Unfound
Chapter Forty-Eight
Gormlaith shouted in frustration.
She allowed her magic – a combination of demon and wizarding, to bubble up under her skin and burst out through her fingers, tearing to shreds the room she had apparated herself to.
Her Master – Lucifer, had hand-picked her for this mission. Had allowed her to reemerge on Earth before even he did. She was meant to prepare for his return.
And she had failed him.
Instead of opening the rift as he was meant to do – Harry Potter had, instead, taken extraordinary measures to protect the witches and wizards of Great Britain. She had not anticipated such a move. And the little bit of blood she had been able to spill was simply not enough.
Of course, many magical populaces were far more vulnerable than she could slate her blood lust on, but this wasn't about her. She could only imagine the outrage she was going to face when she had first attacked what pleased her the most.
It was her job to bring the wizarding world to its knees. The surest way to go about this was to go for their savior. She needed to defeat Harry Potter, or, should that not be possible, destroy all that he held dear to show that he couldn't protect a soul. For as long as people believed that he was their salvation, they wouldn't submit to their new leader.
And submission was key.
He had thought that repressing the angelic grace in witches and wizards would be the key to demonizing their souls. That fool, Asmodeus, had agreed with his father, and even though he had eons to achieve the task that he had been set to, the man had been a fool.
At the end of the day, it wasn't just about suppressing magic. It was, and the thought made her sneer, consent.
A witch or wizard had to say, "yes," to being a demon. Willingly give their grace over in service of Lucifer.
Lucifer knew that he could get some to give over their souls. He was more than experienced in the business of corrupting humans. But he didn't want some he wanted all.
And Gormlaith wanted to give him that, more than anything.
It was going to take a grand gesture. Something that proved to resist Lucifer wasn't only foolish but also futile.
And she could think of nothing grander than bringing down the Boy Who Lived. He was more resilient than she had imagined, even though she had been hearing inflated stories for ages.
She had been prepared to destroy Hogwarts, only to be thwarted by the protections around the school. The protections there were as ancient as the school itself and they had been built specifically to keep out those that were other to the witches and wizards that Gabriel had created.
From her recent attack, she was certain that it was Gabriel's wards that had kept her out. Her demonized soul outweighed her human angelic magic and she could not get in.
Once she had calmed down enough to think clearly, she remembered something very important from her time as a human.
There had been a third group that had an interest in getting into Hogwarts. Earth witches. She spat at the very thought of them. Filthy, disgusting, things. But she had once been approached by a coven about trying to enter the Hogwarts grounds.
She had laughed in their faces, of course, and killed a number of them, but she remembered the fire in the eyes of one of them. The power. She had spared that one, if only for the entertainment factor of watching her try. Dirty Squibs had their place in the world – just slightly above Muggles and Muggleborns.
Gormlaith had overheard her name when the Winchesters had first come through to Limbo. Which mean that she had to still be alive. Proving her worth more than anything.
She smirked. Maybe the witch would remember – maybe she still had that fire to destroy Hogwarts. Harry Potter would regret the day that he put all his eggs in one basket.
Casting spells she found the spark. The earth-witch. It was time for her to pay a visit to Rowena.
III
"Well…this is awkward," Sirius said after several minutes of silence between him and the youngest Winchester. So far, things were very much not going to plan. He needed to get Harry home. He was terrified that Crowley was going to complete the trials before they got there.
Figuring out how to get just him – and possibly Mary Winchester – was going to be difficult. He was banking on Gabriel helping him with that. If Gabriel was alive, that was.
Sam kicked a rock into the hole in the ground and said nothing.
"What are we going to do?" Sirius asked, ignoring the fact that Sam wasn't talking to him.
"What can we do?" Sam shot back.
"I don't know – isn't this what you excel at, thinking on the fly?"
Sam sighed. "You're confusing me with Dean. I plan. And our plan has gone to hell. And instead of being able to help my brothers, I'm stuck here with you."
"I'm a fucking delight. You're the one with a permanent sour expression on his face."
"That – " Sam sighed. There was no point. He hated this wizard and he hated feeling useless. His brothers were off facing – god knew what, possibly Lucifer and an army of wizard demons while he was stuck here with the man who, arguably, had torn his entire family apart. Twice.
"Case and point," Sirius muttered.
"I can't believe they just went off like that," Sam ranted.
"Can't you? Textbook Harry, really."
"You don't know Harry. Don't act like you do."
"I know Harry better than you could ever imagine. He's the perfect combination of his parents. He's got James' sense of adventure and Lily's compassion."
"James and Lily weren't his parents," Sam felt like a broken record.
"They were in every way that counted."
Sam wanted to punch the man. But he knew Harry wouldn't like that, so he held back on the physical violence. "We've got to do something."
"The action is that way," Sirius pointed across the chasm.
"Yeah, I know. But you…" Sam stopped talking. He just stared at Sirius.
"I what?"
"You – you know this place, that's why Harry insisted on bringing you in the first place."
"I spent some time here."
"How big is it?" Sam demanded. "Have you walked the entire dimension? Is it round? Could we possibly walk the other way 'round…"
"Woah, woah, this place isn't shaped like Earth."
"How do you know?"
"I – I just do," Sirius said, frustrated.
"You just do."
"Yeah. I lived here for months. Trust me, if you could just walk a circle around the place, we would have figured that out."
Sam swore and kicked another rock into the hole.
He needed to do something to help. And Sirius was useless. Briefly, he wondered if he should just go ahead and get the spell ready to lock Harry's godfather in this place. It could make their escape quicker later. But then he remembered what they had been talking about before the ground opened up.
"What were you saying about Crowley closing the Gates of Hell?"
Sirius looked uncomfortable. "What about it?"
"I want to know what he's up to. He's not to be trusted, you know that right?"
"Of course not, he's a bloody demon. Or he was a bloody demon," Sirius said. "But he was the only one willing to help me with Harry so…"
"Help you do what with Harry?" Sam asked, suspicious.
"Protect him!" Sirius snapped. "Every other person in this world wants to use him for something. I just want to protect him."
"We don't want to use him."
"No? You weren't desperate for him to get his powers back – which you took away, by the way, because you wanted to get here to rescue your mother?"
"Our mother," Sam said, having a feeling that Sirius wasn't including Harry in that count. "And Harry wants to rescue her too. She's our mom!"
"You are willing to risk Harry's life for a woman who may not even be alive."
"She's alive."
"Says who?"
A demon that escaped from here, Sam thought but didn't say out loud. He didn't see the point. And this wasn't about Mary. This was about Sirius. "We want to keep Harry safe," he said instead. "If you'd allow yourself to see…"
"See what? That you bound his magic? That you allowed him to sacrifice himself to save your sorry arses…"
Sam ignored Sirius' attempt to rile him up. Because he realized that it was just that. The wizard was trying to avoid answering his questions about Crowley.
"The demon tablet, Black. How did Crowley use the demon tablet? And why did you think that it would protect Harry? You know that demons pose no threat to him. Regular ones, at least."
Sirius just stood there in stony silence.
Sam sighed. And kicked another rock.
III
Mary blinked her eyes, disoriented as she woke up. Did I fall asleep? She thought to herself. John's going to be home soon. I should probably start dinner.
"Mary?" a male voice said above her.
"John?" she asked as a face came swimming into her vision.
