Unfound

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sam stabbed the demon with the knife and watched as its skin glowed and petered out.

"Thank you," came the relieved voice of the kid the demon had kidnapped.

"Let's just get you out of here," he said, pulling out his wand to undo the ropes on the kid's wrists. It was a special binding that required a very specific spell that Luna had come across in the Bunker to be undone. "And back to your parents."

"What spell did you use to kill it?" he asked. "Can you teach me? I tried throwing everything I've learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts at it, but nothing worked."

Sam shook his head. "No, sorry – it's not a spell. It's a special demon-killing knife."

"Where can I get one? These things – they're everywhere. Please, I just want to protect my friends and family. Things are getting worse every day. Did you know that they are considering opening Ilvermorny for the summer because of the number of kids that have been taken?"

"I didn't," Sam said, although, privately, he didn't think that was a terrible idea. "I wish I could tell you where, but as far I know, it's one-of-a-kind."

He looked dejected.

"Hey – Sam, we've gotta get out of here," Dean stuck his head in from where he had been keeping watch outside the building, "magical idiot brigade, incoming."

"Right," he said. "You alright…"

"Riley," the kid said.

"Riley," Sam said. "Did he…"

"He didn't get a chance before you got here. He said that he was going to collect more of us before he started. What was he going to do?"

"You better hope you never find out, kid," Dean said. "Come on, Sam," he urged.

"Right. I'm glad you're alright, Riley. Be careful."

Sam grabbed Dean's arm and apparated the two of them out of there. They landed back in their motel room, just a couple of miles up the road.

"Ugh, every time you do that, I feel like my gonna hurl," Dean said, looking like he might just do that.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at it yet."

"Don't remind me," Dean said darkly. He hated this new method of theirs. But they wanted to remain as anonymous as possible and driving a large, loud, car everywhere would make them entirely too traceable. Legally speaking, Sam wasn't even supposed to be using magic, but MACUSA had far greater problems than trying to monitor magic.

That was the ninth kidnapping they had thwarted in the last two months. What they had seen from the ones that they hadn't been able to save was nightmare-inducing.

The demons were getting bolder by the day. They were still going after weaker members of society – children and the magically weak or disenfranchised, but this last one had been snatched from his front yard in broad daylight, his parents just inside. Magical wards posed no problem to these demons. They did something in advance that tore them down. And the bindings that Sam had just removed were special – they reminded him of the demon cuffs they had used to keep demons like Crowley from using his powers while in them.

Honestly, trying to find one place to gather everyone to keep them safe made some sense to Sam.

He'd like for MACUSA to do something – anything, really at this point, because he was exhausted. And so was Dean. And this wasn't something they could call other Hunters in very readily. They had Luna and Charlie sending them out coordinates, but they were playing the world's worst version of whack-a-mole.

"I gotta tell you, man, I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," Dean said, voicing exactly what Sam was thinking. "It's beginning to feel like we're losing more than we're winning. And even the wins ain't great. How many wizards do you think that one had drained before we got to him?"

"I'd prefer not to think about it," Sam said. "But we have to do something. We can't just let these people die."

"Why is it our problem? They've got their own government, their own useless police force. How many people do you think have been attacked by our normal type of thing because we're busy trying to play "save the wizard"?"

"They're human, Dean," Sam said with a frown.

"I just don't like it. And don't think that I haven't thought of the risk you're taking. You're like the poster child for what they are going after," he grumbled. Dean was very worried about Sam. His brother was newer to magic and while he seemed to take to it like a duck to water, he wasn't a fully trained wizard capable of defending himself from all attacks. The only reason he hadn't insisted that they hunker down at home was that Sam was, apart from him, the best demon hunter in the country.

"I would be," Sam agreed, although not happily. "But they still know I'm a Winchester. And these demons are at least being controlled by someone smart enough not to go after us directly." That got him thinking….

"No," Dean said.

"No, what?" Sam asked.

Dean pointed his finger at him. "Whatever you're thinkin' right now. You stop."

"It might help…"

"No," Dean said. "I've already lost one brother, I'm not gonna lose another."

"You haven't lost – we haven't lost Harry. He's just in England."

"And you think he's gonna come back when all his wildest dreams are coming true over there? What's the betting that he gets back together with Ginny now that they're spending time together? He's got his godfather and his kid and they are all over there and way safer than they would be here. Why wouldn't he stay?"

This wasn't the first time they were having this particular conversation. Sam wondered if a part of Dean wanted Harry to stay in England. They had fallen back into their regular groove, and it had been a bit of a relief. Or, at least, it was easier. Sam felt guilty even thinking about it though, so he never dared say it out loud.

"He'll come back," he said, just as much for himself as for Dean. "And he mentioned spending time with Ginny?" He tried to ask without conveying how his heart beat a little faster at the thought.

"Yeah. She's acting as the official go-between for him and Hermione to help avoid the press. Apparently, they basically leave her alone now that Harry's been "dead" for so long. Sounds like things are brutal for Hermione, though."

Dean had taken over most of the phone calls with Harry. They were almost always on cases, but when they weren't, and they didn't need to eat or sleep, Sam was studying, leaving Dean to his own devices.

"You know, at least in all of this we're still anonymous," Dean continued. "I'll take our zero recognition over being hounded 24/7 by peeping Toms."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Has he said anything about his grace?"

Dean shot him an annoyed look. "Don't you think I'd lead with that if he had?"

"But has he said anything at all about them?" Sam pushed.

