers told her. And how much he told her. It was probably Sam. "Yeah. I was," he confirmed after a moment.
"What's it like – being an angel?"
Harry had to think about it. "It's – uh – it's…you know, I'm not really sure. I still feel human, for the most part. I don't think my personality has changed. I'm still me. Things are…clearer…maybe?"
"Huh," Mary said. "I would think that the magical powers would be a big adjustment."
"Oh, I've always had those," Harry said thoughtlessly.
"What?"
"Oh. Sorry. Not like a demon – I was born a wizard." He stepped back a little, worried about how she would react to that. He had read his file – and knew that Mary's family was the reason he had been taken away. Although he suspected the angels had had something to do with that too.
"I know about witches and wizards," she said, somewhat harshly.
"You've met them before?" Harry asked, his heart was racing. She had stopped drying and looked pissed off.
"I've had a few unfortunate run-ins with them," she said. She should have realized that Harry had been a wizard if Ginny had been his girlfriend.
"Sam and Dean never said."
"Sam and Dean didn't know."
"Ah. John also didn't seem…familiar. It was a bit of a nasty shock for him."
Mary looked up. Sam and Dean rarely talked about John. She had some ideas as to why, but Harry had a warm tone when he spoke about him.
"Did you know him well?"
"Not as well as I would have liked," Harry said carefully. "My parents died when I was just a baby you see. And John he – he was the first adult that wanted to let me be a kid," Harry understood the irony in this statement, seeing how his brothers were brought up. He was reaching for a way to explain how John had treated him without having to go into his fame. Or the fact that he was his actual father. "All the adults in my life before then had known and loved my parents. Which was great – but sometimes I felt like they didn't really see…me. But John – and Bobby, actually, they just saw me as a kid. John wanted to protect me. It pissed me off at the time, but when I look back on it…"
Harry had had long conversations about John with James and Lily. His adopted parents had been impressed with what he had told him. They had never wanted him to become a sacrificial lamb for Dumbledore's cause. Apparently, their will had been crystal clear that he was to go to Mary and John in the event of their deaths.
Mary smiled. "I'm glad you have good memories of him. I always thought that he'd be the type of father that our sons' friends got along with. Looked up to."
Harry did his best to control his facial expressions as he turned off the water. All the dishes were done.
Now that he knew that Mary knew he had been a wizard, he pulled out his wandblade, and with a couple of quick swishes, all the dishes put themselves away.
Mary did her best not to react. "What is that?" She asked about the wandblade.
"Oh. It's my wands. It's a long story – but when I was human, Gabriel…"
"The Archangel Gabriel?"
"Yeah. He made me this. It's part angel blade part wand. My people – the magic we do is grace-based. You asked before why you had never seen Castiel do magic the way that I did. That's because he doesn't think to. He probably could, if he wanted."
"And you don't mind…"
"Mr. Potter," a voice interrupted them.
Harry whipped around, wandblade at the ready. The woman standing there was…a reaper? She seemed far from the solemn, rigid, creatures he had encountered before.
"Billie?" Mary asked.
"You know her?" Harry asked, still ready to attack.
"We've met," Billie said dryly. "You are a hard man to find, Mr. Potter." She inclined her head, considering him. "Or, in light of your recent resurrection, would you prefer that I call you by your birth name, Mr. Winchester?"
III
Sam and Dean arrived at Jody's in record time. She smiled when she opened the door and saw them on the other side.
"It's good to see you, boys. When Castiel called and said that you were missing, I was worried. Of course, you could have let me know before you were on your way here that you were fine," she reprimanded.
They had the good grace to look ashamed as they exchanged hugs.
"Where are they?" Sam asked, looking behind her as if Ben and Teddy would appear just behind her.
"They are not here," Jody said.
"What? Jody, why didn't you say so?"
"You didn't ask! They left weeks ago. Sometimes they call Claire, so I know they're alright."
"But they are still hunting? How could you let them, Jody?" Sam asked, angry.
"And just what authority do you think I have over them to make them stop?" She asked, hands on her hips, not backing down.
"I dunno, lock them up in jail or something," Dean said.
Jody raised an eyebrow. "On what charges?"
"You couldn't think of something?"
"Dean Winchester. I know that I let some things slide, but I'm still an officer of the law. I have some duty to follow the laws of this country," she said fiercely.
"Sorry Jody," Sam apologized for the two of them. "It's just, we can't believe that they're hunting."
