Unfound
Chapter Forty-Six
"That's a lot of demons," Mary whispered to Gabriel. They were crouched just outside of the camp. It had been far easier than either of them had anticipated getting here. Which made Mary nervous. Either they were lazy or, more likely, they were so unconcerned about an attack, that they hadn't bothered.
Gabriel had a look of pure disgust and hatred on his face. "Look at what that – asshat – did to my people."
Mary glanced up at the demons milling around. If it weren't for her hunting background, she didn't think that she would be able to tell that they were anything other than human. But it seemed that Gabriel was seeing something else.
"It's a perversion of all that is good in this world," Gabriel continued. "I'm going to kill him for this."
Mary returned her focus to the archangel. "You think you can?" At the look of betrayal he gave her, she backpedaled. "Not a question of physically being able to do it – I mean, he's your brother."
Gabriel considered. "I'm not sure that I can overpower him. But there is no issue with my will. What he's become – that's no longer my brother." Even as he said it, Gabriel wasn't sure if that was true. He had fought for so long to stay out of the family drama. He didn't want to hate any of his brothers. Gabriel knew that the true enemy was their father. But when your father was God, it was impossible to do anything about it.
So, it wasn't so much that he no longer loved Lucifer. It was that he loved Harry more.
What a sap you've become, he thought to himself.
"Alright – do you remember the plan?"
"Yes," Mary responded simply.
Gabriel wasn't going to waste time confirming that. He had faith. "See you on the other side."
She nodded and took off.
III
"Harry!"
"Harry!"
Harry could hear the voices but he was having some difficulty moving. He was unsurprised to see his brothers dashing towards him.
Dean reached him first, crouching down next to him to check up on him.
He grabbed Harry's face to examine the blood.
"Ouch," Harry said.
"Oh, thank god," Dean said. "He's alive," he informed Sam.
Sam didn't have the chance to express his gratefulness for that. "Stay back!" He barked.
Harry looked up. Behind his younger brother was the same crowd that had been at the gates. A camera flashed.
"Accio," Sam said, summoning it. "Get the fuck away!" He shouted, pointing his wand at the crowd.
"We've got to get you out of here," Dean said to Harry, trying to help him get up.
"Wait – " Harry said. "Jack – the children…"
"We sent Jack back to the Bunker. Everyone else is fine," Dean said. "Some of the teachers were a bit banged up, but she didn't kill anyone."
"Not yet, at least," Harry said, laughing in relief, but that hurt his ribs and his laughter turned into a cough.
"We've got to stop meeting like this," Dean commented.
"No kidding. Help me up," he said.
Dean didn't argue, just stood himself and offered Harry a hand, which he gladly took to get to his feet. He groaned in pain.
"Harry!" Sam said, instantly at his side.
"I'm fine," Harry hissed through the pain. "Really."
"Uh-huh, well, we'd feel a lot better once we see what's under all that blood," Dean said. "Can you fly?"
"I – uh, think so," Harry said. "But I should talk to the Aurors first."
"No," Sam said. He was still standing in a defensive position in front of the two of them, glaring down at anyone who dared come too close for comfort.
"Yes," Harry disagreed.
"Harry, you look like shit," Dean said. "I don't think now is the best time…"
"It may be my only shot for a second. I'll tell you more when there are fewer people, but I need you to trust me."
"If we hadn't've trusted you, you wouldn't look like this now."
"And a lot of people would be dead," Harry said. "Just give me five minutes," he pleaded.
Dean rolled his eyes.
"Get Paulson," Harry said. "I know him."
"Fine," he went to where Sam was standing holding back the crowd that was talking amongst themselves and craning their necks trying to get a glimpse at Harry. "PAULSON!" Dean shouted. "And ONLY PAULSON."
A wiry wizard in an Auror uniform made his way to the front of the crowd. "You Paulson?" Sam asked him. He nodded. "Harry'll talk to you."
The man didn't waste any time moving beyond the tallest Winchester to where Harry and Dean were standing.
"Potter!" He said in astonishment. "Are you alright? Do you need me to…"
Harry shook his head. "No, please just listen. I can't stay long. But that woman – that demon, was Gormlaith Gaunt. She's hellbent on destroying the wizarding world. I need you to get as many people on high alert as possible. I'm working on a guide for warding and sigils to protect against demons."
"A demon shouldn't've been able to enter the grounds," Paulson insisted. "And witches can't become demons."
"Couldn't," Harry said. "Look, I'm not gonna waste time trying to convince you. But if you want to keep people safe, you'll act, and act quickly."
"We're spread too thin!" He pushed. "There is no way…"
"Nothing I can do about that. But it's just going to get worse. I'll do what I can for my part, but you have to act. And now."
"What do I say to the press…"
"I don't give a fuck," Harry said. "And I'm not your commanding officer, in any case. I'll get on Hermione."
"Come on Potter, none of this makes sense. If the Men of…"
"That's all the time you get, buddy," Dean said, interrupting. "Let's go, Harry," he said to his brother, who he could tell desperately needed medical attention.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. Get Sam for me, won't you."
"SAM!" Dean shouted. He trotted over to them. Harry put a hand on his arm and one on Dean's and flew away.
III
When they landed in the Bunker, Harry stumbled over to a chair and collapsed into it.
"Harry!" Jack shouted. He ran over to them from where he had been waiting. He immediately put two fingers on Harry's head to try and heal him.
The bruises disappeared, but the gashes remained in place.
Jack tried again.
Nothing changed.
"He's still bleeding!" Dean exclaimed.
"We can all see that," Harry said dryly.
Dean grabbed his face and started examining it. "I think this is gonna need stitches. Sam – go get the kit."
Harry batted him off. "I'm fine, Dean, it'll heal on its own. Stop coddling me."
