Unfound
Chapter Nine
Ron looked up at Hermione arriving back home via floo. It was half-past eleven. He did his best to look like a husband that had been impatiently waiting for his wife's arrival home.
Of course, he had only arrived home about five minutes prior and he had only managed that because he had bribed Hermione's secretary to give him a head's up about when his wife was leaving the office.
"Oh, hi, honey," she said, coming over to kiss him on the forehead. "You didn't need to wait up."
"I know. But it's the fourth time this week, 'Mione."
She gave him a sheepish smile. "I know."
She didn't apologize. Which was fine, he didn't need it.
He expected her to head straight upstairs, which is what she would normally do, but instead, she sat next to him on the sofa. He smiled softly and put his arm around her as she snuggled closer.
"Men of Letters trouble again?" Ron asked delicately.
"Hmm. Oliphant, actually."
"Oh yeah, what'd your longest-running Head Auror do this time?"
Hermione sighed. "It isn't so much what he did and more of what he didn't do."
"What didn't he do?"
"He made a big call without me. Which is within his job purview, of course, but…"
Ron understood immediately. "It's not the way that Harry would have done it."
Hermione nodded and buried her head into his chest.
"We got a letter from Rosie today," he said, changing the subject. It wasn't that they didn't or couldn't talk about Harry. It was impossible to avoid the topic, he had been too enmeshed in their lives for too long for him not to come up often. But tough conversations, like this one, probably would be, were relegated to the mind healer's office.
Although they hadn't had time to go see their mind healer in three months. So, Ron didn't know where Hermione's mind was. He could guess, but that was a slippery slope that usually led to no place good.
"What did Rosie have to say?" Hermione asked, untangling herself from him slightly.
"Oh, is Madame Minister too good to read her own daughter's letters now?" This was said lightly and Hermione knew that he was joking.
"Yes, Ron, I'm terribly busy and important. Please summarize the letter verbally now, but I expect a full report on my desk by morning."
Ron chuckled.
"It was the usual laundry list of complaints about how Hugo is behaving. 'Conduct unbecoming of the son of the Minister of Magic.'"
Hermione groaned. "Please tell me that I wasn't that insufferable at her age."
"You were exactly that insufferable," Ron said fondly. "But it's alright. She'll grow out of it. Mostly."
Hermione hit him softly on the arm. "Prat. What did Hugo do this time?"
"Oh, you'll be horrified. He held a tea for the house elves in the Gryffindor common room. He's been saving up his allowance for months and he somehow sweet-talked Neville into having Hannah cater the event. For only three galleons!"
"That sounds lovely," Hermione said. "What was Rosie complaining about?"
"She was complaining about the complete pandemonium it caused. The house elves were beside themselves. Especially since he insisted that they not be allowed to lift a finger and somehow got all the other first-years to act as waiters and waitresses. They didn't know what do to because they didn't want to refuse your son nor did they want clothes. McGonagall herself had to come and permit them to eat because Hugo wasn't going to let them go until they enjoyed themselves."
"You know, I think the papers are right, our children were the result of a torrid affair I had with Harry."
"How do you reckon that?"
"They're both just me when I was younger."
"How do you explain the red hair then?"
Hermione shrugged. "Harry's mum was a redhead."
"Damn. You're right," Ron looked dejected for a moment, before his face brightened with a realization. "Ah, but wait, I left out what Hugo ordered. All sweets. With your complex from growing up with dentists and Harry's very specific love of treacle tart, he must have gotten that from me."
Hermione's laugh lit up her whole face. "You have me there, dear. I suppose they are yours after all. Skeeter's going to be disappointed."
"Perfect," Ron pulled her into a kiss. She relaxed into him.
As they pulled apart, he groaned. "Sorry, Ron. I've got to be back in the office tomorrow at six and I have at least another two hours of work before I can go to sleep."
"The work of a Minister never ends," he said.
"Ron, someday…" She didn't finish it her thought. He knew what she would say anyway. That someday, she wouldn't be this busy. Someday, the weight of the welfare of Wizarding Britain wouldn't be solely on her. Ron didn't believe she'd ever slow down, but he had accepted that long ago.
"I'm going to turn in," he said, getting up.
"Yes, good. I'll be up in a bit."
He nodded, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and went upstairs.
III
Although he was hardly needed there anymore, Ron always tried to take at least one shift a week working the front counter at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He loved seeing the wonder on kids' faces as they discovered new products. He also loved interacting with the public. When your wife was the Minister of Magic it would be easy to forget the everyday people while you were surrounded by the wizarding world's most powerful and elite.
Honestly, those had never been Ron's sort of people.
There had been a time in his life when all he had wanted was fame and fortune. However, on his way there, he had discovered that there was so much that was far more important than those things.
It was through Harry that he had really appreciated what he had grown up with. Ron, although he feared being less than his brothers and sister, had never really doubted that he was loved. They may not have had money, but both his parents had been affectionate and caring and he had never had to face the kind of rejection that Harry had.
It wasn't until Harry told them about the Winchesters that Ron had understood and his heart had broken for his friend. The worst part was that Ron knew that he couldn't do anything to help. Harry knew that Ron and Hermione loved him like a brother. That he was a Weasley in all but blood, but it wasn't enough.
Sometimes Ron hated Harry for that.
But mostly, Ron hated the Winchesters for it.
Both Hermione and their mind healer had said that wasn't fair. That Sam and Dean Winchester had been just as much victims of circumstance as Harry, but Ron couldn't bring himself to forgive them. They were what Harry needed and they had thrown him out.
Ron shook his head. It was a slow morning in the store, which was allowing him far too much time for his thoughts.
He decided to busy himself with doing some inventory. Mostly out of sheer boredom and wanting to keep his mind busy.
It must have been an hour or so when the bell chimed to indicate that someone was coming in. Ron finished his last count and then turned around.
"Ron!" Came a cheery voice of a red-haired woman, who, surprisingly, wasn't related to him. She bounded in and reached over the counter to hug him. "We came here through a brick wall. It was amazing."
Ron laughed and returned the hug awkwardly. "Charlie, is this your first visit to Diagon Alley?"
"It is," she beamed. "Luna said that if we're going to be working more in the UK I'm going to need some proper witch robes. Which is going to be awesome because, you know, I've dabbled in cosplay but this is, like, real. My LARPer friends would be so jealous, this is so much cooler than anything we ever did."