Oh. That's not my husband. The face of Gabriel, Archangel of the Lord, came into focus. She remembered that they had been – "What happened?"
"It worked," Gabriel said with barely hidden glee. "It freakin' worked!" He held a hand out to help get her up off the ground. "It took the rest of my grace reserves, but we did it, Mary."
"We got the portal open?"
"Yeah. Some of them escaped – including my brother, but I saw at least a dozen of them fall in. They're back in Purgatory. The explosion also destroyed their spell keeping the gate open. No more will be coming through any time soon."
Relief filled Mary.
"This means Mary – if you want, you can pass through."
"What?" Her attention snapped to him.
"You can go to Purgatory. You aren't meant to be there – you can find the same portal that Dean did and get home."
Mary hadn't considered that before. "But what about you?"
"I won't be able to get out that way. I'm not a human," he said. At full power with help from Heaven he might be able to swing it, but he didn't want to risk getting stuck.
"So, what? You'll just stay here – forever?"
"Or until my brother kills me. But we're both pretty powered down. Look, Mary, I didn't want to say this to you before, but I think if your boys were coming, they would be here already."
"What happened to them being stubborn assholes?" Mary said in astonishment.
"Well, they are that. But they don't have unlimited power. I'm not saying it'll be safe – Purgatory, in some ways, is less safe than here. But you've always been an excellent hunter. If Dean could survive it, I'm sure you could too."
"Dean had help," Mary pointed out.
"The ole' Winchester resourcefulness. There are probably witches and wizards there that you could talk into coming over to your side. You won't even have to rely on a vampire."
This was all so sudden. Her life had done a complete 180 in the last couple of days (again) and it was taking her a second to wrap her head around the idea.
"I'm not ready to give up on my boys just yet," she finally decided.
"It's your funeral," Gabriel said with a shrug. Part of him wanted to get Mary out – far away from Lucifer and any of his plots and plans. But another part of him was relieved to not be left alone.
"What's next?"
"We didn't get them all, of course," Gabriel said. "And I don't have any magic left to be able to fight them, but I do have my archangel blade and spunk. If it comes down to it, we could always try cornering them and pushing them in."
"That plan is stupid enough that it might just work," she said.
He grinned. "First though – I need a nap."
Mary looked at him with concern. She didn't need to sleep here. She didn't think anyone did. But Gabriel looked terrible. Exhausted.
"I'll keep a look-out," she said.
He nodded in appreciation, laid down on the ground, and fell asleep.
III
They had completely lost the ability to keep the peace at Hogwarts. It had been tenuous to begin with – with so many witches and wizards from all over the country, but after the attack, people were losing their minds. As if they hadn't actually realized this wasn't some sort of vacation – that they were in danger.
An angry mob had formed just outside of the castle gate, where the Aurors were just barely able to keep them out.
Mostly, they were calling for Harry to come and protect them. But, of course, Harry wasn't there.
"You're going to have to do something, 'Mione," Ron said, peaking out a window to see the crowd. "This is becoming dangerous. People could get trampled."
"What am I supposed to say? The person they most want to see is currently in another dimension on a suicide mission to rescue his mother and an archangel, but he'll be back as soon as possible. Yes, Ronald, that will calm them down."
"They're scared, 'Mione, that's all," Ron said quietly.
Hermione took a deep breath. She knew that, of course. "I'll go talk to them, of course. I just wish I could do more. Or that I had more information. I wish Harry was here."
"I think you're going to have to join the queue on that one," Ron said with a wry smile.
"Madam Minister?" The Auror who was guarding the door knocked lightly on the door.
"Yes, Phillip?"
"Your children are out here – should I let them in?"
She and Ron exchanged a look. She had thought that Molly and Arthur were staying with the Weasley grandchilden to try and help them keep calm. At least, all of them that were in Gryffindor. Molly, Percy's daughter, was currently Head Girl, and she was currently letting them all use her room for some privacy if they needed it.
"Of course," she answers.
"MUM!" Hugo yelled as he dashed into the room and threw his arms around her middle. Oh, she thought, returning the hug and holding him close. I really needed this.
"Where's Uncle Harry, Dad?" Rosie asked Ron. "Why isn't he here protecting us? People are really scared."
"He's in the US, Rosie," Ron said, which was a half-truth.
"With his brothers?" She correctly guessed.
"Yes," Hermione confirmed, letting go of Hugo and holding her arms open for her daughter, who was more than happy to accept the hug.
"Why?" Hugo asked.
"He's trying to stop the demons," Hermione said. "So are Sam and Dean – it's important, but you must not tell anyone this, do you understand?"
Rose and Hugo exchanged glances. "Yes, Mum," they said in one voice.
"But won't it help if people know what he's working on?" Hugo asked, eyes wide. "I feel better knowing that he's trying to stop the demons. Even if he's not here."
He had a good point. Knowing what she knew, Harry being away wasn't a comforting thought. But that didn't mean it had to be that way with everyone else.
"Thank you, Hugo," she said, with gratitude. "I've got to go talk to everyone. Are you two alright?"
They both nodded. Hermione felt a swelling of appreciation for her children. And a small amount of guilt that they had to be the ones to point this out to them.
"Great. I'll have one of the Aurors escort you back to Gryffindor Tower," she said. "But one more hug before you go?"
They both ran into her arms.
Remembering just what was at stake here – Hermione steeled herself.
"Let's go," she said to Ron.
III
"Gabriel…Gabriel…" a whispered voice said with urgency. "Wake up."
Gabriel's eyes flew open.
"What…" he didn't need to keep asking the question. "Shit."
"That's right, little brother," Lucifer stood, just feet away from them. Surrounding them were demons. With glowing purple eyes.
Gabriel was on his feet immediately. Mary was standing behind him, facing out, so that they could keep as many of them in sight as possible
"Did you really think that it would that easy? That you could – open a rift to Purgatory, throw my minions through there, and, what, I'd take that lying down?"
"I thought we had an understanding."
Lucifer scoffed. "What understanding? That we'd go our separate ways? Leave each other alone? Yeah, I would've been happy to keep that. You ruined it. Now, kindly hand over Mama Winchester there, and I'll kill you quickly. I don't have time to be imaginative. You won't feel a thing."
The wizard demons started closing in on them.
"This might be it, Mary," Gabriel muttered. "Look – the portal to Purgatory isn't far from here. You'll have to sprint. Be quick and quiet. I'll do what I can to hold them off."
"What? No!" She protested loudly so that everyone could hear here.
"You're what he wants. This worked before," Gabriel stage whispered.
"You both were powered up then."
"Look at him," Gabriel moved so that Mary was facing his brother. "He's no more powerful than me right now."
Mary looked at the other archangel. Lucifer did seem a little worse for wear.
"Dying of old age here," Lucifer said. "What's it going to be?"
"Just follow my lead," Mary hissed, and before Gabriel could do anything she started heading toward the Devil with determination. "You want me?" She asked.
Lucifer looked pleasantly surprised. "Yes. I wasn't expecting your cooperation. I appreciate it. You know – I don't know what Gabriel has told you, but I don't want to hurt you. I need you."
She didn't say anything, just kept walking.
It was then that Gabriel noticed that his archangel blade was missing. Impressive, he thought. Even though he knew that was the plan and he still hadn't noticed her take it from him. He did his best to keep a smirk off his face.