Sam had already left the room.
"Jack – go get me a rag and some water from the kitchen," Dean said, ignoring Harry's protests.
Jack, feeling a bit helpless after failing to heal Harry, ran off.
"What is your pain level on a scale from one to ten?"
Harry laughed.
"I'm serious! What's your pain level?" Dean demanded. Harry couldn't stop cracking up. "What the hell, man?"
"I'd say that it's a five – maybe a four. After getting hit with the Cruciatus curse, nothing hurts much," Harry finally managed to get out between his somewhat hysterical laughing. "Mate – you sound just like Dad that time Jody brought me back to Bobby's."
"I do not," Dean protested, finally remembering what was making Harry laugh so much. He had begun to wonder if Harry had a concussion before that.
Jack came back from the kitchen, and Dean went to work cleaning off Harry's face.
"Shit, I don't think we have any lidocaine," Dean said, worried because the gash was deep.
"Got it here," Sam said, coming back into the room. "I restocked last month."
"Great – what took you so long?"
"I was getting the needles ready," Sam explained.
"Come on – that's not necessary," Harry complained. "It'll just heal on its own, give it some time. I don't have to hide that from you this time."
"This time?" Sam asked, also paying Harry's protests no mind.
"He thinks this is like the time that Dad stitched him up from the werewolf attack."
"Oh – it is, kinda," Sam said, after considering for a moment.
"And you didn't have to hide it then. You told us that you hadn't learned any healing spells yet," Dean said, his memory of that time sharper than many of his other childhood memories. Probably because they had been buried for so long.
"I hadn't," Harry said. "I haven't thought about that night in ages. Dad was a fit to be tied."
"Yeah, because you got yourself attacked by a werewolf!" Dean said, beginning to stitch the skin together.
Harry winced.
"And you brought the police down on us," Sam said. "He never liked that. Although – I wonder if we could have clued Jody in on what she knows now how much heartache we could have saved her."
"I forgot that was Jody," Dean said while concentrating. "Alright – I think that about does it."
"Great. Can I have some whiskey now please?"
Sam soundlessly handed him a glass.
"Thanks," Harry said, a little surprised.
"Alright – now. Let's talk about that thing," Dean said.
"It was a demon wizard, right?" Sam asked, not having gotten a good look before they had whisked Harry away.
"Demon witch, actually," Harry supplied. "A nasty one too. Jack – was everyone in the castle alright?"
"I already told you that they were," Dean said.
"The demon-witch said that she wouldn't hurt any of them until you were there to witness it," Jack said. "Why did she want to talk to you, Harry?"
Harry glanced at Sam and Dean, wondering if they should have this conversation with Jack in the room.
"Even if you send me away, I'll be able to hear you," Jack snapped, quickly deducing what the look was about.
"Oh, he's an eavesdropper, now? What did you teach the kid while you were away?"
"Not that," Harry said. "We've got to find a way to get into Limbo," he said, deciding that there really was no point in trying to keep Jack out of it.
"Great," Dean said, sarcastically, "it's not like we haven't been trying that since the rift closed."
"Gormlaith…"
"Gesundheit," Dean said.
Harry glared at him. "Gormlaith – the demon-witch, told me that Lucifer has Mom," he explained. "And that if we didn't open the rift and let him through, that she was going to destroy the wizarding world. I'm going to go talk to Hermione in a moment, but I think she meant it."
"That means Mom is alive," Sam said.
"Or that someone wants us to think that she is," Dean supplied, running his hand through his hair. "Ok. Maybe Cas kicked something up in Heaven. Or – Jack?"
Everyone turned to him.
"What?"
"You opened the rift before," Dean said.
"And your grasp on your abilities seems better," Sam continued for Dean.
"I – I don't know," Jack said, looking to Harry for support. "I mean – maybe?"
"Why don't you give it a try now?"
"Jack – don't," Harry said.
"What? You're the one who just said…"
"I know what I said. But maybe we should plan before we go?"
"Woah, maybe you do have brain damage," Dean said. "You want to make a plan?"
"Shut up," Harry retorted. "We should go as soon as possible. I'm going to go talk to Hermione and then get Sirius. If Cas isn't back by then, we may need to go without him."
"Sirius?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time.
"Yeah, he's the only one of us who has spent a significant amount of time there," Harry reasoned. "He may be our best asset."
Sam and Dean dared not look at each other. They had both privately wondered how they were going to get Harry to agree to bring Sirius with them to Limbo, but it appeared to not be a problem. They were both so unused to things going in their favor, especially when Harry was involved, that it was hard to conceal how pleased they were.
"Fine," Dean agreed, trying to sound a bit grudging. "But I'm giving you five hours. If you're not back by then, we're going without you."
"We won't," Sam contradicted Dean. "But go – quickly."
Harry could see an argument brewing, but before he had to deal with it, he took off. He needed to get as many British witches and wizards safe as possible.
III
He found her on the continent, not at home.
About a dozen wands were pointed at him when he flew into the room where she was.
"FREEZE!" Someone shouted while others fired spells.
They all bounced off him.
"STOP!" Hermione yelled. "It's Harry."
"How'd he get in here?"
"The wards should've prevented…"
"That's not possible…"
"EVERYONE QUIET," Harry shouted.
Everyone quieted down. "Hermione – we've got to get back to Britain. Right now."
"Wait – Harry," Hermione said. "This is a meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards."
Harry looked around for the first time. No wonder everyone had freaked out when he appeared, this was supposed to be one of the most protected places in the world.
"My apologies," he said, glancing around the room. "But I'm afraid that I don't have time to speak with you now. I'm in a bit of a pinch."
