CW: Torture and canon character death. Please note new archive warning – Graphic Depictions of Violence
Unfound
Chapter Twenty-One
Season 12 – Episode 17: The British Invasion, The British Men of Letters starts putting pressure on Mick to step up his game. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean, with the help of Eileen Leahy, track down Kelly and Dagon at an unknown location.
"You and I, you know, are more closely related than you realize," Asmodeus said as if they were just two friends enjoying a cup of coffee together. He had returned to the room – which was really more of a dungeon. He had rearranged Harry so he was no longer bent over in an uncomfortably forced bow on the floor, but rather chained to a chair. He could still barely move.
"My father created me by corrupting my soul himself. He molded me. Shaped me. My brothers and sister were created in his image and are the most powerful of his children. It's not unlike what Gabriel did with you and your kind. It makes us…kin."
Harry glared, not giving in to this charade that the demon was playing. His veins reverberated with the pain of trying to use his grace, but it was going to take a whole hell of a lot more than that to break him.
The demon chuckled at the glare. "Oh, now, there is no reason to be rude, Mr. Potter. This is just a let's get to know each other chat."
Harry stayed silent.
The demon didn't seem to mind. Bad guys rarely did. They were always happy to talk. Harry was hoping that he would give something away that would help him escape, or get word to his brothers or Gabriel to come and help him.
"But, of course, I understand your reticence," the southern drawl continued, as Harry knew it would. "I suppose it was indecent of me not to answer your earlier question. Such a small request – what do I want? Well, Mr. Potter, I, like you, am not a man of many words, but rather one of action. You see, you have something that I want."
Harry tilted his head slightly. He had a feeling that he knew what that was and there was no way in hell that he was going to give Kelly or her child up to this monster. Or Lucifer.
"Oh, no, don't you worry, boy, it's not something that you don't currently have with you."
"What?" Harry couldn't help but ask. That wasn't what he expected.
Asmodeus laughed lightly. "There you are. I've heard stories about you, of course, Mr. Potter. Studied you, even. I was interested in you even before your ascendance, but you are even more interestin' to me now. What I want I can easily take from you, but it is so much…sweeter if it's willingly given."
"Go to hell," Harry spat at him, temper winning out. "I'm not giving you anything."
The demon nodded seriously. "I was afraid that you would say that, of course. Expected it. Just remember – this could be done so much more…comfortably. Perhaps, never without pain, but we could be friends, you and I." Out of his jacket, Asmodeus pulled out a syringe. "Modern technology is really quite amazing. To think that when I first tapped an angel, I had to use a hollowed-out reed. Perhaps you and I will have to try that should you continue to be uncooperative."
Harry's eyes got wide. As much as he could he tried to scoot his neck away from the demon, although that proved to be futile, as the collar was still around his neck, only chained to the back of the chair rather than the ground.
With vicious glee, Asmodeus plunged the needle into Harry's neck. It went deep – very deep. Harry could feel it in his soul and then he felt a pull. Like part of him was being pulled out. He could help but scream with pain until his throat was raw.
Asmodeus grinned. He deliberately moved directly in front of Harry so that he was in full view. With a hand, he put a finger under Harry's sagging chin and lifted it so Harry had to watch as the demon immediately transferred the needle to his own arm and injected it into his veins.
His eyes shimmered green for a second. "Woo!" He shouted as he flexed his muscles and rolled his shoulders. "That is even better than I remember it. You – you my friend are somethin' special. And that was you being unwilling? I can't wait until the day that…"
"Never," Harry interrupted his throat scratchy from screaming. "I will never willingly give you that."
The demon's eyes flashed. He backhanded Harry hard across the face. With the grace that had been taken, Harry felt considerably weaker than he had before and blood came rushing into his mouth where a tooth had been knocked out.
"I think I've been a little too kind." Asmodeus snapped his fingers. Harry was no longer sitting in the chair but was bent, kneeling on the ground again, chains keeping him down. And it hurt in a way that Harry hadn't hurt in years. Hurt more than it had before. The demon had taken something from him, alright.
He didn't even notice that the demon had left until he felt the heat from the flames on his skin again. Hotter somehow. 'Gabriel, please,' he prayed, only to feel complete agony. The world went dark.
III
There was a time in her life when the sight of Harry's blood and the threat of violence against him would have reduced Hermione to tears. She had been so helpless to stop the injustices against him that all there was room for was frustrated and heartbroken crying. Not anymore. Now she was angry. Hadn't he suffered enough? Hadn't he already given everything? She didn't care that it was a Prince of Hell that had her brother, she would burn down anyone or anything that got in her way.
"Why?" She asked rage filling her voice. "What does this Asmodeus want with Harry?"
"I'm assuming that it was my brother that put him up to it," Gabriel said, darkly. "He wants Kelly. Bad."
"But how did he know that you had her?" Sam asked, shaken, and still staring at his brother's bloody feathers strewn on the table. He felt sick. They had only left Harry alone for a couple of hours. He was supposed to be safe in the Bunker. Hell, he was an angel, he should have been able to protect himself.
"He might not have known. But he knows my weakness and Harry is it. So, do any of you apes have any idea where Kelly may have gone to? She is hidden under powerful wards. Wards so powerful that I can't find her by angelic means."
"Well, if you can't find her, what hope do you think we have?" Dean asked, angrily. "How could you let this happen, Gabriel?"
"Me?" Gabriel asked, turning, furious at the eldest Winchester. "He was in your clubhouse. As always, he placed his trust in you, and look at what happened! When we get him back…"
"If," Mick pointed out.
He got glares from all occupants in the room.
"Asmodeus is a Prince of Hell," he pointed out.
"We've faced worse," Dean said. "And won."
