Unfound
Chapter Twenty-Three
Season 12, Episode 21: There's Something About Mary There is something about Mary that is very much off.
After his last escape attempt, Asmodeus had moved Harry. He was no longer in his own room. Well, not really.
It was a cell.
A very, very small cell. Harry had no way of knowing for sure, but he was pretty sure that it was somehow, cruelly, about the same size as the cupboard under the stairs that he had grown up in. He couldn't help but wonder if Asmodeus had heard his thoughts about the Dursleys and had come up with this as an additional form of torture.
To fit into the space, his wings were pinned as flat as they could be in a very uncomfortable position. Asmodeus had chained them into place so there was no moving. There was a small platform that he was kneeled horizontally on – at the front and back there were shackles for each of his wrists and ankles that held him in place.
Harry thought he preferred the ring of holy fire burning him all day every day over the return of being forced to reside in a small place.
Thankfully, nothing was holding his head down, but even that was an additional punishment. It meant that he was expected to watch. And Asmodeus put on quite the show – bringing in human souls that he was attempting to demonize for Lucifer's son's army.
They weren't just any humans either. It was glee that the demon had announced that wizards who were attempting a coup in Purgatory had made their way to Limbo – the hell that Lucifer had created to turn people into demons. Only he and the Princes of Hell had access to it from Earth.
So, Harry was forced to watch, for hours, with a gag in his mouth, as Asmodeus attempted what had never been done before. To turn wizard souls into demons.
Harry shuddered at the thought. It was all he could do.
"So, the problem, you see, was that I wasn't adjusting to this new-fangled technology. It's been so long since I've drained an angel, that I overshot. Never fear, boy, I won't be making that same mistake again." All of this was dripping with false sincerity and sadness. As if he were apologizing.
He pulled Harry out of the cell from the wheels on the bottom of the platform he was chained to.
"Do you know how the first syringes worked?" He asked, rhetorically. "The Egyptians – clever folks that they were, used hollowed-out reeds." He showed Harry what was in his hand. "It's a bit…messier than modern needles, but it does the trick. Of course, this one has been coated with the metal from an angel blade."
He held the needle to Harry's neck – which was littered with needle holes and placed it lightly on top of his skin. Then, with a comically small hammer, he tapped at the top.
It was excruciating. Harry yowled with each hit of the hammer. Finally, it was in position and he could feel the grace leaking out. But it was slower than before. And far more painful.
"You know, it doesn't have to be this painful," the demon said in a soothing voice. "We could go back to modern technology. Give you some creature comforts. Maybe a nice blanket to put under your knees."
Harry didn't dare move his head for fear of what that would do with the extraction that was currently taking place. But the defiance in his eyes was enough.
"That's just too bad," Asmodeus tutted. He pulled the reed out with one quick pull that made Harry yell out again. He lazily ran his hand through Harry's hair as he continued to talk. As if he was a dog. "That's enough for today, I think. You know – it's simply fascinatin' to watch as your grace comes back. It's convenient to keep you at slightly higher levels – less feeding and watering. Ah – but I almost forgot! You need your medicine. I've made a few…improvements. It was tricky but I think you'll find that your little wizarding magic tricks won't work again."
Harry vehemently shook his head. Since his escape attempt, Asmodeus had decided that whatever serum he used to keep Harry's grace working against him would be administered through water. His cruel attempt to keep him "watered," but that was, as he said, so clearly what Harry craved. But it was foul-tasting and painful. Worst than an injection. He could feel it spread over his whole body each and every time.
"No, no, no," Harry mumbled through the gag.
"Now, now, no need to be disagreeable." He removed the gag-of-the-day (this one had been hempen rope, that scratched the injuries caused by the barbed wire any time he moved his face) and held a glass up to Harry's lip. Harry clamped his mouth shut.
Asmodeus sighed. He put his fingers on either side of Harry's jaw and pushed until Harry had the choice to either let the demon break his jaw or pry it open. He seriously contemplated the latter, but the results would be the same, in any case.
The demon poured the liquid into Harry's mouth and then clamped it shut until he unwillingly swallowed. He shivered and shook as much as the chains allowed as it spread like wildfire through his veins. The rope was replaced around his head to block out the screams. Asmodeus kicked the platform, sending Harry back into the small space that had become his jail, and locked the door shut.
III
"Gabriel," Castiel said cautiously, moving in front of Kelly.
Gabriel lifted himself off the truck.
"What's the plan here, bucko?" He asked, not sounding friendly at all.
"I – I…"
"We're going to go someplace safe. Where no one can find us. Not the Winchesters or any of Lucifer's minions," Kelly said fiercely.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And how do you plan on being able to achieve that?"
"We'll figure it out," Castiel growled.
"Figure it out. Sounds like a fan-fucking-tastic plan to me," Gabriel spat. "You were safe Kelly. Where you were. With me."
Kelly looked down. "I know. I'm sorry. Lucifer, he – "
"I know."