"Harry," Hermione admonished. "This is your chance. We just got the news that you saved everyone at Ilvermorny, but…"
Harry didn't let her finish the sentence. He just put his hand on her arm and flew them to her house in the UK.
"Oomph," she said when they landed. "Harry! That was not necessary."
"It was. We've got to get the entire population of wizarding Britain to Hogwarts. Is the emergency alert system I set up still in operation?"
"Yes, it is, of course, we just have to…"
Before she could finish her sentence, he once again whisked her away. This time to the Ministry.
III
"I don't know if I can continue," Sirius panted as he pulled yet another vial of blood from his veins. He was feeling faint.
"This should be the last one, come on, mutt, you've got to…" Crowley was having trouble forming words himself. He could once again feel the demon seeping out of his soul. It was…painful. Not just physically – these days his whole body was just one big ache. But emotionally. He stopped himself from what he really wanted. To cry out for his mother.
He hadn't done that since he was a human child. Not that it had done any good.
With a grunt, Sirius removed the needle from his arm.
To Crowley's satisfaction, there was a faint trace of grace in the syringe. He wondered if the wizard noticed or if he was too physically weak.
He also wondered if the angelic grace-suppressing wards were beginning to affect Sirius. They had been tricky to come by. Of course, it was his mother who had started the research.
It had been how she had been able to break into Hogwarts all those years ago.
She hadn't realized the full potential but Crowley had taken it a step past what she had been capable of.
Would she be proud of him?
He wanted that so badly that he had to hold back a snort. His mother didn't feel pride in anyone but herself.
Sirius took the needle and inserted it into Crowley's neck. He wasn't very strong, so it was slow and painful.
Magic. Angelic magic, that is, hit Crowley's veins for the first time.
And, suddenly the world became a little clearer.
III
"Harry – even if we could convince everyone to go, I don't think that Hogwarts can physically hold this many people," Hermione argued with her best friend.
"Who said anything about convincing?" Harry responded as he poured over census data. "What I'm most worried about right now is the underaged Muggleborns. We don't have time to talk to their parents, but we can't also bring in an influx of Muggles onto Hogwarts grounds. That would be too many people."
"Are you suggesting a mass kidnapping of magical children?" That was insane, even for Harry. And, morally speaking, it was beyond the gray area.
"Kidnapping is a bit of a strong term," Harry replied. "Do you track them?"
Hermione huffed. "No. That would be highly unethical. If there is an instance of magic that comes to our attention, we start a file on the child. But you know that not all children show magic strongly enough to be known before the Hogwarts quill catches wind of them."
Harry frowned. "We should get Luna and Charlie in here. They were able to track angels through the map table in the Bunker, maybe they could also…"
"If it's as urgent as you say, we've not got the time," Hermione said.
"Right. Of course. You know, my brothers have said that angels can time travel, maybe I can…"
"I think we've learned the dangers of that," Hermione said flatly. "Be realistic, Harry."
Harry was having a difficult time with that. All of this was his fault. Well, maybe not all of it, but his involvement was far too much for him to take a backseat while innocent people were getting killed. "How big do you reckon the wizarding population of Great Britain is?" He asked, changing tactics.
"The wars lessoned our numbers considerably," Hermione replied. "And, of course, not everyone responds, even with the financial penalties. I'd say that we've got around 2,500 total."
"Surely Hogwarts could manage that," Harry said, thinking of the dorms. "Even with the students there for term. We could pitch tents if need be."
"It would be chaos," Hermione said.
"Yeah. But it's better than the entire population being violently killed."
Hermione couldn't argue with that. "Alright. I'll get the word out. But legally, I cannot force people to go, you know that right?"
"I know," Harry huffed. He was annoyed that Hermione was worried about laws when there were lives on the line. But he supposed that was her job. "And I'll do what I can. I'm going to start with the Weasleys and get them all to Hogwarts – but I've only got about four more hours before I have to be back at the Bunker to go to Limbo with Sam and Dean."
Hermione didn't like that plan one bit, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was very worried that Harry was going to do something monumentally stupid to make this happen. Being intimately familiar with how fickle the wizarding public was she had to think of the potential consequences. She was pretty sure that when this was all over, she was going to retire – forced or not, but she didn't want to see the damage that the entire wizarding world turning their backs on Harry would look like for him.
"I can't require everyone to go – but I can mandate that everyone who works for the Ministry helps," she said, thinking quickly. Over half of the wizarding population had a family member that worked at the Ministry, so that should take care of a large part of the people they needed.
"Good, good," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.
An aide came running into the room. "We've got the first five hundred portkeys prepared, Minister," he said in a clipped tone. "And the next shift is here to make the rest. Wizarding Wireless is just waiting for you to arrive."
"Thanks, Belby," Hermione said.
"Anything else you need from me?" Harry asked her, anxious to get out and get to work.
"I've got it from here."
"Brilliant. If you need anything – ring me. Or pray." He was off.
Hermione gave herself to the count of three before she straightened up and headed to the press room.
III
"Cas!" Dean called out, surprised to see his friend return.
"Dean, Sam, Jack," he said nodding to each of them.
"How'd it go?" Dean asked, not wasting any time on pleasantries as soon as Castiel was at the bottom of the stairs.
"Heaven – it's not great," Castiel explained. "They cannot help us. Not yet, at least."
"Can't or won't?" Sam asked, astutely.
"Both," Castiel said. "Our numbers – they've shrunk to the point that I worry that if we can't get Gabriel back, Heaven will fall."
"What would that even mean?" Sam looked very alarmed.
"Nothing good," Dean answered for Cas. "But we can't worry about that right now. Cas – Jack thinks that he can open the door to Limbo."
Cas looked to Jack, who gave him a slight smile.
"What are you waiting on, then?"
