Unfound
Chapter Forty-Nine
"What's taking them so long?" Harry asked after Gabriel came through and he wasn't immediately followed by anyone else.
"They're up to something," Gabriel said, "but I don't know what."
"Oh, fuck that," Harry said, heading back towards the rift.
Castiel put a hand on his shoulder to try and stop him. Harry had no problem shaking him off.
"The rift won't hold for much longer if you go through!" Castiel shouted out, in a last-ditch effort from stopping Harry from going back through. It was enough to make him hesitate.
"I thought it was time-based," he said.
"It is – but also energy based. The rift has gotten smaller with each person who has passed through."
"But Sam and Dean – "
"They can handle themselves," Mary said, soothingly. "They'll come through in a second, I'm sure."
As she was saying that, Jack popped back through.
"Is everything alright?" Harry asked him, not giving him a second to breathe. He saw the look on Jack's face, and he felt his stomach sink. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"Wizard demons," Jack said. "About five of them arrived, and Sam and Dean made me…"
Harry wasn't going to let anyone get in his way this time. He gently moved Jack to the side, only to find Gabriel blocking his path.
"No," he said. "You can't – Harry, you have to…"
"Get out of my way, Gabe," he growled. He tried to move around him, but Gabriel expertly stayed in his path.
"Just take a second, Harry. You don't know how strong they – "
"Which is exactly why I need to get back there. Sorry, Gabe."
Harry held his hand out and summoned a bright green light that shone up to his eyes, making Gabriel fly to the other side of the room.
But before Harry reached the rift, Sam came tumbling through, as if he had been shoved. He was bleeding profusely. Dean followed after him seconds later.
For a moment, everyone stood stock still.
The rift pulsed a couple of times before fizzling out completely.
Then, there was complete pandemonium.
"NO!" Harry yelled, running over to where the rift had just closed. He had never opened a rift before, but he felt deep down in this grace and mustered as much of it as he possibly could to try and make it form again.
Nothing.
"Jack!" He exclaimed. "You've got to open it again…"
But Jack couldn't even hear him, because Mary let out a cry as Sam, who had tumbled through onto the floor, collapsed completely, a pool of blood forming below his body.
Mary rushed over to him, to try and stop the bleeding. She started barking orders to Dean and Castiel, but Harry couldn't hear any of it. It was as if they had all been muted. His mind was swimming.
"Jack – " he repeated. "Jack, you've got to get the rift open again." He reached the young man and clutched his arms. "Jack – please, Sirius he's…"
"He's dead," Dean said harshly. "And Sam could be too at any second. Pull your head out of your ass and help us."
"No," Harry said, backing away. "No – he can't be, he…"
This was all his fault. Again. Only, the last time this had happened, he had been fifteen, and he hadn't known better.
Someone was yelling, swearing violently at the top of their lungs. It took Harry a couple of minutes to realize that was him.
Everything around him was spinning. What was wrong with him? How could he have left Sirius behind? Why did he even bring him along in the first place? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
A slight tapping sound on the table next to him distracted him for a second. The glasses on the table were rattling as if there was a small earthquake.
He could still hear mumbled voices around him but he couldn't identify who was speaking.
"I've got to get him out of here," Gabriel argued with the room. "He's out of it. He's going nuclear!"
"Take me with you," Mary begged. "Please, I can help."
"No can do, mamma do," Gabriel replied. "If he hurt you, I don't think he'd ever recover."
"Are you suggesting that he's going to recover now?" Castiel asked.
Gabriel didn't respond. There was no time for this – if he didn't get Harry out of here he was scared the man was going to blow them all to smithereens. With a tight grasp on Harry's arm, he flew them both out of the Bunker.
Everyone was staring at the empty space where the duo had been.
"Sam, Cas!" Dean yelled, not paying attention to whatever was happening with Harry. Sam was gurgling up blood.
Cas turned his attention away from Harry and back to Sam.
"I can't heal him. What do you think I've been doing?" Cas snapped. He had desperately been trying to use his grace to heal Sam, and so far, none of it seemed to be working. "What was he hit by?"
"Wizard demon. Named Pettigrew. If Black was to be believed."
Mary sucked in a breath.
Dean didn't have time for that right now.
"Jack, kid, you're up."
"If it's anything like Harry's injury, I don't think I'll be able to do anything," he said.
"Just try, won't you?" Dean barked. Sam's breath was getting labored. Dean didn't know how things had gone from so good to so bad so quickly. Although, he really shouldn't be. This was his life.
Jack came and sat next to where Sam was lying on the floor, Dean cradling his head to keep him somewhat upright.
As he sat, though, he let out a great gasp – they weren't sure if it was surprise, shock, or pain, but his head slammed straight back and his eyes were on the ceiling, glowing bright gold. The lights in the room flickered and turned red as they always did when the Bunker was in danger. His entire body emitted a soft golden light that filled the dark Bunker.
"Jack!" Cas called out as he went to the boy's side. But Jack had righted his head and shook it.
"I'm alright," he said. "It's Harry." He looked down at Sam. Holding both his palms flat above the gash in Sam's stomach, more concentrated light came from them, as the lights in the Bunker came fully back online.
As Jack removed his hands, the wound was completely gone, the only evidence of it having been there at all was the blood-stained skin. He gasped.
"Sam. Sammy," Dean said, shaking him slightly.
Sam looked at him. "What?" He didn't look completely with it.
"You're ok," Dean sighed with relief.
Sam looked up at the face surrounding him. Cas, Mom, Jack, and Dean. "Where's Harry?"