She said all of that very quickly and Ron understood only about half of it, but that was fine because he had learned to roll with that sort of nonsense from Luna years ago.
And speaking of Luna, the blonde witch followed her girlfriend into the shop. Ron came around the counter to hug her. "Luna – it's been too long," he said,
"Ronald," she greeted. "Did you take my advice about the coblynau?"
A couple of months ago, Luna had advised him to move some things around in the shop. He had learned long ago to just take Luna's advice, whether or not he understood. It drove Hermione mad, which was a bit of an added bonus.
"Er – yeah, can't you tell?"
She gave an appraising look around. "Yes. It's much better. I don't know how they got here from Wales, but I can tell you've appeased them."
"Good. Uh, not that I don't want you here, but is everything alright?"
Ron's meetings with Luna and Charlie were usually top-secret. The fact that this was Charlie's first visit to Diagon Alley was a testament to how well it was hidden. And he wasn't scheduled to meet with them for another couple of weeks.
"How does this work?" Charlie asked, playing with a decoy detonator. She started prodding at it and it started to scuttle away.
Ron hurried and, with practiced ease of someone who had done this a thousand times, stopped it from running off, before putting it back on the shelf. "I can tell you all about that later. But, maybe, until then, don't touch anything without asking first?"
Charlie raised her hands in surrender. "You got it, boss," she grinned and saluted.
"Don't call me that," Ron hissed, looking around to see if there was anyone who might have overheard. Of course, the two women were the only ones in the shop, and from a quick glance through the windows showed that there were no passerby's paying them any mind.
Luna frowned at him.
"It's alright, babe," Charlie said, being able to tell that her girlfriend wasn't pleased with the tone Ron had taken with her. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."
"Right. Sorry, Charlie," he apologized quickly. "It's just, you know…"
"Top secret? Yes, we know," Charlie said. "But we have news."
Luna nodded in agreement. "We do. I knew you'd want to know as soon as possible, plus Charlie is going to need some robes soon, so I thought we'd stop by. Do you have time to meet with us later?"
Ron thought a little bit. "Uh – yeah, I think so. Hermione's on quite the streak. I don't expect her back home until late again tonight. I'm done here in just a couple of hours. Come over for dinner?"
"That would be lovely. It has been a while since we had a Friday night dinner," Luna said dreamily.
Ron felt a little guilty for that. For the first couple of years after Harry died, they had tried to keep up the tradition of gathering every Friday. Mostly for Ginny's sake – but the practice had fallen to the weigh-side after a while when they all got busy with other things.
"That's true. And that's a good excuse. Could you come by a little early? Say, around four? That way, I can invite Ginny. Maybe Nev too – I'll check to see if he's in town this weekend or if he's at Hogwarts."
Luna smiled. "That would be nice. Charlie, dear, you haven't met Neville yet have you?"
"The snake-slayer? No. He sounds awesome! Oh, do you think that he could bring the sword with him?"
"I don't think they let him take the sword out of Hogwarts," Ron said. "But he does have it hanging up in his office. You'll just have visit him there to see it."
Charlie's eyes got big. "Luna," she breathed. "Could we go to Hogwarts?" She mentioned the name of the school with wonderment.
"You'd have to get permission from McGonagall," Ron said. He often forgot that Charlie was a Muggle and the Headmistress would probably not be amused if they just popped in. The only person who could have gotten away with something like that was Harry.
Charlie's face fell.
"Don't worry, love," Luna said to her. "We'll ask. I'm sure she'll love to see the work that you've done on…"
"Shhh," Ron hushed Luna as someone walked into the store.
Luna stopped mid-sentence while Ron greeted the customers. It was a mother and her son and they had all sorts of questions. Luna made a gesture to Ron and she and Charlie left.
III
Ron and Hermione had settled in London, in the Minister's residence when she had been elected to the post. Her parents had been thrilled to have them living closer to their North London home. It also made transport to and from the shop and the Ministry easy.
It also meant that it had the best secrecy wards in the UK on it outside of the Ministry itself and Hogwarts. Which was good for the top-secret work that Ron was doing with Charlie and Luna, but less good in that there was 24-hour Auror-on-duty security. It meant that they would have to log in as official guests. Thankfully, Friday night dinner was a good excuse.
When the women arrived, he quickly shuffled them into his private study.
"Nice digs," Charlie said, looking around.
The poor kid in handy-me-down robes still felt a stab of pride in the success that he and Hermione had found.
"Thank you," he said.
After playing a good host (something very important to his position as the Minister's husband), offering and serving the ladies tea and comfortable seats in his office, Ron got straight to business. "What did you want to tell me?"
Charlie and Luna exchanged glances.
"A couple of things," Luna said. "You know that Charlie has been researching how to create a computer that runs on magic, instead of electricity, like the one in Sam and Dean's Bunker?"
"Of course."
"Well…"
"Let me tell him, babe," Charlie said, interrupting. Luna nodded with amusement. "So, I snagged some books from the Men of Letter's library the last time we visited Sam and Dean. By the way, don't you dare tell Sam that I took some of the books. He'd kill me."
Ron did his best to keep the scowl that naturally formed whenever someone brought up the Winchesters. "Bit like Hermione when it comes to books, is he?" He asked as lightly as possible.
"Yeah. The lecture he gave me the one time I spilled a little bit of beer near one of his precious…" she stopped talking from a look from Luna. She cleared her throat. "So, anyway, I was looking through the books, trying to crack their computer, and I did! It was simple, really, I just had to use electromagnetic cables to a hard drive and tune in – " She stopped, seeing that no one understood what she was saying, but Ron was looking at her with amusement. "Anway, I cracked how the track monsters with that this, which, by the way, I don't think Sam and Dean even realize the capabilities of – uh, doesn't matter. With Luna's help, I was able to find a way to tap into angel radio."
"We have to talk to them about the wood nymph magic," Luna interrupted.
"Yes, yes, we will," Charlie said, brushing her girlfriend off. "But while we can't track where angels are per se, at least not yet, we can monitor angelic activity."
"You can what?"
"Well, Luna and I did some research looking at her prefrontal cortex and – whatever, there were wires attached to her brain and I was able to figure out the frequency that we needed to tune into. It picks up more than what she can. Which brings us to our news. Something big is coming. Or is here. The angels have been loud recently."