"I don't interrogate the guy!" Dean said. "He hasn't even brought up his powers. Just gives me an update on how Jack and Cas are doing and then starts talking about wizarding British politics, which is a real snooze fest, so I think of an excuse to get off the phone as quickly as possible. Glad you brought it up, though. If he ever asks, you've started like ten fires in motel rooms that I had to go help with."

Sam shot him a bitch face. "And that hasn't ever seemed strange to you?"

"…no?" He seemed to be thinking hard. "Should it?"

Sam sighed and pulled out his own cell phone.

Harry answered after only one ring. "Is everything ok?" he asked, sounding a little panicked. Sam pressed the button to put him on speakerphone.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"You never call me. Is it Dean? Did one of the demons…"

"I'm fine," Dean said, "glad to hear you're so concerned. Like I haven't dealt with far worse."

"Hi, Dean," Harry said.

"Hello to you too. We just saved a couple of wizard kids. You're welcome."

They could hear Harry's eyeroll on the other end of the call. "Any luck figuring out what their plan is?"

"No," Sam replied. "It's taking all our time and resources just to try and stop as many of the killings as possible."

"But Sam has a bright idea he'd love to share with you," Dean said, winking at his youngest brother.

"Oh, what's that? Is that why you called?"

"It is not why I called," Sam said. "Dean's just being a dick."

Harry chuckled on the other end of the call. "This is his specialty. Why did you call, then? Not that I'm not happy to hear from you. I just haven't."

Is he hurt? Sam thought to himself. He never thought that Harry would care much about which brother called. "I asked Dean about how things were going with your grace to find out if it was still on the fritz."

"Don't you think that if I was all better, I would have returned already?" Harry asked, definitely annoyed.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look.

"Answer the question, Harry," Dean said.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Harry responded. "You are the ones who…"

"Uh uh, no," Sam interrupted. "Don't try and pull that crap. Harry – are your powers back?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"Harry…" Dean prompted, suspicious of the silence.

"Not completely, ok?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I'm not the big, bad angel that I was before," Harry snapped. "But I'm not useless anymore either."

"And you weren't going to tell us?" Dean asked.

"I was going to tell you when I was all the way there," Harry said. "Didn't want to bore you with the baby steps."

"There's nothing boring about you getting your powers back," Sam said. "So, what is it? Are you like a normal wizard, now? Like a normal angel?"

Harry hesitated. "I'm not sure," he said. "Maybe somewhere in between where I was when I died and the power I had after I ascended." He stopped for a moment. "But it can still vary from day to day."

Sam and Dean had the same thought at the same time. That was pretty damn powerful.

"You never even hinted that things were getting better for you!" Dean shouted.

"You didn't ask," Harry said. "I promise you, if I were up to full powers, I'd be back in the States already, helping you take these demons down."

"It sounds like your badass enough to help now," Dean said.

"Does this mean that you figured out why your powers hadn't come back?" Sam wanted to know, cutting straight through the bullshit. If Harry had figured that out, maybe Jack as also…

"We have a theory," Harry admitted.

"What is it?" Dean demanded.

"It's just a theory. We don't know for a fact," Harry hedged.

"Give it to us then."

"Er – I'm not going to lie..."

Dean snorted. "That's new."

"Hey! I didn't lie before. Not telling you and lying are two different things. But I'd prefer not to tell you until we have a better idea. But things are going well here."

Sam quickly read between the lines. "For Jack too?"

"Yes," Harry answered.

"Do you think you'll be able to crack Limbo?" Sam asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. I'm a little more concerned that Limbo is going to crack us first. I was talking to Luna and Charlie earlier and…"

"Wait, Charlie and Luna know that your magic is working and we didn't?" Dean asked, pissed. It was one thing for Harry to lie to them and another thing entirely for him to tell their friends to keep it from them too.

"Er – it's a little hard to hide things like this from Luna," Harry said. "You know how she is."

They didn't, in fact, know how Luna was, but neither was going to admit it and both made a plan to ask her exactly what Harry meant by that.

"When do you think you'll be back?" Sam asked, pinching his nose and wishing that he had fought harder for Harry to stay.

"I'm not sure, but definitely no later than September 1st," Harry said. "I'm not risking being spotted by the students. Especially since so many of my nieces and nephews are here."

"Well, keep us up-to-date," Sam said, knowing that he was basically just blowing hot air on that one. Harry would tell them exactly what he wanted them to know and nothing else.

"Will do," Harry said, for his part, meaning it.

Sam hung up.

III

Jack loved Hogwarts. Sometimes, he swore that Hogwarts loved him back. While he had been here, Harry and Castiel had set up a lesson plan for him – like he was really going to school. He studied with the professors that were around – Professor McGonagall, Professor Longbottom, and his favorite, Professor Hagrid. Harry and Castiel also had lessons with him but he far preferred the professors.

Professor Hagrid knew everything about the world around them. And he seemed to love answering Jack's questions just as much as Jack loved asking them. Plus, the professor had actually raised dragons. It was now Jack's greatest desire to go see them. Harry said that maybe they could visit his friend Charlie Weasley who worked on a whole reserve full of dragons.

The only downside to coming to Hogwarts was that Teddy had only stuck around for a couple of days before heading out to reconnect with his friends and family in England whom he hadn't seen in a while. He took Sirius Black with him the first time. Jack missed Teddy. He didn't miss Sirius, who was always giving Castiel the evil eye but had returned to the castle more often than his friend.