"We don't have time to fight," Sam said, with urgency. "We need to pool resources. Dean, you still haven't heard anything from Cas?"
"You know I haven't," Dean growled. "He could be dead for all we know."
Gabriel scowled. "He's not," the 'unfortunately,' not spoken was still heard by all.
"How'd you know?" Sam asked.
"Helllloooo. Angel here. He's in Heaven, working with the angels to try and find Kelly."
"Did Harry know that?" Dean demanded.
"Doubt it. He doesn't really like to listen in on angel radio in the same way that I do. But I guess that dear old Cassie got sick of the wild goose chase we had him set on and decided to go straight to the source. Without telling you, from the looks of things. You two idiots can't help but make the same mistakes over and over again, can you?"
"Listen here you…"
"Enough!" Hermione called out. She had had quite enough of these men arguing. She had been shaken, of course, but she had had her moment and now it was time for action. "We have to do as Sam said, pool our resources. Half of us trying to find Kelly and the other half trying to get to Harry." She gave Mick a cursory look. "Mick, go back to the Men of Letters compound. Don't tell them about Harry. Do tell them that you now have the Winchesters on board. Whatever you need from the Ministry to find Kelly is yours."
"Hey!" Dean interrupted before she could keep going. "We are not on board."
"Doesn't matter," she clipped. "They just have to believe it. You can make them believe it, can you not, Mr. Davies?"
Mick nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Oh, he listens to her," Dean muttered.
"Gabriel," Hermione said, ignoring Dean. "You get in contact with the angels. Go to Heaven if you have to. Get Castiel back – he's been on the hunt for Kelly for months."
"But, he's…"
"I know what he is. And what he did. But, best I can tell, he wants to help now. Sam – you have a network of hunters you can contact, right?"
Sam reluctantly nodded. He didn't want to reveal too much in front of Mick. But the man seemed to be working with Hermione, so he would give her that much.
"Good. Put out…what would you call it? An ABP, Asmodeus is a demon, after all. Someone should have seen signs. If not now, soon."
"There are other demons out there, you know," Dean said, not liking being bossed around by Hermione. She sent him a withering glare.
"And I understand that you have…a relationship…with the King of Hell?"
"Harry really didn't hold anything back from you, did he?" Sam asked, mostly under his breath.
"No. He has no reason to," she said sharply. "He knows that I would never do anything to hurt him." The barb made both Sam and Dean flinch. "Contact him. He's got to have an idea of where Harry might be hidden."
"What are you going to do?" Dean asked sullenly.
"I'm going to work with Ron and his team. You know what Charlie and Luna have been working on – hopefully, they have something that can help out."
Everyone nodded in agreement, although none of them looked particularly happy about it. But they weren't moving.
"What are you waiting for?" Hermione snapped.
They sprang into action. Mick headed out the door to get to his car. Sam and Dean both pulled out their phones. Gabriel flew away.
"Garth, yeah, need your help with something…" Sam was saying to the first person who called.
"Yeah, I know Crowley, but…" Dean said on his phone call.
Hermione nodded in acceptance and disapparted. It was time to get to work.
III
Harry didn't know that it was possible to be in this much pain, and yet, be this bored at the same time.
Asmodeus had left him alone for what felt like days.
He had no way of knowing, however. It could have simply been minutes, but there was absolutely no way to clock time in this room. The only reason that he could tell that he was inside at all was from the overly heated concrete beneath his knees.
Harry took a deep breath. He wasn't ready to try using his angelic grace to try and break out again. He needed just a little more time before he was ready for another wave of pain. Not that pain would stop him for long. He would die from pain before giving in to the demon's demands.
But there had been a time when he hadn't been a powerful magical being of celestial intent.
Once, he had been a little boy locked in his bedroom, not allowed to do magic. After they had busted him out of his bedroom in his first disastrous Hogwarts summer, Fred and George had made a point of teaching him how to pick locks without the use of magic.
Which was useful.
But it was nothing like the master class that he had been taught by Dean only a couple of summers later.
Harry allowed his mind to wander.
III
"Can I trust ya idjit's to stop bickerin' for a couple of hours so that I can run a couple of errands in town?" Bobby asked.
It had been a rainy couple of days. And rainy days had meant no room to escape each other. If Harry and Dean had been bad before, it was nothing compared to the couple of days that they had been forced to remain within the same four walls with no room to breathe. Bobby's house was not large enough for three mostly teenaged boys. Especially when said three boys' father was currently chasing down leads on how to keep Harry from having to return to England.
Harry privately wondered if the man needed to run errands just to get away from them. Which made him feel guilty.
The blank look of innocence on his new brother's face showed Harry what he needed to know – it was really Dean's fault. The older boy had no remorse for the way he bullied either of his younger brothers and he was just used to getting away with it because Sam hadn't had the chance to properly stand up to him.
"If he just left Sam and me alone, there wouldn't be a problem at all," Harry said, unable to look at the smug arsehole's face for another moment without saying something.
"Someone's gotta keep you in line," Dean replied, annoyance flashing on his features. "Otherwise, you'll wreck the rest of Bobby's electronics."
Harry's face turned red. "Oh yeah? Well…" but before his sharp retort could come, Bobby interrupted, extreme annoyance playing on his face.
"For the love of all things holy. Forget hours – I'd take a couple of goddamned minutes. How've you not murdered 'em both, Sam?"
Sam looked surprised to be brought into this all. He shrugged. "It's funny to see how good they are at riling each other up," he answered honestly and with a look on his face that was a little too innocent.
"That'll be five extra laps when this weather clears up," Dean snapped, disliking the insubordination that Harry seemed to be an expert at pulling out of Sam.