Castiel grabbed Kelly's hand, ready to fight. "Let us pass, Gabriel."
"Oh, I plan to. Did ya ever think that I also have a vested interest in Kelly's safety? Why do you think I sheltered her for so long?"
Castiel was confused. "You want to help? You don't want to kill the baby?"
"NO!" Gabriel exclaimed. "That baby dies, Harry dies. Harry dies, that baby dies. For fuck's sake, don't the Winchesters tell you anything?"
"But Harry's been…"
"Taken by a demon, yeah, I know. Which is why I have to get you two morons to safety. So, I can find and save him without worrying about what's happening with this one."
"He – he would die if my baby died?" Kelly asked quietly.
"Yeah," Gabriel said.
"But he – he told me that he would support me in whatever decision I made. He's the one who told me that childbirth is going to kill me – so that I would have a choice. Why wouldn't he tell me that it would've killed him?" Kelly liked Harry. The man was kind, and considerate, and was the only one, for a long time, who had treated her as someone who had her own mind and could make her own decisions. More than all of that, she had thought he was her friend.
"Because Harry is a self-sacrificing idiot who is more concerned with other people's safety than his own."
"It's true," Castiel added, feeling troubled. He had vowed to protect Harry and he had almost killed him. Again. "Harry would gladly give up his own life for someone else to live. I'm sure he didn't tell you because he didn't want to put that kind of pressure on you."
Kelly felt both heartbroken and unbelievably grateful at the same time. "What's your plan?" She asked Gabriel. If Castiel trusted Harry and Harry trusted Gabriel, she had full faith that the archangel would be acting in her baby's best interest.
"Kelly…" Castiel warned.
"Another safe house. Not the condo. A real house – it's in Washington State. It is Harry's ex's favorite of his. I picked it because her brother warded it as strongly as any wizard could. I've added a few of my own as well. And it's magical – anything you need you can order without having to leave the property. It's a safe place for you to have the baby."
Kelly nodded. "Ok."
"You want me to take you?" Gabriel was surprised.
Kelly grabbed Castiel's hand. "And Castiel," she said.
"That would mean sitting out from whatever disaster your Winchesters will inevitably get themselves into," Gabriel said to his younger brother.
Castiel nodded. "Yes. It's for the best. They'll understand. Someday."
Gabriel gave him one more look over before flying them all out. One problem solved. Ten million more to go. Now, time to check in on Crowley's progress.
III
"Ok, so last night…that Super Mario power-up crap? That wasn't Cas. That freaking baby isn't even born yet and it sock puppeted him. Think about it," Dean took another sip of his beer. He and Sam had returned to the Bunker, with no idea where Cas had taken Kelly. "Cas said that he had faith in Lucifer Jr.? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Sam shook his head, just as frustrated. "I don't know. I mean, look, this doesn't make any sense to me either, Dean. But if wanna have some shot at finding Cas, then we have to…I don't know. Uh, try and think like him."
"How? Seriously I mean until now if Cas messed up if he did something wrong, but he thought it was for the right reasons, I got it. Right?" Sam gave him a look. "I'm not talking about what happened with Harry, I mean everything else," he clarified. "Last night – when I looked at him, I did not recognize the guy staring back at me."
Sam didn't have a response to that. He looked forlornly at the Colt – that Dagon had melted during their confrontation with her the day before.
"Can you fix it?" Dean asked.
"I hope so."
There was a ping on their wards. Both brothers put one hand on their guns before the door to the Bunker opened and Charlie came bursting through. Luna was hot on her heels.
"We figured it out!" She shouted as she ran down the stairs. "Luna's a freakin' genius."
She stopped shortly to hug both stunned boys. Luna smiled from behind her.
"It was here – the whole time, it was right here!"
"What was right here?" Dean asked at the same time that Sam said, "What's here?"
"This," Charlie said with relish, pointing to the map table.
"Uh – yeah, it's a map. Sometimes Sam uses it as a whiteboard."
Charlie looked up in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, caught him doin' math on it just the other day and…"
Charlie hit Sam upside the head.
"Ow," he said, more out of courtesy than actual pain. Charlie didn't buy it.
"Babe," she said.
"Sorry, Samuel," Luna said and she shot a stinging hex at the large man.
"Hey!" He protested. "What was that for?"
Luna shrugged. "Ask Charlie."
"Dude, you used a supercomputer as scrap paper?"
"But…"
"It's a computer?" Dean asked, looking down at the table in question and thinking of the number of times he had spilled his beer or blood, or anything another kind of non-technology friendly liquid on it.
"Yeah," Luna said. "It's the prototype for all the work Charlie's done with magic and technology. But we were looking through the Bunker files again and…"
"She was looking through the Bunker files again," Charlie clarified. "I'd given up on them, honestly. I thought I'd gotten everything I could out of them, but…"
"There were some runes in the code that I recognized. Only because Charlie's used them to help with magical computers. When I first looked at them, she hadn't done any of that work yet, so I didn't recognize the purpose that they played before. But this map is magic."