"As if you're any different!" Claire said, appearing behind Jody. "Such friggin' hypocrites," she mumbled.
"Claire, do you know where Teddy and Ben are?" Jody asked, ignoring the attitude.
"I might," she said, walking past them and flopping down on the couch. "Ted texts me like every other hour. It's annoying as fuck." She didn't sound annoyed, she sounded pleased.
"Claire, will you please tell us where they are?" Sam practically begged. He felt personally responsible for Teddy hunting. Even though he had made it quite clear to the young man what he had thought of that idea.
"Why should I?"
"Claire…" Jody warned.
"What? So that they can take two good hunters out of commission? We need as many hunters as we can get," she said.
"Claire, they're only eighteen," Dean said.
"So what? You were only eighteen once. And Ted's nineteen."
"Yeah, I only hunted with my father, who was experienced and watched my back."
"Father of the friggin' year," Claire said.
"Hey now."
"Claire, just tell us where they are."
"Fine. Whatever. The two morons are working a salt 'n burn in Casper."
"Wyoming?" Sam clarified.
Dean groaned. "That's another six hundred miles."
Jody glanced outside. "Well, it's too late for you to leave now."
"I could try to side-along apparate us there," Sam offered. He could apparate now – but he wasn't very good at it yet. Not good enough for a license, at least. Not that he could apply for one, as a registered squib. It didn't make very much practical sense for him and Dean on hunts – seeing as they needed the supplies that they kept in the trunk of the Impala.
"Fuck no," Dean said. "The last time you tried apparating you left your sideburns behind. And that was what I could see. I'm not risking you dropping my junk somewhere in the Great Plains just to get someplace quick."
"Do you want to call…"
"No. I think it's probably best that we don't tell him about this until after we've beat some sense into them."
"He also told me that he doesn't want to tell his friends in England that he's back. So, I'm not sure that we should involve him in any case."
"Uh – who are you guys talking about?" Jody asked.
Both men went quiet. Dean glanced at Claire.
"Claire, could you please take out the garbage?" Jody asked.
Claire huffed. "Fine." She stomped off.
"Now, just who are you talking about?"
III
"Nice one," Ben said to Teddy as they walked out of a graveyard. The case had been trickier than they had thought it would be, but, in the end, they had found the right body and burned it, saving a family in the process.
Teddy grinned at his best friend. "That's our eighth ghost. I can't wait to tell Claire."
"Yeah, be sure to tell her that you put sugar in the salt rounds by mistake."
"Shut up."
When they got back to the Firebird a man was standing next to it. He was well dressed and had a casual but dangerous air about him. He looked a little familiar to Ted.
"Gentlemen," he said with a British accent. "I come in peace. I saw the work you did – nicely done." Cockney, to be exact, Ted identified.
Both boys looked at him with suspicion, but Ted could tell that he wasn't a demon. They shared a quick, silent, communication that confirmed that Ben would be the one who did the talking. Of the two of them, Ben was far better at talking their way out of things. Ted had a permanent case of foot-in-mouth disease.
"You a hunter?" Ben asked.
"In a manner of speaking. I belong to an organization that does work in eliminating the Supernatural. We're currently trying to recruit American hunters. I'd love to buy you breakfast."
Another quick glance between the boys.
"Nah, dude," Ben said. "We're good. If you don't mind," he said, trying to get into the car.
"Oh, by all means."
Ben got in the driver's seat, while Teddy walked past the man to get in on the passenger side.
"Wait a second," the man said. "Are you sure, you lads really look like you could use a good cuppa. I can just follow you in my car. You pick the place. I'm also happy to submit to any sort of tests that you would like. Just hear me out. If you don't like what I've got to say, you'll never hear from me again."
It didn't seem like the man was going to be easily dissuaded.
"Fine," Ben said gruffly, trying to sound older than he was.
Ted looked like he wanted to protest, but he was still trying to stay silent.
"Lovely. See you soon."
III
Claire was actually happy to be dismissed by Jody. She didn't know what Ted and Ben's connection was to the Winchesters, but she wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of the anger that she had just heard in the other room.
So, she had lied.
She knew that Ben and Ted were actually only a couple of hours away just outside of Rapid City. But she wanted to give them a head's up that the Winchesters were coming. She didn't expect that they'd be able to evade them for long, but at least they could prepare themselves.
Claire 11:04
red alert winchesters showed up they r looking for u.
There was no response. 'Damnit,' Claire thought. 'They must not be done with the hunt.'