Because he had regular lessons it meant that he also had free time – everyone had insisted on it. Before, when he had been in the Bunker, he had learned about the world through Netflix but here he felt so much freer. He spent his time not in lessons exploring the castle and grounds, meeting all the creatures that lived there (house elves alarmed him a little bit), and to Harry's great pleasure – flying.

"Hey, you got a free period now, Jack?" Harry asked after lunch one day.

Jack thought carefully. "Yes. I'm meeting with Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses at two, but I have about an hour before then."

"Want to go flying?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" Jack said.

Harry grinned. "Great."

"Could I join you two?" Castiel joined them from seemingly out of nowhere.

Harry gave him a side-long glance that only Castiel noticed. The two of them had been working together diligently in the library since Castiel had found it. But, to keep it and the secrets within a secret, they tried to continue to act as if they were acquaintances that barely tolerated each other.

The truth was much more complicated than that, of course. Sometimes, Harry forgot that Castiel had once been his enemy. He was dangerously close to even beginning to like the angel. He was funny. Not in an obvious way, but Harry appreciated his dry humor and sarcasm. He even wondered if some of the deadpan moments where he said he didn't understand something or misunderstood a common phrase were purposeful.

But Harry figured he had a reason for trying to join him and Jack, so he didn't make any effort to stop him.

"Do you like flying too, Castiel?" Jack asked.

Castiel gave him a small smile. "I love flying. Can't do it these days," he indicated to his still-damaged wings. One of the biggest feats of magic Jack had attempted to do since being at Hogwarts was curing Castiel's wings. But he wasn't strong enough.

"That's alright, Cas," Jack said. "You can fly on a broom. It's much better than with wings."

Castiel stopped walking. "I don't know about that, Jack," he said. "I thought that I'd just enjoy watching you and Harry fly. It's a beautiful day."

"Oh, come on, Castiel. Have you ever tried?"

"I can't say that I have. Is there even a…broom that I could use?"

"'Course there is, Cas," Harry said. "This is a school. We can just grab one from the shed."

Castiel looked at Harry intensely as they started their way down to the pitch. "And do you think it's…wise? Will it be like the time you tried to fly with me?"

"You mean will you weigh too much for a broom? I doubt it. Both Jack and I manage just fine. But don't worry, Uncle Cas, if you fall, I'll catch you." There was a sparkling of mischief in Harry's eyes that Castiel did not like very much.

Castiel was beginning to understand Harry's facial expressions as he understood Dean and Sam's. And that glint rarely spelled out something pleasant for him.

"That would be extremely impractical," Castiel said in his usual, you're being stupid, voice. "That would only serve to injure both of us."

"He was joking, Castiel," Jack said. He was beginning to get better at recognizing jokes.

"I was," Harry agreed. But he noticed the very small smile on Cas' face. I see you, arsehole, he thought.

"Oh."

Harry slapped him on the back. "We'll make a flyer out of you yet."

"I'm an angel – I've always been a flyer."

They continued with cheery chit-chat (Castiel couldn't help but notice what a good mood Harry was in) as they walked down to the Pitch.

Like Jack, Castiel very much enjoyed Hogwarts. And not just because the work he was doing was fascinating and important. Gabriel must have played a much bigger hand than Castiel had ever thought was possible in its building. He wondered if the Archangel had intended to make this place his home. It was as close to an angel home as he had ever felt on Earth. Grace was built into every square inch of the castle. And it certainly was the safest place for Jack. Castiel wasn't quite sure how he was able to get through the warding – he was pretty sure no other angels could enter here.

However, with his human soul, Hogwarts enveloped Jack in a protective cloak. Not only was he physically safe, his grace, when he practiced using it, was not coming out in the destructive ways that it had before. No one had been blasted across the room. No fits of anger resulted in bodily harm to anyone – Jack included. Castiel wondered if it was because this place was built for children, but Harry had quickly disrupted that thought when he brought it up. Something about the number of people who had died within these walls during the war.

The veil was thinner here too. But wizarding spirits, with their grace, didn't go mad like Muggle ones. They weren't all there, but Castiel had very much enjoyed conversations with ghosts.

They reached the pitch fairly quickly. Harry made quick work of finding brooms for the three of them.

Castiel wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

"I can show you how it works, Castiel," Jack said, excited to teach him something.

Castiel nodded for him to continue.

"First, put it on the ground," he instructed. Castiel did as he said. "Good, good, then, put your hand over the broom and say, 'up,' you have to want it, though."

Castiel tilted his head. "Up," he said obediently. The broom jumped straight into his hand.

"That's a good sign!" Jack said. "Right, Harry?"

Harry looked amused. "That's right, Jack. Now, do you want to show him how I taught you?"

"Yes, I do," Jack said, very seriously. "Now Castiel…"

Castiel paid close, respectful, attention to Jack teaching him about flying, but just from holding the object, he knew that he would have no problems.

And he didn't.

Flying on a broomstick was – it was incredible. Invisible to everyone who didn't have them, Castiel let his damaged wings flare behind him and it – it was as if he was at his full powers again.

"Great, isn't it?" Harry said.

"Do you think that Dean and Sam would agree to travel this way from now on?" Castiel asked, floating next to him. "This is far more enjoyable than the Impala."

"Don't let Dean catch you saying that," Harry said. "But he can barely handle an airplane, I don't think that a broomstick ride would be any better."

"I don't know if I care," Castiel said.

Harry grinned.

"Castiel – race me!" Jack said, joining them where they were.

Castiel didn't need to be told twice.

The three of them flew around for the hour Jack had before he needed to head up to meet Neville. When they landed, Harry asked, "Do you think that you could make your way up there by yourself, Jack?"