III
Rowena managed to steal away for a second, just to try and catch her breath. She had thought that her skin was as tough as steel and her stomach strong enough for even the vilest of violence, but she had been sorely mistaken.
But now she was shaking. That woman – not a woman – she reminded herself, was more demented than the Devil himself.
She had just watched as the demon wizard slaughtered an entire village where one magical baby had been born two days earlier. It was the only magical person in all of the United Kingdom that they had been able to get to.
Rowena was shaking as she called the Winchesters. Answer your bloody mobiles! She thought angrily as she once again got Samuel's voicemail.
She honestly didn't know how much longer she could stall. Rowena had been ready to fight with this woman until it was no longer convenient to do so. She wasn't terribly bothered by killing some of the witches and wizards to weaken their protections and make them face the persecution that she and her kind had dealt with since the beginning of time.
But no, Gormlaith Gaunt had meant it literally when she said that she wanted to destroy every witch or wizard on Earth. And she did it in a way that even made her queasy, which wasn't an easy feat.
"Roweeeena," the woman sang from the room over. Rowena stashed her mobile and took a deep breath.
"Laithy," she said, as she had learned the woman preferred to be called.
"Any progress?"
"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to…consult…someone. The warding they've put up around Hogwarts, it's stronger than it was back in my day. Oh, I'm sure I can still get through it, but it may be a wee bit trickier than I first thought."
Gormlaith narrowed her eyes.
"One of them?" She asked.
"No, no. Of course not. Just the enemy of your enemy is your friend, right?"
"Friends are of no use to me. But if you think it'll get us in quicker…we don't have much time."
Gormlaith kept saying that, but Rowena didn't know what was so particularly urgent. She supposed she didn't want to know.
Shaking, she took her mobile out once more. Neither the Winchesters nor her son were picking up, so she was going to have to get from a far worse, less dependable source.
Of course, he answered after just two rings.
"Rowena, darling," he drawled. "I'd rather thought you were gone for good, hmmm?"
"I need your help."
III
Hermione just got off a floo call with the Muggle Prime Minister. She felt ill.
It was far worse than she ever could have imagined.
Worse than Voldemort. And she never thought that would be possible.
Voldemort hadn't cared for human life – but he had valued powerful witches and wizards. He sought to take over the wizarding world and transform it in terrible ways. But his goal had never been to destroy it all.
Her stomach continued to roil while she thought about what she had just heard.
Nope – it wasn't going to stay down.
She grabbed a rubbish bin and puked her guts out.
After several rounds, she emptied the pitiful amount of food that she had managed to eat in the last day or so.
The destruction had now bled out from the magical world into the Muggle. Hermione hadn't thought that the demon witch would have bothered with them. A sudden, all-to-familiar panic, about her parents and Muggle relatives, ran through her veins.
Currently, her parents were on holiday, but they were due back in a week.
And she didn't think that there was going to be anything she could do to protect them.
Hermione wasn't sure that there was anything she could do to protect anyone. And that filled her with complete and utter dread.
There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," she called out quietly and then did her best to straighten up and look presentable for whoever was about to enter. Probably one of her Department Heads.
She collapsed into a chair with relief when it was Luna who came through the door.
"Hermione!" her friend called out, running over to her side. "You've got to be more careful of those Wrackspurts. You know that they have more of an influence on you than other people."
"So you've said," Hermione said, for once, not worried about trying to keep her voice strong and even. If there was ever someone who wasn't going to judge her, it was Luna. "Please tell me you've got good news."
"How about I put a kettle on?" Luna said as a way of response, and Hermione knew that this was going to be bad. She wasn't sure if she could handle any more bad news.
"There's no need to delay the inventible. I'm assuming it's bad news."
Luna hesitated a second, decided to ignore Hermione's implication that she didn't need tea, and went about making a pot. "It's not all bad," she said, as she went through the practiced motions.
"No?" Hermione didn't dare hope but there was a niggling of something positive.
"No. Someday – when this is all over…"
"If I live that long."
"When this is all over and you're happily retired, you are going to have to spend time in the library. I know it's where you'd like to be now, but I really think you'll enjoy it more when you can go through it leisurely."
"I always thought that, when I was done with all this, I might apply to be the Hogwarts Librarian," Hermione said, smiling faintly at the idea that had always been near and dear to her heart.
"That'd be lovely," Luna grinned at her as she poured some tea into a cup. "Ginger, to soothe your stomach."
"Thank you, Luna," Hermione took a sip. It did do wonders. "The news?"
"Drink your tea," Luna insisted.
Hermione sighed and did as she was told. There were very few people who could get away with that.
"Feel better?"
Hermione nodded – her head feeling a little clearer, but her eyelids heavier. When was the last time she slept? Maybe it was the kip she had just before lunch.
"It'll be ok, Hermione," Luna assured her.
And she knew that Luna meant that. "You better tell me before I fall dead asleep in this chair."
"I think you're ready." She waited for a second. "Harry's back."
Hermione's heart skipped. "Really?" He hadn't even been gone that long. That was…
"He's not in a good place," Luna completed her thought before Hermione could get too excited.
"What happened?" She asked, dread filling her.
"He lost Sirius again."
"No!" Hermione gasped. "No – that's…that's so unfair." Tears started running down her face. Harry had just gotten him back. And to just lose him again… "Do you know what happened?"
Luna shook her head. "I can just feel that he is in pain," she said, crying silently as well. "He – he's not well. He hadn't felt like this since…"
She didn't need to finish that sentence.