"Harry," Dean replied. "There was an incident at Ilvermorny. He met a demon-witch who said that she would kill every witch and wizard in the UK if we didn't get the rift open and let Lucifer through. He's rallying the forces back home, collecting the mutt, and then coming back here."
Castiel was honestly surprised that Dean was willing to wait that long.
"He should be back in a couple of hours," Sam said, seeing Cas' confusion. "Dean said we'd leave without him if he wasn't back in time."
That made more sense.
"Jack – are you truly up to this?"
"I think so," Jack said. "I – I feel stronger."
Castiel gave him a side-long glance. Not long before, Harry had his grace extracted. He knew that it had weakened the man. And it should have weakened Jack as well.
Always more questions.
"So, what's the plan? Let Lucifer back into this world?"
"No, of course not," Sam frowned. "Harry is working on securing witches and wizards. We plan to rescue our mom, so there are no more hostages, and get Gabriel back if he's alive. Hopefully Jack can close the rift as well as he can open it and we leave Lucifer and his demon army there."
"That's not going to work!"
"Why the hell not?" Dean demanded.
"Because they've already figured out ways into our world. I think – I think that we're going to have to sacrifice another life to close it, permanently. And that life should be mine."
"No!" Sam, Dean, and Jack all shouted at once.
"We're not gonna let you do that, Cas," Dean said.
Castiel looked down. There was no point in arguing with Dean, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't do what needed to be done to protect Jack and his friends.
"We'll find another way, Cas," Sam assured him. From his tone, Castiel could tell that they already had formed this other plan. And he was very worried about what that was if he wasn't speaking it right now.
"You know, it'll probably be another hour or so before Harry is back," Sam said, carefully, looking at Dean. "Why don't you go show Cas what we found in the stuff from Asmodeus' hideaway."
Dean understood immediately. "Yeah, come with me," he said to the angel.
Castiel was pretty sure that he had thoroughly combed through all the literature, and he couldn't imagine what Dean and Sam had found that he hadn't. But he still followed closely behind.
He was surprised when they went to Dean's room.
"You kept the books in here?" He asked, surprised, because Dean was very particular about what he kept in his room, and research was rarely something that he liked to keep there.
"No, of course not, I just wanted to get you separate from Jack."
Castiel may be slow on the uptake sometimes, but he immediately understood why they were here. "What is the plan, then? And why won't you share it with Jack?"
"'Cause we don't want word getting back to Harry," Dean explained.
Castiel's heart constricted a little bit. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like whatever he was about to hear.
"Look – we've been reading about the ritual. And the sacrifice doesn't call for blood, specifically, it calls for a life."
"These things are not usually open to interpretation," Castiel frowned.
"Right. But since when have we cared about that? Look, we've got to close off Limbo forever. And we sure as hell ain't going to give up one of our lives to do so. But Harry is on his way to get his asshat of a godfather to come with us…"
"No, Dean," Castiel said, shaking his head. "You can't kill him."
"I can do whatever the hell I want," Dean hissed back. "But that's not the plan. We don't plan on killin' him – Harry might never forgive us if we do that. We plan to bind him to Limbo. So, in essence, giving life to the spell. He'd still be alive – just stuck."
"With Lucifer and the demon wizards."
"Well, yeah."
"So, you're as good as killing him."
"But we're not killing him ourselves. If he does happen to get killed, that should only strengthen the spell."
"You cannot be serious." Castiel couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Dead," Dean smirked at the pun.
"Are you determined to hurt Harry? Why do you think any of this would be acceptable?"
"It's not about Harry," he said, a little too quickly. "Look, even he knows that the man is bad news. He kicked him out of the Bunker. It's only a matter of time before he comes around and realizes that we're all better off without him."
"Can you hear yourself? You and Sam have concocted some stupid and reckless plans over the years, but this is one of your worst."
Dean was taken aback. "I thought that you of all people…"
"You thought I would think that killing one of the people that Harry loves most in the world would be a good idea?"
"He murdered you!"
"Yes, he did. And I'm not sure that I didn't deserve that. Frankly, I'm surprised that neither you nor Sam attempted to kill me for what I did." It was the first time that he was having this conversation with Dean. But he had wondered, for years, why they had embraced him back in their lives. "Does Harry mean that little to you?"
"Don't you dare," Dean said, pointing a finger in his face. "You have no right to talk about what Harry means to us. You're the one who…"
"I know what I did. And I've done what I could to try and atone."
"Right, like forming a super-secret Harry 'n Cas club at Hogwarts?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't think that I haven't noticed how suddenly you and he are BFFs. Which, is pretty fucked up, if you think about it Castiel considering what you've done…"
"You didn't seem to care what I did until now!" Castiel fumed. "When I know, for a fact, that if that had been Sam, I would have been dead long before Sirius could emerge from Limbo to do it himself."
"Screw you, Cas." Dean stormed off.
Castiel sighed. He hadn't meant to hit that below the belt. And he had also prescribed to don't-talk-about-Harry for years, so he was just as guilty as Dean in that regard.
Silently, he reached out to Harry via angel radio. 'Harry – it might be best if you don't bring Sirius Black back to the Bunker with you.'
He could feel confusion on the other end, but Harry didn't respond. Castiel only hoped that heeded his advice.
III
Harry didn't have time to think about the implications of Castiel's message. He was currently going door-to-door in a small wizarding village located just outside Norwich.
"Merlin," a young, pre-Hogwarts age, boy, said when he opened the door. "MUM – Harry Potter's at the door."
"That's nonsense, Nathan," a woman said. She looked up. "Merlin," she said in the same tone as her son. "That's Harry bloody Potter."
"Ma'am," Harry said. "I don't know if you heard on the wireless, but we're currently…"
"I heard," she said. "I think it's utter nonsense. Demons? Attacking witches and wizards? That's preposterous. Demons don't bother us and we don't bother them." She grasped her son and pulled him closer to her.