"Yes, I know the way," Jack said. "Oooh, can I fly?"

"Knock yourself out," Harry laughed.

Jack quickly got back on the broom and kicked off.

"That was very pleasant, Harry, thank you," Castiel said.

"Yeah. It's always nice to get out of that dusty old place."

"I thought you loved the castle?"

"I do! But the fresh air does wonders, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Castiel said. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked, assuming that was why Harry had sent Jack back up to the castle on his own.

"Just wanted to – uh, check in. And out here, there are no portraits listening to everything we say."

"Are you worried about what the portraits think?"

Harry laughed. "No. But I want to keep my wizarding life…separate from the Hunting world."

Castiel, if he was reading the situation correctly, and he never knew if he was, realized that this was a discussion that was outside of the work they were doing in the library.

"I think that's going to be impossible," Castiel pointed out. "Dean and Sam say that the attacks are getting worse. Your friends here seem to think the same."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "Do you think that he'll be ready to leave soon?"

"Jack?"

"Of course."

Castiel thought. "In an ideal world, I'd let him stay here forever. His spirit – his soul, is lighter here. Yours too. But he has learned how to channel his powers quite well. Edward Lupin was pretty smart, thinking to teach him wizarding magic. It is…small, compared to what we use. And learning that focus has done wonders. I think that Jack is in less danger of hurting others by accident."

"I agree."

"And your powers?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not completely back to normal if that's what you're asking. But I'm no longer a Muggle. My wings aren't strong enough for long flights. I miss flying."

Castiel frowned. "You just were."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, on a broom, it's not the same."

"Hmm," Castiel said. Harry raised an eyebrow at him in question. "When the angels fell – all of our wings were damaged in the descent. They are the most sensitive and vulnerable part of us. And what Asmodeus did to yours…"

"You don't have to tell me," Harry cut him off.

"I know. But – given time, I think that they will heal."

Harry didn't respond. "What do you think the demons want?"

"It's unclear," Castiel said. "And our brothers and sisters have been quiet on the matter. Almost as if they aren't watching. Although I am sure that they are."

"Our brothers and sisters?" Harry asked. "Castiel – I'm not a real angel. You know that right?"

"You are a real angel," he said this as if it were the most obvious fact in the world, and Harry was a moron for not knowing it.

"I wasn't created by God – Chuck, whatever you call him."

"You most certainly were. Everyone was. Jack included."

"Oh, does that mean that Jack is your brother too?"

"No. It's different, and you know it. You're young. You'll understand someday."

"Understand what?"

"The vastness of time."

Harry shuddered. "I hope to Merlin that I don't."

That surprised Castiel. "I thought that you were no longer suicidal."

Harry choked. He wasn't used to anyone being that blunt. "I was never – I'm not – I never wanted … I'm not suicidal, Castiel."

"Then you'll live for a long time. Perhaps forever. Like me. Like the other angels that haven't been killed."

Harry had never given much thought to eternity. He was about to comment on it, but Castiel kept talking.

"It's why I think it was important for you, Jack, and I to spend time here, away from the Winchesters. We're going to be a family for a very long time."

"I'm a Winchester," Harry said, not liking what Castiel was thinking at all. He may be an angel now, but that didn't mean that he was immortal. He didn't think like he was immortal. He hated the idea the more he thought about it.

"That alone affords you a bit more time that others, does it not?" Castiel said. "Losing Dean and Sam – it's going to hurt. But they aren't the only ones who need you. Jack is always going to have a target on his back. I've seen the way you look at him – it's not unlike the way that you look at Teddy. You love him."

"I…" Harry started.

"Your ability to love easily is a Winchester family trait," Castiel continued, ignoring Harry's stammering. "And one that Kelly would want Jack to have. One that I would like him to have. You also understand the human side of him in a way that I am unable to. Just like I understand the angelic part of him that you don't yet know."

Harry didn't know what he was listening to. "Are you suggesting that I become Jack's parent? With you? My Cas, I've gotten many a proposal in the past, but this is by far the strangest."

Castiel frowned. "I wasn't proposing marriage. Just… I remember reading about it in one of the books I got for Kelly…co-parenting. We don't been to reside together forever. But I think that he would benefit from two parents."

This was too much for Harry. Sure, he and Castiel had started getting along better the last couple of weeks and since he had been back from the dead (it was an extremely low bar) but this kind of talk. "You're weird," was what he finally said.

Castiel hummed. "Dean says the same thing."

"Right. Good talk."

They walked back up to the castle. Each lost in their own thoughts.

III

"I need more," Asmodeus demanded. "This is simply unacceptable."

The demons in front of him, giving the report, looked at each other.

"Sir, we've gotten as many as we can. But we've been losing men!"

Asmodeus clenched his fist, causing the demon who spoke to sputter and choke as his throat closed. "What d'ya mean, we've been losing men?"

"It's the Winchesters," the man squeaked. "They've gutted – at least ten of our men. And our numbers are limitless! Crowley still has a hold on…" the demon's neck snapped and he fell to the ground, dead.

"No one mention that pretender's name here!" Asmodeus shouted. "And I don't want any more excuses. If the Winchesters are killing our men, then someone should just take care of them first."

"But sir," the other demon reporting started, before thinking better.

"And if the Winchesters are the problem, why haven't you been able to capture me my angel again?"

"He's not with them," another demon, standing a little further back from the throne, said.

"Not with them?"