"And between that and the files that we got from the British Men of Letters, who have been tracking werewolves and vampires, I can see how they've melded technology and Earth magic. Which made me realize that we could do the same thing," she said this all excitedly.
"Ok," Dean said, feeling about five steps behind. "But what does that mean?"
"It tracks monsters," Charlie said.
"Really?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. And with a couple of additions by yours truly, better accuracy than the system that they currently use. Let me go into the control room and mess with some settings, but I think the program that I've created is going to help us track demons. And not just knowing where they are but what kind they are."
"So…" Dean said, still not quite making the connection.
"You can tell the difference between a regular demon and…and…and a Prince of Hell?" Sam asked, not daring to hope.
"Yep," Charlie said. "At least, in theory. It might take some beta testing, but it should make it so that we can find the exact location of all the Princes of Hell. And seeing as there are only two of those left…"
"One," Dean corrected.
"Cas killed Dagon yesterday," Sam explained.
Luna grinned.
"One!" Charlie also looked excited. "That means that, as long as he's in the same place, we'll be able to find Asmodeus. Which means…"
"We'll be able to find Harry," Dean said, finally putting it all together.
"Yahtzee," Charlie said.
"And once we have Harry back, he won't have any trouble locating Kelly and Cas," Sam said.
All the hopelessness that Dean had been feeling melted away. Yeah, they still had issues, but…finally, things were looking up.
"Just tell us what you need," he said to Charlie.
"Access to the control panel. And snacks."
"On it," Dean said, grabbing his car keys.
III
As he headed back to the Bunker after making a quick stop in town, Dean stopped the internal battle he was having with himself and scrolled through his contact list, and pressed, "Mom."
It only two rings for the phone to go to voicemail. Dean swore as he heard the message. He almost hung up but decided against it. "Hey, Mom," he said. "Look – things are really heating up around here. I think we've got some leads, but, uh, it'd be great to have another pair of hands. It's important." He hung up.
III
"It's important," Mary heard before Toni Bevell hung her phone up with a 'click.' She flinched. Currently, she was not allowed out of her room at the British Men of Letter's compound.
"Want to tell me what that was about?" The British woman asked lightly.
"No clue. You haven't allowed me to contact with my boys in days," she said, not disguising the bitterness in her tone.
"Ah, yes. Well, you've proven that you can't be trusted," Toni said. "We entered this arrangement with you with open minds and hearts. Told you some of our deepest secrets and you lied to us and betrayed our trust."
"You tortured my boys!"
"It seems to be the only way to get through to you Winchesters. Now, I'd like to resume where we left off yesterday. The angel – whom you called Hadraniel and was later revealed to be your dead son, Harry Potter, you must know more about him."
Mary glared. "I've barely spent more than a couple of days with him. He used to be the leader of this organization, surely you know more about him than I do."
She pursed her lips. "I'll be more specific. How did it come to pass that he was resurrected as an angel?"
Mary said nothing. Instead, she was deep in thought. "Was I outside this compound last night?" She was feeling memories at the edge of her consciousness.
Toni leaned forward in her chair a little. "You should know better than I. Are you having trouble distinguishing reality from fact, Mary?"
Mary shook her head. "No. I'm fine."
"Are you?" She asked with a shark-like smile that did not reach her eyes.
Mary thought again. She…she was remembering. Toni. And a needle. "What are you doing to me?" She demanded.
"You're being realigned," Toni said, infuriatingly calmly. "Soon, you won't differentiate between your thinking and ours. All your thoughts and actions will come from us."
"What are you talking about?" Mary asked, as more memories flashed in her mind.
"Well, not about the illusion of you that you hold on to. The perfect life. Loving husband and kids. But it never really was perfect, was it? All those secrets you kept from your beloved John – that you were a Hunter. That wizards had interfered in your lives. That you invited Azazel to visit when he spared John's life."
"How do you – "
"I have sources, Mary. Everywhere. After you died, your beloved John was a man slowly going mad, searching for revenge. What? Your boys didn't tell you? The drunken rages? The weeks of abandonment? Child abuse, really. Harry only lasted a month in his care before choosing to return to his aunt and uncle who locked him in a cupboard under the stairs. It's no wonder that they are all so damaged. We are returning you to a more pure version of yourself – Mary Campbell, natural-born killer."
"No," Mary protested.
"Yes. It's why we're having this chat now. Soon, you won't remember your children at all. Especially the middle one that you never should have known about in the first place. So, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me what you know now."
"Don't…know…anything," her mind felt disconnected. She was fighting an internal battle – something that woman had said triggered her wanting to reveal everything she knew. But she couldn't – she wouldn't…
Toni clicked her pen. "I'm ready whenever you are," she said.
"I – I…"
Mary remembered no more.
III
"Psst, Granger," Hermione stopped her brisk walk when she heard her maiden name whispered from a closet just to her left.
Her eyes narrowed.