"I assure you, this is a grave and imminent threat, we just want everyone to be safe," he strived for a tone somewhere between stern and pleading. The plea over the wireless had been more successful than they had ever imagined it would be. Currently, about 85% of the population was either already at Hogwarts or in transit. But in these smaller communities, people could be stubborn. "Please, for the safety of your son."
"Don't you talk like you know what's best for my son," she said. "You know, I've been considering not even sending him to Hogwarts. Filled with all the wrong sorts these days."
Harry did his best to keep his temper in check. It was easier than usual because he was exhausted. He turned to the kid. "Nathan, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter sir," he said with, wide eyes.
"How'd you like to go to Hogwarts a little early?"
"Really?"
"Hey now…" the mother started. Harry ignored her.
"Yes, there will be lots of kids your age there."
"I'd really, really, really, like that. Mum, can we go?"
He gave his mother puppy eyes that put Sam's to shame. She sighed.
"I still think that you are blowing this way out of proportion," she said. "Go back a bag, Nate."
Harry smiled. "I've got a portkey right here for you," he handed her a mug from the Bunker. He hoped Sam and Dean wouldn't mind, but he had grabbed several (not magical in any way) items on his way out. Even though he could tell that the mother was possibly a flight risk, he didn't have the time to sit and watch to make sure that they went. He just had to have faith that they would.
III
"Welcome – where is your primary residence located?" Ginny asked for about the millionth time. She and Hannah had organized the DA into positions to help with the flow of people arriving and keeping the peace. Never one to simply supervise she had eagerly jumped into the role of welcoming people at the gates. She was a familiar face to many of them, which helped ease some of those who, she was beginning to suspect Harry had strong-armed, into coming here.
"Cotswolds," the man responded in an equally clipped tone.
"Lovely. You're in the green zone," she handed him an enchanted piece of parchment. "If you follow the path up towards the castle, you'll get further instructions."
"Green? Like Slytherin?" He said with disgust.
Ginny suppressed an eyeroll. For Merlin's sake, this man appeared to be in his late forties. House division should hardly matter at this point in his life.
"You'll find that it's more of a lime green," she said.
"You better not be putting me and mine in the dungeons…I don't want anything associated with those…"
"Don't worry, sir," she said, cutting him off. "We've run out of space in the dormitories, you'll not be staying in the castle at all. Please, there is a queue behind you."
He huffed but moved along as she asked.
"Primary residence location?" She asked the next as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm here to relieve you," Angelina whispered in her ear, "Hermione said that they expect Harry back any minute and want to be sure that you're there to speak with him before he goes back to America."
"Thank you," Ginny said, not wanting to miss the meeting. "Do you have – "
Angelina lifted her hand to show the color-coded map of Hogwarts. "And we've made a couple of changes, so now is a good time to change up the redirecting a bit. Don't worry, I've got this."
Ginny smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Angelina," she said, before nodding to the family she had been about to speak with, grabbing her broom, and flying back up to the castle.
III
"Did it work?" Sirius asked, unable to move from where he was laying on the sofa in the chamber that he supposed was Crowley's room. He felt exhaustion down to his bones. Like he needed to sleep for the next fifty years or so. He hadn't felt this rundown since Azkaban – and other than missing the crippling depression that had come from the Dementors, this was the worst he had ever felt in his life.
Crowley stood slowly. His legs – they felt different. Heavy? Everything felt different. Before, he had been a malignant being possessing the body of a long-dead publishing agent. Now, when he flexed his fingers, they were truly – his. He could feel the pain from where he had injected himself with blood. It was possibly the best thing he had felt in his life.
"It worked," he breathed, hardly believing the words. Even though he could feel the vibrations the sound made in his throat. "I – I'm human." He laughed. He felt joy. Not sick pleasure. Not the smug pleasure of victory. True, unbridled happiness filled his entire being. The constant pain that had gurgled up as anger, hate, and malice, was gone. Crowley – King of Hell, was no more. He was just a human. And a more handsome human than he had been the first time around.
There was something else there. Something a little…electric, under his skin. A side effect that he had barely hoped for and may not come to fruition, but there was a small spark. He was sorely tempted to try it out. He had even prepared for that moment, but he remembered who was in the room with him and he squashed that down.
Sirius Black was the only witness to this miraculous transformation. The beautiful man that Crowley had picked so very carefully had done his job. He was currently looking a bit pale and out of it, but somehow, with human eyes, he was even more handsome.
"Thank you," Crowley said, truly meaning it for the first time in a very long time. "Thank you – you saved me."
Sirius looked at him with a single eyebrow raised. "I did my bit, now you do yours."
"What bit is that?" Crowley honestly couldn't think of it.
"Closing the Gates of Hell," Sirius said. "You said – if you used my blood and cured yourself, it'd close the bloody Gates of Hell. Are they closed?"
"Well, no," Crowley started.
Sirius looked betrayed. Had he been tricked? He started to straighten himself up.
"Not yet! They will be, just – give me a moment to enjoy this. You can't possibly understand just how amazing this feels."
Sirius reached for his wand and stood up with great difficulty, ready to curse this arsehole seven ways to Hell if he didn't do as he said he would.
"Come on, mate, there's no need for that," Crowley said. "You helped me." Then he did something that neither one of them could have predicted. He threw his arms around the British wizard and squeezed. "I think you may be my very best friend."
Sirius weakly pushed him away. "Don't say that."
"Why ever not? This wouldn't've been possible without you. I wasn't even sure that it would be possible with you, but Bi.." Crowley shook his head and quickly corrected, "Kevin Tran – he really knew his shit. Oh, I can't wait to tell the little nerd that he was right!" He laughed.