"But Gabriel's with him now. He's not alone."
"I thought Gabriel was dead."
"No. He was ready to die – to keep Harry safe, but he made it home, and I think that he'll help Harry through all of this."
"Can he help us?" Hermione blurted out. An archangel might be just what they needed to end Gormlaith.
"He's got bigger problems."
"Bigger problems than the destruction of the wizarding world?" As the words came out of her mouth, Hermione realized what that must mean.
"Lucifer is back too. Their plan to trap him must not have worked."
"Are you sure?" Hermione didn't want to believe it.
Luna nodded. "I can feel him too. He's weak – weaker than Harry, for the moment, but he has his ways of hiding and gaining power. He's not an immediate threat, but he will be one soon enough."
That bad news was, indeed, pretty horrible. Somehow though, knowing that Harry and Gabriel were…somewhere…within flying distance was a relief.
"I haven't told you the good news yet," Luna said.
"There's good news?"
"Yes. Charlie – she's discovered something that will help us against wizard demons. It's all still theoretical, but with Harry and Gabriel back, I think they'll be strong enough to wield the magic we need to destroy them."
"What is it?"
Luna waved her off. "I don't understand it. You'll have to ask her about it, sometime. Hermione, you need to go to sleep."
"I can't!"
"You can. We'll cover for you." Luna transfigured the sofa in the room they were in into a bed that looked very inviting. "I'll make sure no one disturbs you for at least four hours."
"An hour should do it…"
The glare Luna foxed on her was enough to make her stop protesting. "Alright, alright. But promise me – if Harry shows up, or if anything…"
"We'll wake you."
"Thank you."
She heaved herself out of the chair and into the bed and was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow.
III
Harry wasn't completely aware of what was happening around him. The wind lashed around him and hail rained down. It was a tempest but he couldn't feel a thing. Not the sharp cold of the wind nor the freezing stings of the hail as it hit his skin.
Sirius.
He was gone. Again. And the last things that Harry had said to him…had done…
He yelled until he didn't have any air left in his lungs.
Eventually, the yelling gave way to sobs. All the energy he had been pulsating outside of himself seemed to collapse in as he clumsily fell to the ground.
And just like that he was no longer him. He was the vessel formally known as Harry Potter. An empty shell of an angel.
He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged his knees just to try and stay grounded.
"…ry….Harry…"
For the first time in, he had no idea how long, he registered a presence other than his own.
For a moment, he debated trying to push the person away but all the pressure seemed still to be rushing inward.
"Breath with me," the voice said. "Come on…in…count to five…"
Harry could do that. He had done these kinds of exercises before.
"Good, good, now out for five…"
They continued like this for a time that Harry couldn't quite define.
Eventually, he recognized the very patient and kind voice of Gabriel.
"Gabe…" he said after he let out a breath for what could have been the hundredth time.
"Harry," Gabriel said, still in an oddly calm and soothing voice for the archangel. In fact, Harry wasn't sure that he had ever heard that soft of a tone come from him.
"He's gone," Harry croaked with what remained of his voice – which wavered and cracked with emotion.
"He's in Heaven," Gabe said.
Harry let out a humorless laugh that sounded more like a cough. "A better place, really?"
"A much better place where he's spent the last twenty years."
Harry supposed that was true and he almost smiled at the thought of his godfather's reunion with his parents and Remus. But even that image didn't make the ache in his heart go away. In a way, it worsened it. What would Lily and James think about Harry getting Sirius killed? Again?
"It's not your fault," Gabe said as if he could read Harry's mind.
"No? I brought him into that hellhole. I left him there…alone with Sam and Dean when I knew that they couldn't stand each other. I kicked him out of the Bunker the second he became an inconvenience…I…" He wondered if it was possible to die from too much air. He wondered if he cared.
"I dunno about much of that – I've been AWOL for the last couple of months, ya know. And I don't know Sirius Black all that well, but what I do know about him is that he would give his life to you ten thousand times if it saved you."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Harry snapped.
"I don't know that anything I said could make you feel better, kiddo."
"Then why are you bothering to talk at all?" It came out harshly but Harry didn't have the energy to care.
"I don't have to," Gabe offered, again, in a soft voice that Harry could barely recognize. "We can just sit here. We can sit here for as long as you'd like."
Harry didn't even know where "here" was.
They sat in complete and total silence for at least an hour. Maybe longer. Time was hard to tell. Even though it seemed impossible in a world without his godfather, Harry continued to breathe. He cried a couple of times. Gabriel stayed silent – rubbing gentle circles on his back that somehow made the grief stronger and more manageable at the same time.
Harry's thoughts slowly returned to him through the wave of anguish that had been controlling him.
He realized something. "I'm the Angel of Death," he said.
"Yes?" Gabe said, surprised to hear Harry's voice for the first time in hours and even more astonished that those were the words that came out.
"Can't I bring him back?"
"Bring him back?"
"Yes. I've brought people back from the brink. All the blocks on my power are now fully removed, I can feel all my grace for the first time since you bond it. Really since the first time Asmodeus took it from me." He looked up at Gabe, unfolding himself from the fetal position he had been in. "I can bring him back, can't I?"
Gabriel shook his head, sadly. "No. Where his soul is now…you can't reach any better than I can."
"You said he was in Heaven!" Harry insisted.
"Yes, but wizarding Heaven. You know that my father has locked me out."
"You got me out of there!"
"One-time dispensation, I'm afraid."