"Falling from Heaven loud?" Ron asked wearily. He did not want to have to deal with that again.
"Hmmm, we don't think so," Luna said. "With Charlie's invention, I don't know what they're saying, but I can read their emotions. They are…not scared. Jittery. Nervous. Something they never thought was even possible is happening. Bigger than when Sam and Dean stopped the apocalypse."
"That sounds ominous."
"That's what I said!" Charlie blurted out. "But there's more. A lot of what I was able to figure out came from what the American Men of Letters had figured out in the 50s. Now, the British weren't so advanced at the time, and the separation between the wizarding world and them has always been clearer cut, but, in recent years, they've made bigger advances. But, I'm still better than them," she said the last part smugly.
Not that she didn't before, but she had Ron's attention now. "And?"
"And I was able to tap into the magic they use to track monsters and angels. They use earth-bound magic, so it was easier to crack, less secure. It might take me a week or two, but I think I have a way to intercept all of their communication. Cross continental and local. I mean, they use type-writers, for Leia's sake. Ridiculous. I don't understand why you Brits cling to such archaic technology."
Ron's eyes were wide. "Everything?"
"Everything," Charlie confirmed.
"I could kiss you," Ron said, leaning forward, looking like he just might.
"Woah, hold on there, big guy," Charlie protested teasingly. "I still just like the ladies."
"I wouldn't mind," Luna chimed in. "I know it would just be a friendly kiss."
"Luna!" Charlie chided.
She gave her a little smirk.
Ron cleared his throat. "That's amazing. This – this could be the key to everything."
"We know," Charlie said with confidence. "And it will help Sam and Dean so much!"
"It will help all of us to get rid of those wankers."
The thought of destroying the Men of Letters once and for all lightened Ron's heart. He had learned a lot about the organization through his work with Luna and Charlie over the years and understood why Harry would want it gone. Hermione had to wage a quiet, political war against them and it had fallen very short. So, Ron had taken up the mantel. Unofficially.
He felt like Harry's second-in-command once again. And it was brilliant. He felt like he was doing right by Harry's legacy.
"Uh – there's one more thing," Charlie said. "One more thing before we can do it all."
"What's that?"
The women exchanged glances again. Ron could tell that this wasn't going to be good.
"You know we've talked to Justin," Luna started carefully.
"Yes. He was a bit reluctant though, right?"
"Understatement," Charlie muttered.
"He is scared of them, you know," Luna explained. "He gave us all that he felt comfortable giving, but to be able to complete this project, we're going to have to pull in another person."
"Oh?" Ron asked. "Is that all? I'm sure we've room in the budget to hire someone else. You know I trust you, Luna, to handle that."
"I know you trust me, Ron," Luna said with pride in her voice. "But it is one, very specific person we need."
Ron's stomach dropped.
"Who?"
"Draco Malfoy."
III
Harry looked down at his prone godson and quickly crouched to be next to him. He did a quick scan. "He's hurt," he said accusingly to Sam, who was right next to him.
Sam looked to Dean.
"He was here when I got here," Dean said. "I have no clue why or how he got here. Tommy and Lisa were supposed to have sent him back to England," he said defensively, under the glare of his brothers.
Harry moved his hands over the boy to heal him. And to keep him asleep. "You knew he was in the United States?"
Sam and Dean looked guilty.
"What is he doing here?"
"I can answer that," a female voice spoke.
"Who're you?" Harry demanded.
"Oh. Uh, Harry, this is Lily Sunder," Sam explained. He had forgotten she was there. "She – uh, she's the one who's been killing angels."
Harry gave her a suspicious look. "And just what were you doing with my godson?" He practically growled.
"I was helping him," she responded simply. "We had similar goals."
"They both want to kill Cas," Sam said. Everyone's eyes snapped to Cas. Who was bloodied up and looking exhausted.
"What did you do to Teddy?" Harry asked, standing up, placing himself between the angel and the boy that he considered a son.
"I – I…" Castiel stuttered.
"He killed you, you idiot," Sam explained. "Teddy's been on a revenge mission."
"But…why?" Harry could not comprehend what would cause his sweet godson to want to kill anyone. "Why would he do that?" The last question was mostly rhetorical. "He's only 14, for Merlin's sake. What made him think that he could take on an angel?"
"Uh – Harry, he's 19," Sam corrected.
Harry looked down at him again. He had forgotten, of course, Teddy had grown up since he had left.
Dean wasn't paying attention to his brother or the young man on the floor. He was still watching Lily, who had picked up an angel blade again. He made sure that he stayed in a defense position – ready to take her on if she tried to go after Cas.
"Ishim's dead," he said, looking her dead in the eyes. "Are you done?"
"Revenge is all I've had for over a hundred years," Lily replied, looking a little shell-shocked. "It's what I am."
"Wrong answer. You're done."
"Dean," Cas reprimanded, moving towards the woman. "I'm sorry," he said simply to her. "I was wrong. And…while it's true that I didn't know we were killing an innocent, ignorance is no excuse." He looked a little towards Harry while he made the speech.
Harry could hear the sincerity in Castiel's words. And now that he was an angel, he could also tell that they weren't lies. He knew that the angel was still trying to earn his forgiveness – even though Harry had already given that to him.
"I truly can't imagine the depths of your loss. This was your child. I can't imagine the pain. So, if you have here and you find that you can't forgive me…I'll be waiting."
"Thank you," Lily said. She looked them over again. "You're his father?" She asked Harry.
"One of them," Harry responded.
"He's missed you," she said softly. "I don't know how you're alive now – but, I would give anything to get my daughter back. I have given almost everything. He's a good kid, and he deserves a good father figure. Don't disappoint him."
With that, she walked out.
Harry looked down at Teddy, lost. "I can't believe he was trying to go after Castiel," he said.
"I can," Sam said.
"Sam!" Dean yelled.
Sam glared. At Dean, not Cas. Cas was currently looking down, unsure of his place in this conversation.
"I wouldn't have hurt him," he said quietly. "Even if he had tried to kill me."
"Wouldn't you have?" Harry asked, still not quite believing that Teddy would risk so much for something so trivial.
"I don't hurt innocent children," Cas responded fiercely.