Everyone's focus was solely on the human woman. He had regained enough of his powers to use something that Lucifer would no doubt find completely below him. Wizarding magic. A quick notice-me-not as he slunk slowly away from the circle of demons.
III
"You know I wouldn't have left them if I thought Sirius would hurt Sam, right?" Harry asked, trying to interpret the slightly worried look on Dean's face. Or, at least, he thought it was slightly worried – Dean's poker face was strong.
Dean gave him an incredulous look. "You think that I'm worried about Sirius hurting Sam? I think you'd be more concerned about the other way around. Sirius is a Muggle now – and Sam's got at least five inches and fifty pounds of muscle on him."
"You think Sam is going to do something to him?" Harry asked, stopping, and looking behind him, almost turning to go back.
Dean put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and sighed. "No, of course not. Come on – I think we're getting close."
Harry couldn't disagree. They had been walking at a fairly quick pace for the last half hour and it hadn't seemed that far to begin with.
"You sure you're up to this, man?" Dean asked. "You still haven't recovered completely."
"I still have more power than you," Harry shot back, annoyed.
Dean gave him his signature cocky grin. "Yeah – but I'm me. I don't need any voodoo to kick ass. That just comes naturally."
Harry laughed before returning to a more somber mood. "This is about Mom, though. We've got to do whatever it takes."
Dean looked at him uneasily but didn't say anything. The brief light mood dissipated entirely.
They walked for another ten minutes in silence, before Harry stopped abruptly.
Dean gave him a questioning look.
Harry motioned for him to stop and in a series of hand signals that Dean thought he mostly understood, he communicated that they were coming across people and that they should proceed forward as quietly as possible.
He also communicated that Dean should walk behind him. The eldest Winchester did not appreciate that, but he knew an argument right now wouldn't serve anyone.
Moving as silently and swiftly as possible, they approached a clearing where there was a circle of demons – all facing in, looking at something in the center.
They heard a yell. The demons sprang into action.
"You BITCH!"
Harry's heart stopped.
Screw not rushing in.
He flew to the center of the circle. Lucifer was on his knees, clutching his throat and glaring at – oh thank Merlin – Mary. His mother was being held by the throat by a demon wizard. At her feet was an archangel blade but her hand was clasped around a vial with a glowing white substance inside.
She saw him.
"Henry," she rasped, a smile on her face.
Harry moved to get her away from the demon that was holding her back.
"Uh uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Lucifer said. "Snap her neck if he moves one step closer," he commanded the demon.
Harry stopped moving immediately. "Don't you dare," he threatened.
Lucifer clumsily got to his feet.
"It's been too long, Harry," he said in a voice that sounded pleasant, but coming out of the Devil, it sent a shiver down Harry's spine. "You have a nasty habit of showing up when I'm just about to kill one of your family members."
Harry wasn't paying him any attention. He was completely concentrated on his mother wishing that she could hear his prayers.
It's ok, Henry, she prayed, almost as if she had read his mind. We've got a plan. You need the vial that's in my hand.
She clenched her fist a little bit to emphasize where the object was.
He wondered who "we" was.
"…I mean, really, you can't matter to either of them. I've spoken with Asmodeus. I know how strong you are. The Winchesters know a weapon when they see one. Today they're pointing you at me – and they'll keep doing that until something kills you."
There was a time when those taunts would have gotten under Harry's skin. He would have taken those words to heart and wondered if they were true.
But he knew the truth now.
"What you don't have anything to say? No wonder Gabriel loved you – you just let him talk and talk and talk, didn't you?"
Loved? Harry thought, alarmed.
Lucifer smirked. "Oh, you haven't heard…"
Mary shook her head just the tiniest bit. That was all Harry needed.
Keep him talking, she prayed.
That was something he could do. "What do you want Lucifer?"
Lucifer's smirk expanded. "I think you already know the answer to that…"
Dean wasn't paying attention to the interaction between Harry and Lucifer. So far, it seemed like the archangel hadn't noticed him – which was a minor miracle. He started to slowly edge his way to the other side of where the two of them were standing to try and get a better view.
"Pssst," came a whisper from behind him.
If it weren't for all his training, Dean would have made a startled noise. But he kept it to himself, only jumping a little bit.
"Gabriel!" He exclaimed.
"Shh, you moron," Gabriel shushed him. "Has anyone ever told you that you have the worst timing?"
Many people had told him that. Usually, those people were monsters.
"Mary and I have a plan and now you and Harry have come and pissed all over it."
"What plan?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes. Now was really not the time. "Just stay here and stay the fuck out of the way. Wouldn't want you caught in the crosshairs."
"He's not a thing like you," Harry was saying the Lucifer as Gabriel crept towards the circle. "He's kind. And curious. And always happy to help. He's best friends with my godson – a Winchester in every way possible."
He's good, Gabriel thought. It was hard for him not to just drink in the sight of Harry. He had thought that he would never see the man again and it felt like a miracle that he was standing there.
The demon that had Mary by the throat was also paying more attention to Harry and Lucifer than he was to the woman that he had in his grasp.
Gabriel could see that she had done as they had planned and he quickly performed the switching spell. What he was about to do was disgusting. It was abhorrent, really, something that until he was in this very situation he never would have done. But seeing Harry just bolstered the archangel more. He needed to do this. For Harry.
Bottoms up. He put the vial up to his lip and down its contents like it was a shot.
The effect was immediate.
No notice-me-not-spell could conceal him now.
Gabriel's eyes lit up and his wings came flaring out from his back.
III
Crowley slapped Castiel's arm. "I've never been happier to see you, Feathers," he said. "Although I can't see that beautiful plumage of yours anymore."
The smile on Crowley's face was very off-putting. Castiel didn't like it one bit. "What are you doing here, Crowley?"
"I was with Black when Do-Right came to collect him," he shrugged.
"Right. And now they are all in Limbo, so you can leave."
"Why wouldn't I want to be where all the action is happening?"
"I don't know what you're up to, Crowley, but I can assume that it is nothing good."
"Maybe it is – you know, I do like to switch things up every once in a while. Gotta keep you on your toes."
Castiel looked at Crowley with distrust.
"You are entirely too cheerful for someone who looks like he is moments away from death."
"What's not to be cheerful about? I'm going to close the Gates to Hell. You should be thanking me. When I'm done, your precious little Winchesters will only have to face the nasties that currently live on Earth. No more contending with demons. It'll be like child's play for them."
"I don't understand why you want to close the gates. You're the King of Hell."
"I was the King of Hell. Now I'm just a regular ole' Joe. Going to get on the straight and narrow. Clean living from in on out." As he spoke, his accent changed from British to an American twang.
Castiel could tell that this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere. He didn't believe Crowley and if the former demon was going to continue to spout this nonsense, he wasn't going to force himself to listen to it.
"I'm going to go find Jack. The Bunker has all sorts of enchantments on it – so whatever nefarious thing you have planned won't work."
He swept out of the room.
Crowley grinned. That had been way easier than it should have been. He was expecting to get the third degree, but instead, the angel was too preoccupied with whatever was happening with the Nephilim to properly look at the situation.
Which worked for him just fine.
There was a wealth of knowledge in this Bunker. Knowledge that could have helped him a great deal when he had still been ruling Hell. But that wasn't what he was looking for today.