"Well, we'll just have to find Chuck and…"
"Harry – "
"What? It's what my brothers have done, right? How many times have they come back to life? Castiel too. Where do angels go when they die? Obviously, they can be pulled out of there. Why not Sirius?"
"Angels go nowhere and everywhere. That's not where Sirius is."
"What the fuck does that mean?"
Gabriel sighed. "I could try to explain the physics of it all, but I don't think that's what you're looking for. It won't help."
"So…when I die, I won't see him?" That wasn't something Harry had even considered until this moment. Oh, that somehow made this way, way worse.
"I don't know," Gabriel said. "Nephilim – they have, traditionally, been terrible people. Their souls have always gone to Purgatory. Maybe just because they're abominations. I've never really questioned it."
"Am I a Nephilim?"
Gabriel shook his head. "That's the closest word I can get to for you. It doesn't quite fit. You're not my son, Harry."
Harry snorted. "I should hope not, with all the time you've spent trying to get into my pants."
"Hey – I'd take you out to dinner first. I'm a gentleman."
"Sure."
Gabriel looked down for a second. "For what it's worth – I can stop flirting. If it makes you uncomfortable."
"You've never cared about my comfort before."
"Yeah. I know. Had to break through that stiff British upper lip somehow. But I understand that you're not interested. But – you're just so gosh darn adorable."
Harry blushed. "I never said that, you know."
"That you are adorable? You have a hard time seeing it, I know. But…"
"That I wasn't interested," Harry cut him off.
Gabriel's eyes went wide. He made some strangled sounds but no actual words came out.
"If I had known that is what it would have taken to shut you up, I would've said it earlier," he teased. Then the humor fell off of his face. He didn't have time for trivial things. He wasn't sure if he had much time left at all, but he couldn't leave Gabriel thinking… He shook his head. "But you haven't answered my question. What am I? I know what I'm not – at least, not completely."
"Does it really matter?" Gabriel asked, finding his voice again.
"Of course, it matters! I need to know – am I a monster? Am I something that my brothers should be hunting rather than sheltering?"
"I'd kill them if they tried," Gabriel growled.
"They wouldn't though," Harry said. "Gabe – if I start going that way, you're going to have to kill me. They – I don't think they could."
"No one's going to kill you. You're not going to die, not on my watch."
Harry gave him a pained expression.
"Again," Gabriel added.
"You might not have a choice. These wizard demons – they are unlike anything I've ever seen before. I was attacked by one, you know. I don't know what magic she used, but I couldn't heal myself. We have no idea how to kill them. My wandblade didn't work. An angel blade didn't work. And even Dean's demon-killing knife didn't work. I was doing some research in your library and I found…"
"Woah there, you've mentioned that before. What library are you talking about?"
"You have more than one?"
"I don't have any!"
"Come on, Gabe. What's the point of hiding it now? We've learned a lot from it and I'm sure that Luna and Charlie are still combing it for information. The one with the scrolls from the Library at Alexandria? With all the information about how to create and destroy grace?"
Gabriel gave Harry a look that made the man's stomach sink. "No scrolls survived that fire. I think you've been watching too many movies."
"Your secret library! At Hogwarts. It's why Hogwarts is so protected, right?"
"Harry, I swear to you I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
The blood drained out of Harry's face.
III
"But where could Gabriel have taken him that even Jack can't find him?" Sam fretted at Dean as he slammed a book closed.
"If Jack is telling the truth," Dean said darkly from behind his glass of whiskey.
After the panic about Sam's brush with death had died down, they realized that Gabriel had whisked Harry off to parts unknown, and they had no idea when or if the two of them would be back.
"Maybe he just needed some time," Mary said softly from the other end of the table, trying to mediate the situation between the boys before they started arguing again.
"It's been hours!" Sam exclaimed. "I don't understand why the two of you aren't more worried about this."
It was just the three of them in the library of the Bunker.
After being interrogated, Jack stomped off to his room, acting more like the age his body appeared to be than ever before.
In all the chaos, Crowley had disappeared, and Castiel had gone off in search of him when it was clear that Harry wasn't going to be back anytime soon. They thought, as a human, that the former demon wouldn't have been able to get that far, but since Cas hadn't returned yet, there was cause for concern.
And of course, there was no work on whether or not Lucifer had escaped Limbo before they had shut it down.
Sam had a sneaking suspicion – a terrible feeling that went straight to his gut, that they hadn't heard the last from the Devil.
"He just lost his godfather, boys," Mary said, a little louder than before. "And you know that he has to be blaming himself."
"He always blames himself," Sam grumbled.
"He's a dumbass," Dean agreed.
"And the two of you wouldn't do the same thing?" Mary challenged.
Neither of them could disagree with her.
"Alright, if we can't find Harry, what can we do?" Dean asked, always itching to move forward. They had just left Limbo, and yet he felt still stuck in it while they waited.
"I was thinking that maybe I could go to Hogwarts and…"
"No," Dean and Mary said at the same time.
"What! It was just an idea."
Dean snorted. "Right. Just go to the place where we know one of Lucifer's minions is trying to wipe off the face of this Earth. Should be a walk in the park. No danger at all."
"I can help!"
"You can help give him more ammunition to use against Harry," Dean quipped back.
"Anything is better than sitting around here," Sam said, raising his voice and standing up.
Dean was going to snap at him to sit his ass down when there was a knock on the door of the Bunker.
"Are you expecting anyone?" Mary asked.
"No," Dean said shortly, pulling a gun out from under the table he was sitting at.
"And no one should have been able to get through the wards without us knowing," Sam added, looking at the laptop that was set to give him alerts about intruders within a couple-mile radius of the Bunker.