Claire 11:06
told them u were in casper to buy time txt me back when u see this
Still nothing.
Claire 11:08
alex, have u heard from the morons?
Alex 11:08
at work. no. y?
Claire 11:09
winchesters looking for them
Alex 11:09
fuck. i'll tell them if i hear from them.
Claire 11:10
thanks
Claire felt like she had done her duty. She pulled out her headphones and her laptop to start looking for a new case of her own. She couldn't let the boys have all the fun.
III
Mick Davies took a few, calming breaths before entering the diner that the two young men had led him to. This meeting was mission-critical. He had to remind himself that he was older, smarter, and far better informed than the two teenagers that he was about to chat with. Even if he found it incredibly intimidating to talk to Harry Potter's heir.
"I'm afraid that I failed to properly introduce myself," the British man said to Ben and Teddy as he slid into the booth across from them. "My name is Mick Davies. I'm from the UK."
"No kidding," Ben said sarcastically. "What do you want with us?"
"To start, just your names, please," he said.
Mick knew exactly who these two young men were. He was mildly impressed that the wizard hadn't managed to show signs of what he was yet in the week that he had been following them. They were very important recruits. Not so much for their skills, but for their connections. Dr. Hess had given him file folders the size of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on both of them.
But he was interested in what they would tell him about themselves even though he practically knew when and where they were each conceived.
"Uh – I'm Ben, this is Ted," Ben said.
"It's nice to meet you, Ben and Ted," Mick said. "If you don't mind me saying, you both seem rather young to be hunting."
"We mind," Ben said. "We're both of age." Barely.
"No doubt. It's just tough to see two such strapping young lads already caught up in this world of the supernatural. I'd like to hear about what got you involved."
Both boys looked at him like he was a complete idiot. And he kind of felt like one.
"Of course," he backtracked, "I'm not here for that purpose. I'm here on a recruiting tour. I belong to an elite British government agency called the Men of Letters. In Britain, we have all but eliminated the supernatural threat. With our population under control, we turn our eyes to our friends and allies across the pond."
"What makes you think that we want your help? Ted and I are fine on our own. And America is home to the best hunters in the world." Of course, he was thinking of the Winchesters. Not that he would say their names aloud.
"Oh, certainly. We have great respect for the hunters here in the States. But you lack in…resources. Which is where we come in. We've been working on solutions to common problems for centuries. We have the knowledge that you can only imagine."
Ted snorted. He knew all about the Men of Letters. He had taken Muggle Studies just so he could go on the excursion to Kendricks. Compared to what he knew of Sam and Dean he hadn't been all that impressed. Although he had enjoyed stealing a couple of books from them.
That turned Mick's attention to him. "You have not said much, my young friend."
"Yeah, he's not talkative," Ben said, trying to stop Ted from joining in. He knew what his friend's feelings were on the Men of Letters. God knows he had heard the rant one too many times. But stealth was what was important here. "Look, buddy, thanks but no thanks. We'll pass, let's go Ted."
Mick held his hands up. "Of course. This was just a friendly chat. I'll leave and let the two of you enjoy a nice meal. I'll even pay the tab on the way out. But, if you change your mind…"
He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a business card. He lay it on the table in front of them. "I am at your service," he smiled and left.
"Git," Teddy said when he was out of sight. Ben moved from beside him to sit across from him in the booth.
"No kidding. I can see why you don't like them. Are they all so…"
"Condescending? Full of shite? Yes. And Kendrick's students were equally insufferable. I wish I hadn't wasted my time in Muggle Studies." He scowled. "I wish I could have hexed him ten ways to Sunday."
"Hey – at least we're getting some free food out of it all."
"Thank Merlin." Secretly, without his friend seeing, Ted managed to palm the business card. It couldn't hurt to have for later. Just in case. Even if they were a bunch of wankers.
As Mick left the dinner, he spotted a familiar car parked next to the boys. He quickly ducked out of the way so that the occupants of the car didn't see him. He cursed. Had Ben and Ted gotten a hold of the Winchesters somehow? From his records, there was no contact between them since the boys were children, but that was only considering muggle technology. And he had jammed the signal going to the boy's mobiles when he come into town.
He was tempted to stay and try to spy on the meeting but decided that it would be for the best if he did not. Internally, Mick groaned. This was going to add at least an extra hour to his report writing.
III
Despite the interruption by the British man, Teddy and Ben left the diner in high spirits.