Black hadn't meant to let it slip, but the books that he had brought back gave it all away. This Bunker didn't just contain the information that Muggles and Squibs had acquired over the years. It had so much more. Books, Crowley assumed, could only otherwise be found in great centers of Wizarding learning such as Hogwarts and other schools of magic around the world.
He just needed to find where it was.
And hope that the little spark of magic rolling through his veins would be enough to get in because he had no plans of dying. Not yet. Not for many years. But there was one piece of information he needed. And when Crowley set his mind to something, there was no stopping him.
III
Being in hiding was not the life that Rowena was meant to have. She knew it – she just shined too brightly to hide away.
The hovel she was currently holed up in was, to her eternal shame, a motel. Where the entrances to the rooms were outside. It was disgusting. But it was her only option. She had used the last of her spell sachets to bring herself back to life and until she made more there was no way she was going to risk her neck out there in the open.
Her list of enemies was just too long for her to go out without protection.
So, she had stolen a couple of credit cards and hid somewhere where no one would expect to find her.
In a place that couldn't even boast three stars, much less the five-star luxury she preferred. That she deserved.
With a deep sigh, she went to check on how her spell was cooking. It was no small magic being able to bring herself back from death. Unlike those with angelic magic, she couldn't just create a Horcrux and continue living forever. It made her insanely jealous that all that Voldemort wizard had had to do was kill a couple of people and bam he could've lived forward if he just hadn't been such an egomaniac.
Rowena didn't like to think about her parents. She had even gone so far to tell people that her father had been a lowly tanner. It was less painful than the truth. But being stuck here all alone in this pathetic situation made her mind wander there more often than not.
Having to spend all this time alone with her thoughts was making her reflect. And she hated reflecting. The past should stay where it was. But she couldn't help but think of her mother and what she would think of this situation.
Rowena's mother had been from the very best wizarding stock. It had been considered a real coup that the Macleod clan had managed to arrange a marriage with the younger daughter of the illustrious Black family. They were practically wizarding royalty and the arrangement had only been possible because the Muggle King of England was a Scot. The line between the wizarding world and the Muggle one had been thinner back when her parents got married and it became highly fashionable for young British witches to hitch their stars to those who had previously been considered savages.
Her father had claimed to be a distant relative of Rowena Ravenclaw herself – which is how she got her name. Of course, that was total codswallop, but at the time no one had doubted the claim.
She, like her mother, was the youngest. Her older brothers – all four of them, had grown into bright, promising, powerful wizards. She had come after her mother thought she was done having children. For the first eight years of her life, she had been treated as a princess. Doted on by her father and brothers, and the apple of her mother's eye.
That had all come crumbling down on her eighth birthday.
It was the age that the children of her family were considered adults and started their magical tutoring. After all, if they were going to be top of their classes at Hogwarts, they needed to be better prepared than anyone else.
Rowena had been so excited – so ready and eager to learn.
Of course, it was not to be.
Rowena shook the thought of that day out of her mind. Some things were too painful, even for her.
It was when she was lost in these thoughts that there was a knock on her door.
Her eyes narrowed. Who could that be? Her wards were strong. She should be completely hidden. With trepidation, she stood on her tiptoes and looked out of the peephole.
Outside, there was a woman.
She was pale with dark hair. Slight build, but there was power radiating off of her. Like nothing Rowena had ever felt in her life.
"I know that you're in there, Rowena," the woman said. Her voice had an Irish lilt to it. "I wish you no harm."
Rowena snorted. Anyone who had gone to the lengths that this woman had to find her had to either wish her harm or want something.
Maybe this was her way out.
She opened the door.
The woman grinned unpleasantly. "I've been looking for you, Rowena Macleod. I believe we met – long ago. My name is Gormlaith."
III
"If you won't talk about the demon tablet, at least tell me how you got involved with Crowley in the first place," Sam said, tired of being in his own head. It was driving him nuts that his brothers were out there – probably risking their lives and he was stuck here with the man who had destroyed his family.
"Ron asked me to," Black said, dismissively.
Of all the things that Sam had been expecting, it wasn't that.
"What?"
Black looked a little guilty like maybe he wasn't supposed to share that information. He shrugged. "Ron was trying to find a solution to the demon attacks – that shouldn't be shocking."
"And he thought Crowley would be the solution?" Sam already didn't think much of the man, but this seemed colossally stupid.
"He didn't know what the solution would be," Sirius snapped. "He was doing his best."
"What did he think Crowley would do?"
"He thought that he could bring the demons to heel. Of course, now that we know that it was Asmodeus who was controlling them, it was a bit of a fool's errand."
"That doesn't explain why you helped him with this whole…closing the gates of Hell thing."
Sirius sighed. "I already told you. He gave me a convincing argument. I never should have been able to come back from Purgatory. I had long accepted the fact that I would never see Harry or my friends again. If I had known it was possible before all of this, I would have fought tooth and nail to get back to him. Clearly, he needed me. I…let him down. If it is in my power to help him now, I will do whatever it takes."
Sam gave Sirius a sidelong glance. It was difficult to argue with that sentiment. Although why Black would choose to work with the King of Hell over Sam and Dean still felt insane.
"I guess the question remains what Crowley was getting out of the deal."
Sirius gave him a questioning look.
"Crowley doesn't do anything with an ulterior motive."
"Yeah. I got that. He said that he needed…purified blood for the last bit of the spell. I was an easily accessible human."
Sam snorted. "You believed that?"
"Of course not," Sirius snapped.
"Then why did he need you, if not for that?"
Sirius sighed. "I'm not completely sure. He said that it was because I was a pureblood."
Sam's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What would that have to do with anything? The blood needed in the ceremony needed to be purified that's not the same as having pure blood. I thought the whole idea of pureblood was just a justification for racism." Racism wasn't quite the right word, but it was the one that Sam thought was closest.
"Look, I told Crowley that it was bullshit, but that was the reason he gave me," Sirius was annoyed because he had, even at the moment, thought that it was a weak reason for needing him specifically, but it seemed like something too small to really worry about. Now, he was rethinking it all.
"Well, Crowley would have a skewed perception of it all," Sam said under his breath.
"Why?"
"He was – well, human him, was a squib from a pureblood line."
That was news to Sirius. The demon hadn't talked about who he had been when he was a person. Honestly, he had kind of forgotten that Crowley had to have been human before becoming a demon.
"Which line?"
"No idea," Sam shrugged. "But his mom was – is kind of famous. Harry freaked out when he first met her."
Sirius remembered a conversation that he had with Crowley about his mother. He also hadn't thought too hard about that either. His sole focus had been Harry. He hated looking stupid in front of Sam.
"Who is she?"
"Rowena," Sam said, off handily. "We've worked with her a couple of times. She's not really any better than Crowley, but beggars can't be choosers."
"Ravenclaw?"
Sam laughed. "No, of course not. MacLeod. Rowena MacLeod – and get this, Crowley's name was Fergus."
Sirius sucked in a breath.
"Do you know who that is?" Sam asked, curious.
"The Scottish MacLeods?"
"With a name like MacLeod, you'd have to assume that. But yeah, they're Scottish."
Sirius went silent. He had a better idea now why Crowley would want him, specifically, but he didn't know what it meant.
"Do you know who she is?" Sam pressed.
"Of course," Sirius responded. "My parents hired tutors that taught me pureblood history. Everyone knows what happened to the MacLeod Clan. Or, thought they did. In fact, my parents used it as a cautionary tale as to why it was better to keep things 'in the family,' or, at least, within England."