"In here," it whispered again.
This was probably a stupid idea. Especially since there were no Aurors in sight. But she was a strong witch and there weren't many threats that she didn't think that she could take on.
She followed the voice.
"Malfoy?" She asked when she entered a small supply office.
"Yeah," he said. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, but…"
"As if you could," Hermione shot back. "I'm not scared of you, Draco."
He huffed a sigh. "Of course, you're not. I just – I wanted to tell you what is going on."
"You're under no obligation to do so," Hermione said, suspicious. He had been working with Ron, but it was her understanding that it was mostly under duress. "What do you want?"
"I want to not be on your bad side. Look, you know as well as I do that the unbreakable vow that I took to Potter died with him. And I don't want you to mistake any of this for me liking you. But I do respect you. And what you're trying to accomplish when it comes those no-good squibs. Now, do I think that you've acted like a big dumb Gryffindor…" Hermione glared at him. "No matter. The Men of Letters are up to no good. Granger, they are trying to say that Potter is back. I wanted to warn you."
Hermione froze.
"You've been talking with them?" Ron hadn't told her that. She wasn't sure if he knew.
"Obviously. They knew the vow was gone as well as I did. They thought that was the only reason I 'deserted' them all those years ago, but they – wait." His eyes went wide. "I just told you that they are claiming that your dead best friend is no longer dead."
"Yes, you did," Hermione said.
"You don't seem upset."
"What do you expect, Malfoy? Tears? Mentioning Harry doesn't give me a mental breakdown."
"No. I thought you'd be angry. You're not angry."
Hermione snorted. "I'm plenty angry at the Men of Letters."
"But not that specific accusation…" he pushed.
She sighed. "Malfoy…"
"No," he said. "No, it can't be."
"Shh," Hermione said, looking to the door.
"How long?" He demanded.
"Six months, but Malfoy…"
"Six…" He looked like he needed to sit down. "You've had Potter back for six months?"
"Well, not me personally, we just found out a couple of months ago."
"I just – Granger this is huge."
"I know. And I'm wondering how the Men of Letters are planning on weaponizing that particular fact. Which, I believe is why you pulled me into this closet like an errant fourth-year in the first place."
"I didn't think it was true!"
"And now you know that it is. Draco. What are they planning?"
"I thought they were just trying to break your spirit by plastering that nonsense all over the papers. Make you look bad, or something. But that can't be the plan, can it?"
"No. They've spoken to the press?"
He shook his head. "Not yet."
Hermione sucked in a breath. The last thing that Harry needed – that the Winchesters needed was the media circus 2.0. She needed to find a way to stop it. And it was possible that there wasn't a legal way to do so. If that were the case, she would need to resign.
"Wait – do the Winchesters know?" Draco asked.
Hermione gave him a look.
"Were they the ones that brought him back?"
"No," she said shortly, not offering any additional information. "Alright, Draco, here's what we're going to do. You and I both know that Sam and Dean already have too much on their plates. Are you with us? Can I count on you?" She gave him a look as if she could see through to his soul. And, for all he knew, she could.
"I – " He thought about it. He hated the British Men of Letters. More than Potter. More than Potter's annoying brothers. And, politically speaking, this was the right move. He hoped that he wouldn't live to regret this. He probably would. "Yes. What do you need me to do?"
III
"And if I connect this to my USB port then…" The map that was on the table popped up on Charlie's laptop. It had taken some trial-and-error but this time, it looked like it was working.
The map that was on the table was now on Charlie's screen. With a couple of clicks, the map zoomed in on the United States only and a bunch of black dots. Hundreds of them.
"Those are all the demons," Charlie said. "Just your regular, run-of-the-mill ones. If I do this," she typed some code into the computer, "it shows me where it is."
"That's an exact address," Sam said, impressed.
"Yeah. I know."
"But those are regular demons. What about…" Dean started.
"Patience," Charlie said. She did some more typing. "Now, here are all the crossroads demons." Red dots appeared. Maybe two dozen. "Lastly – if everything is done correctly…"
Everyone watched with bated breath.
The red dots disappeared.
A single yellow dot glowed. Northern California. "There he is," Charlie said, sounding proud.
Dean grabbed his jacket off the chair it had been hanging on. "Come on, Sam, let's go," he started leaving the room.
"Hey – wait, Dean!" Sam called after him.
"What? We know where he is. Sam – it's been weeks. We have no idea what that asshole could have been doing to him."
"Yeah, but maybe we should come up with a plan before…"
"We can plan on the way," Dean said gruffly. "Let's go."
Sam looked torn. "Look, Luna could side-along…"
"No. We have no idea what kind of shape he might be in. We're taking the Impala."
"Ten minutes, Dean, that's all I'm asking for," he pleaded. "Let's come up with a plan."
Dean sighed, but couldn't disagree with that logic.
"It's what," Sam started, doing some quick mental math, "fifteen hundred miles?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"So, even speeding like crazy, that is at least twenty hours of driving. And that's with no stops at all."