Through a series of looks and gestures, both brothers headed up the stairs quickly.
One, two, three, Dean mouthed at Sam before he opened the door.
Sam with his gun in one hand and his wand in the other and Dean with his gun pointed it at the person who was standing there.
"Really, gentlemen, is that strictly necessary?" A British drawl came out of the man standing there. "I've brought a peace offering, after all. It's a Macallan Sherry Oak – 30 years."
"Do you want to AK him or should I just shoot him in the head?" Dean asked Sam.
"Shooting him would be more painful," Sam said. He also wasn't prepared to use the Unforgivable curse, even though he was sure that Ketch deserved it.
Ketch put the bottle of scotch down and raised his hands. "I come in peace. I swear. Rowena sent me."
"Is that supposed to make this any better?" Dean demanded, not lowering his gun and preparing himself to have to pull the trigger.
"She's been working with that…" he crinkled his nose, "abomination demonized witch soul creature…"
"Dezard," Dean corrected.
"Gesundheit," Ketch said. "Can I come in now?"
"No," Sam said. "Why would we trust you."
"Obviously, you don't," he drawled. "This was a last-ditch effort. Rowena has been ringing you for days."
Sam reached into his pocket for his cell phone, keeping his wand trained on Ketch. "Dead," he said when he looked at it. He hadn't really thought about it while they had been in Limbo. "Check yours," he said to Dean.
"I left it here," Dean said.
"I've got it!" Mary called from down below.
"Was that…Mary?" Ketch asked with wonderment, only to be met with both Winchester brothers more aggressively putting their guns in his face. He raised his hands (one still clutching the bottle of scotch) to show that he meant no harm.
"She's called at least twenty times," Mary called from below. Sam and Dean risked looking away from Ketch for a moment to exchange a glance.
"Come in," Dean said, "slowly."
Ketch smirked and did as instructed.
"Put down the scotch," he said. "Sam – search him."
Sam made a face, but after Ketch put the bottle down, he did a quick pat down. He found three knives and one gun.
"I wasn't going to come in here, unarmed, hmm?"
"Is that everything?" Dean demanded.
"Yes, of course," he said.
"He's lying," from downstairs, Jack had reemerged from his room when he had heard the stern voices of Sam and Dean.
Ketch rolled his eyes, and with slow, predictable movements, removed his left shoe, removed the soul, and popped out a knife.
"That's all," he said. "I swear."
"Jack?"
"He's telling the truth."
"Alright, come in," Dean ordered.
Ketch rolled his eyes and started making his way down the stairs.
"How'd he even get in?" Sam muttered.
Once he was at the bottom of the stairs, Ketch stared at Mary. "I thought you were dead."
She punched him in the face. "That's for trying to kill my boys."
"Ow," Ketch said. "I didn't try to kill them, that was my employer. I am merely a vessel for…" Mary punched him again. "Alright, I suppose I deserve that. But I'm here to help now. Doesn't that count for something?"
"We'll see. Why is Rowena working for Gormlaith?"
"Oh, you do know her name, splendid, that will make all of this easier. Rowena didn't have much time to chat, but she told me that the creature approached her because of her past…"
"Trying to destroy Hogwarts," Sam said, with wide eyes, connecting the dots.
"He knows his history," if Ketch had been capable of sounding like anything other than a condescending asshole, that would have passed for impressed.
"Last we checked Rowena was still pretty gung-ho about destroying Hogwarts," Dean said. "What gives?"
"Apparently, she has a limit for the amount of violence she can stomach," Ketch explained. "And has had a change of heart. She sent me to warn you, assuming that you had a way to get in touch with the Minister."
"We might," Dean said, not wanting to give too much away.
"You can just call her, right?" Jack asked. Dean had forgotten he was in the room and he winced.
"Oh, did you get the floo reconnected here? That's perfect, I can just get myself back to the UK and…"
"You're not going anywhere," Sam growled.
"Why ever not? I thought I was "unwelcome," so, if you don't mind, I've delivered my message and now I'll just go about my merry way…"
Dean slapped a handcuff around one of Ketch's wrists and swiftly moved to connect it with the other, before the man could fight him off. He wasn't gentle about it either.
Ketch groaned. "Really? I'm helping."
"We'll see about that," Dean said gruffly. "Walk – we're gonna put you somewhere where you can't do any more damage than you already have."
"I know this place inside and out – do you really think you can hold me?"
"No," Sam said. "But if you so much as breathe wrong, we'll put a hole in your skull. Just like we did to the rest of your people."
Ketch shut up and let himself get led to the dungeon. He tried to keep the pleased expression off his face. Being held prisoner wasn't ideal, of course, but he was now in one of the safest places on Earth. Maybe he'd finally take a kip and relax.
III
Finding Crowley wasn't difficult in the least.
Castiel found him belly up to the bar, some sort of fruity concoction in front of him.
"You look terrible," he said as he sat down next to him.
"You know, people are fond of saying that to me, as of late," Crowley responded, his voice even raspier than normal. "Hit me," he said to the bartender that came up to take Castiel's order.
"This your buddy?" he asked.
Crowley scoffed. "Hardly."
"You know I've got to cut you off. You look like death warmed over. Hopefully, your pal here can take you home. What'll you have?" He directed the last question to Castiel.
"Water," Castiel said, as he was used to when he was at a bar.
Crowley glared at him and the bartender quickly filled a glass with water and handed it to him, before walking away.