Harry just kind of stared at him, confirming that statement in his eyes. He could see hurt but also resolution.
"What are we going to do with him?" Harry asked, looking at his godson with despair. Teddy looked too thin and, even though he was sleeping, Harry swore he could see worry lines on his face. This isn't what he wanted for this little boy. Remus and Tonks would be so disappointed in him when they found out.
"Do? We're gonna take him home and scare some sense into him," Dean said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Like to the Bunker?" Harry asked, alarmed.
"You got another home?"
"No – but, he's not meant to know. I can't – he can't know that I'm back."
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"You know why, Sam," Harry hissed. "It'll only hurt him more. No, I'll see him again, a century and a half from now, when he's had a nice, long life."
Sam fixed Harry with a bitchface that Dean knew too well. It was reserved for when someone (usually Dean) was being both reckless and stupid.
"If you don't wanna take him, I will," Dean said, limping over, ready to pick the boy up if Harry refused to. "This time, he ain't leaving our sight until I'm sure we've handed him over to someone responsible. I always knew that Tommy was an idiot. Hey, Sammy, do you think that this is a big enough transgression to get the Minister of Magic over here to pick up her nephew?"
Harry froze and Sam smirked.
"I don't know. I think Ginny's scarier."
"You'd know, wouldn't you?" Dean quipped, not quite thinking about what he was saying.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked him.
Sam glared.
"It – it doesn't mean anything," Dean said a little too quickly. "Look, Harry, either, you as a responsible godfather take Teddy home yourself, or we take him to the Bunker and have someone come and get him. Those are the only options. We're sure as hell not leavin' him here."
"I wouldn't just leave him here," Harry defended.
"You sure about that?" Dean questioned.
Harry felt panic set in. He hated to admit it, but Dean was right. He could hardly take Teddy back to England. There was too much risk even if he was quick. Harry wasn't convinced that if he returned to his home country that he could resist going to see his friends. Even though he knew it was for the best to stay away. He missed them.
"Just let me get him," Sam said, disgusted. He nudged Harry out of the way and picked Teddy up. "Could you at least make yourself useful and heal Cas and Dean?" There was a hard edge to his voice that snapped Harry out of his reverie.
"Oh. Right, of course," Harry said. He flew over to each of them individually and pressed a finger to each of their foreheads. "I – I'm sorry," he said. Before anyone could ask what exactly he was sorry for, Harry flew away.
"Great," Dean said sarcastically. "How're we supposed to keep him in any one place when he can do that?"
Sam shook his head. "I don't know. But let's get Teddy in the Impala and back home. I think, physically, he's fine. I'm not sure why he hasn't woken up."
"Harry spelled him asleep," Cas explained, leaning over the boy.
"Of course, he did," Dean rolled his eyes. "Well, we'll deal with Harry later. Let's get home. You alright Cas?"
Cas looked at him. "Fine, of course," he responded. No one bought that lie.
III
Mary sat alone in the Bunker's library with a beer. Henry had flown off in a hurry earlier, saying that Dean was calling out to him. It felt like the first moment that she had to herself since she had found out that Henry was her son. She finally had time to think.
When she had left her boys it had been because she knew that she couldn't be what they (but particularly Dean) wanted her to be. She was convinced, for all the effort she had gone through for a "normal" life that she had never really had one. In her heart, she had always been a hunter. There was a short time, between when her father had died and when she had married John that she had completely given up the life.
But she hadn't been able to resist the call when she had gotten word from one of her cousins that the werewolf that she had spent years hunting had resurfaced. She chased him to Canada and finally put him down.
Mary had told John that she was visiting family. He had believed her lie – hook, line, and sinker.
Dean hadn't even been a year old at that point. And she had willingly left him to settle an old score.
She had never been a very good housewife. Piggly-Wiggly had saved her bacon. She was so grateful that Dean was always happy to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. John also wasn't too picky when it came to food.
Now that she had all of her memories back, she wasn't sure that she ever really had the "mother gene."
The second she had lost Henry – she had gone snapped right back into the life. Hunting came as naturally to her as breathing.
And she had said nothing to John. She always thought that he could sense that there was something wrong with her – which was why they seemed to have an endless stream of fights for years. Mary had loved him, still did, but she couldn't pretend that the thought of taking Dean and running hadn't crossed her mind on multiple occasions.
She was beginning to feel restless again. Hunting the Shifter in Atlanta hadn't been as satisfying as she had hoped it would be. Of course, she was happy that they stopped it from hurting more people but she detested feeling like she was useless in a fight. All she had done, in this case, was find the case itself. Henry had done everything else.
It was similar to the feeling she had about finding Henry at last. Mary had spent years trying to find her lost son, only to have him drop back in her lap. All the time and effort had gone to waste. And, as happy as she was to have him, her feelings of righteous anger hadn't dissipated. Having him wasn't enough. She wanted revenge. She wanted to stop this from happening to anyone else ever again.
Of course, almost everyone involved in the kidnapping was dead. That gave her a little bit of satisfaction. But she wanted more than that. MACUSA, 'what a ridiculous name for a government,' she thought, was to blame for so much of her suffering. Of her family's suffering.
Mary finished her beer and looked around at the books surrounding her. She realized something. These Men of Letters – legends of her childhood, must know about wizards. This place felt magical. She was pretty sure that Sam had talked about how the computer here ran on magic.
She had no idea how long she'd have before her boys returned home, but, for now, she could start looking.
No more sitting around wallowing in self-pity. Mary looked down at the contact she had programmed into her phone.
It was time to hunt.
III
"Uh, Sam, maybe you should sit in the back," Dean said to his brother as he opened the passenger side door.
Cas, who had just been sliding in the empty seat opposite of Teddy in the back, looked at Dean with surprise.
Sam understood immediately. "Yeah, yeah, of course. You can ride shotgun, Cas," he said.
"All the guns are in the trunk," Cas frowned. He was confused until the meaning clicked. He had never been allowed to sit up front when both the Winchesters were present.
"It's your lucky day, buddy," Dean said.
Cas sighed and got in the front seat. He realized, a couple of beats too late, that they probably didn't want him riding in the back with the young wizard who had just been trying to kill him. If he had been human, a blush of shame may have crept onto his face. But Castiel's control was better than that.