"Yeah, what's your point?"
"My point is, we can't do Harry much good if we show up exhausted and not ready for a fight," Sam snapped. "Luna and I will go case the place. Do some initial surveying and checking at the area. Make plans for a strategic retreat. We'll also call Ron and Hermione to see if they can come and give back up."
Dean looked like he was about to interrupt, but Sam silenced him with a look.
"You and Charlie can start the drive. You will stop after fourteen hours. Sleep. Rest."
"But…"
"No but, Dean. At least four hours of sleep, you got that Charlie?"
"Yes, sir," she said mockingly.
"What about you?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Luna – do you agree to make sure that I get at least four hours of sleep?"
"Yes, of course," she said. "I'll spell you asleep myself if I have to."
Sam believed her.
"Ok, we good?" Dean asked. "If you're going to force me to stop…"
"Yeah. Go. I'll gather supplies."
"Thank God," Dean said. "Come on, Charlie, you'll be better to share a car with anyway."
Charlie grabbed her laptop, gave Luna a quick peck, and followed after Dean.
Sam took a deep breath.
"This is good, Sam," Luna said. "We're going to get him back."
He gave her a thin smile. "Yeah. Finally. I just – "
"Harry's a survivor," Luna said. "He'll be alright."
"I hope you're right."
III
Teddy paced his room. He had to stay up late enough to sneak out, but in the meantime, he was left alone with his thoughts and worries. Something was happening. Something really big. But Harry wasn't answering his mobile. Or prayers.
At first, he had thought it was because he had lost the phone that Luna and Charlie had made for him and so, Harry, not recognizing the number, didn't answer.
But they had sent him a new one (without him even asking) and Harry had still not answered. He had even braved calling Sam and Dean, but neither of his uncles had answered his calls either.
As a last resort, he had sought out Mary in the compound, but he had been told by Mr. Ketch that she was out on a mission. Yet, he could have sworn that he had heard her voice while walking the hallways.
And it wasn't as if the Men of Letters were giving him ample amounts of free time to try and reach out to his family.
Mick had been sent back to England and he had been replaced by the atrocious Headmistress of Kendricks. She not only looked at him like he was dirt under her shoe but also treated him as a personal assistant because hers was "indisposed," whatever that meant.
Between acting as an errand boy for Doctor Hess and now writing all of Mr. Ketch's reports because Mick wasn't there to help out, Teddy rose each day at six in the morning and wasn't permitted a moment of private time until lights out at eleven in the evening. He was pretty sure that all sorts of labor laws were being broken, but he knew better than to protest.
And he wanted desperately to call Aunt Hermione or Ginny to warn them and to ask them about what was going on with Harry and his uncles, but tonight was, unfortunately, a Rowena night.
Teddy wasn't sure what he hated more. The grueling schedule of his daily life or the time he spent with Rowena MacLeod.
The woman just – well, to borrow a phrase from Ben, gave him the heebie jeebies. She was sugary sweet to him but it always made him feel like he needed a shower afterward. It was insincere and he had a feeling that given half the chance, she would sooner kill him than help him.
But she was the only one who could get him out of this contract – especially since, as a non-family member, her actions didn't count as someone acting on his behalf to break it. He hadn't asked her to do it, so he didn't feel the pressure on his magic when he met with her. This was their fourth meeting – only one more to go after this one.
Thankfully, whatever big mission the Men of Letters were on currently had Ketch working a case off base and Dr. Hess was anal about lights out. Those things, plus the fact that he now had Harry's invisibility cloak, made getting out fairly easy.
And he was the son of a Marauder, sneaking around was in his blood.
He stayed up, pacing, thumbing through his phone's contacts, before ultimately deciding against calling anyone.
Finally, it was time, and he slipped the cloak on over his head.
It always made him feel closer to Harry.
Moving through the halls of the compound while invisible was satisfying. It was hard to resist the urge to play pranks, but he had a feeling that the Men of Letters wouldn't appreciate any sort of nonsense and they would somehow track it back to him easily – because no one else would dare.
It took patience. He had to wait for guards to walk through doors so that he could sneak past. Thankfully, he had their schedules memorized and moved swiftly and easily through the corridors.
Before long, he managed to get himself outside of the wards and apparated to his meeting spot with Rowena.
"You're late, Edward," he heard when he arrived.
He removed the cloak. "How'd you know I was here?"
She fixed him with a look. "You've not got your godfather's skill when it comes to the sound. I could've heard you a mile away."
Teddy hung his head a little.
"But that cloak you wear…that's a very interesting piece of magic," she said, reaching out for it. He pulled it back from her on instinct. "Now, is that any way to treat the woman who's helping you?" She asked, reproachfully.
"I promised Harry, I wouldn't let it out of my sight," he said.
"Well, I won't be taking it anywhere, dearie," she said.
"Fine," Teddy said.
Rowena took the cloak into her hands and felt around it. She slipped it around her shoulders and was delighted when they disappeared.