The demon shook her head. "No. No one has even sighted the kid in months. His last known location was in Iowa and then…"

"That's enough," Asmodeus snapped. "I want this dealt with. We need more grace. Bleed the entire nation if need be, I don't care." He needed that grace. It was the key to reopening Limbo since he had limited access to archangels these days. It was also proving more difficult to torture the souls on this plane and he was yet to be able to demonize a single soul. He needed his people.

Every in the room stood and waited for further instruction. "Well, what are you waitin' for?" He barked. "Back to work."

They all scurried away. He sighed. If you want something done right, you've just got to do it yourself, he thought. He still shared a…connection with Harry. He would find him. And once he did, he would lock him up and make sure no one ever got the key. Then he'd go after Crowley.

III

Sirius had thought that getting Harry back to England and away from his brothers would…well, maybe he didn't know exactly what it would do – but something. Of course, his far too forgiving godson had brought the angel with him. Was it too forgiving or was it a complete and total lack of self-preservation? He wasn't sure.

He had tried to talk to Harry about it several times but his godson had become adept at avoiding him. He had no clue where the kid hid himself in the castle – which Sirius found that he still knew like the back of his hand, even though a lot of his old passageways had been sealed off.

There were a lot of things that Sirius didn't understand and didn't have the answers to. But the one thing he did know was that Harry's life expectancy was significantly lower when he was involved in any part of his brother's life.

Sirius had failed Harry once before. He could see that clearly now. Going along with any of Dumbledore's plans had been short-sighted. He had trusted his old headmaster too much – especially after said headmaster hadn't done a thing to stop his wrongful imprisonment.

After Lily and James' death, he should have taken Harry and run.

But it was too late for that. Especially considering that there was now literally no way to turn back time.

What Sirius needed was an ally.

Teddy didn't count.

As much as Sirius liked the kid, he now understood why it was best to keep the young out of such matters. Teddy hadn't had to grow up like Harry had – even though he was older than Harry had been when Sirius had fallen during battle, he was more of a child than Harry had ever gotten to be.

This is why, instead of fruitlessly trying to seek Harry out once again, Sirius laid in wait for someone who he believed he could bring over to his side. If he wasn't there already.

"Hey, Ron," he called out to the tall redhead.

Ron looked at him with surprise. "Hi, Sirius," he said. "How are you?"

Sirius waved him off. "Fine. Do you have a minute?"

Ron pulled out his pocket watch. "I'm meeting Ginny to talk with Harry in his quarters." He seemed to be debating. "But sure. Let's talk."

Sirius nodded his head towards a room just off the Great Hall that should be private enough. Once they were in there, Ron looked at him patiently.

"You know, I always liked you," Sirius started. "You and Harry remind me so much of James and myself."

The pleasant look on Ron's face fell a little – but it was so small that Sirius decided to ignore it. After all what greater compliment could he give anyone?

"I know that you're smart. And strategic. You've got to know that Sam and Dean Winchester spell out trouble."

Ron crossed his arms across his chest. "They're Harry's brothers," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I know that," Sirius snapped. "But you're more of a brother to him than they could ever be. Come on, you can't tell me that you like the wankers."

Ron sighed.

"And that you don't think that Harry wouldn't be better off without them," Sirius continued.

"It doesn't matter what I think," Ron said. "It matters what Harry thinks. And you may not have known him for very long, in the grand scheme of things, but you know that he sticks by those he loves. And Sam and Dean are not just some random blokes that he struck a friendship up with. They're the family he never got to have." Ron was keenly aware of how hypocritical he was being. He was hardly the Winchesters' greatest fan.

That was pointed in such a way that made Sirius winced a little at the slight accusation. But he wasn't going to let that dissuade him from his goal.

"And the whole – binding his magic thing?" he pressed. "Do you really think that is the type of behavior that a family should exhibit?"

"That…" Ron started. It was his time to balk a little bit. "That was unfortunate," he finished.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I already told you, I don't like the wankers," Ron defended. "I've never liked them. But…"

"But what? What stopped you from dragging Harry's arse back to England the second you saw how dangerous they were to him?" It had been bothering Sirius for quite some time. He understood how Harry fell in with his brothers – it was in his nature. What he didn't understand is why no one tried to stop him.

"You don't understand…"

"What don't I bloody understand? Yeah, Harry's stubborn but he listens to his friends. I know he hasn't changed that much. I'm just trying to understand why it is that the bloody King of bloody Hell seems to be the only one who understands what I'm seeing."

"The King of Hell?" Ron's heart rate went up. In the years that he had been secretly working against the Supernatural with Charlie and Luna, he had tried on many occasions to catch, or, failing that, just talk to Crowley. He understood that the demon had been on a sometimes-friendly basis with Sam and Dean and he wanted to see if he could learn anything.

"Yeah. The great twat himself. When he whisked me away to his manor…"

"What?" Ron asked, he hadn't heard this story before. "Crowley captured you? Why is this the first time I'm hearing this?"

Sirius shrugged. He wasn't sure how much Harry told his friends about his day-to-day life in the States. Nor did he care.

"Do you think you could get in contact with him again?" he asked, hopefully.

That surprised Sirius.

"Why would I want to?"

"Crowley – he might be the key to everything," Ron said. "I have the feeling that these demon attacks aren't him. If he could get control again…"

"You want him to have more power?"

"Not really," Ron said. "But, at least, under him, the demons didn't just attack witches and wizards in the streets. When we looked through the Men of Letters' files, we found that they had a deal with him. Maybe…"

"You're all mad," Sirius said, eyes wide.