They rode in awkward silence for a bit. Dean didn't even put music on, because he didn't want to wake up Teddy. Not that he was sure that it could wake him up, with Harry having enchanted him asleep. That gave him an idea. "Hey, Sam, if we wanted or needed the kid awake, could you reverse the spell that Harry put on him?"
That was the first question about magic that Dean had asked Sam since discovering that he was a wizard without any sort of derision or anger in his voice.
"Uh – I don't know. I'm not sure what spell he used, so that would make it tricky. Or if it was wizard or angel magic."
"Both kinds of magic come from grace," Cas said. "But Harry prefers to fall back on the wizard magic that he grew up using. In there – that was the first real display of angelic power that I've ever seen him use."
"Huh," Dean said.
Sam, of course, had questions. "I knew that the magic they teach at Hogwarts is Enochian magic. I thought it was different from what you use."
Cas scoffed. "What you are calling "magic," is actually celestial energy – magic is a vast over simplification of what we are capable of. And that energy has purpose. To fight, or to heal those who were hurt while fighting. The magic of wizards is an insult to the purpose that angels were designed for."
"Woah, Cas," Dean said. "It's been a long time since I've heard you talk about wizards in that way."
Sam looked slightly offended.
"I apologize," Cas said, not sounding particularly sorry. "What wizards do is still preferable to the witches like Rowena and enlightened compared to the twisted nature of demon magic."
Sam snorted. He was happy to hear that he ranked above Rowena and demons in Cas' mind.
"What happened in there?" He asked.
"When I got there, Ishim had Teddy by the throat," Dean said. "How'd that happen Cas?"
"He attacked me," Cas said. "He had an angel blade and he attempted to stab me when I was weakened from healing Ishim. I – I wouldn't have hurt him," the last part sounded more like Cas was trying to convince himself more than Sam or Dean.
"Yeah, well it's real lucky you didn't, I don't think that Sam and I could've stopped Harry from smiting you dead like Ishim."
Cas couldn't disagree with that. He did not doubt that the middle Winchester could turn him to dust. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he hadn't done so already.
"I just don't know what possessed him to go after Cas now of all times," Dean ranted. "I knew that he and Ben were hunting, but it sounded like they had mostly been taking on smaller cases. Easier ones. Not that those can't easily go sideways, but it seemed like they were being smart about it. Maybe we should call Claire to see if she knows more."
"Why would Claire know anything about this?" Cas asked, surprised to hear his vessel daughter's name.
"Teddy's got a crush on her," Sam explained. "And she covered for Ben and him when we first found out that they were hunting."
Cas blinked. He wasn't sure how to feel about that information.
"What did Teddy say when you talked with him?" Dean asked Sam, looking at him in the rearview window.
Sam squirmed. He never thought that Dean or Cas would have to find out.
Dean knew that look. "Sam – "
"He – uh, he told me that he was after Cas. Sorry, Cas."
"Are you fucking kidding me? You knew he wanted to kill Cas? And you just – just let him go and didn't tell us?"
"I didn't think it mattered!" Sam defended. "He was supposed to go home to England. And I thought I had talked him out of it."
Cas looked pained. "Did you want him to succeed, Sam?" he asked quietly. He knew that Sam had held onto the resentment of Harry's passing more than Dean had. And he certainly didn't blame Sam. Castiel knew that the only reason Dean had gone easier on him was because the eldest Winchester held himself almost entirely responsible.
"What? No! Of course not," Sam practically yelled.
Teddy stirred.
"Shh," Dean said, noticing the movement.
"How was I supposed to know that he had an angel blade? Even with that, and magic, he's no match for Cas."
"Oh, that makes total sense," Dean said sarcastically. "Let's just let our nephew attack our best friend because he couldn't actually kill him."
"And Harry's back. I figured once he knew that this whole thing would stop anyway," Sam continued, ignoring Dean.
"Harry won't tell him."
"He'll come around," Sam retorted.
Dean doubted that. Harry was as stubborn as the rest of his family. Possibly even more so. "Well, we'll have to call Ginny when we get back to the Bunker, in any case." He had a thought. "Hey – if having three over 30-year-old sons freaked her out, how do you think Mom's going to react to having a grandson?"
III
Crowley walked around the church slowly. He surveyed the dead angel on the ground and cocked his head.
"You were right to call me, Paz," he said. The demon relaxed a hair. "You say that Harry did this?"
"Yes, my liege," he responded. "It was a great green light. He didn't even need to touch the angel for it to drop dead."
"And you confirmed that it was, indeed, Harry Potter."
"Yes, my lord. Both Winchesters called him that. And – there was a boy here. A wizard that attacked Castiel. He said that Castiel had killed his father. Harry Potter referred to him as his godson."
"Ah, the young Mr. Lupin. He's an amusing one."
"You know, Harry would smite you if he heard his godson's name in your filthy mouth," a voice behind the demons sounded.
Leaning casually against one of the back walls, was Gabriel.
Crowley took a deep breath, without turning around. "I thought you were in hiding. Or dead. I even heard a rumor that you had been kidnapped and were being held hostage by a Prince of Hell. I have to admit, I was hoping that last one was true."
"As if," Gabriel scoffed. "What're you doing here, Crowley?"
Crowley turned to look at him at last. "Research," he responded. "Heard there was a new player in town. Or, rather, an old player. Bringing back the dead, halo? That's not playing by the rules."
"You're one to talk, pitchfork," Gabriel quipped back. "Don't be jealous. It's hardly my fault that the best of the people you could pull up was an ailing and addled Samuel Cambell."
Crowley could tell that the archangel was using bravado to hide something. It took more than a couple of insults to ruffle the King of Hell. Especially with what he had in his possession. He wondered if he could find a similarly suited vessel that he could lock this annoying archangel in. Might be fun to collect them all.
Still, he had to think quickly. "I don't need to ask you why you're here, of course," Crowley drawled.
"Oh?"
"You're here to clean up after your monster, of course," he said. "This," he said indicating to the dead angel on the floor, "was your plaything's mess, wasn't it? Baby doesn't know how to tidy his own room yet? You know, someday you're going to have to push the little one out of the nest."
Gabriel glared.