Teddy grabbed it back from her.
"Alright then," she said as if she was offended. "I was just trying it on. No need to fret."
Teddy scowled. "Can we just get those over with so that I can get some sleep?"
Rowena gracefully raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow. "Something the matter, laddie? We've got a little time, come on, tell your Auntie Rowena all about it."
He glared, not falling for it for a second. But, at the same time – she may have information. And since they weren't answering their calls… "I, uh, haven't heard from Harry recently. Or Sam and Dean."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them," she said.
"Have you?"
"Have I what, dearie?"
"Heard from them?" He hated how desperate he sounded.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I haven't. But that's nothing unusual."
Teddy did his best to conceal the tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes. He just wished someone would talk to him.
"Now, now, it's alright. How about we get to our task here. We'll have you away from those nasty Men of Letters and back with your godfather in no time at all."
Teddy nodded. Rowena indicated for him to lie down on the ground in the forest clearing where they met. He did so.
"Deep breaths, dear," she said as she started waving her hands over him and chanting.
He did his best to be in the moment, to not think about everything that could be going on. Already, he could feel the effect of whatever magic Rowena had been working on him. Small disobedience didn't tug at his magic any longer. He could manage more from operatives that were not Ketch. He couldn't wait for the day that Harry killed the smarmy bastard. They would get this fixed. He wouldn't have to serve the remainder of the nine months that he pledged and he could go home and pick a normal job. As much as he wanted to be close to Harry, he honestly, was ready to leave the United States and never come back.
They finished with the task. He felt drained, as he had the last time they had done this.
He got to his feet and Rowena brushed some dirt off his back.
"Well done. Now, if I see your godfather or uncles, would you like me to give them a message?"
Teddy laughed dryly. Right, an infamous Earth witch would act as his owl.
"No," he said. "I'm sure they'll be in touch soon."
"If you say so. Same time, in two days?"
He nodded and apparated away.
Silently, he did the same dance that he did to get back into the Men of Letters compound that he had done to get out. He was tired, sure, but he knew the place like the back of his hand. When he got back to his room, he removed the invisibility cloak and hid it away safely.
He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
III
Dean had a lead foot the entire way to California. Not that he didn't normally have a lead foot, but if it hadn't been for the charm that Harry had (secretly) put on the Impala, he likely would have been pulled over a dozen times for speeding.
He had tried to talk Charlie into letting him drive straight through the night but, of course, she wouldn't put up with any of his nonsense.
But they arrived, more-or-less in one piece in just under 24 hours after they had left. Charlie ran out of the car as soon as they arrived at the motel, in desperate need of having to pee, as Dean had just handed her a bottle when she had asked to stop.
"Did you find it?" He asked Sam as soon as he got inside.
Sam nodded. "Yeah. It's an old factory just outside of town. The security doesn't seem as tight as I would expect it to be."
"You think it's a trap?"
"Of course, it's a trap," Sam said.
Dean hummed with agreement. "What were the wards like?"
"From what I can tell, and Luna had to help me, most of the warding is anti-angel. Enough that even an archangel like Gabriel may have a hard time getting in."
"Well, it was probably Gabriel he wanted to keep out. If we don't finish him first, he's going to wish that we had," Dean said darkly.
"Dean – we don't have any way to kill him. The Colt is out of commission. I don't think that an angel blade will work."
"Once we get in there, Harry'll be able to smite him," Dean said with more confidence than he felt.
Sam looked down. "Dean – Harry's been in there for weeks. He might not…" He trailed off, not wanting to speak about what might have happened to their brother. The fact that he hadn't been able to break himself out didn't bode well.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Dean said. He refused to believe that it would be any other way. Because that would mean that he had failed Harry. Again. And that was unacceptable. "What's the plan?"
"Well, we called Ron and Hermione and…"
"Why?" Dean interrupted.
"Because we promised them, we would," Sam frowned. Dean gave him a look.
"They can't come, though," Luna said, speaking for the first time since Dean had arrived. "They would like to, of course, Ron and I had to talk Hermione out of resigning again, but if they fail to protect the wizarding public from the Men of Letters, there may be no witches or wizards left to lead."
Sam shuddered. "We went to the public records office earlier to see if they had any blueprints of the factory, and they did," he guided Dean over to the table that had the plans laid out. "This at least gives us the idea of the layout of the building."
Dean looked down at the prints.
"We think it's most likely that he would be kept here," Luna said, pointing to a section of the map. "This is where the wards were the strongest."
"How do you know where the wards are the strongest?" Dean asked. "I thought I told you to wait for me."
"We were just doing recon," Sam said, annoyed. "The place has one other remarkable thing."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"It wasn't crawling with demons. In fact, we saw no one. The place looks completely abandoned."
"Could they just be hidden from sight?"
"Possibly," Sam contended. "But this seemed just a little more…subtle…than we were expecting."
"Who gives a damn? Less demons, less problems," Dean said. "When are we going?"