"Stop bullying, Sam, Dean!" Harry said, in instant defense of their younger brother. "You see Bobby? It's not me. He can't stop barking orders! Honestly, it's a miracle that…"
"Enough, Harry," Bobby snapped. "Enough both of you. I've had enough," he was stern enough that it got both boys' attention. "And I'd say Sam has as well. Follow me."
"Yes, sir," Dean automatically replied to the angry voice.
Harry nodded.
They both trotted after the man as he started walking quickly in the other direction. His pace was a little too fast for both of them. Sam was curious enough to follow behind, although at a safer distance.
Bobby led them outside, where it was raining cats and dogs.
Harry stumbled a little over a piece of metal on the ground that he hadn't seen through all the rain making seeing out his glasses impossible. Bumping straight into Dean.
"Hey!" Dean growled. "Watch where you're goin'."
"I tripped," Harry said.
Dean scowled. "Sure, yeah, which is why you…"
"Stop it," Bobby said again. "I've had enough of your whinin' and belly achin'." They arrived outside a work shed. "Get in," he ordered.
Both boys did as he said – partially just to get out of the driving rain.
There was not much of anything in the shed. It was mostly bare – a rough, wooden floor and walls made out of corrugated steel. In the middle of the room, there was a long, skinny table. It was covered in locks. Dozens upon dozens of padlocks, deadbolts, knob locks. Next to the table, there was a rough wooden bench.
"This was gonna be my summer project," Bobby explained. "Got it all set up about a week or so before y'all turned up with your Daddy. Haven't had a moment of free time since."
Dean looked at the locks with interest. "Why?" He asked. "Why do you have all these locks?"
"Been collectin' them over the years," he said, sounding a little embarrassed. "Thought I'd use 'em to practice."
"Practice what?" Harry asked.
"Picking them," Bobby said. "Can't tell you the number of times I've had break into a house or crypt or somethin' else and a lock has slowed me down."
Harry had to stop himself from asking why he didn't just use a spell, before remembering that this was a Muggle he was talking with.
"Alright," Dean said. "But why did you bring us out here then?"
"Well, I don't have time for this little project, but it seems to me that the two of you have too much pent-up energy. Can't have you run it out, with the weather like it is, so I thought I'd put your minds to work. You are going to pick every single one of these locks. And, while you're at it, you're going to learn to get along."
They both looked like they wanted to argue, but Bobby silenced them both with a glare.
"You will work on these locks. And talk. Like civilized human beings, not like the rabid dogs tryin' to pull each other apart like you've been actin' like over the last couple of days. I expect you to find common ground and apologize to each other. Then, you'll apologize to Sam and I. Then we're gonna put this all behind us. You get me?"
"And if we don't?" Harry challenged, glaring at the large number of locks on the table. It was rare – while he might pushback against John, he had been mostly respectful of Bobby. With the exception of the damage he had done to Bobby's electronics.
"If you don't, I'll have the two of you out here every day until you do learn to get along," Bobby threatened. "Just the two of you too. No need to subject Sam to your nonsense anymore."
"I'm not picking locks too?" Sam asked, eyes wide.
"Nah. You've more than earned a break. In fact, you can come with me."
Sam looked thrilled.
As if they had planned it, both older boys started arguing with Bobby.
"Stop!" He commanded. "Now. Harry, give me your wand."
Harry stared at him, wide-eyed, wondering how the man had figured him out so quickly. Bobby noticed and rolled his eyes. "I mighta been born at night, but I wasn't born last night," he said. He held out his hand. Harry didn't want to hand it over – but he figured it wasn't all the different from his usual wandless summers and, unlike with the Dursleys, he trusted Bobby to give it back. So, he took off the flannel shirt he had been wearing over a t-shirt (despite the rain, it was really quite warm out) and wrapped it around his wand.
"Don't touch it," Harry warned.
"Gotcha," Bobby said, taking it gingerly. "Dean?" He asked the other boy.
"I don't have a wand," he quipped.
Bobby gave him a no-nonsense look.
Dean sighed. And pulled a knife out of his boot and handed it over to Bobby.
Bobby kept looking at him.
"Fine!" He pulled another knife from its hiding place in his back pocket.
"And…"
Wordlessly, Dean pulled out four other weapons and gave them over.
"Happy? Now, if we're attacked, our death is on your hands," Dean said.
"I'll say nice words about you at your funeral," Bobby replied, unphased. "Come on, Sam. If we get through the grocery shoppin' fast enough, I'll take you for pie."
"What?" Dean said.
"Does it have to be pie?" Sam said with a little whine in his voice. "Can't we get ice cream instead?"
"Sure thing, bud," Bobby said, shooting Dean an amused look. "Whatever you want."
"Oh, come on! Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled while Bobby closed the door behind him.
He pounded a fist on the door shortly after it was closed before storming as far as he could (a good ten paces).
"This is your fault," he snapped at Harry.
"My fault?" Harry asked. "You're the wanker. You've had it out for me ever since I got here."
Dean's eyes narrowed. "You've been nothing but a pain-in-my-ass since you got here. You might have Sam and Dad wrapped around your little finger, but I see through you."
Harry decided not to take the bait. He went over to the table and sat down on the bench petulantly. He picked up the first lock. He figured that he could get away with not having to talk to Dean at all if he could make quick work of these locks. And it wasn't as if he even needed to pick them – he was angry enough to use accidental magic.
He picked up a combination lock and held it in his hand, thinking about how stupid this entire situation was and how angry he was at Dean. Sure enough, within a couple of seconds, it popped open.
Dean snorted.
"What's your problem?" Harry snapped, despite his earlier vow to not talk to his older brother at all.
"You're an idiot," Dean scoffed. "Without your magic, you're nothing, aren't you? Just a baby," he mocked.