"What do you want, Feathers?" Crowley asked, but without his usual bite. It seemed that he was too exhausted to even give his usual level of snark. "If you need my help with something, I'm afraid you're properly fucked."
"Why is that?"
"I'm dying, you moron."
Ah, there he is, Castiel thought, relieved that Crowley was acting a little more like himself. "If you were doing the trials, I'm surprised that you're not dead already," he said matter-of-factly.
Crowley stood, wobbly on his feet. "This isn't a conversation we should have in here," he threw some money down on the bar and then stumbled his way out of the bar.
Castiel took a calming breath, and raised his eyes to the ceiling, before following him.
He found the man peeing on the side of the bar.
"See something you like?" Crowley asked him crudely.
Castiel wrinkled his nose.
"'Cause I always thought that you and I had some sexual tension between us. Sure, I expected when you were an angel and I was a demon, it wasn't ever going to happen but now…"
"I'm still an angel and you're still…you," Castiel said with disgust.
"Are you though?" Crowley asked, zipping himself up. "You know – after all that, it didn't bloody work."
"What didn't work?" Castiel asked, tilting his head.
"Closing the Gates of Hell," Crowley said. "I thought if Moose and Squirrel were smart enough to figure it out, it'd be a walk in the park for me. But nooooo, I said the bloody incantation three times and – nothing. Nada. Not a bloody thing."
He was overusing the word bloody and it was quite concerning.
"And you know what the frosting on top of the fucking cupcake is?" Crowley asked, his voice once again cracking to sound more American than Castiel had ever heard it. "I thought it was working. I felt something every other time. I killed…" he started to tear up, which made the angel extremely uncomfortable, "one of my dogs. Murdered a puppy! And for what? Nothing."
"I mean, they are monsters in their own rights…"
"I can't figure out why it didn't work. Why didn't it work, Castiel?" He sounded so sad.
"I couldn't tell you."
"I thought I was so clever – curing myself. Fat lot of good it did me. And now, I'm dying. I can feel it. In my bones – what I did, it's like a cancer and it's spreading and spreading…"
Castiel took two fingers and pressed them to Crowley's forehead.
He gasped at what he felt. It was in every way just as bad as Sam had been. He was unsure how Crowley was even standing, much less breathing and talking. He knew that no amount of grace was going to heal this…except…"
There was something there. Something that he had learned to spot with Sam. And Harry. But it shouldn't even be possible.
"Crowley – were you a wizard when you were a human?"
III
Jack carefully put a few belongings in a bag. He wasn't sure that he was going to need them, but he didn't like to be without his laptop. Or his textbooks – he didn't want to disappoint the professors when he went back to Hogwarts.
Castiel had left to go find Crowley. Harry and Gabriel had gone – well, Jack wasn't completely sure where they were, but somewhere where Harry could get better. Sam, Dean, and Mary were currently huddled just outside the dungeon, trying to decide what to do with Ketch.
It was now or never.
His father was here. On Earth. He could feel him.
But the man hadn't reached out to him. Which was puzzling, as he had been speaking with Jack ever since he was born.
Jack…missed him.
And he was worried about him. Why had he stopped talking? Was he alright? He knew that his father was still alive.
Jack also knew that if he had asked about it, there was no way that the Winchesters or Castiel would let him go and look for Lucifer.
But they were all ignoring him.
And he felt as though he was being called to find his father.
So, as quietly as he could, he snuck past the bickering family and the smarmy British man, and he slipped out the front door. He wanted to clear the wards before he flew off, worried that he could be tracked that way.
For a moment, he felt a stab of regret. Should he have left a note?
He shook his head. No, of course not. He'd be back before anyone could miss him. All he had to do was find his father, make sure he was alright, and then he'd come straight back.
III
Sirius smiled fondly as James yawned hugely and rumbled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Then, with a glance towards Professor Flitwick, he turned in his seat and grinned at him, who was sitting four seats away. They were in the middle of their Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL and had to sit alphabetically. None of this prevented him from giving James a confident thumbs up from his seat. He had finished writing the essay ages ago, so he was just lounging back and enjoying the stress of his fellow students.
"Quill's down, please!" Professor Flitwick declared. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"
Everything kind of blinked away and suddenly, Sirius found that he was no longer taking his exam, but rather, bursting out of the Great Hall. He briefly felt that something was wrong but he had been bursting to ask this question since he'd seen it. "Did you like question ten, Moony?" He asked Remus.
"Loved it," Remus replied with his regular dry drawl. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question."
"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" James asked in tones of mock concern.
"Think I did," Remus answered as if it was a serious question. They joined the crowd to go – finally, enjoy some sunshine after weeks of studying and taking exams. "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name is Remus Lupin."
Wormtail didn't laugh, he had a look of concern on his face. "I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else – "
"How thick are you Wormtail?" James asked, impatiently. "You run round with a werewolf once a month – "
"Keep your voice down," Remus begged.
They continued on their way down to the lake. Sirius smiled as the sun hit his face and the smell of the fresh mountain air filled his nostrils.
"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," he told his friends. "I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least."
"Me too," James agreed. Put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch. It looked … odd to Sirius. Something was off about it.
"Where'd you get that?" He asked James.
"Nicked it," James confessed casually. He started to play with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away before seizing it again.
Sirius had missed this. They stopped in the shade of their favorite beech tree at the edge of the lake. Remus, predictably, pulled out a book and started reading. James kept showing off with the Snitch. And Sirius looked around, trying to look impassive, while still enjoying seeing all the students milling about.