"Then again, you've been cleaning up after him for a long time now. Don't think I didn't notice the little spell you cast after The Chosen One died. It was, sweet, really, that you took up the mantle of protecting the Winchesters brothers from those big, scary, wizards," the words dripped off Crowley's tongue like honey.
"Big words from a bad demon who is on the Winchester's speed dial. Let me guess, they said, 'jump,' and you're here to show them just how high you'll go."
Crowley just cocked an eyebrow, snapped his fingers, and he and his minion disappeared.
"Asshole," Gabriel said to no one. Unfortunately, Crowley had been right. He was here to clean up after Harry. The man didn't know that he was being hunted by angels. Not very skilled angels, of course, some dumb, low-ranking ones. They hadn't been successful in finding the Nephilim, so they were desperate to find Harry. Especially since Lucifer had told them who to look for.
Gabriel quickly scrubbed the church of all evidence of the magic that Harry performed, disintegrated Ishim's body, and erased the winged-scorch marks from the ground.
He had been keeping tabs on Harry's wizarding family for quite some time. Had even intervened a couple of times when the hunting duo that was Teddy Lupin and Ben Braedan got into a case that was a little too above their skill level.
Gabriel quickly looked around and confirmed that everything was cleaned up. Even if angels had felt what had happened here, they shouldn't be able to tell what happened. And who'd miss Ishim anyway? He was a tool.
There was a ping in Gabriel's wards. The archangel smiled before quickly departing.
III
"Who's that?" Mary asked immediately when Sam came into the Bunker carrying a teenager. "Did you kidnap that boy?"
"What?" Sam asked. "No," said quickly.
"Really Mom, do you think that we go around kidnapping children?" Dean asked as he came in behind Sam. "Infirmary, Sam? Or do you think we should set him up in a room?"
"It'll be easier to watch him in the infirmary," Sam said. "I think there is a baby-monitoring charm I can put on him, too."
He swiftly walked down the stairs.
"Oh, right, you gonna be a wizard now," Dean said.
"I've always been a wizard, Dean," Sam argued. He considered. "Well, sort of. You know what I mean." He carried the boy into the other room.
"Who is he?" Mary repeated.
"Ah – it's a little awkward," Dean said uneasily.
"That's Harry's son," Castiel said as he finally came in, shutting the door behind him.
Mary choked on the beer that she had just taken a swallow of. "I'm sorry, Henry's what?"
Dean glared at Castiel. "His godson," he clarified. "And come on, man, that's Harry's business to tell."
Cas just clenched his jaw and ignored Dean. "I'm going to my room," he said before leaving the main space.
"But you don't have a – whatever," Dean sat down heavily across from his mother.
"Henry has a godson?" Mary asked. "He never mentioned him."
"In a couple of weeks, you've known him? Yeah, it's not a surprise," Dean said. "Dude likes to keep things close to his chest and he's being crazy about contacting his wizarding family."
Sam came back into the room. "He's still sleeping," he said.
He was going to sit, but before he could, Dean said, "Could you get me a beer?" The youngest Winchester rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen. "What you couldn't just summon it?" Dean yelled out at him.
"I haven't perfected fourth-year spells yet," Sam said as he once again re-entered, this time with beer. "And I thought you'd prefer not to have a beer bottle slam into your head, but I can arrange that if that's what you want."
"Boys," Mary said sharply, to get their attention. They both looked up immediately. "Could someone please fill me in on what just happened? Why did you bring Henry's godson here? What did he have to do with the angel case that you were working with Castiel? And where is Henry? I presume that you called him in to help."
"Yeah. He flew off in a huff," Dean said. "But he's totally fine. Just a whiny little bitch."
"Dean!" Sam reprimanded. "He's having a hard time. He doesn't want contact with the wizarding world, but this is going to force that. I'm sure he'll be back soon."
"In the meantime, I think we ought to give Ginny a call," Dean said. "She's gonna be pissed."
Sam deflated and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Maybe we should give Ted a chance to explain himself before we call her in. Help him soften the blow."
"You want to help him soften the blow? I think he deserves whatever he gets! We can't let him get off easy after he ignored us like that."
"Dean…he's just a kid," Sam argued. "An angry kid. He's lost a lot in his life."
"So? That doesn't give him the right to go around trying to kill angels."
"Woah, wait, Henry's godson was the one killing the angels?" Mary asked, somewhat horrified and rethinking everything she knew about wizards if one that young had that kind of power.
"No," Sam said.
"Well, kinda," Dean said at the same time.
"He didn't kill any angels. That was Lily Sunder," Sam argued.
"That we know of. We didn't see Mirabel die, did we? And the kid had an angel blade."
"Who knows, maybe he used magic to help her find them in the first place," Dean theorized. Sam shook his head. He didn't believe that Teddy had that in him.
"We can ask him what happened when he wakes up," Sam said, not wanting to get into it with Dean. He proceeded to tell his mom what they knew of what happened, including how he had Dean had caught Ben and Teddy hunting.
It was a lot of information to take in.
"And now, we don't know where Harry went, but…"
"I'm sure he'll show up," Mary said confidently. "I know how important family is to him."
"Uh huh," Dean replied.
"Dean – I thought we'd talked about this. You have to go easier on Harry," Sam practically begged. "He needs support, not you being a dick."
Dean huffed. "He doesn't need to be babied."
"Maybe not. But – cut him some slack."
Dean took a deep breath and repressed an eye roll. "Fine. I'll be nicer. But I ain't tucking him into bed and reading him bedtime stories."
"Whatever, Dean," Sam said. But he knew that he had gotten through, finally, so he let it go.
III
Harry didn't even realize what he had done until it was already too late. He had desperately wanted to get and stay away from anyone in his family, Winchesters or wizards, but he wanted to be someplace familiar. So, he found himself in Key West, where he had first woken up.
It didn't take long for Gabriel to show up as well.
Harry was huddled in a chair on the balcony off the room that had been "his" while he stayed there, looking at the ocean.
"Knew you couldn't stay away," Gabriel said when he found him.
Harry scoffed. "I just – needed a couple of minutes."
"Yeah?" Gabriel asked, flopping into a hammock on the same balcony. "Well, I've not seen you in weeks, so this is a pleasant surprise. Are you done being mad at me?"
"No," Harry answered automatically.