Sirius had no idea what the man in front of him was saying, but his feeling of unease was growing. He had thought would be as weak as he currently was. He thought this was going to hurt the demon. But he seemed – well better than he had ever been before.
"Who is Kevin Tran?" He asked, not sure that he even wanted the answer. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get back to Harry – to warn him.
"Oh, he was this Prophet…you know, it doesn't matter," Crowley said with a frown. "What does matter is that we finished what we started. Sorry, Black, I know that you're not feeling your best, but it's a time we get the move on."
"To closing the gates?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Crowley said. "I – I learned the incantation, but now…" he feigned trying to remember. He knew it, of course, he wouldn't be able to forget it if he had tried, but he didn't know what would happen when he said it. And he wasn't ready to give up his humanity just yet.
Before Sirius could say anything more, the doors of the chamber crashed open.
"Sire – we felt…" The demon in front of him stopped in his tracks. "Your majesty?" he asked, looking at Crowley as if he had never seen him before.
"Drax, right," Crowley said. Crowley had never been a big fan of his minion demons. They were useful, from time to time, but they were usually more trouble than they were worth. Always scheming. Never trustworthy, even when they were scared out of their minds. But looking at the demon that he would have called the closest to trustworthy as possible, he felt something other than casual annoyance. He loathed this man. Something about him seemed…abhorrent. An affront to nature itself. He was dirty. He was evil.
Before he had a chance to act on any of these feelings, he found himself soaring through the air. Thrust into the wall on the opposite side of the room.
"You're not Crowley!" The demon growled as he advanced on the newly healed human soul. "I will kill you and hand you over to the King as a reward."
Winded by the impact, Crowley stumbled to his feet. "I've always known you were a moron, Drax, but…"
Demon magic knocked him flat on his back again. He supposed this was some sort of divine retribution, but he didn't like it.
He reached up on the wall, where he had several weapons hanging, grabbing the first one that his hand landed on – a dagger of some sort, ready to attack when the demon was hit from behind. The glow under his skin indicated that was deadly as he fell forward.
Behind him, Sirius Black was standing, holding an angelblade.
"These things really come in handy," he mused. He went over to where Crowley was still sprawled on the floor, and he held out his hand. "I think it's time we got the fuck out of here."
Crowley accepted the hand, stood, and brushed himself off. He was strangely touched by the heroic save by the handsome band. He could feel flutters in his heart that he had long thought dead. "Thank you," he said for the second time.
"You are human, aren't you?"
Sirius pulled out the portkey he had swiped from the Bunker before he left. It wouldn't take them into the Bunker – the new wards were far too strong for that. But it would get them to the nearby town. He closed his hand around Crowley's arm and whisked them off.
III
"These numbers are better than I could have ever expected," Hermione was reporting to a small council that had gathered in the Headmistress's office as Ginny arrived. Almost every other space in the castle was spoken for. Every available Ministry department was currently hard at work and the Department of Games and Sports was currently heading the effort of setting up tents on the ground.
"What are they?" Ginny asked as she joined the small circle that included not only Hermione and Ron but also the department heads of several branches of the Ministry. But no Harry yet.
"We have checked in 1,900 witches and wizards," Hermione said. "Which does not include the Muggle and Squib parents and families of minors."
"How many people does that make in total that we have on Hogwarts grounds?" McGonagall asked.
"When I got this report twenty minutes ago, over 3000. Including the students, faculty, and staff."
"And what of magical creatures?" The Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures asked. Ginny couldn't recall his name.
"We have alerted all the communities that we have official channels with," Hermione said. "And the Scamanders are currently working on reaching out to those who are more evasive. Newt himself assured me that the magical creatures have magic strong enough to protect themselves. But the centaurs have also designated special spaces for any creatures seeking refuge here. The Forbidden Forest is completely off limits to everyone but Hagrid."
That seemed to appease the middle-aged man.
"How many more are you expecting?" another department head asked.
"Less than 600," Hermione replied. "And that's only if we get 100 percent compliance, which, as we've discussed, seems unlikely."
"And the wards?"
"We've got Bill Weasley and his human team from Gringotts working on them. The goblins have insisted that their security is stronger than anything we could provide and will not be joining us all here at Hogwarts."
There was some relief in the room about that, which made Hermione frown a little. She had been working on improving the relations between Goblins and wizards. They weren't terribly fond of her because of the grand heist she, Harry, and Ron had pulled off during the war, but she had made strides to mend fences.
"And just how long do you think you can keep us all here?" The Head of the DMLE was not happy with the current status of things. Hermione suspected she'd have to fire him when this was all over.
As she was about to answer the door opened and Harry slipped inside.
"That will have to wait until the next meeting, Curtis," Hermione said. "I need half an hour – please check on your teams and be ready to report back on any problems when you report back here."
There was some grumbling, but when they saw Harry standing awkwardly in the back, that ceased and funneled out.
Everyone except McGonagall, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny left.
"I think I got as many as I could," Harry reported as soon as the coast of clear. "Celestina Warbeck's wireless announcement probably helped more than I did."
"I'm sure you did what you could, Harry," Hermione said. "What do you need before you leave?"
"Any word from the researchers?"
She shook her head. "No, but you may want to check in on them."
"No time," Harry said. "I'm already cutting it closer than I would like. Tell them to pray to me if they come up with anything useful."
"Will that work while you're in Limbo?" Ron asked.
"Probably not," Harry shrugged. He hadn't been able to get a hold of Gabriel, but he didn't know if that was because the Archangel was dead. He also hadn't heard anything from his mother, but Mary may not have thought of it.
"Harry, you've got to be careful," Hermione pleaded with him.
He sighed. "I'll do my best," he didn't want to promise anything.