"Gross. What happened?"
Sirius wasn't sure how much he should share. Even though he couldn't think of a reason that it would hurt he wasn't sure it would help either.
"If it's common knowledge, I'll just look it up when we get home."
If we get home, Sirius thought. "Alright, sure. I guess we'll start with the Scottish line of succession…"
III
At first, Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing. Just seconds earlier, Lucifer had implied that Gabriel was dead. But the Devil lied and there he was.
It pulled everyone's attention away from the standoff between Lucifer and Harry.
For a moment, everyone froze.
Gabriel seemed to be reveling in the moment. With a grin on his face that Harry knew meant trouble, he walked, didn't fly, into the circle. He held out a hand and smote the demon that was holding Mary.
That sprang Harry into action.
"Mom!" He called out. He flew to her side so that he could protect her.
Lucifer took one look at his brother's glowing eyes and gave a nervous chuckle. "Gabriel…"
"Yes, brother?" Gabriel responded, keeping his wings out.
"You stole that grace from me. And what – now you're going to kill me with my own powers? That's low, even for you."
Gabriel cocked his head. "Is it?"
"Let's talk about this…"
"Talk about what? How you perverted my creations? How you threatened the Winchesters – how you threatened Harry? This is it, Lucifer, we're going to put this to an end. Now."
"Yeah, about that…I…would prefer not to."
"I'm not giving you a choice."
"I'm not asking for one," Lucifer said. He made a small head movement to the wizard demons gathered around him.
They went into action. All of them quickly moved and ran toward Lucifer.
"No!" Gabriel called out, his hand out, ready to do some more smitting.
But before he was able to do so, the entire group disappeared with a loud crack.
The string of curse words that came out of Gabriel's mouth was truly impressive. And Harry had thought that he had heard them all. He was wrong.
"What just happened?" Mary asked, looking around her.
"He outplayed me," Gabriel responded. "That asshole outplayed me. Me!"
"How?" Harry asked, finally finding his voice. Everything had happened so quickly. He had been so sure that Gabriel was dead. And that his mother was about to be. He had been prepared to do whatever was needed to stop Lucifer from ever returning to Earth.
Then, in a matter of seconds, everything changed.
"Henry," Mary said. There were tears in her eyes and before Harry knew what hit him, she had closed the gap between the two of them and she threw her arms around him. She held him close. "I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered in his ear.
He squeezed her in response. "We thought you were dead," he responded. "How are you still alive?"
She laughed through her tears as she pulled back. "Just that old Winchester luck, I suppose. And – of course, Gabriel," she looked back at the archangel who was watching the scene from a couple of feet away, just taking it all in.
Harry's eyes traveled over to his friend.
"Gabe," he said, leaving his mother's side and pulling him into a hug. "Thank you," he said as Gabriel accepted him into his arms.
"You don't ever have to thank me," Gabe said gruffly. "This is what family is for."
"HEY!"
That got everyone's attention.
"Oops. I may have stuck your brother to a tree over there. One sec."
Gabriel disappeared and reappeared with a whoosh of wings. A very disgruntled Dean was with him when he returned.
"Don't you dare do that ever again. I don't know…" Dean stopped midsentence when he noticed where Gabriel had flown them to. "Mom!"
"Dean," she said, opening up her arms. He didn't hesitate.
Harry turned away a little to give them their moment.
"What happened back there?" He asked Gabriel. "How'd he get away that quickly? He's severely weekend, he shouldn't have been able to do that."
"You could tell?"
"Yeah – of course," Harry said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The state of his wings – I know that he didn't fly. Can he create portkeys?"
"I don't think he'd stoop to using wizarding magic in that way," Gabriel frowned, "not only that, but I don't think it'd even occur to him."
"Do you know where he went?"
Gabriel shook his head.
"Do you think that he's already back on Earth?"
"I think we would know if that was the case. No, he's weak, so he's going to hide like the snake he is."
"Well, we've only got a couple of hours. We need to get back to Sam and Sirius and get out of here. Jack's going to open the rift soon."
"Sam?" Mary asked. "He's here?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Of course, he is. It's not like your boys to have the sort of common sense not to put all their eggs in one basket by all coming here."
"Like he'd let us leave him behind," Dean muttered.
"Did you say, Black?" Mary asked. "You left your brother alone with Black?"
Dean winced and Harry bristled. "He won't hurt him!" Harry protested.
"He can't hurt him," Dean added. "Crowley turned him into a Muggle." There was no small amount of smugness in his voice.
"Crowley did what?" Gabriel asked. "That's not possible."
"Oh, it's possible," Harry said darkly.
"None of this matters – Black is plenty dangerous, even without his magic."
"He did almost break my nose," Dean said. At the nearly identical looks of outrage on both Harry's and his mother's faces, he ducked his head. "Let's just get back to them and get the fuck out of here."
"Agreed," Harry said. "Gabe – can you fly us?"
Gabriel ruffled his feathers. "Of course – where are we headed?"
III
It was a lot to take it. And Rowena was pretty sure that this woman was mad. Most demons were, but Gormlaith Gaunt took it to an entirely different level.
It was both frightening and exciting.
She had always been attracted to power and this woman certainly had plenty of that.
"But what's in it for me?" She asked at the end of the woman's tirade. That was always the most important question.
"Revenge," Gormlaith replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. As if she couldn't believe that Rowena would even question what she would get out of this endeavor.
"Against who, dearie? The people who wronged me are long dead. I no longer care about the wizarding world and their stuck up ideals of what is and is not magical. I'm powerful in my own right – I don't need them." It was hard for those words to not get stuck in her throat. Maybe I'm not over it, she thought.
"You don't care that you went down in history as a Squib who was so angry at her family that she tried and failed to destroy what they held most dear?"
"I'M NOT A SQUIB!" Rowena protested, unable to stop herself. She hated that word. She was magical she had more than proven it. She had outlived each and every one of her immediate family members. If she had been able to enter Scotland after she had been banned, she would have laughed at their funerals and pissed on their graves.
"There's that fire I've heard so much about," Gormlaith said smugly. "You could bring it all down."
"I've put that all behind me," Rowena said stiffly, trying to make her voice sound care free. "And I'm sure they've long repaired the holes in warding that I was able to take advantage of."
"They haven't. To this day, they haven't a clue how you got in or out."
"Really?"
Gormlaith knew that she had her. "Really. I've done my research – the British Men of Letters had an open case file on you. It was an unsolved mystery."
"And how, pray tell, did you find a Men of Letter's file?"
Gormlaith grinned. "I've got my allies. I'm sure you've got your own. Join me, Rowena. Together, we can destroy the entire wizarding world. Starting with Hogwarts. Then – you and your kind will be the only human magic users left. Imagine what you could do with all that power."
Rowena could imagine it.
And she saw the opportunity in front of her. If she played her cards right, she could get everything she ever dreamed of.
"Where do we start?"
III
Sam had exhausted all of his options as far as trying to get around the chasm of earth that separated him from his brothers and left him stuck with one of the people he hated most in the world. He had jogged as far as he felt was safe and there was no point where it was safe to cross. He might have tried going the opposite direction, but he didn't want to leave this spot to have Dean and Harry return to find him missing and no way to find him.
There was no cell reception in Limbo, it seemed.
A crack of leaves got his attention. Black had mostly been leaving him alone for the last hour or so.