Gabriel smirked. "Sure, you're not buddy. Look, what d'ya need? There's everything here. Or we could go anywhere. Gambling in Vegas is always a good way to let off steam. I also know this great strip joint in Reno, where you will not believe…"
"I don't want to do any of that, Gabe," Harry snapped.
"Hey, hey, can't blame a man for trying." He sat up and adopted an unusual, for him, serious expression. "What's going on Harry?"
"It's all just – so much. I've barely gotten used to seeing Sam and Dean and not to mention Mom. You know, in Heaven, I spent a lot of time with Lily and James. It was great. But we were all dead, so there was no fussing. I didn't have to worry about worrying them or vice-versa. It was easy. Everything is just so complicated now. And that Bunker is stifling."
Gabriel snorted. "Yeah, well when your family is a big bag of dicks, things get that way. Speaking from personal experience, you don't have to do anything. I'm an expert at running away from my horrible family and laying low. You and I – we could just stay in hiding," he started to look really excited. "You and me – against the world. We won't let anyone bring us down with their pesky love or feelings. Bro it up until you realize that you're secretly in love with me and want to carry my babies."
That surprised Harry enough to get a laugh out of him. "Unless you did something seriously strange to my vessel, Gabe, I don't think I'll be carrying anyone's babies. And what would any child of ours be, anyway? Three-quarters angel?"
"Ah, so you have thought about it! I knew it," Gabriel teased.
Harry heaved a sigh, all the levity gone for a moment. "I see what you did there, by the way."
"What was that?" He asked innocently.
"You know that I won't run away from my problems. I can't. But don't think that you can use reverse psychology on me." Harry realized that he had been doing almost nothing but run away since he'd been back. The second anything got difficult, he flew away, because it was easier. Safer. Or, at least, it felt that way.
"I haven't a clue of what you're talking about," Gabriel continued to deny. "I meant every word of what I just said."
"Yeah, sure."
The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, breathing in the ocean air.
"I've got to see them, don't I?" Harry finally breathed.
"Knew you'd get there eventually, Hair Bear."
"Shut up."
"You're always welcome here though. I'm still on your side. Always."
"You're a soppy git, you know that, right?"
"I do."
Harry didn't move to leave.
"Something on your mind?"
"Er – I talked to Sam and Dean and they told me about the Nephilim. Is that – is it the reason I'm back?"
Gabriel's eyes widened. But he saw no reason to lie. "Yeah. One of the conditions. If your ascension wasn't going to balance the power between wizards and demons, it had to balance something else."
Harry had suspected as much when he realized that the Nephilim would have a human soul from its mother and grace from its father.
"And the other two?"
"Yeah. That one was the headliner. You also had to agree to come back and you couldn't come back as a wizard. You had to ascend."
"And you were allowed to lie to get me to agree to come back?"
"I didn't lie," Gabriel insisted.
Harry gave him a side-long glance. "Technically, I suppose. I think it would still count as coercion in a court of law. My brothers didn't – don't – need me."
"Ah! That's where we'll have to agree to disagree, mon ami."
Harry huffed. "Well, anyway, Sam, Dean, and Cas are convinced this child is evil and they need to kill it."
"You can't let them do that," Gabriel said a little too quickly. Harry raised an eyebrow. "It would be…unethical."
Harry was sure there was more to the story than that, because, since when did Gabe care about ethics? He sighed. "It doesn't matter. They can't find Kelly Kline, in any case. And I'm sure as hell not going to help them murder a kid."
"Of course, they can't find her. What, have they already exhausted the three towns closest to their little clubhouse?"
Harry ignored the insult on his brothers' intelligence. "Castiel's been looking for ages. He's the one who lost her in the first place."
Gabriel snorted. "Color me shocked. The most idiotic angel in the arsenal. And that's saying something."
"The whole lot of you are dicks," Harry said.
"Hey, that includes you now."
"I know. It's just – I know where she is."
"Oh?"
"I can – feel her. Or rather, him."
"The Nephilim? It's a bouncing baby boy?"
"Yeah. Think so. Dunno how I know though. Just sort of…do."
"I guess it makes sense. A son for old Luci. Huh. Hopefully not a chip off the old block."
"I don't know. I think that we'd be pretty happy if he went on the same path of rebelling against his father. Can you imagine?"
"I knew Lucifer when he was still good. So yeah, I kinda can."
"I think we need to protect her. The mother, that is, and, by extension, her son. I have a feeling both Heaven and Hell are looking for her."
"Heaven and Hell are looking for you too, you know."
"Huh. I guess that shouldn't surprise me. I can protect myself. I'm not some muggle woman carrying the Devil's child."
"So, what do you purpose?"
"Well…"
III
Harry felt good after leaving Gabriel's. Although he realized, that the place didn't belong to Gabriel, it belonged to him. Thieving archangel.
He had a feeling that his brothers were probably still pissed at him though. Possibly understandably so. So, he elected to stay the night at Gabriel's to give Sam and Dean some time to cool off. He purposefully made sure to fly to the outside and enter via the door. Not that it would matter, but he didn't feel like getting shot.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he was immediately met with the barrel-end of Dean's gun.
"Woah, Dean, it's just me," he said as he stepped closer. "Permission to come aboard?"
Dean moved out of the way. "Like I could stop you if you wanted in any way. You know, Teddy's still not woken up. You're lucky that Sam took your side in all of this, or I would have called Ginny the second we got back here."
"I'll be sure to thank him," Harry said dryly, walking down the stairs.
"Well, you got here just in time," Dean said, walking down after him. "Sam just offered to make breakfast and you know that'd be terrible. Probably has some sort of tofu scramble crap planned."
"I heard that!" Sam said, coming out of the kitchen. "Harry! We were worried. You ignored my prayers."
"And my text messages," Mary added, also coming in to see what the commotion.
"And Dean's phone calls," Harry added. "Really, Dean? You stole my mobile and changed the ringtones to Led Zepplin songs? I just – needed a moment."
Dean smirked.
"Sorry for worrying you," he said sincerely. "Where's Teddy?"
"Infirmary. Still asleep," Sam said.
"Yeah, I hit him with a strong one sleeping charm. Although he must have really needed it if he's still asleep. He looked exhausted…"
"Well, hunting angels will do that to a kid," Dean said.
Harry craned his neck. "Speaking of, where is Castiel?"
"Sulking," Dean said.
"Where were you?" Mary asked.