"Are you sure that you don't want to call for backup?" Charlie asked, having made her way back into the main space of the motel room.
"Who exactly do you think we should call?" Dean asked, impatient. "Cas is AWOL with Kelly. Ron and Hermione are stuck in England. Crowley and Rowena can't be trusted with something like this."
"Gabriel?" Sam asked and Dean glared.
"We have no idea where Gabriel is. Plus, didn't you say the warding was built specifically to repel Archangels?"
"That doesn't mean we couldn't dismantle it," Sam argued.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME!" Dean roared. "We need to go, now." He had promised Harry that he was going to treat him the same way that he treated Sam. And he had failed on that promise. And something in his gut was telling him that if they didn't act now they would lose their chance.
"Alright, alright," Sam agreed, surprising Dean. "I want him back as badly as you do. But let's take ten more minutes to strategize. We don't want to mess this up."
"Fine," Dean said grudgingly. "What else you got?"
III
"You ready?" Sam whispered to Charlie.
"Yeah," Charlie said, clutching the angel blade that she had just been armed with. "Wish I was going in with you, though," she added.
"This is the best way," Luna said. "You're our best hope if everything goes sideways."
Charlie nodded. She didn't like being left behind, but someone needed to remain outside of the wards to pray to Gabriel if everything went to shit. 'And,' she thought to herself, 'this is the Winchesters, of course, it is all going to go to shit.'
She just wished that Luna didn't have to be involved. But there would be no keeping the blonde away if she could help rescue Harry.
"Let's go," Dean said, itching to get inside to get to his brother. He knew this could very well be the only shot they got. He wasn't sure what the demon wanted with his middle brother, but he sure as hell wasn't going to wait around and find out.
Luna disillusioned herself behind the brothers as the three of them headed inside the building. There were suspiciously few demons guarding the place. They had only had to knife two of them to get in. It made all of them uneasy.
They carefully made their way down the corridors, glancing around every corner before moving forward.
Luna put a hand on Sam's shoulder to get him to stop. She pointed silently down the hallway. "He's on the third door on the right," she whispered.
Sam nodded.
"I'm going to go get those sigils clear."
"Be careful," Sam whispered back.
Luna nodded solemnly. "You too," with that Sam could feel her moving in the other direction.
Dean was waiting patiently for Sam to finish his conversation with Luna. Sam gave him them hand gesture to indicate what room they needed to go into.
With swift, synchronous movements the brothers moved quickly.
Guns out, they rounded their way into the room. Within seconds, the guns had flown out of their hands and they were pinned against the wall.
"My, I will say that you took your dear, sweet time," a demon dressed in an all-white suit, who both men assumed to be Asmodeus said to them. Both Sam and Dean fought harshly against the spell that was keeping them pinned to the wall. "From what I had heard, I was expectin' you weeks ago. So much for the mighty Winchester boys."
"Where is he?" Dean ground out, still fighting with all his might.
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Don't play dumb, asshole," he growled back.
"You mean the brother you misplaced?" Asmodeus asked, clearly enjoying this moment too much. "Why, I do happen to have him handy. In fact, I'm pleased to see you both here today, he's been quite obstinate, you see. But I bet your presence will make him a bit more…cooperative."
With a flick of his hand, a grate that neither of the two of them had noticed before, opened, and on the platform was a hunched figure.
It took craning his neck to be able to recognize that the figure was Harry.
Dean swore, having done the same thing, and recognized their brother at the same time.
Harry was a mess. His wings were somehow physically present and they looked like something out of a horror movie. It looked as though the majority had been plucked and those that remained were covered in blood under heavy chains that held them in a painful position.
Harry's head was down – chained to the bottom of the platform he had been rolled out in, but Sam could see that his hair was matted and also bloody. He could also see that he had a rope tied around his mouth.
Asmodeus pushed Sam and Dean back against the wall a little harder while he approached Harry. He removed the gag from Harry's mouth. The angel spat feathers that must have been stuffed in his mouth out on the ground.
"Now, boy, that's no way to behave, you're embarrassing me in front of our company," the demon chided.
"Bite me," Harry said, his voice sounding scraped raw.
Sam didn't even have the chance to feel relieved that his brother was well enough to be snarky before the demon elicited a shout of pain from yanking Harry's head back by his hair.
"These are some pretty important visitors. I would think that you would want to be on your best behavior."
Dean wriggled against the magic that was keeping him tight against the wall, in a bid to try and get to Harry.
"Oh, you can't see, can you," Asmodeus said with fake sympathy. "Mayhap, I ought to bring them a little closer."
With what felt like being pulled from their stomachs, the demon pulled Sam and Dean down from the wall where they had been pinned, painfully onto the floor so that Harry could see them.
Harry's eyes grew wide with shock. "No," he whispered out.
Asmodeus petted his hair. "Yes. Look who finally bothered to look for you. Honestly, I expected them much earlier, but they obviously had other, bigger, concerns. Did you know that I told them that I'd sell you to the highest bidder if they didn't come in a week? That was ages ago."