"Oh yeah, I don't see you doing any better. Don't you want to get this done so that we can just ignore each other in peace?"
"Yeah, anything would be better than having to spend a couple of hours talking to you. Move," he said, pushing Harry out of the way. "Watch and learn."
Dean grabbed some of the tools on the table and picked one of the more complicated locks. With practiced ease and only a couple of minutes, he had gotten the lock open. He gave Harry a smug grin.
Harry scowled.
"Still took you longer than me," he said.
"Right. Because you cheated."
"I can pick a lock without magic, no problem!" Harry declared.
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try," Dean challenged.
Harry grabbed a lock and a straight pin from the table and got to work. It took him a good ten minutes, but at the end of it, he had the lock open.
"How do I know you didn't just use magic again?" Dean asked, to hide that he was slightly impressed. It hadn't been the most complicated lock on the table, but it wasn't the easiest either.
"You'd know," Harry huffed.
"Fine," Dean said. Almost believing him.
The two of them worked together in silence for the next half an hour or so. Without saying it, they were trying to one-up each other the whole time. Picking more and more difficult locks with fewer materials.
Harry watched with astonishment while Dean picked one lock (on a pair of handcuffs) with a rusty straight nail. His curiosity won out over his pride.
"How'd you do that?" He asked.
Dean shrugged. "It was easy, here, I'll show you," he said, surprising Harry. The younger boy wasn't going to question it too much.
Dean explained how, sometimes, if there was nothing in the room, the only thing that would be available was a nail in the floor or on the wall. He showed Harry how to pry one out from the floorboards of the shed they were in and then he demonstrated using it on another pair of handcuffs.
Harry watched Dean's movements carefully and copied them under his older brother's supervision. Dean gently corrected him and, after just a couple of minutes, Harry got it.
Things were more amicable after that. They mostly still worked in silence, but it was much less heavy. Out of nowhere, Dean spoke.
"I'm not apologizin' to you," Dean grunted. "No matter what Bobby says."
"Fine. Me neither. I've got nothing to apologize for, anyhow," Harry responded.
Dean snorted. "Right. You're a friggin' angel."
"Look, he's going to be back soon," he said. "I don't want to be stuck with you like this again. You don't like me. I get it. You're not my favorite person either. But, maybe, if we agree to something now, we can avoid this sort of punishment again."
Dean gave him a sidelong glance. "You wanna try and trick Bobby? Pretend we're best friends now?" From his tone, it was evident what he thought of that idea.
"Not best friends. He wouldn't believe that. Maybe we avoid bickering in front of him. If you think that you're capable of not being a complete prat in front of the grownups, at least."
"Don't be a smartass," Dean replied, he didn't know what a prat was, but he knew that it had to be an insult.
Harry sighed. "I'll stop if you will."
"Fine," Dean ground out.
About an hour later (they sure took their time in town) Bobby and Sam got back to find the table full of locks undone and Harry and Dean sitting in companionable silence.
"Well?" Bobby raised an eyebrow at them.
They glanced at each other, communicating silently.
"We're sorry, Bobby," Dean said.
"Yes. Sorry, Bobby. And sorry, Sam," Harry said.
"And did you apologize to each other?"
They nodded.
Bobby looked suspicious. But he did sense that something had changed between the brothers. "Alright then," he said gruffly. "Head on back into the house. There's somethin' on the table for you. Sam insisted."
"Is it pie?" Dean asked.
Bobby's mouth twitched. "Maybe. Better go find out."
III
"I'm talking to you boy!" A voice and a sudden, fresh, burst of pain pulled Harry out of his memories and back into reality.
Asmodeus had ripped more of his feathers off his wings to get his attention. It worked. Harry looked up at him. The demon's face morphed into a sneer.
"Much better." With his demon powers, Asmodeus changed the configuration of the chains to allow him to force Harry to his feet. He got up into Harry's face. "Now, I've left you here to…stew…long enough. This is only the tip of what I'm capable of. I'll give you another chance. Let me have your grace, willingly. This doesn't have to be as painful as it has been. You and I – we could be good friends."
Harry spat in his face as a response.
The demon roared in fury, backhanded Harry, and grabbed another handful of feathers, making the angel cry out.
"It seems to me that you don't understand your predicament here," Asmodeus said, speaking calmly as if he had not just violently attacked Harry.
"You don't seem to understand that you are a complete and total wanker," Harry quipped back. It wasn't his cleverest comeback, but considering the sheer amount of pain he was in, he was pretty proud of himself.
"You shut your mouth," the demon admonished. "Or I'll sew it shut."
Harry glared. "Do your worst. When Sam and Dean get here, and they will find us, they'll make you pay." If there was one thing that Harry knew, it was that demons were scared of his brothers.
But Asmodeus just laughed. It started as a small chuckle and developed into a deeper, louder, meaner, full-on laugh. "Oh, my poor Mr. Potter. Your brothers are not looking for you."
Harry scoffed.
"Oh, not because they don't care for you. Of course – I'm sure if they knew you were missing that they would be hot on my trail. But, you see, I have quite the special ability."
Before his very eyes, the demon transformed. Gone was the neatly trimmed beard and white suit. What stood in front of Harry was an exact replica of himself. "Of course, we've got to protect Teddy," the demon said with Harry's voice and expression. "I think I have a lead," he continued. "But I'm going to have to be away for a couple of days."
Harry couldn't help it. His face lost what little color it had. It was a good impression.
Asmodeus turned back into himself. "Didn't you wonder where I went off to when I left you here to…rest? Sam 'n Dean have no idea. Honestly, I was surprised at how easy it was to fool them. It's almost as if they don't really know you at all."
Harry's stomach sank.