If anyone else had asked, Harry would have brushed the question off. But he couldn't deny his mother.
"I – uh, just went to go see a friend."
"What friend?" Dean demanded. "You don't have any friends. Everyone thinks you're dead."
Mary gave him a look.
"I mean – other than us, of course," Dean said lamely.
"Right," Harry said, not fessing up.
"Gabriel, right?" Sam said, having a good feeling that that was the only person that Harry would go and see.
"Yeah. He talked some sense into me. Look – I know that I've been…flighty since I got back." Harry almost chickened out of saying it, but he knew that if he wasn't able to hold himself accountable, Dean wouldn't have any trouble doing it for him. "But I'm going to try to stop." He almost sounded sure of himself.
"We know it's been hard, Harry," Sam said with sincere sympathy as only he could.
"But it was Gabriel that talked sense into you? Gabriel?" Dean asked incredulously.
"Yeah. He's not a bad guy, you know," Harry defended.
Dean crossed his arms. "He killed me. Hundreds of times. Over and over again. I'm sorry, I'm not a fan."
"He apologized for that! And your angel permanently killed me and I'm not holding a grudge."
"Whatever. You forgave him for that, remember? I don't trust Gabriel. And I don't think you should either."
Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. How about I make breakfast and talk about how to break the news to him? And you know what, Sam? A tofu scramble sounds great. Maybe I'll make that for everyone," he winked at Sam as he went into the kitchen.
"Son of a bitch," Dean swore.
III
Ted woke suddenly. He looked around frantically – last he remembered was Sam showing up as that angel had been about to kill him. But he wasn't in the church anymore. He was – in a hospital? Had his uncles brought him to a muggle hospital? That was a bad idea. He started to get up.
"Hey, hey, don't do that quite yet," came a voice from his left. It was Sam. "Take it easy there, buddy."
"Uncle Sam?" He asked. "What – where am I?"
"You're safe," Sam assured him.
"But – are there Muggles here? Why'd you bring me to a Muggle hospital?"
"No Muggles here," he laughed, when he realized that was true. Everyone was either an angel, a wizard, or a squib. "And this isn't a hospital. It's an infirmary."
"Like at Hogwarts?"
"Kind of."
Ted was very confused. He had no idea where they could possibly be, but if Sam said it was safe, then it must be. His brain was being too clear from the panic and fear of, what he thought, must have been the day before. But it was hard to tell because there was no light in here.
"Here, drink some water," Sam handed him a glass.
"Thanks." He drank. The more he thought over what had just occurred the more his heart sank. They must know everything now. "Is – er, is everyone safe? Dean? Dr. Sunder?"
Sam leveled him with a look. "Yes. Well, everyone but Ishim. He's dead."
"But not…"
"No," Sam's face hardened. "Not Castiel. He's still alive. Which is for the best. I thought we talked about this Teddy."
Hot tears started pouring down Ted's face. Frustration, mostly. That had been it. Probably his only shot, the angel would be expecting him now and he didn't stand a chance. And he had sacrificed so much to even have that. Harry would have been so disappointed with him.
"But why? Why do you keep him around? I don't understand."
"I know you don't, kiddo. And don't think that we won't have a very long talk about that later. How are you doing, do you feel ok?"
Ted did a check of his body. He had been covered in bruises and a possible broken rib. But now, there was no pain. "I – I'm fine," he said. Disgust filled him, when he realized the implications of it all. "Did you let him heal me? I don't want any part of that! Make him put me back. I can handle it."
"Cas didn't heal you," Sam said.
Ted wasn't sure that he believed that. He knew magical healing didn't work this well. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes while he pondered if it was possible to reverse angelic healing. He wanted no part of that from the angel that killed Harry. Sam was suspiciously not lecturing him, so Teddy eventually broke the silence.
"Aren't you gonna…?"
"Aren't I going to what?"
"I don't know. Give me a telling off?"
Sam looked at him sternly. "It didn't do much good last time, so no, I'm not. There's someone else here though, who feels differently. Teddy – you might find it hard to believe when you see him. But I promise, we've done all the tests."
Ted was very confused. He wasn't too afraid of the telling off he'd get from any of his male relatives. Well, maybe Dean, but his elder uncle didn't seem to be anywhere around. And what was Sam saying about being hard to believe.
"Stop hiding, and show yourself," Sam said sternly, in the direction of the door.
Nothing.
"Come on, don't be a coward," he said in a tense voice. "I thought you were a Gryffindor."
A man appeared, scowling.
Ted froze. No. No, it couldn't be. He scrambled up from the bed, searching for his wand.
"Teddy," the man said.
"No! Stay away from me! You're not him. You can't be. He's – he's dead."
"I was," the man said. "I – it's a long story. The Archangel Gabriel brought me back."
"Teddy, it's really him, I told you, Dean and I tested him. In every way possible. I promise. We wouldn't let him in the same room as you if he wasn't who he said he was," Sam tried to soothe.
Ted broke. He slid down the wall that he had backed himself into and started bawling. This was a cruel joke. It had to be. Because…because if it was really his godfather, he would have known. He would have.
"Oh, Teds," Harry said. He slowly walked towards the crying child and with deliberate movements, he wrapped his arms around him and held him close.
Teddy breathed in. He smelled like Harry. Suddenly, he knew. He buried his head into his godfather's chest. "Harry," he said, still sobbing. "Harry."
"Shh, I know," he said. "I've missed you too, Teddy. It's ok. I'm here now. It's ok." With easy, he cradled Teddy and lifted him up so that they were both sitting on the bed. He rocked him like he had when he had been a child.
Sam's eyes misted over a bit. He knew what this had to mean to Teddy. He could only imagine how he would react if that had been his own father. Feeling like he wasn't going to be hold out much longer, he quietly backed out of the room. To give both himself and Harry and Teddy some privacy.
AN – Friday is here again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
And, yes, I realize that Gabriel used, "Always," on Harry. I swear, I don't mean to make things so romantic between the two of them, but Gabriel, much like Sam and Dean, has a mind of his freaking own! A madly-in-love with Harry romantic mind of his own.
As always, thank you to everyone who comments are reviews! I really appreciate it. Also, continuing thanks to my two Discord servers – one that is SPN focused and the other HP focused. Both are filled with amazing people who have made this story better.