James let the Snitch go and caught it – often at the very last second. One save was so impressive that Wormtail clapped when he easily closed his hand around it. There was still something decidedly wrong with the Snitch. If looked more robotic than bird-like and it puzzled Sirius, but not as much as Wormtail was annoying him.
"Put that away, will you," Sirius finally said to James. "Before Wormtail wets himself with excitement." He smirked at the jib. The little rat deserved it.
James grinned, even though Wormtail blushed a little. "If it bothers you," he said, putting the Snitch back in his pocket. James always listened to him. Unlike Har…
"I'm bored," he declared to his friends. "Wish it was full moon."
"You might," Remus said darkly, and Sirius felt a small twinge of regret. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me. Here…" he held out his book.
Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all," he hadn't even thought about the Transfiguration OWL. There was no need.
"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," James said quietly. "Look who it is…"
Sirius sat up at attention and looked around. "Excellent," he said with a smile. "Snivellus."
He and James stood. Remus remained planted to the ground, studying, of course. Wormtail look like he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Typical.
"All right, Snivellus?" James asked loudly.
Snape reacted quickly, he grabbed into his robes for his wand, but James was quicker, and he quickly called out…
"That is quite enough," a female voice cut through the scene.
Sirius looked up, surprised. Had McGonagall caught them in the act? It had been a while since she had been able to sneak up on them.
Only – this woman didn't sound British.
"Sirius Black – you do not belong here."
All of a sudden, everyone disappeared except a woman with a pinched expression on her face, wearing a gray suit. She looked extremely annoyed.
"How did a wizard get into regular human Heaven?" She asked rhetorically. "We do not have the power to handle this…" she waved her hand around at the environment around them, which was now just the Hogwarts grounds, but no people. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to come with me, Mr. Black," she said, in a voice that left no room for argument.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked, trying to make sense of everything.
"My name is Naomi," she replied. "Now come along, we've no time to dawdle."
III
"…and he said that only someone serving under you would be able to enter. He was a little surprised, honestly, because he never thought that you perceived him as loyal to him but…"
Gabriel snorted. "I don't. That didn't make you suspicious?"
Harry shrugged. He had just finished explaining to Gabriel how Castiel had found the secret library at Hogwarts that they had assumed that he had hidden there. The archangel had confirmed that he had put extra protections around the castle, that he had, in a way, "blessed" it but he didn't have anything from his life before the demon war that had burned down the Library at Alexandria.
"If you didn't put it there, then who did?"
"That's the million-dollar question, ain't it?" Gabriel asked. "Look, Harry, I brought you here because I didn't want you to…I don't know, explode your friends and family. But you seem more stable now. Maybe we ought to be getting back. You feeling less combustible?"
Harry turned red with embarrassment. He didn't feel like his grief was so strong that he was going to lose control again, but it was still there, and it still felt like it was consuming every part of his being. He was just particularly adept at hiding it. And they had bigger problems.
"I don't know if I can go back," he confessed to Gabriel. "How can I face them?"
"Who?"
"My brothers. My mother. Any of them. Gabriel, I let Sirius die. I don't know how any of them could look at me the same way."
"You didn't let shit happen," Gabriel said, a little more sharply than he intended. "Sirius knew exactly what he was doing. And if you want to blame anyone for that, you should blame me."
That wasn't what Harry was expecting to hear. He had been expecting Gabriel to blame his brothers, as he normally did. "Why?"
"Because I set him up to sacrifice himself in that way."
"How could you have?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes. Why would Gabriel try to shift the blame away from the person who deserved it?
Gabriel took a deep breath. He needed to ease Harry's burden and if the only way to do that was to lie a little, then so be it. "You're not going to like this, but I promised you once that I wouldn't keep things from you anymore. The first time we were in Limbo, I asked Sirius to help me close the rift."
Harry looked at him blankly.
"Right. I forgot that you were out of commission, at the time."
"Because of you!"
"Sure, sure," Gabriel said. "But I kept you out of it, which was what was important. What did Sirius tell you about meeting me?"
Harry looked at him blankly. "Nothing," he said. "He didn't mention you to me at all."
"Ah," Gabriel said. "Well, I'm assuming he didn't want to speak ill of the presumed dead. Harry – that spell to close Limbo – that was mine. I brought Sirius into it with the promise that if he did it, if he killed himself to close the whole damn place down, I would reunite him with you."
"But I was on Earth," Harry said, still not quite understanding, but there was a new feeling taking over his guilty conscious.
"He didn't know that," Gabriel explained. "Castiel told him that you had died, which you had when they were together in Purgatory. I let him continue to believe that you were in Heaven. He believed that he was going to die. Of course, he cleverly came up with the idea of killing the angel instead, so it was…"
Harry stopped moving. His expression went completely blank. Gabriel wondered, momentarily, if he was even breathing.
Never one to be comfortable with silence, Gabriel continued, "He wanted to see you, more than anything. I figured – I could tell him the truth when it was all over…" he cleared his throat as Harry's face remained a stoic mystery. "I'm saying that he didn't mind the thought of dying. He accepted it. He was willing – happy to do it. Harry, didn't give anything that he wasn't willing to. He would have died a thousand times if it meant that…"
"And you think that makes this alright?" Harry asked harshly, finally finding his voice. How stupid was he? He had trusted Gabriel. Sam and Dean had warned him – how many times – about the Archangel. Why did he think that any of this information helped? If anything, it made widened Harry's grief. Sirius shouldn't have to have sacrificed himself. Not again.
He stood up.