"No, no, no – I know it seems that way. But…hey, I've got to go," Ron looked down at his watch. "But – will come to the Burrow tomorrow? I know that Mum would love to see you, but also, I could catch you up on things. And maybe…"

Sirius wasn't sure where this was going. "Maybe what?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't want to speculate. But – there is more going on here than you realize. More than I realize too. And if we can solve it, everyone wins."

Sirius wanted to ask more questions, but the redhead just left the room.

Great, he thought. That wasn't what he was hoping for in the least. He considered for a second. Maybe it wasn't all bad either.

III

Mary had never expected that she would come to enjoy her time in Limbo. Not just enjoying herself, but she felt like she was thriving for the first time since Amara had pulled her out of Heaven.

She had thought that she had found purpose with the Men of Letters but she could see how superficial that was. How meaningless. Sure, she had done some good. But she had also worked for an evil organization that was trying to take over the world.

Here, each day was a fight for survival. But not just for herself and the wizards here. Her fight here was to keep her boys safe. Really safe. Because her sons were amazing Hunters and they could handle what Earth had to offer them. It was more than ghosts, ghouls, and vampires. It was demons, leviathan, and the Devil himself.

And as much faith as she had in her sons, she was not sure that they would survive the fight that this world was trying to bring to them.

She had seen, firsthand the power of these wizard demons. And, from what she had been told, they weren't even at full power here. Gabriel had admitted that Lucifer was scared of them. (How he knew that, she didn't question, but she didn't think he'd lie.)

Working with wizards had been difficult for her, at first, especially considering what they had done to her family. She was under no illusion of who these men and women had been when they were alive before they had been sent to Purgatory, but they were all driven to prevent the planned incursion as much as she was.

The magic-suppressing atmosphere here put them on equal footing. Actually, more than equal footing because they didn't have any clue on how to survive without magic.

Mary had taken the role of teacher and chief strategist.

Everything from how to make tents stay up without magic to how to build a fire. She found it funny that they seemed so intent on maintaining some sort of "normal" here. None of them needed to sleep or eat. And it was generally warm (due, she was told, not to its proximity to Hell, but rather, how close it was to Earth) so they didn't need fires. But somehow, almost everyone here was British, and they were insistent on being able to make tea.

The tea was horrible, but who was she to complain?

"Mary," a woman named Cynthia approached her. "We need you in the war tent."

Mary had lost track of time. Which, was easy enough to do here.

Gathered in the tent were the leaders of the camp. Which included Cynthia and Mary's (often unwanted) protector, Peter.

"What's happening?" she asked, seeing the concerned faces.

"They've made another incursion onto our land," Griffiths, a gruff, older wizard said. "They're getting desperate."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Mary said. "How long has it been since they've taken one of ours?"

"Two and a half weeks," Carter, another camp leader, answered. "But they didn't get far," she looked into the corner of the room, where several mangled bodies were stacked.

"I didn't realize our warding was that strong," Mary said. "Those are demons?"

"They were," Cynthia confirmed. "But they were weak ones. They looked sickly, at the very least."

"How could you even tell?" Mary asked, looking at the bodies.

"The pallor of their skin. Those were not their best and brightest. In fact, we're wondering if they were ones where the procedure didn't quite take."

That made Mary feel a little sick to her stomach. "That means that our wards are still strong, then?"

"For now. The problem is that we don't know how to maintain them."

"What? Did you create them?"

He shook his head. "No. Sirius Black did."

Mary scowled. It seemed like they couldn't go a day without mentioning that vile man.

"They are really most ingenious," Carter said. "I don't know how he came up with it. It isn't set off from detecting a magical presence. Anyone, and I mean, anyone, who enters the warded area without this sigil on them will go – " she looked over to the dead bodies, "splat. It's one of a kind."

"But they shouldn't even be able to get to that warded area, right?" Mary asked. She wondered if that was why they always had to meet Gabriel outside of the camp walls. She had always thought that it was a bit of an unnecessary risk. She had never considered that he wouldn't be able to enter.

"They shouldn't. Which is why we've been using anti-demon sigils to keep them at bay. We don't want them to even get far enough along to be able to think about how to disable our other wards."

A double ward, Mary thought. Smart.

"And it was the sigils that you introduced to us that made this possible. Before we were using what we learned in school, and let me tell you, it was not strong enough. You know, if I ever see my Ancient Runes professor again, I'm going to give her a telling-off. Because we never even covered how to ward against specific creatures with runes."

"What did you learn then?" Mary had to admit, she was curious about the education that witches and wizards got. She had never really thought about it deeply before, but she had always assumed that growing up with magical powers might have been similar to growing up learning to Hunt. Maybe easier, but still, the training to be able to fight and survive. It turns out she was very wrong.

"Nothing of any use," Peter said. "I only got through the class because Moony let me copy his notes."

Mary suppressed a sigh. Peter loved to reminisce on his schooldays. It was a bit sad. Like he peeked in high school and life had never gotten better for him.

His friends sounded like some of the hunting buddies that Mary had made in her youth. But she tried her best not to think back to that time. It was too painful. Reading between the lines, Mary realized that Peter's youthful companions had gone much the way hers had.

He froze up when she asked, though, so she didn't push.

The man followed her like a shadow. When she demanded to know why he had said that Gabriel had charged him with protecting her and that the Archangel was basically like a wizarding God. She knew that, of course, but there seemed to be something more.

Even weirder is that while witches and wizards sometimes had old-fashioned names, the names that Peter used for his friends seemed out there, even for magical people.

Moony. Padfoot. Prongs.