"You want to find a motel here, or keep driving a bit? We still haven't made it all the way to the Pacific Ocean," Ben was asking Ted. His friend was oddly still and silent. "Ted?" He asked when there was no response. He turned to the wizard, to see him staring, eyes wide, behind Ben's back. "What?"
Ben saw Dean Winchester leaned oh-so-casually, on the Impala, parked far too close to his Firebird. He was looking bored, examining his fingernails. "Fuck," he said, "Go, Ted!" He said urgently as it appeared that Dean hadn't spotted them yet.
They both turned to bolt the only way only to run headlong into another, very large, hunter.
"And where do you think you're going?" Sam asked, folding his arms over his chest, looking very menacing and scary as he towered over them.
III
"Just Harry is fine," Harry said as his eyes glowed green. He was ready to incinerate the Reaper in front of him and he didn't dare look Mary's way. Maybe she had missed what this Billie had said. Guessing from her total silence, he guessed not.
"Well, I have some items I'd like to bring to your attention, boss," the woman said. "And I think you've been neglecting your duties for too long. It's bad enough that I have to report to a Winchester – but one of your idiot brothers killed Death."
"What duties are you talking about?"
Harry also did the only thing that he could think of, "Gabe, get your feathered arse over here. Now," he prayed.
Billie rolled her eyes. "We need a new Death. I've done my best but…we need leadership. Heaven is closed down, so we can't depend on them."
"I can't be Death," Harry said, sounding surer than he felt.
"Yeah. I know," she said like he was an idiot. "But you can pick his successor. The reapers will respect that."
"I – "
"Harry, baby!" Gabriel arrived. "I knew you missed me. We've got to talk about your mixing angelic magic with the sticking charm though because those were my favorite pants, and…oh, hello there Billie. Long time, no tango."
"Gabriel," she said slowly and with annoyance. "And here I thought I was dealing with the Master of Death. Didn't know you'd have to call in your daddy to handle little old me."
"Hey, he's only allowed to call me Daddy if we're in the bedroom," Gabriel quipped as he winked at Harry, who would have groaned if this hadn't been such a serious situation.
"Gabe…"
"What? Oh, I get it, pas devant les domestiques, so to speak. Or, the – holy hell, is this Mama Winchester?" Gabriel turned to Mary who had been standing, completely frozen since Billie had called Harry a Winchester.
That distracted Harry away from the angry reaper in front of him. "Did you know about this?"
"Well…"
"Gabriel, so help me…"
"I mean, yeah, of course, I did. And I would've told you earlier, but…"
Harry shook his head. "I'll deal with that later," he said coldly, causing shivers to run up Gabriel's spine. And not the kind that he usually liked. "She said that it's my duty to pick a new Death. Is that another secret you were keeping from me?"
"Not really. Dad wasn't really very specific about what being Angel of Death means. I'm guessing that she doesn't know any better than I do."
Billie glared. "It seems only natural that…"
"Oh, go suck it up your ass," Gabriel said before he stabbed her with his archangel blade. Light flooded out of her eyes, her gasping mouth, and the wound in her stomach where she had been stabbed.
She fell to the ground, dead, as Gabriel pulled the blade back out.
Mary yelped at the sudden violence.
Harry just kind of stared at the spot where the reaper fell.
"Bloody fucking hell, Gabe!"
The archangel shrugged. "I've been wanting to do that for years. Honestly, I never liked her, she was way too serious. And now, you don't need to worry about her bothering you about duties. Win, win if you ask me."
"You can't just…kill people like that," Harry said, still stunned.
"She wasn't a person. Look, I think you've got bigger problems on your hands at the moment than some dumb dead reaper," he nodded in Mary's general direction.
Harry worked up the courage to glance at his mother's face for the first time since Billie had spilled the beans. She looked blank. Stony faced. Harry's heart sank.
For a couple of seconds, which felt like forever, there was complete and utter silence.
"Look, Mary…Mom…"
"Don't," Mary said harshly.
Harry recoiled as if he had been slapped.
"I – I'm sorry," he said miserably. "I'll just – "
"No," Gabriel said, putting an arm on Harry's shoulder, glaring at Mary. "You know, it's bad enough that Harry freakin' died to save your moronic offspring, who, by the way, gave up looking for him almost immediately, and stayed friends with his murderer, you will sit your flighty ass down and at, at very least, to listen to what he has to say."
"Gabriel!" Harry yelled. "That is enough. I am quite fine to handle my own affairs."