"Now. I've course, I have to punish your impetuousness. I cannot abide that sort of behavior. I'm sure you understand," he said all of this with false sympathy. As if it hurt him to continue Harry's torture.
Chains wrapped themselves around his wings. From there they attached themselves to the wall, pulling and stretching the appendages so far that it felt like if they were anymore taut, they would be torn straight off his back. He sank back to his knees as the chain connected to the collar on his throat shortened to force his head down. His cries were soon muffled as the demon stuffed the feathers that he had torn from his wings into his mouth and wrapped a cloth around his mouth to keep them there.
"Much better," Asmodeus said cheerfully. "I have a couple of check-in calls to make now. I hope you don't mind that I'm borrowing your cell phone."
He turned and left – the flames closing in around Harry once again. Not only continuing to roast his skin, but the fire also heated the chains sending waves of heat tinged with holy fire. And yet, something was keeping him conscious. Against his will, Harry couldn't help but let out a quiet whimper. For the first time since being captured, tears started to form and roll down his cheeks. He took a deep breath and did his best not to lose hope.
III
"You have another brother?" Eileen asked as if she hadn't correctly read Sam's lips.
"Yes," Sam signed at the same time he spoke out loud.
She had stopped by with news of Kelly, who had been spotted on security footage for the first time since escaping from Gabriel. It was grainy but it was better than the big fat nothing they had had before. Sam was quickly filling her in.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked.
"It's a long story," Sam sighed. "But he was dead until…he wasn't."
"Ok," Eileen said, not seeming particularly phased. It was something that Sam really appreciated about her – she was unflappable. "What does that have to with finding Kelly?" Also, she was practical and got straight to the point.
Sam hesitated for a second. It wasn't that he didn't trust Eileen – he trusted her as much as he trusted any other hunter, maybe even more so, but things got complicated when it came to his middle brother.
He was saved from having to answer, as Hermione walked in the room.
"He's being held hostage," she explained. But from too far away.
Sam turned to the British witch. "Hermione, you're going to have to come closer. Eileen is deaf."
"Oh!" Hermione said. She moved over to where Sam and Eileen were sitting.
"Who are you?" Eileen asked.
"Eileen, this is Hermione, she is one of Harry's friends."
"It's nice to meet you, Eileen," Hermione said as she used rapid signs, surprising both Sam and Eileen.
"You too," Eileen said, also responding in signs.
Hermione didn't recognize the signs. "I'm sorry," she continued to sign, "I only know British Sign Language, not American Sign Language. Would you prefer to just read my lips?"
The corners of Eileen's mouth quirked up. "It's alright," she said as she also continued to sign, but, to Hermione's astonishment, in BSL. "I speak more than one language. My Irish Sign Language is better than my British, though. I can also read lips."
"Impressive," she said. "I'd love to talk to you more about the linguistic differences between the different sign languages you speak, but, right now, my friend is in danger."
"Right. Your friend who is also Sam's brother?"
"Yes," Hermione confirmed. "A demon has him. He wants to exchange Kelly for Harry."
Eileen turned back to Sam. "You're going to hand Kelly over to a demon?" She asked, sounding pissed.
Sam quickly shook his head. "No. No, of course not. But we have to find her before anyone else who would hand her over does so."
Understanding dawned in Eileen's eyes. "Alright then. I found footage of her walking into a doctor's office in Spokane, Washington."
"Was she alone?" Hermione asked.
"Yes."
Hermione let out a breath, relieved. That meant, most likely, that no one else had her, at least. But if Eileen had gotten a trace of her trail others could have as well.
"Where's Dean?" Hermione asked Sam.
"He's in Idaho. Where Kelly had last been seen. Which is only about half an hour away from Spokane."
"I'll send Ron, Luna, and Charlie to Spokane to join him. I have a meeting with Mick at the Men of Letters compound in an hour or so. Any word from Gabriel?"
Sam shook his head. "I'm assuming that he's still in Heaven."
That was what Hermione expected. "Fine. Do you feel like you can get yourself to Spokane or would you like to go side-along?"
"I think I can manage it," he said. "Although – maybe send Luna here. She can side-along with Eileen because I don't think I could manage."
Hermione gave him a look.
He set his jaw. "She's helping us. We're going to have to tell her in any case."
Hermione knew that look from seeing it on Harry's face several thousand times more than she would have liked. And there wasn't time. Time was of the essence. "Fine. But wait until I've left. Harry's not back more than half a year and I've already broken a dozen international laws."
"Just like old times," Sam grinned.
Instead of responding, Hermione just apparated away.
"What?" Eileen asked, eyes wide. "How did she do that?"
Sam sighed. "There's something else I haven't told you…"
III
The car ride to the Men of Letter headquarters was tense.
Hermione didn't like to admit that this entire endeavor made her nervous. She was the Minister of Magic, after all, but the Men of Letters had been a thorn in her side for years and showing up basically in their lap was a bold move on her part.
But she wasn't going to let Mick see her sweat.
"Did you get the girl settled?" She asked when the silence was beginning to drive her mad.
Mick squirmed. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "She was taken by the people you sent to that werewolf friend of Sam and Dean's."
"Mr. Fitzgerald," she supplied.
"Yes. I…received a phone call from him not long after. They got her settled down in their community."
"And you didn't tell Sam and Dean?"
"No, ma'am, need-to-know only basis."
Hermione sighed. "They might be more friendly towards you if they knew."
Mick snorted.
Hermione could hardly disagree. "Perhaps not." She sighed. "They are not the easiest men to get along with."
Mick hummed with agreement.
"Mick – I hope you realize that I understand the magnitude of your defection. The risks to your person have been incredible. After this is all over, you will certainly be in the running for an Order of Merlin."