She would have assumed that they were nicknames, but he never called them anything but by those names.

Something struck as familiar about those names, but she couldn't quite figure it out, so she let it go. And now wasn't the time to wonder about the names of Peter's childhood friends, in any case.

"Yes, yes, the demon traps are fantastic," Griffiths said, he was never very impressed with Mary. She wasn't sure if it was because she was a Muggle or if it was because she was a woman. It was unpleasant, in either case. "But they are learning to break through them quicker and quicker. And it's only a matter of time before they're able to destroy them completely."

Mary thought about it. "We've been drawing the demon traps, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, maybe we need to make them out of something a little sturdier," she said. "There are other things that we can use to build them. Iron would be ideal."

"And where do you propose we get that?"

"I don't know," Mary said. "But humans have been making weapons out of iron for centuries."

"Do we have what we need here to make it?" Cynthia asked.

"It comes from rocks," Mary said. "We don't have a lot here, but there are rocks."

"But how would we even know which rocks it is in? Or how to extract it?"

"You're wizards, aren't you?"

There was grumbling all around. Their magic was failing them and they hated the reminders.

"We're not strong enough," Carter said sadly.

"Forget it them," Mary said quickly. Gabriel didn't check in very often – it was difficult for him to get away from his brother, but she bet that he was still strong enough to help them out with this.

"What we need is fresher witches and wizards," Griffiths said.

"And how do we get those?" Mary asked. "They've cut off our access to the portal, haven't they?"

"They've cut off our access to that portal, but what if we looked for a new one?" Cynthia suggested.

"Or make a new one," Carter chimed in.

"How was the first one made?" Mary had no idea.

"We don't know. Black did it." Griffiths said. "Clever sod didn't tell any of us how, though."

"Clever or self-serving?" Mary asked. Just hearing that man's name made her blood boil. She had welcomed him into her home. He had played with Dean. Eaten at her table. And then he had stolen Henry and broken her family apart. Even if John hadn't been the ideal father to her boys, at least Sam and Dean had known they were loved as children.

"Probably a bit of both, knowing him," Peter mumbled.

"I thought you arrived here after he left," Mary said sharply.

"I did," he said. "But people talk about him all the time," he said. A little too quickly for Mary's liking. But that wasn't what mattered at this time.

"So, we take back the portal," she said. "How do we even start?"

III

Harry entered their suite of rooms, looking to grab a couple of items, before heading to the library for another long session of fetching books for Castiel to translate, only to find Ginny and Ron waiting for him.

"Oh, hi," he said. "I wasn't expecting you today." He paused for a second. "Was I?"

"No," Ron said. "Unless Ginny you…"

"I didn't. I thought this was a conversation better had in person."

Uh oh , Harry thought. He and Ginny had been working on their…friendship. Hermione had been fighting a political shitshow and Ron was often needed at her side, so Ginny had been playing the in-between. He knew that they had fallen out of love with each other and that they would never be a couple again (Ginny was seeing someone – Harry knew that but he never asked any questions and she never offered any information) but it had been very easy to fall back into old patterns. Which made for awkward moments.

"Is it time?" He asked.

They had been strategizing for the whole time that he had been at Hogwarts.

"Well, as you know, we've been hinting that Hermione has a plan to help stop the kidnappings," Ron said. "But before we really went ahead, we wanted to make sure that you were…you again."

Harry bristled a little. "I've always been me," he said.

"Of course, mate, we know that," Ron said. "But if it wasn't safe for you – if you weren't able to defend yourself, and something happened…"

"I'm not fully back," Harry said. "But I am capable of defending myself. I'm not as vulnerable as I was."

"You're not a Muggle anymore?" Ginny asked, point blank.

Harry pulled out his wandblade and conjured an owl, that flew in a circle and hooted before Harry banished it again.

"Woah," Ron said.

"Definitely not a Muggle," Ginny agreed.

"How'd you do it?" Ron asked.

Harry didn't want to answer that question. "I guess I'm just healing," he said. "It's been a slow process."

"Alright. Then, are you ready to do this?"

"No," Harry said honestly. "But when am I ever ready for anything?"

Ron grinned. That was the Harry he knew and loved.

"Have you prepped the family yet?" Harry asked. "Because I don't think that the news to hit and it being the first time that Rosie and Hugo and the other nephews and nieces here that I'm alive." Once upon a time, Harry had been as much a member of the Weasley family as anyone else. Even though he had never married Ginny, all the kids had called him "Uncle Harry," and he was a part of their lives. He ached a little to think of how much of their lives they had missed. Especially Rosie and Hugo.

"Not yet," Ron said. "But I don't think that they are who we should start with. Because there are people that need to know before it goes public. Even if it's just before."

"Who?" Harry asked, honestly not sure who Ron was talking about.

"The DA," Ginny said.

"Oh," Harry said. He felt bad that he hadn't even thought of them. "Half of them know already." The members who were married to Weasleys, as well as Neville and Hannah all, knew. Luna too, of course.

"They do. But I think some of them may be a bit miffed that they came to the States and were in the same building as you without knowing you were there."

Harry winced. "I was hardly in a condition…"

"I know," Ron said. "But still…"

"Right. So, the DA first. When are you thinking?"

Ron and Ginny looked at each other. "What about tomorrow night?"

Harry blanched. "Tomorrow?"

"It is Friday," Ron said. "And I think we could get everyone there."

Harry took a deep breath. They were really doing this. "Ok," he agreed.

"Then, we were thinking Sunday dinner at the Burrow?" Ginny said. "You can bring Castiel and Jack to that if you'd like. I know Mum would love to see Jack."