"But she – "
"I don't care. Clean up the mess you made," he said indicating to the dead reaper on the floor, "and bugger off."
Gabriel looked like he might argue more, but Harry's hand started to glow a little green, so he gulped and flew away, taking Billie with him.
Harry shook as Gabriel left. He didn't know what to do. Maybe Dean had been right – maybe she would leave again. Because of him.
"Mary, I am so sorry. I'll leave, please, please don't leave Sam and Dean again. Not on my account. They – they really love you. Dean would be devastated if…" He was panicking.
"Is it really true?" Mary asked, speaking for the first time.
"What?"
"Are you…are you my son? I – I looked. But Missouri said that you had died. Oh God, she said you died five years ago. You were a wizard – you saved the world. You left all your money to Sam and Dean. I don't know how I didn't see it before."
"You know about me? You remember my being born?" Harry had not expected that.
"Know about you? Harry – I've been searching for you since you were taken. I never stopped. I never gave up."
"But – they told you that I died."
Mary snorted. "They did. But I was raised a hunter. There were so many things…wrong that happened that day. I don't remember everything, that's true, but I knew, I knew." She started to cry as well. "Missouri – she said your name was Henry."
Harry smiled softly. "It is. It's my American name. My birth certificate says my name is Henry John Winchester. When I was adopted, my par – Lily and James called me Harry."
"Henry John Winchester," Mary breathed.
Before either of them could register what she was doing, she closed the gap between the two of them and threw her arms around him. She squeezed him tight. He let her.
"Henry John," she said again.
"Mom," he said quietly back, returning the hug. "If – if that's alright."
Mary pulled away from him, searching his face as if she was scared that he would disappear. "Yes. Please. Yes. You don't know – I thought I had lost you. I thought you were gone. And that I would never get to see you, or hold you, or tell you how much I love you. I love you so much, Henry." She pulled him in close again.
This time they didn't pull apart for several minutes, not until they had both stopped crying.
When they did, she didn't want to take her eyes off of him. They both sat in chairs across from each other.
"Sam and Dean? Do they know that you're – "
"Yes. Of course."
"And John, he – he knew? He knew you?"
Harry smiled sadly. "He did. For a time."
"And he just let you go?" Mary had been disappointed by many things that she had heard about what her husband had done after she had died. But the thought of him willingly letting one of their boys go was unfathomable to her.
Harry shook his head. "No. He didn't let me go without a fight. Look – it's a long story. I'll tell you the whole thing. But John – Dad, he did everything he could to try and keep me."
Mary sat patiently for him to begin.
Only it was harder than he had imagined it would be.
"I guess this all starts with your cousin," Harry said, figuring that was probably far enough back to give context to the whole situation.
Mary was surprised. "My cousin?"
"Yes," Harry responded sadly. "Her name was Liberty Campbell – Samuel had her killed for being a witch."
"My dad?" Mary's stomach lurched. She had loved her father. Sure, she didn't agree with the life that he had raised her in, had desperately wanted out, but she knew that her father was a great man who had worked tirelessly to protect the lives of civilians. "My dad didn't kill innocents," she said with certainty.
It took everything in Harry not to snort in response, but seeing as he was about to defend Lily and James, he understood the sensitive nature of learning that one's parents were not what they seemed. "He didn't understand that her magic wasn't demonic. That she had been born a witch. It was actually your brother who delivered the final blow."
Mary remembered her brother going to jail, of course, and his dying there, but this seemed fantastical to her. But it seemed counterproductive for her to argue with him about it. At least, not yet. "What does that have to do with you?"
"Everything. This put your family – our family, on a watch list of sorts. Not that they weren't already for being hunters, but special attention was placed on you because of this. There's a law, you see, that says that…"
"Hunters aren't allowed to raise wizarding children," she said, remembering, suddenly understanding the reason behind that a little better than she had before.
"Right. My mum…"
Mary glared.
Harry cleared his throat. "My adopted mum, Lily, she found out about that law. She was Muggle-born herself, you see, and when she found out about this law, she was horrified and wanted to do something about it."
"So, she stole you from me?" Mary asked, anger evident in her voice.
"Yes. But she meant to return me. Well, actually, the way she put it, she didn't think that she and James would be chosen for years, if ever, to adopt, they were a bit shocked when they found out."
"I thought they were dead," Mary said harshly.
"They are," Harry said. "They died protecting me when I was just a little more than a year old," he tried to say this gently and not react negatively to Mary's anger. He had just gotten to spend centuries with Lily and James and even though they were nothing like the saints that were painted, he loved them very much.