But it wasn't Sirius Black that approached.
When he saw who it was, instinct led him to reach for his gun, even though his wand may have been a better choice.
"Hey, hey," Lucifer said, holding his hands up. "No need for violence, I come in peace."
Sam doubted that to his very bones.
"You look terrible," he couldn't stop himself from saying. Because it was true. Lucifer's vessel skin looked tight around his skull and pale as a ghost with large rings under his eyes.
"You're the same handsome devil you always were," Lucifer smiled back.
"What. Do. You. Want?" He brandished the gun to make a point.
"Just to talk, Sammy."
Sam grit his teeth. Lucifer never wanted to just talk. It was taking everything in him to control his fear – as it always did when the Devil was involved. He hadn't forgotten his time in Hell – just buried it deep.
He stole a glance over his shoulder to see what Black was making of all of this. His heart stopped for a moment when he saw that he was splayed out on the ground.
"What did you do to him?" Sam demanded.
"He's just sleeping, relax," Lucifer said. "Look – I don't have a lot of time here. I thought he'd complicate things, but I'm not trying to antagonize you, Samuel. I think we can work together so we can both get what we want."
"I want you dead."
"Oh, come on, you don't really. What fun would your life be if you didn't have little old me? And I'm a father now – I don't want to destroy the world anymore. What would that leave for my son?"
Sam shivered. "Jack wants nothing to do with you."
Lucifer tilted his head. "Is that so? That's not what he's been telling me."
It was as if ice flowed through Sam's veins.
"Jack is a good kid – I can see that you and your brothers have done your best. Or, at least Harry has, but poor Jack is feeling a lack of a real father-figure in his life. I guess the four of you are just not enough for him, not that I'm surprised. But he, unfortunately, does still have a slight loyalty to you all. Especially your pal, Castiel. So, I'm gonna need you to help nudge him in the right direction."
"Never."
"Uh ah, don't say never. I'm going to be returning the Earth shortly, as I imagine you will too. I won't tell you what will happen if I don't get my son back – because why spoil the fun? But I've had nothing but time to plan for the last couple of months. This is a courtesy visit. Out of respect for our past. You will give me my son – or else."
Lucifer disappeared.
Sam lowered his gun as he tried to lower his heart rate.
Had Jack really been talking with Lucifer? Maybe allowing him to go to Hogwarts had been a mistake.
He didn't have time to think about it. If Harry came back and found Sirius like this there was no way that he would ever trust Sam and Dean with his godfather again, making their plan impossible.
"Black," he said as crouched down and shook the man. It had no effect. He pulled out his wand. "Rennervate."
Black started to stir a little, his eyelids fluttering before he passed out again. Sam wondered if he was that hurt or if his spell was just weak from having been in Limbo.
More carefully than he thought the man deserved, Sam moved him to a more comfortable position – laying flat on his back instead of in the haphazard way he must have fallen when Lucifer attacked.
Then Sam realized that this was actually a good thing. Before, Black wasn't letting him out of his sight for long, claiming that Harry would have his hide if anything happened to Sam.
Looking around, he pulled out a bag that Hermione had given him. It had an expanding charm on the inside, so it could hold a lot of things without taking much space. It was, unfortunately, was not convenient for weapons – too many steps for a fight, but it was perfect for what he and Dean had planned.
He pulled out the bowl out and started to summon the ingredients that he needed to the top. Timing was still going to be tricky, but having everything prepared would make the process go smoothly. Or, if not smoothly, at least too fast for Harry to do anything to stop them.
Even as he prepared it, he was questioning the wisdom of this move. Dean had made a convincing argument, and yes, Sirius Black played a strong hand in hurting their family but as he crushed herbs with the mortar and pestle, he felt a pull on his stomach.
Castiel had a point. This would hurt Harry. Perhaps ruining their relationship forever.
"What are you making?"
Sam jumped a little bit.
Black was rubbing the back of his head and looked a little out of it.
"Are you alright?" Sam asked, trying to change the subject as he turned and used his body to try and hide what he had been working on.
"Something hit me on the head," he said. "You were too far away though…"
"Yeah, that was Lucifer."
Sirius stared at him for a second. "I'm sorry – I think maybe I have a concussion. Did you say Lucifer?"
"Yeah."
"Lucifer – the Devil, was here, and not only did he only knock me over the head, but he didn't kill you either? That makes as much as sense as a hippogriff flying to the moon."
That was an expression that Sam had never heard before. "He wasn't looking so hot, I'm not sure how much he could really do."
"Brained by the Devil," Sirius said, shaking his head and he lowered himself to sit on the ground. "Wait'll I tell Harry that."
Sam didn't really know what to say to that, but he prematurely congratulated himself on successfully changing the subject.
"So – are you making that potion that requires a soul to close the door to this place?"
Sam's eyes got wide.
"Come on, Sam, I'm possibly concussed, not stupid. I'd been wondering why you and Dean wanted me here. Harry told me that you needed a guide, but this place is too unpredictable. I figured you had to have alternative plans."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sam said, but even he wasn't convinced by his own words.
"Sure. You know that I helped make it the last time? I understand what is needed. I'm guessing Harry doesn't though, does he?"
"We told him we found another way," Sam confessed. "And we have. Look – Black…Sirius…we found a way to do it so that it won't kill you. It'll just – bind you here."
"Bind me here?"
"Giving your life to Limbo. I know – it won't be great. But you'll be alive. And you were thriving here before, maybe…"
"You really think that I want that? Please. Look – if you've gotta kill me, just kill me. It's preferable to being stuck here for all eternity."
"What?"
"You heard me." Sirius sighed, suddenly feeling the weight of everything he had been through. "Sam – I'm old. I know that I don't look it, but I am. And I'm tired. I thought that being back on Earth would, somehow, I don't know, take the burden of all my years and losses away from me, but it didn't."
This was all feeling too familiar to Sam and feeling he had in his gut was even worse than it was before.
"Don't go and chicken out on me now," Sirius said, correctly interpreting the look on Sam's face. "Sam – imagine being gone for decades and then coming back only to find that almost all your friends are gone and your godson doesn't need you anymore. I will admit, that it is a pretty devious plot on your and Dean's part, and I didn't think you had it in you, but, but allowing me to make this choice, you won't have to face Harry's anger later."
"We can try and find another way," Sam croaked.
Sirius shook his head. "There is no other way. And those demon wizards are too dangerous to everyone on Earth to allow this place to continue to exist."
"But Harry – "
"Harry will be fine, he'll have you." Sirius' mind was made up. He realized, in this moment, that it had been made up for a long time. That somewhere, deep-down, he knew this was suicide mission.
Not this trip to Limbo, specifically, but his entire foray back into life on Earth. He didn't have a life there anymore. Not without James, Lily, and Remus. And he didn't have a purpose either. Harry was a man grown and Sirius' instincts on how to best protect him were, at best, misguided, and at worse, more harm than good.
And this way, he'd still get to see Harry again someday. When their days could be filled with playing pranks, chatting, and no drama.
Sirius could imagine Heaven. He could imagine not having to fight anymore. It was time. And if his last act could be protecting his godson, he would go with a grin on his face and laughter in his heart, then he won. He had to do this.
"Please Sam," he finally said. "Please let me do this for Harry."
"Harry won't like it," Sam frowned. "He'll hate it - actually."