"And on Monday, two days before there can be another vote, we'll bring you out to the public," Ron said.

It was all so sudden. "I'm going to have to call Sam and Dean first," Harry said.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Would you do something this big without telling your brothers and sister first?" Harry countered. He knew that Ron had never completely warmed up to Sam and Dean but he needed his friend to get over it. It hadn't helped that Harry had slipped one night while they were having a nightcap and told Ron about Ginny and Sam's tryst. Ron had been bugging him about getting back together with Ginny and while it wasn't the main reason the two of them weren't getting back together, it certainly sounded the death knell on it.

"I ran off to fight a war with you without telling any of them," Ron countered.

Harry gave him a look.

"Alright, alright," Ron said. "Give them a call. Do you need a portkey?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I can apparate."

He was hoping that he could fly but he didn't want to call attention to the fact that he could.

"Ok. We'll see you there then?" Ginny asked as she stood to leave.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Harry said.

"Hey, don't sound so glum. They are going to be so happy to see you, mate," Ron said.

"I know," Harry said. "Doesn't make it any easier." There was a lot of pressure associated with being Harry Potter. He hadn't missed it. He just hoped that Sam and Dean didn't react too badly.

III

The Burrow hadn't changed in the least.

That was comforting.

"Sirius, dear," Molly greeted him with a hug. Considering the contentious relationship the two of them had the year the Order had reformed, Sirius was pleasantly surprised.

"Molly," he said. "You're as beautiful as ever. I swear you've not aged a day."

She blushed.

"Sirius, old chap," Arthur said, extending his hand out to shake Sirius' hand while clasping his shoulder. "We never imagined…"

"Yeah, me neither," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Molly's eyes were a bit misty.

"Well, we're happy to see you," she said. "Ronnie said that he had something to talk to you about. But after that, I insist you stay for lunch since he said that you're not going to make it to Sunday dinner."

Sirius gave her a half smile. "Of course, it would be my pleasure. Where is he?"

"Just out in the garden," Authur said. "The shed's warded."

Sirius gave them both a nod before striding outside.

Ron was standing just outside of the small building that Sirius understood to be the place where Arthur tinkered with Muggle things.

"Thanks for coming," he said.

"You didn't give me much of a choice, did you?"

Ron gave him a questioning look but didn't respond. "I had to adjust the wards – but this is the safest place around here to talk," he opened the door for Sirius to step in.

He did. "Woah," he said.

"Yeah – Dad was pretty pleased with it," Ron said, coming in behind him and closing the door.

The shed was small – but it was nothing like what Sirius had imagined it would be. Although to be fair, he wasn't sure that he could have imagined this even if someone had described the place to him. The room was filled with – "Is this all Muggle?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "This is where we've experimented a bit with infusing magic into Muggle technology. All these years, we thought Dad was mad, but Charlie – Bradbury that is, not my brother, said that he was actually on the right path. Now those two – they get along like a duck on water, in fact…"

"But what is it all?"

The walls were covered in little black boxes. There was a large desk in front of the wall with another box with letters on it. It was reminiscent of the typewriters that Sirius knew Muggles used but this was something else entirely.

"It's a computer," Ron said. He jiggled a small device on the desk and all the screens lit up. Sirius was speechless. "I know this is really cool, but I can't imagine that Harry won't miss you if you're here for too long. What did you tell him?"

"Told him I was going to visit Andy," Sirius waved off, still fascinated by the light boxes in front of him. "Which I intend to do – if your mother lets me leave here."

"She'll only allow that when you've gained a stone or two."

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. "I don't doubt that for a second. Ron – what is all this? I'll admit, I haven't been talking to Harry a whole lot about the wizarding world as a whole, but this seems ages beyond what we should be capable of."

"Oh, it is. And, for the record, Harry doesn't know about most of this. Not that it's a secret," Ron said quickly. "I just didn't want to pull him in. He has enough problems as is."

Sirius quite agreed.

"Alright – then will you explain it to me?"

"I thought you'd never ask. First, you have to know that all of this is thanks to a very brilliant Muggle. If you tell Hermione, I'll deny it, but I think she may be even smarter than her. See, Luna brought her around…"

He told Sirius everything, although somewhat abridged.

Sirius was impressed. He had always known that Ron had a keen strategic mind but he had no idea what the kid was capable of. "And the rest of the world just thinks you co-own a joke shop?" He asked at the end of it all.

Ron grinned. "Yeah. Most people think I'm a bit of a duffer. But I don't mind. Hermione's smart enough for the both of us. And it can be an asset to have people not realize that I understand more than I let on."

Sirius nodded. It was clever.

"But the question remains," Ron said. "Will you help us out?"

"I'm not sure it'll work or if I'm the right man for the job, but, yeah, it's better than sitting around trying to convince Harry his brothers are knobs."

"Sirius, I think you may be the only one for the job," he stood up. "Let's go get some lunch. Then we'll come up with some more excuses for you to be away. Sound good?"

"Yeah. And I'm starving."

Ron laughed and clapped him on the back. "Well, you've come to the right place."

Happy New Year! It's still a couple of hours away here. Sorry for the ff dot net delay – getting e-mails from them is unreliable so I dare not reset my password so that I can update from the road.

For those of you having trouble getting update e-mails – ff dot net has changed their entire notification system. Email Alerts are now only active if Email Opt-in is enabled in account settings. Go to your Account – Settings – Email Opt In. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me.

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season! Thank you, as always to all of you.