He looked up, surprised. "Ma'am?"
"It is really the very least I can do for you. The service you are doing for the wizarding world – do not think that it has gone unnoticed."
Mick had to keep himself from blushing. He wasn't used to praise – the Men of Letters weren't an organization that awarded the simple task of doing one's job.
"It's been my pleasure, Minister," he said sincerely. "I think that it's no secret that I have been an admirer of you – and your husband and Mr. Potter since the end of the war. To be able to say that I've fought by your side and won, well…"
"We haven't won yet, Mick," Hermione reminded him. "But I have hope. And once this is over, win or not, we have everything ready for you to escape the clutches of the Men of Letters. In fact, I was just speaking with Roger the other day, he and his parents cannot wait to meet you."
It took all of Mick's stiff upper lip not to mist up a bit at that. "Really? You told them about me already?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course. We needed to make arrangements. They've started doing some repairs on a cottage owned by the family in a wizarding village in Wales where you should be quite safe for a time period. And once you're in the clear, it my understanding that there will be a large family gathering to welcome you home."
Well Mick certainly couldn't hide his joy now. "That sounds amazing," he said.
Hermione smiled at him and briefly clutched his hand. "It will be. You'll see."
The rest of the ride passed in an easy silence.
"We're here," he said as they pulled into the compound. "I'll just get the Colt and then we can head to the rendezvous point. Would you like to stay in the car?"
Hermione nodded. She was dying to see the inside of the compound, but knew that doing so was an additional risk that they didn't need to take.
And Mick didn't take long. But Hermione was surprised to see that he didn't return to the car alone and all the levity that had been on his face was gone.
"Who's that?" a snotty voice that reminded Hermione deeply of Malfoy came from a young skinny man.
"Just get in the car," Mick sighed. "I'll explain on the way."
III
Kelly knew that it was a risk to go and see a doctor, but she had been having pains in her abdomen and was very concerned for her baby. The ultrasound had proven that Jack was still happy and healthy in her belly, which was a relief.
Now she was squatting in another abandoned warehouse, doing everything she could to cover her appearance with dark sunglasses and staying out as little as possible during the day.
So far, Jack seemed to be working magic to help keep her hidden, but she didn't know how long that would last.
She was planning on what to do for dinner when her phone rang. She jumped. It was a burner phone that she had bought just before her doctor's appointment. The doctor's office was the only one with that number.
"Ms. Kline," came a clipped voice on the other side of the phone. She winced a little – maybe she should have used a fake name.
"Yes?"
"This is Oliver from Dr. Turner's office. He'd like to see you in the office today."
"I, uh, I was just in there. He said everything was fine," she responded, nervously.
"Alright, well, he looked back through your test results and there are some things he'd like to discuss. Does 5:00 pm work for you?
Kelly had her stuff packed and a bus ticket to the next town over already. "I-I-I don't think I can get away."
"Well, he said it's very important. 5:00 pm?" The man on the other end insisted.
"Um…sure," Kelly said. It was a drain on her already limited resources, but if it was for the good of the baby…
"Good, see you then." The man hung up.
Kelly took everything she had (which wasn't very much) and went to the bus station to switch her ticket before going to the doctor's office. She was so worried about what new results might say about her baby that she missed the black Impala parked by the sidewalk.
From out of nowhere, a man walked alongside her, grabbing her arm. She gasped.
"Stay cool," the man said. "Walk with me."
"Dean?" Kelly asked.
He ushered her into his car without another word.
III
The next time that Asmodeus came to see him (Harry had no idea how long it had been – time seemed like an illusion here, it could have been half an hour or days) the demon increased the radius of the flames and removed the chains on his wings, but left the rest of the bonds in place.
Harry shot daggers at him.
The demon just shook his head with amusement. "Now, that couldn't've been comfortable, my young friend," he said. "Have you changed your mind yet? I've got a nice cell set aside for you. Holy fire only on the exits. A cot. You could rest properly."
"Mmrrhm mrrhyy hrrhe," Harry said, unintelligibly through his gagged mouth. His tone left no room for interpretation, however, and Asmodeus narrowed his eyes in anger.
"Have it your way then," he said, pulling out his syringe. On the floor, he unrolled a case that held several glass chambers. Harry's eyes widened.
"Yes, I'm afraid that I'm going to need a little more this time. Build up some reserves. Your grace – it's unlike anything I've ever experienced. More electric. You really are a treasure."
Before he even finished that sentence, he plunged the needle into Harry's neck with vicious strength. It once again felt like the demon was piercing at Harry's very core. It was the worst pain that Harry had ever felt. Worse than the Cruciatus Curse. Worse than the feeling of having his wings pulled from his body. Even worse than the emotional pain that had led to his death.
It was the worst pain he had ever experienced until Asmodeus plunged a needle in for the second time not twenty seconds later. By the third time, Harry had shouted himself horse. By the fourth, fat, hot, humiliating tears started to run down his face.
When the demon came at him for the fifth time, Harry panicked. He was sure that the next one would kill him. In utter desperation, he tried everything that he could. He squirmed and fought. And, realizing that it might actually help, he started flapping his wings as hard as he could. Hoping that maybe he could float up, away from all of this. If he could get above the flames, or if the wind from his wings could put them out, then maybe, with just a little more pain he could magic himself out of this situation.
Asmodeus did drop the vial he was currently holding and it shattered on the floor. His eyes glowed yellow in fury. He punched Harry, hard, in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
"Look what you've done!" He shouted. "What a waste." With a flick of his hands, the chains that had previously held Harry's wings in place reappeared. He continued to punch, kick, and hit Harry – blood started to pour out of the wounds where he broke the skin. "Just. Stay. Still." He commanded.