"Not reassuring, mate," Ron said.
"Sam and Dean will be there with me," he tried.
"Still not better," Ginny chimed in.
"Just promise us no heroics?" Hermione asked. Harry knew exactly what she was asking and he couldn't even agree to that. Not really. If rescuing everyone required the same sort of sacrifice that it had before, he'd do it again. But he knew that wouldn't make his friends feel any better.
"I promise to try and find a different way," he ended up saying.
That wasn't the answer they wanted, but there was grim acceptance in the room.
"Mr. Potter, I will put you in detention for twenty years if you leave us in such a dramatic fashion again. A hundred if it takes until the afterlife to be able to accomplish it," McGonagall said seriously. "And that's nothing to speak of the house points I will remove from Gryffindor."
"That's not fair!" Harry and Ron said in one voice.
"Then come back to us," she said, not impressed.
"Yes, Professor," Harry acquiesced. He hesitated for a second. "I – "
"Don't you dare say goodbye, Harry James Potter," Ginny said.
He looked down. "I won't then. But – I love you all. Please know that."
"We do," Hermione said through tears.
He quickly hugged everyone in the room before flying away.
III
"How much time?" Sam asked Dean, who looked at his cell phone.
"Half an hour," he said grimly.
Sam's phone buzzed. "He's just left Hogwarts," he said.
"Good. Better get Jack ready."
"Yeah. You'll grab the packs?"
Dean nodded and headed towards his room where he had finished packing their supplies earlier.
Of course, Castiel was standing at the door, preventing him from entering.
"Cas…" he said with a warning in his voice. The look on the angel's face indicated that he was less-than-pleased with Dean. Which wasn't a surprise, but Dean didn't have the time right now.
"You can't do what you are planning, Dean," he said with intensity in his eyes.
"We're not discussing this," Dean tried to brush past Castiel and into the room. To his frustration, Castiel didn't budge. "You know I can just have Sam do his voodoo into the room if need be."
"You need to reconsider."
"No."
"Dean – "
"No, I don't have to listen to you on this. Look, we need a life. We don't know who we're gonna find on the other side of this, but we do know that Harry is bringing that evil son-of-a-bitch with him. It doesn't have to be him, but he won't suspect it, and we know he'll be there. Who knows? Maybe we'll find a way to free him and keep the rifts closed, but we need a plan and this is the best we've got. Now, move!"
Castiel reluctantly stepped aside. "Then I think that Jack and I should stay here."
"What? Are you crazy? We need the kid to reopen the rift so we can come back."
"Harry can do that."
"Can he?"
"If Jack can, so can he," Castiel said. "They have the same abilities."
Dean gave him a questioning look. Cas sighed.
"Harry didn't want me to tell you this, and I wouldn't have, except this situation calls for it. Harry and Jack's powers are linked. The reason that Harry didn't gain back his powers was that Jack wasn't confident enough in his abilities. Once he…"
"He started learning wizarding magic and Harry was able to apparate," Dean said, putting two and two together. He felt dumb for not realizing it earlier. "And Harry's known this all along?"
"Not the whole time, no. But for a while now."
"And he didn't tell us," Dean's heart sank.
"He didn't tell you."
"Are you telling me that he told Sam and not me? And Sam kept this from me?" Fury was starting to build in Dean's chest until he realized that Cas didn't know what he was talking about. He remembered before they had been called to Ilvermorny, that Harry had been saying something about Jack's magic and his. But with everything that had happened, he hadn't had the chance to finish. Harry did trust them.
"No, he didn't tell either of you. But that's because he knew Sam wouldn't keep it from you. He was worried about what you would do to Jack if you found out."
Dean took several deep breaths at this new accusation. Yeah, the kid wasn't his favorite. But it hadn't taken him that long to realize that they weren't – and shouldn't kill him. Sure, he didn't want him coddled but…
"Fine. You stay here with the Antichrist, I don't care." He went about adding a couple of items to the bags, ignoring Cas so completely that the angel eventually just left the room.
III
Harry didn't fly immediately to the United States, although he probably should have. He needed a moment so he went to the one place that he thought would have no activity, seeing as everyone was quite busy trying to organize the influx of people on Hogwarts grounds.
Dumbledore's grave site.
The White Tomb had been repaired after the war, of course. They also made an addition to it when they unveiled it for the second time. The name of every witch, wizard, and creature who had died during the fight with Voldemort was engraved on the sides.
They were simply listed in alphabetical order – to give no one person more importance than any other. Harry himself had insisted on that.
He had known many of those listed, of course. But some were people he had never had the pleasure to meet. At least not on Earth. With a sad smile, he silently traced Hedwig's name where it was engraved.
Of course, he had spent hundreds of years with his beloved pet when he had been in Heaven, but somehow, even that wasn't enough time. A sharp pain of grief struck him, taking him by surprise.
You might be seeing her sooner rather than later, he thought to himself. There was some comfort in that thought for him.
Harry was reeling over the conversation he had just had in the Headmistress's Office. How had they known? He thought that he was hiding it so well this time.
He could recognize the miserable person he had been shortly before he had sacrificed himself. Shortly was probably a bit generous, if he was being honest with himself. He had been a barely functioning alcoholic with the coping skills of a child. He had hurt people – his friends, his family, and his brothers.
While he still succumbed to a glass of whiskey or a beer every once in a while, he curtailed it. He had wanted to be present. That's what everyone around him deserved, especially after everything he had put them through.
He thought he had successfully worn a mask. But it seemed like his friends had seen straight through it.
Because they weren't wrong about his intentions.
It had been hard work, but Harry had spent a lot of time in Gabriel's secret library at Hogwarts, and he had found what he needed to permanently sever the connection between Limbo and Earth.