"Mom, I know this is hard. But they planned to go through the adoption, and then, once the coast was clear, return me to you. They had it all set up – they wrote that I was to be returned to you in their will. Sirius even visited you and Dad to set the spells before I was born."
The British man. It was all coming back to her now. "I knew it," she said.
"Knew what?"
"That the British man – this Sirius was a part of your disappearance. He was my first clue."
"Your first clue?"
"To start looking for you. I – I couldn't remember his name, but…"
Harry was still amazed that Mary had looked for him at all. He felt a wave of gratitude. And sadness. He wondered what made her stop. But he didn't ask.
"But if they wanted you returned to us and they put it in their will, where did you grow up?"
Harry winced a little.
"You were raised by this Sirius then? Even though he knew that you belonged to us?"
"Uh, no," Harry said, uncomfortable. "Sirius – he was sent to jail."
"Then who did you grow up with then? Surely they didn't send you to a group home or orphanage if you had two living parents?"
Harry thought that, honestly, that might have been better. That must have shown on his face.
"Where? Where did they send you?" She sounded heartbroken.
"Uh – my aunt and uncle's," Harry said.
"Oh. Were they wizards too?"
"No. Muggles. They hated magic, actually. And, by extension, me," he said a little bitterly.
Mary took a sharp breath.
"It was fine. I'm fine," Harry said. "It wasn't always the happiest but I was safe."
Mary doubted that. She couldn't believe the audacity of these wizards. They stole her son from a loving home because they were worried about hunters, only to send him to non-magical people who hated him for his magic.
"Safe from what, exactly? Hunters?"
"Oh no," Harry said, eyes wide. "No, that's not why I was sent there." He proceeded to tell her the story of why he wasn't returned – the prophecy and looming danger.
Her son told her the story in great detail. As if he had been there himself.
"How do you know all of that? You were only a baby and they died…"
"I've been in Heaven for the last five years Earth time. For me though – it was hundreds of years. Wizarding Heaven is different. I spent that time with Lily and James. They explained it all to me."
Mary felt jealousy tear through her. "Why weren't you with me? Did you choose them?" She immediately regretted the accusation at the expression on Henry's face.
"No, Mom, please – no, it's far too much to go into now, and really, Gabriel would be better suited to explain, but witches and wizards have a separate Heaven from Muggles. I couldn't get to you. Or Dad. I tried – I really did but…"
Mary shook her head. "It's ok. I'm sorry. It's just so unfair."
"It is. Was. But I'm here now, right? With you. And time in Heaven isn't really the same."
"For me – it was just living in my memories. My best memories. I was spending eternity with my boys and John."
"That sounds lovely," Harry said. "You were happy?"
"I thought I was," Mary admitted. "It was jarring to be back here – everything moves so quickly. But I realized, in Heaven, I didn't remember you. I didn't remember anything that was painful to think about, and, while it has taken me time to get used to feeling that pain, I wasn't really me without it. It was all a beautiful illusion."
"I thought I was happy too," Harry said. "It was peaceful, there. I was surrounded by people who loved me and I knew that someday, I would get to see most of who loved me here on Earth too. But after I got over my utter exhaustion, I always felt there was something missing. But no one else felt the same – it was just me. I think I was missing hope."
Tears glistened in both their eyes.
"Mom, speaking of exhaustion, you look like you need sleep."
Mary laughed a little. "You're looking a little tired yourself. And I thought angels didn't sleep."
And it was true, Harry was feeling the lack of sleep, even though he really didn't need much. "I'm not really like other angels," he confessed. "I don't need much sleep, but I still need some."
Mary was too tired to think too deeply on that. "Then, let's get to bed. But Henry – "
"Yes?"
"Promise you won't leave. Not until we get to talk some more."
Harry's face softened. "I promise."
Mary smiled. "Good. Goodnight."
"'Night."
They both went to sleep feeling a little more whole than they had been before.
AN – Y'all all pissed at Dean aren't you? I want to remind everyone that Harry has only been back with his brothers for like two days at this point, so there is a lot of growth (and angst!) to come.
This chapter contains my favorite Gabe line ever. Is it uncool to tell y'all when I've laughed at my own jokes? Probably. But the Daddy comment gets me every time.
Fun detail that didn't make the final edit: Teddy's contact name in Claire's phone is "Tedpole."
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has interacted, especially you heroes who leave me comments and reviews!