Finally, Harry couldn't take it anymore and he stopped his struggle, just to concentrate on breathing. If he had had anything in his stomach, he imagined that he would have thrown up from all the dry heaving he was doing. Not that any of it would have gotten past the cloth tied around his head. Tears were now freely flowing down his face.
Asmodeus said nothing else, but picked up another glass chamber and stuck it into Harry's neck once again.
That was all that he could handle. Blissfully, Harry's world went black as he finally passed out.
III
Sam and Eileen went to get everything ready after the phone call they had made to Kelly appeared to have worked.
A car pulled up. Mick Davies stepped out with Hermione and someone that Sam didn't recognize.
"I thought you'd be coming alone," he said, frowning, looking between Mick and Hermione. He knew that Hermione had some sort of deal with Mick now, but that didn't mean that he trusted him, even a little bit. And he especially didn't trust any other Men of Letters.
"Well, I thought we'd gotten past our trust issues. Look, if any demons show up, we're gonna need all the help we can get." He nodded in direction of the young man he had with him. "This is Renny Rawlings. New Man."
"Right. I'm Sam. This is Eileen Leahy," Sam said.
"Ah, the Banshee girl," Renny said with a stunning amount of condescension. Everyone who didn't know him already took an immediate disliking to him. "We have a file," he continued to explain, even though no one asked. "From what Mick tells me, neither of you have any formal training. Fascinating. I was top of my class at Kendricks…"
"No one cares," Eileen said.
Sam smirked.
"I, uh, brought the Colt just like you asked. But it's gotta go back to HQ," Mick said to Sam, handing the gun over to the tall hunter.
"Gee, Mick, I thought we'd gotten past the trust issues."
Mick gave Hermione a quick glance. She did her best to reassure him without saying anything. She didn't want Renny catching up on their connection. It was dicey enough that she had been at the Men of Letters compound with him in the first place. It was a political disaster waiting to happen. But she didn't care. She'd resign in disgrace before losing Harry again if she could help it.
"Everyone remember the plan?" Hermione asked.
There were nods from everyone but Renny.
"Actually, Madam Minister," he said to her. "I have clear directives from Doctor Hess – I was under the impression that we were going to find this Kelly and eliminate the woman and the Devil's child growing inside of her."
"I outrank Doctor Hess," Hermione said. "And that is not the mission. This is just a meeting. We're going to help Kelly Kline. Protect her."
Renny frowned. "No, that can't possibly be…"
"Mr. Rawlings, are you ignoring an order from a superior?" Mick asked sharply, although there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"No, no of course not," the young man said hastily, but he still looked troubled.
"Good."
Now, all there was to do was wait.
III
The place they had picked out for this meeting was on the edge of town. Dean was sure to take as many twists and turns as possible as to lose anyone who might be following them. He cursed himself for thinking it, but when they got Harry back, he might ask him to put some sort of spell on the Impala to make it stand out a little less at times when they needed to be inconspicuous. Or maybe not. Might not be worth it.
Dean told Kelly to stay in the car as he got out and looked around at the assembled group. Sam, Eileen, Mick, Hermione, and some skinny kid he'd never seen before were there. He knew that Luna was standing guard.
Notably missing from their little group was Mary – who was currently keeping Ketch away from this entire situation.
"This everyone?" He asked, noticing that Gabriel was still not there. Which was bad – they needed him to get Harry back.
"Yeah. Still no word from Cas. Or Gabriel."
"Right. Great." He pointed at the skinny kid. "Who's this?"
"He's with Mick," Sam explained.
"I'm Renny Rawlings. Graduated Kendricks top of my…"
"Right. I don't care," Dean said gruffly.
Dean opened his car door so that they could discuss with Kelly what the next steps were. If it had been up to him, they would have driven her straight back to the Bunker, but they were worried that they wouldn't be able to protect her in the 20-hour drive back. Apparation with the son of Satan also did not seem like a wise course of action. So, talking about it was what they had. One of Harry's safe houses was only a couple of hours away, which was where they were ultimately planning on stashing her. Charlie and Ron were already there, setting everything up.
"Come on," Dean said trying to grab for her arm when the woman wouldn't come out of the car.
"Don't," she said sharply, pulling away from him.
"Ok," he said, holding up his hands.
"Kelly…Listen, we…we all know you're in a really…difficult situation, and we…we just… We wanna help."
"You call this helping?" She asked.
"We also need your help," Hermione said. Kelly turned to look her direction.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Hermione Granger-Weasley, I'm…"
Kelly's face lit up a little at the name. She would have felt better if Harry had been here. He always seemed to be on her side and she knew that he wouldn't let any harm come to her. "You're Harry's best friend, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled slightly at that. "I am."
"He said – he told me about you. About how he helped you when you were pregnant."
"He did," Hermione said. "He's a great friend. And he's in terrible danger, we…"
"You can't keep that child," Mick blurted out. Kelly instinctually backed away.
"Mick," Sam hissed.
"I love this child," she said defensively.
"You will mean absolutely nothing to that child. That child will kill us all."
"Hey," Dean said.
"That's not happening," Sam said. "Ok? We're, we're gonna figure something out. We have no plans to harm your baby, I promise, Kelly, but, like Hermione was saying…"
Renny reached for his gun. "This is absurd," he said, sick of the talking. Doctor Hess had sent him here with a mission. And he wasn't going to let her down. He couldn't.
"Don't," Dean warned.
Hermione was ready to summon the gun away from him when the wind started to pick up, as if a storm was approaching. Everyone looked up at the sky, worry etched on their faces.
Luna came running towards them.
"We have to get out of here, now – " She yelled, but before she could finish a woman appeared. She was wearing a black leather jacket and had bright red lipstick. Her eyes flashed yellow.