"I know," Sirius said. "I know that it will be difficult for him to understand." Actually, he thought if anyone would understand it would be Harry. Harry who had given up so much to protect the lives of others. Particularly those of his family. Sirius had never liked that Harry had given up his own life so that Sam and Dean could live, but he understood it now better than he ever had before.
"What do you need help with? I helped before – I think I can probably remember again."
Sam was torn. This wasn't turning out the way that he had imagined it would. He was ready to sacrifice the bastard that had torn his family apart, but he was beginning to see that he had misjudged Sirius. That maybe, like his own father, he was simply trying to do the best for his family. That, from the outside, those sacrifices looked bad and possibly neglectful but his actions were informed by love.
"I don't like it," he said.
"Yeah, but you were prepared to do it in any case, weren't you?"
"I was but..."
"Sam!"
Sam snapped his gaze away from Sirius.
Standing there was something that he had been fearful that he would never see again. It was Mary.
"Mom!" He cried back, the entire situation with Sirius completely forgotten. He ran over to her, never having felt so relieved in his life. "You're alive," he mumbled into her hair as she wrapped her arms around him. "I thought we had lost you."
"I thought I had lost all of you as well," she said back. "But you are all here. And you look so healthy. I've missed you."
"We've missed you."
"Well, this is all very touching," Gabriel interrupted, "but now isn't really the time? Who knows where Lucifer has gotten to and if he's already back on Earth."
"He wasn't as of about five minutes ago," Sam said. Then he realized who he was talking to. "We thought you were dead too."
"Well, that wasn't the first time and will probably not be the last, bucko," Gabriel said.
Sam had forgotten how much he hated the archangel. Not as much as he hated Lucifer, of course, but it wasn't too far off.
"What did he want?" Harry asked.
"Kind of what we'd expect," Sam said. "He wants Jack. Said that he'd been talking to him, even, and that Jack wanted to meet him."
Harry frowned. "No. We asked Jack - he said that he hadn't heard from Lucifer since he had been in Kelly."
"Jack lies," Dean said.
"He does not," Harry insisted. "Jack's a good kid. A really good kid. He wouldn't lie to me - to us about that. He cares about us too much."
"He's still a kid," Sirius said.
Harry shot him a look of betrayal. His godfather was supposed to be on his side. Not take his brother's side.
"We'll just have to ask him again when we get back," Sam said, trying to stop the argument altogether. "And I think the time is getting close."
"How will Jack know to let us back in?" Mary asked, having not gotten the whole story yet.
"He had the ingredients that he needs in order to reopen the rift," Sam said. "And Cas is there, guiding him. Worst case, we figure that Harry should be able to get it open."
"Why would Henry be able to do what a Nephilim can do?"
All three Winchester boys exchanged glances. They had forgotten how much Mary had missed in the last couple of months.
"We'll tell you about it when we get home, Mom," Harry said.
"How much longer?" Sirius asked, giving a significant look to Sam, that Harry missed, but Dean did not.
Harry glanced down at the watch he was carrying with him. "Not long now – an hour, I think."
"We should get back to where we started, just in case," Sam said.
"Flying?" Harry suggested.
"No!" Dean protested.
"We could go in two groups – I could take half and Gabriel the other half," Harry said, ignoring Dean.
"Uh, Harry, I think I'm gonna have to agree with Deano on this one."
Harry looked at Gabriel with surprise. "Why?"
"The magic here is…off…and what Mary and I did destabilized it even more. It took a lot out of me just to fly us all here. If we're not far, I think on foot would be best."
"What do you think would happen?" Sam couldn't stop himself from asking.
"Gee, I dunno, could be anything from there being a magical flare that makes us go further than we intended, or a sudden decrease that could make us fall out of the sky while in route, which would…"
"Walking it is," Dean insisted, looking a little green.
Harry grumbled a little, but he also trusted that Gabriel knew what he was talking about.
"Lead the way," Sam encouraged him. Harry raised an eyebrow but moved forward. Gabriel quickly came and walked beside him.
"Har-Bear," the archangel greeted him, throwing his arm around Harry's shoulders as they walked. "You're looking…" he hesitated a second. "Well, a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you, but still not fully back to your shiniest self. Why don't you catch me up on what's happened…"
"Since you left me without magic and near death in the Bunker?" Harry finished wryly.
"Ah, come on Harry, don't be like that. That was forreeever ago."
"Yeah, well, I'm still not completely back thanks to whatever it was that you did to bind my magic."
"I didn't bind your magic. That was baby bro back there."
Harry shot him a look.
"Fine, fine." He frowned a little. "You should have been able to break out of it as soon as you were healed. I mean, it was a little theoretical, but…"
"Oh, I know all about your theoretical work. Cas and I found your little library at Hogwarts."
"You found my…what…huh? And since when do you call him Cas?"
The last part was exclaimed loudly enough that everyone was able to hear him.
"Yeah!" Dean added. "I think that's weird too!"
"Jealous much?" Sam muttered to him.
"Shut up."
Dean saw that Harry had gone back to conversing quietly with Gabriel. The two of them were at the head of the group. Between them and Sam and Dean were Sirius and Mary, which, to Dean's surprise, seemed embroiled in their own deep conversation.
"What do you think is happening there?" He asked Sam.
Sam shrugged his shoulders, unhelpfully. "He agreed to the spell," Sam whispered as quietly as he could. He was pretty sure that if Harry wanted to hear what they were talking about, he could, but his middle brother was far too busy talking with Gabriel to pay much attention to them.
"You told him?" Dean hissed back.
"I didn't have to. He – uh, caught me preparing it."
"Sam…"
"I know, I know. But I thought he was out cold. Here's the thing – he doesn't want us to use the modified version. He wants us to use the same one that we used when…"
"When he killed Cas," Dean finished for him.
"Yeah. Said that he'd prefer to die. Properly this time. Dean…"
"Ah fuck," Dean swore, understanding where Sam was going with this. And he couldn't blame him. "Well, that makes it way harder to kill the asshat, doesn't it?"
"I don't think we should," Sam said, confirming what Dean had already deduced.
"What else can we do?"
"I don't know," Sam said, somewhat hopelessly. "We can't let Lucifer escape from here, but…"
"He may have already. And even if he hasn't, whatever Gabriel and Mom did open a portal to Purgatory," Dean said.
"Is that what that is?"
"Yeah. And if Lucifer can't get directly to Earth from here, he could go to Purgatory, slip into Hell…"
"You really think he could do that?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "Random reapers can. And they aren't even close to as powerful as Lucifer. Even weakened…"
"Is he weakened?"
"Yeah. Mom sliced out some of his grace…you know, none of this matters. We've got to close this place up. According to Gabriel, this is the only place where those…wizard demons…can be created. We don't know what'll take to defeat them, but we don't want an entire army of them to have to fight against."
Sam ran a hand through his hair. This was all beginning to feel like it was spiraling out of control. "What do we do then?"
"What we gotta," Dean said. "And if he's volunteering…"
Sam didn't like it.
Dean sighed. "Fine. We'll try and find another way." At Sam's surprised look, Dean continued, "Between the look on your face and how angry Harry would be if we did go through with it, it's enough to convince me that it's wrong."
"That is surprisingly mature of you."
Dean grunted in response.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Sam said, inclining his head towards Sirius and Mary.
Dean shrugged.