"Shut your friggin' mouth," Dean growled. "Harry, we've been…"
"That's quite enough now," the demon growled, clenching his fist – which started crushing both Sam and Dean's windpipes and caused them to choke. They spluttered and coughed.
It took Harry a couple of seconds to recognize what he was seeing.
Finally, he realized that it was really Sam and Dean in front of him and they were choking to death.
"NO!" He yelled out. Pain be damned, he used as much of his grace as possible to try and break whatever curse the demon had cast.
In a glow of green light, Sam and Dean were both able to take deep breaths, while Harry writhed – his whole body feeling like it was engulfed in flames.
Asmodeus laughed. "Oh, boy, I love seeing your fight." He grabbed Harry's hair again and slammed his face against the ground. "But do that again, and I'll kill them."
Involuntary tears formed in Harry's eyes. "I'll burn my grace out," he threatened, his voice rough still. He didn't know if that was possible, but he sure as hell would try. "And then…you'll have…nothing."
"I'll still have the pleasure of killin' the infamous Winchesters," the demon responded. To emphasize the point another wave of demonic magic came over Sam and Dean, causing both of them to hiss and yell out.
He stopped for a second. Sam and Dean caught their breaths, just to have the pain return. This time, neither of them was able to hold back their shouts of pain.
"STOP!" Harry yelled.
To everyone's surprise, Asmodeus stopped. "I'm more than happy to oblige," he said. "I'll even let these two go on their merry way. You know what I want."
"Whatever it is, don't give it to him," Dean growled.
The pain returned, three-fold. If this was the sort of torture that Harry had been undergoing all these weeks, they were both surprised that he was still alive.
"Fine," Harry said so quietly that Sam and Dean almost missed it. The pain stopped.
"What was that?" Asmodeus asked.
"I'll do it," Harry said. "I…consent…" he tilted his head to the side. "Just let them go."
"Harry, no!" Sam said, only to have his voice taken away from him.
"And what's to stop you from rescindin' your permission when I do?" the demon asked. "One dose won't do, you know."
"You leave them alone. Forever. And I…I won't." Harry's voice broke.
Dean's stomach sank. Harry was sacrificing himself for them. Again. He didn't know what they were talking about, but it sounded bad. He hoped that Luna had been able to get to Charlie and that Gabriel was on his way over. Because that was the only way that he saw out of this.
Until out of the corner of his eye he could see Sam fighting whatever magic was keeping them down. And it looked like he was getting somewhere.
"Hey, asshole!" Dean called out, trying to keep the demon's attention off of both his younger brothers.
The demon's attention snapped to the eldest Winchester.
"Whatever you're takin' from him, you can take from me," he offered.
Asmodeus broke into a terrible grin. "That's mighty noble of you, but you don't have anything that I'm looking for." With that, he took a needle and plunged it into Harry's neck, and as he pulled the plunger back out Harry let out a heart-wrenching scream.
The sound was enough to propel Sam to get out of the hold that the magic had on him and he pulled the demon knife out from his pocket and charged Asmodeus.
Before he could reach the demon, however, he turned towards Sam and knocked him back on his ass. With a quick motion, Asmodeus took the bloody needle he had just pulled out of Harry's neck and, to Sam and Dean's disgust and outrage, he injected it into his arm.
He shuddered and his eyes glowed green.
But neither Sam nor Dean saw it – they only had eyes on Harry whose screams had turned into coughs, which had turned blood spilling out of his mouth and onto the floor.
"My," Asmodeus said. "I have to say, that's the stuff, why with that…"
He didn't have the chance to finish that sentence. With a fluttering of wings, Gabriel appeared, looking every bit the Warrior of God that he had been created to be. Whatever magic Asmodeus had used on Sam and Dean dissipated.
Standing painfully, both of them made their way over to Harry, who was still hacking up blood.
"You," Gabriel said, shooting spells at the demon. "How dare you?"
Golden light surrounded the demon and it looked like it had knocked him down, but as Gabriel went over to confirm it, and finish him off, the white-suited man stood again and punched Gabriel hard enough in the face to make him reel and step back.
Asmodeus started heading towards where Sam and Dean were desperately trying to get Harry out of his chains.
"Gabriel, NOW!" Sam called once they had gotten Harry at least detached from anything holding him physically in this place.
The Archangel didn't need to be told twice and with another flap of wings, he flew all the Winchesters out.
AN – Harry is rescued! I only tortured him for four chapters, lol. I mean, don't think that this is the end of angst, but we're actually moving forward with the plot a bit before getting to the finale of this part of the fic.
Speaking of the finale of this part of the fic if you have NOT read Hogwarts and Purgatory and The Second Trial, now would be a good time to do so. They are short stories that come before this one but after Love, Fate and Prophecy.
Thank you again, everyone, who is commenting and reviewing! It always makes my day.
See you next week.