"Hey," she said.
She put her hands in the air and all everyone, including the witches, got flung through the air, landing hard on the ground. The Colt skidded out of Sam's hands. They all started slowly getting to their feet. Mick and Dean both have their guns out and started shooting at the demon. She didn't react at all, only throwing them back down to the ground.
Eileen spotted the Colt on the ground as the demon grabbed Kelly by the hand and started to walk away with her. The hunter made a grab for the gun, and, with the demon in sight, she shot.
However, as she fired the demon disappeared, taking Kelly with her. The bullet continued on its path and hit Renny in the chest.
Slowly, everyone realizes what happened as Renny collapsed on the ground, dead.
"I didn't…I didn't mean to. I was shooting at the demon. I'm – " Eileen said, horror written all over her face.
"No, no, wait up," Sam said. "It was an accident. It's alright."
Nods all around.
"That was the demon Dagon," Luna said fearfully.
Everyone turned to her.
"She's a Prince of Hell," she continued to explain to those who didn't know.
"But Asmodeus is the one that has Harry," Hermione said.
Luna nodded.
"But now that they have Kelly…" Dean started to say.
"They don't have to give us anything at all," Sam finished for him, his face ashen.
Everyone just stared at each other in horror.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked. No one answered.
III
Mick made his way back to headquarters, shaken by the death of a fellow Man of Letters and the possibility of having lost Harry Potter entirely. After they had reconvened at the Bunker, it had been decided that he would be on standby while the others worked on a way to try and rescue both Kelly and the Boy-Who-Lived.
He couldn't believe how this had all fallen apart so quickly.
On his way back to Headquarters, he had gotten a call from Ketch.
He came into the conference room to meet the hunter.
"Ketch," he said in greeting. "Why'd you call me here?"
"Oh, I didn't," he said, sounding bored.
Doctor Hess appeared from the shadows.
"Mr. Davies," she said to him.
"Doctor Hess," he said with surprise. "I didn't think that you left London."
"I don't. But I have been tasked by the other elders to fix this rapidly deteriorating situation," she said. Mick had to quickly try and think of which situation she was referring to. There were so many things wrong right now. The American hunters not coming over to their side, the threat of bodily harm from an angel should anything happen to his godson, MACUSA becoming more suspicious, and, of course, the visit from the Minister of Magic herself.
"Ma'am, please," Mick said, "I'm…"
"Are you about to tell me that you are doing the best that you can? Two days ago, according to your report, you let a Prince of Hell escape with the mother of Lucifer's child. And said demon murdered one of my best men. Despite the presence of what you have repeatedly referred to as the best and most respected American hunters there are."
"If I might…"
"These Hunters are out of control. The brothers Winchester, in particular, which Lady Bevell has exhaustively documented."
"Ma'am, if…if you could just listen…"
"To what? More excuses? I also had a very interesting conversation with our Mr. Ketch here. It seems that you chose, in your reports, to not include the true identity of the angel Hadraniel. That is, in fact, Harry Potter, returned from the dead."
Mick's face went white.
"Nor, did you include, that he is now missing. Which means that we have an opportunity like we've never had before. You see, Mr. Davies, Hunters are dogs. You give them an order, and they obey. That's how it works. So, in considering our next steps, it's important to know, do they obey you?"
Mick looked over to Ketch for help. The man offers him only a stony face and no assistance. Dread sank into his stomach.
"Ma'am, please, I have an explanation for it all…"
"Is that explanation that you have been working behind our backs for years? Because, Mr. Davies, that is what has become abundantly clear by the little meeting you had here with the Minister of Magic." At the shock on the man's face, she smirks. "Did you think we'd miss that detail? Did you think that we would allow you to betray us after all these years?"
"You betrayed me!" He protested. "You took me from my family, you raised me to believe that I was an orphan that owed you everything. That I came from nothing. But that's not true, is it? You took me. And who else who else? I am not the one in the wrong here. You are. And you will pay…"
A shot rang out and went straight through Mick's skull. He slumped down on the table, dead. Doctor Hess nodded to Ketch, who was lowering his gun.
Ketch walked over to the table, looking at Mick's body as if it wasn't anything but an interesting artifact in a museum.
"The grand experiment recruiting American Hunters has failed. Utterly," Doctor Hess said bitterly. "And who knows what information our Mr. Davies leaked to the Minister or MACUSA."
"Mm," Ketch said. "What would you like me to do?"
"We must take advantage of Mr. Potter's absence. We don't know how long that will persist. So, you can start with the Hunters. Exterminate them. Every…last…one. Then we move our plan for the wizards up. Political actions are beginning to take shape in England. I have Draco Malfoy back in the fold."
Doctor Hess dropped a file onto the table. It read, "Authorised Personnel Only Case No. 23 – DEAN W.'
AN – You were warned!
Did I add some extra Mick scenes just so that his death would be a little bit sadder? I'll let you decide.
I cannot believe that we are nearly at the end of this sequel and that I am writing YET ANOTHER part to this story. Only 5 (possibly 6) chapters after this one before we get to our conclusion. I just love Jack too much to end things before we get to him.
I've been wanting to flashback to Part 2 for soooo long. I love Weechesters and Harry and Dean's inability to get along when they were children. But it also meant that I got to bring Bobby back for a little bit, which warmed my heart, and hopefully yours.
For those of you who don't know who Eileen is – she is Sam's best love interest, I think, in the whole show. She was born to an Irish Man of Letters who died in a banshee attack that left her deaf, only to then be raised by a hunter. She kicks ass and is just a general delight.
As always, thank you, thank you, thank you to the commenters and reviewers and everyone who gives me likes/kudos/follows. It's been a rough month for me and y'all keep me going!