"…but where is this all coming from?" Mary asked, on guard. Sirius Black, one of the men responsible for stealing her son was apologizing to her and she didn't buy it for one second. She bristled that this man could have any idea what he had done to her and her family.
"Something your son said," Sirius said. "But, you have to know, Mary, that we had every intention of returning him."
"I don't care about your intentions!" She hissed, careful not to raise her voice because she did not want to involve her boys in this conversation.
"I know, I know. It was a very dark time and we were all…we were all trying to do whatever we could to make the world a better place. When Lily found out about the American laws, she couldn't just…do nothing. Not when there was so much out of her control at home and so much she couldn't help with."
"And what part of this plan exactly required you to pretend to be friends with my husband and come into our home?"
"The part where I wanted to make sure that you weren't what MACUSA thought you were."
Mary almost stopped dead in her tracks, but she didn't, again, trying to keep this conversation between the two of them.
"It was stupid, really, what did I know at that age about what it was to be a good parent?"
"What do you know about that now?" Mary shot back.
Sirius recoiled. "I deserve that. Look – here's what I know. I love Harry like he's my own," Mary started to protest, but he kept going, "I know that he's not. But ever since he first looked into my eyes, I knew that I would die to protect him. He is the kindest, most compassionate, strongest person I've ever had the fortune to meet, and what I need is for you to see that. He needs you. Even if he won't admit it."
"Gabriel…he told me that you and Remus wanted to kill Peter, and Harry wouldn't let you."
That wasn't the direction Sirius was expecting this conversation to go. He was surprised that Gabriel knew that, although, maybe he shouldn't be. "He said that he didn't think that James would want us to become murderers on his behalf," he remembered.
"And you listened to him," Mary said.
"I – we – uh, yes, we did. I still don't know if that was the right thing to do…"
"It was," Mary asserted. "I hate what you did to our family. I hate what you did to Henry. I especially hate that, after you took him from me, you didn't make sure that was loved and cared for in the way that he would have been. But – for the short time I've known him, I know that he doesn't trust people easily. I think…" this hurt her to say, more than she could admit to herself, "I think that repaired a part of him that would have been forever broken if you hadn't. And I suppose, I can't hate you for that."
A lump formed in Sirius' throat.
Sam trotted up behind them before he could respond. "We're almost there," he said.
Sirius nodded. "Alright." He straightened. "I'm ready. Did you manage to get it all together?"
Mary looked confused between the two of them.
Sam shook his head. "No. No – we, Dean and I, we talked it over, and we can't let you do that."
"I said I would!"
"Yeah, but who would it make us if we let you? We'll find another way."
"What are you two talking about?" Mary asked.
"We're here!" Harry announced from the front. They were back in the clearing. It hadn't been that long since they left here, but to Sam, it felt like it had been an eternity.
Gabriel looked around the area and even sniffed at the air. "I can feel the rift still."
"That's good, right?" Sam asked.
"Very," he said.
Harry frowned. "Could you have opened the rift, if you wanted?"
Gabriel turned his focus to him. "Of course not. The spell that we used to close this dimension to Earth kept things sealed off. Completely. Until you assholes brought back your angel bestie so that you could…I don't know, cuddle and hug him some more, we would have had no way to get through. A lot of lives could have been saved."
"But once you knew it was open…?"
"By then I didn't have the mojo, and neither did Lucifer."
"Then how did Asmodeus slip through?" Sam asked, not quite believing that Lucifer let anyone other than himself go through first.
"Beats me," Gabriel responded. There was something insincere about his words that Harry considered calling him out on, but a little golden line started to form before their eyes.
It was slow – a lot slower than Harry remembered it being. He stood, transfixed, for what felt like hours, before Jack stepped through. He raised a hand. "Hello!"
"You're a sight for sore eyes, kid," Dean said, clamping him on the back. "Now, let's get the fuck out of here. Harry – you first."
"What? Why me first?"
"Because you've been voted most likely to do something stupid," Dean growled.
"Oh, come on…" Harry turned to Sam. Sam shook his head and pointed towards the rift.
"Time's a 'tickin," Dean urged.
"Mom?"
"Go ahead sweetie," Mary said, not sure what Sam and Dean were worried about, but she trusted them enough that she knew they had a good reason for making Harry go first.
"Whatever," Harry said, and he stepped through.
"Mom," Dean said, offering a hand out to her as if to help her through. She rolled her eyes but accepted it. "It's nice to meet you, Jack," she said before she went through.
"You too!" He called after her.
"Gabriel…" Sam said.
"What's going on here?" He asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," Sam said a little too quickly.
"I've got my eyes on you," he said, and he, too, went through.
"Alright, Black, your turn," Dean said. "We won't go until you do."
"DEAN!" Sam yelled.
Dean turned around.
Black wasn't where he had been the last time that Dean had seen him. He was standing a little off in the distance. He was furiously mixing ingredients and chanting
"Black – don't do it," Dean said. He started to step forward to stop the man, but Sam held him back, seemingly wary of them getting too far away from the rift.
"Sirius," Sam pleaded. "Think about what this will do to Harry. He'll blame himself. You know he will."
"He'll blame us," Dean muttered.
"What's happening?" Jack asked. With a frown, he said, "I can't keep the rift open much longer."
There was a crack in the sky.
"What's that?" Dean asked, looking around wildly.
It didn't take long for him to see. Demon wizards. About five of them. They didn't notice Sirius – their focus was solely on the golden line that was getting thinner.
"What do we do?"
Sam shook his head. "Jack – go," he said.
"But…"
"Jack – now!" Dean commanded. Jack didn't dare disobey. He went back through the line.
"Big mistake," one of the demon wizards said, his eyes glowing purple. "Now we don't have to hold back."
A spell flashed their way, hitting Sam in the stomach, making him double over.
"Sam!" Dean called out. His younger brother was bleeding badly. Another spell came, that Dean artfully dodged.
"PETTIGREW!" Sirius yelled from his position. He now had a knife poised at his stomach. All the demon wizards turned their attention to him.
"Sirius?" the one that attacked them said.
"Yeah. It's me. You'll never hurt anyone else. Ever again."
"What are you…"
"Sam – Dean, go!" Sirius said with urgency. "Tell Harry – tell him that I can't wait to catch up with him. But that better not be for another hundred years."
"No!" Sam called out, looking like he was going to rush toward Harry's godfather.
Dean had to make a quick decision. And there was no way that he was going to get stuck here. With a mighty shove, he pushed Sam through the rift.
He was able to make eye contact with Sirius. The man grinned.
Dean passed through the rift, just as he impaled himself on the knife.
It closed behind him.
AN – *Peaks at everyone from behind a protected barrier of some sort.* I'm SORRY. But it had to happen. As a peace offering, I am posting this a full day early. (Ok, I'm actually posting a day early because I'm going to a SPN convention this weekend and will be busy all day tomorrow.)
Please remember, I've promised y'all a happy ending. It's going to get worst before it gets better, but I think people will be pleased, in the end.
We're getting so close to the end now. Three chapters and an epilogue left to go! And y'all – I've actually finished writing it all. It's just under 460k and 1096 pages long in my Word doc (Calibri, size 11 font, single spaced, one inch margins). I'm polishing those chapters now but there were times I thought I'd never get there.
You, readers, are a large part of that accomplishment, so thank you! I hope that you all have a great weekend and I'll see you next week.