And he had what it would take. But it would take all that he had.
His one sticking point had been Jack. Their connection.
It was deeply theoretical, but Harry was pretty sure that he had figured that out as well. It was actually Billie that had given him the final piece in that puzzle. "I have no issues with your continued existence as long as there is a Yin to your Yang."
Well, he had a solution to that one. It was inelegant, but it should work. And he thought Gabriel would be pretty pleased with it if he were still alive.
Harry shook his head and refocused on those who had fallen.
As he walked to the other side to pay his respects to those listed there, he was startled by a second tomb.
It wasn't pure white like Dumbledore's. It was startlingly the opposite. If he wasn't mistaken it was…
"Pure onyx – I thought it rather dramatic myself," a voice said.
Harry jumped and looked around wildly.
Before his eyes he saw the air swirl and where there had been no one, now stood Death. Not Billie. The one that Harry had known.
"You're dead," Harry said.
The entity gave him a wry smile. "Never could get anything past you, could I?" His eyes sparkled slightly.
"I don't…"
"I assure you I am very much, oh how would one of your brothers charmingly put it? Dead as a doornail."
"Then how…"
"You summoned me," he said.
Harry had no idea what Death was talking about.
"Alright, maybe not explicitly, but you've been contemplating death and I just merely took advantage. I've missed you, my friend."
"I just – I don't understand," Harry couldn't comprehend what was happening here in the slightest. "Dean said he killed you."
"And indeed, he did. I believe that you've met my charming replacement? I always did like that Billie – a bit of a stickler on the rules, but she has such presence," he paused for a second, "I'm not sure that any of the other reapers would have brought the same je ne sais quoi quality to the position."
"You – but…"
"Perhaps it would be easier for you to know that I am, for a lack of a better term, retired. Forcibly so, perhaps, but that is neither here nor there."
"You wouldn't go to Heaven or, er, Hell? Limbo or Purgatory?"
"Harry, I am older than the universe itself, those places have no sort of hold on me. I simply – returned to the universe as it was before it was created. Since you're…you, I was able to channel your thoughts to return to this plane. For a short time, of course."
Harry still did not understand but he wasn't sure that it mattered. He hadn't even realized it himself, but he had been thinking of Death quite often. "Are you an omen then? Is my borrowed time coming close to an end?"
"Borrowed?"
Harry's expression was a perfect recreation of one of Sam's bitch faces. "I think you and I both know that I don't belong here anymore. I thought for a moment – I thought that I could just come back into everyone's lives without destroying the fabric of the universe. But I was wrong, wasn't I?"
Death fixed him with a look. "And just when I thought you were beginning to recognize your worth."
"This isn't about my worth," Harry snapped.
"Isn't it? I'm beginning to suspect that you've taken the wrong message from your past sacrifice. You didn't have to die, my friend. As Sam and Dean are so fond of proving over and over again, there is always another way."
"But at what cost?"
"Again, speaking in terms of worth. The universe must exist in balance, yes, but it has a way of working itself out."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"I know, Harry. Do you know why, when we spoke that final time, I gave you safe passage to the afterlife?"
Harry's face screwed up. It was a hard time for him to think about. He had been in so much pain. And he had wanted so desperately to do what was right. It should have been a hard choice, but it hadn't been. "Choice," Harry said. "You left it up to me, although that seemed pretty bloody stupid to me. I'm hardly known for my strong decision-making skills. Gryffindor, through and through," he tried to joke.
"You're not entirely wrong," Death hedged. "In your life, you have had so many choices made for you that it was imperative that you were given governance at that moment. You deserved nothing less. But it wasn't just my faith in your abilities to make up your own mind. You needed a rest, my friend. You had carried the world on your shoulders for far too long. If you had chosen to stay, nothing would have changed and your exhaustion would have led to your ultimate destruction."
"Then I shouldn't have come back." And it won't hurt for me to leave again.
"No," Death said simply. "You got what you needed. Harry – you've changed. You've always had a great capacity for love, that much is true, but I've been watching and you've grown. I think, for the first time, you may be ready to love even the most difficult person of all."
"Jack?" Harry guessed. "I know that he's Lucifer's son, but, really…"
"Not Jack," Death interrupted. "You, Harry. I think that you may finally be ready to love yourself. And, my friend, that is everything. You have a big battle coming, I know. And there may be sacrifices. There may be death. I do not know – it's not my job to know that anymore. But you've already armed yourself with the greatest armor you need to make it through. You are worth it."
With that, Death disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.
AN – Y'all weren't expecting that cameo, were you? I couldn't resist. There may be a couple more surprise returns before we get to the end of this, but I think this one is my favorite.
Don't me for the number of wizards in the UK. I know that JKR once said there were 1,000 students at Hogwarts, but that math just does not compute based on the number of characters we see. In my headcanon the number is more like 250 – 300. If that's the population of 11 – 18 year olds in the UK and Ireland it doesn't make sense for the wizarding world to be particularly big.
Most of the set-up for the ending has now been established – so please be prepared as this ride is about to really gain momentum and move. Buckle in tight, it's gonna get bumpy. Mind the tags, please.
In one of my responses to a comment, I confirmed that this story might have more chapters than originally planned. I'm still moving things around to see if I can fit this whole thing in 50 chapters without some of those chapters being 30k in length. I might have to budge on that one, but I think I'm actually going to finish writing this whole thing before the end of the month, which is crazy.
For the ff dot net crowd – I haven't heard from any of y'all since chapter 43, which feels odd. Of course, none of you owe me anything, but I hope I haven't lost everyone!
Thank you so much to everyone still reading. I am grateful for every view I get and beyond thrilled to read your thoughts. (I've dropped some pretty big hints in this chapter – did y'all catch them?) I will see you next week!