"Harry…"
"No! Don't you…you…how could you…" Harry's thoughts were swirling so much that he could barely get them out. Gabriel knew how much Sirius meant to him. He knew that one of Harry's biggest regrets was that he had left him in Purgatory to rot. Harry had bloody told him. Harry had told him everything – had trusted him completely.
But Gabriel had put the idea in Sirius' head. He had thought that it was Sam and Dean. But he was wrong. Always wrong.
He could feel static building under his skin again. This time, it felt like his body was being split in two. He was angry. Angry that he had trusted Gabriel to protect those who he loved. Angry that Sirius had chosen to die rather than resolve things with him. Angry that he had allowed things to get to that point.
The wind started to pick up.
"Harry, you need to…"
"Don't talk to me," Harry said. He needed to be alone. He couldn't…he didn't want…he was having a hard time breathing again. "You need to go," he said coldly.
"Harry, I'm just trying to help…"
"I don't care, Gabriel. Leave. Now."
"Harry, I'm not going to…"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shouted.
And just like that – Gabriel vanished.
III
Sam waited as the phone rang.
He was pretty sure that they had gotten all the information they were going to get out of Ketch, out.
They were going to keep the man locked up, though, just in case.
But he needed to talk to Ginny.
Really, he needed to talk to Hermione, but he was most comfortable talking to Ginny, even after everything the two of them had gone through together.
He was almost ready to hang up when she answered the phone.
"Sam," she said as way of greeting, she sounded relieved. "I'm so glad you're back."
"Thanks," he said. "How are things at Hogwarts?"
There was hesitation on the other side of the line.
"That good, huh?" he asked.
"They could be better. Gormlaith – she…"
"Destroyed an entire village just to kill one baby?"
"How did you know that?"
"I've got my sources, but thanks for confirming that he was telling the truth. Morale is pretty low then?"
"Yes. Although, at least now, people aren't questioning why Hermione ordered everyone to Hogwarts. A few stragglers even made their way here."
"But no one has broken in?"
"Gormlaith tried. Sam – is Harry there? We could really use him here. I think that people seeing him would…"
"Harry…" Sam was careful with his words. "He's…not available right now."
"Not available?"
"Right. I wanted to check in because we were back and…"
"Samuel Winchester – did you leave Harry in Limbo?" Her voice was sharp and accusatory.
"What? No! Of course not."
"Then why isn't he available?" She wasn't going to let this go. He didn't know why he thought she would and he was regretting calling her at all. "He's not unconscious, is he?"
"No. Well, at least, I don't think so. Gabriel took him…"
"Gabriel took him where?" There was an edge of panic to her voice.
"Somewhere else, we're not sure where. But he's fine. Well, physically he's fine. It's just that we heard that the witch…"
"Physically?"
Sam sighed. "Things didn't go according to plan, in Limbo."
"The plan was to rescue your mother? Did something happen to her?"
"No, we got her. She's here in the Bunker."
"Dean, then?"
"No. Dean's fine too." Sam hadn't planned on sharing this information with her during this phone conversation, he just wanted to warn her about Rowena's involvement now. They needed a plan to deal with Lucifer and the wizard demons that were very likely on Earth now. At least a plan to figure out if they were.
"Then what is wrong with Harry?"
She really wasn't going to let it go. "It's Sirius, alright? We – lost Sirius."
There was a pause on the other line of the phone there was silence. Sam winced. "No," she finally said. "No. That's – that's impossible. Harry never would have allowed…" she petered off, understanding the full implications of what happened.
"Yeah – Harry, he's pretty torn up about it. Which is why Gabriel took him…elsewhere. I don't really know what happened, I was a little too busy trying to stay alive when it all went down, but, Ginny, I was just calling to warn you that Gormlaith is working with Rowena to try and get into Hogwarts."
"Rowena?"
"Macleod."
"She's still alive? Didn't she attack Hogwarts like…"
"Three hundred years ago? Yes. She's a very powerful earth-magic witch. But we believe that she's changed sides. And she doesn't want to help Gormlaith anymore, but she's a survivor. She'll do whatever she needs to stay alive."
"Why do you think that she changed sides?"
Sam repressed a groan. This is why he hadn't called Hermione. Because he didn't want all of these questions. He didn't feel like he had time.
"Sam!" Dean's sharp voice got his attention. His brother looked freaked out.
"I'm talking to Ginny," he explained, as to why he was on the phone.
"Great. Get off the phone with Ginny. Jack's missing."
Sam's eyes grew wide. "Ginny – I have to go." He hung up.
"Where did you look for him?"
"Everywhere! He's not in the Bunker. Mom's looking outside right now. Within the wards, of course."
Sam swore. "Alright. Let me try a couple of spells, and if those don't work…why do you think he'd leave?"
"Beats me. But I can't think that it's anything good."
Sam didn't disagree. He went to go grab his wand. Why couldn't people just stay where we put them?
III
Rowena scowled up at the castle.
It was a representation of everything that had destroyed her life.
And now, despite all the pain and heartache this damn place had given her, she was going to have to save the bloody thing.
She briefly pondered which was worse – going along with that mad woman's plans or facing this place.
The look in that thing's eyes had been terrifying.
And she had learned her lesson about batting against the Winchesters. She just hoped that her message had gotten to them – and from them to the witches and wizards in this castle as she approached.
She would be royally pissed off if she got killed for just trying to enter the grounds, when she was doing her best to be on the right side of things, for once.
It would be a stupid way to go.
Cursing the Winchesters, she approached the gates. A little leftover from Asmodeus's demon followers should be what she needed to be able to sneak in. She was greeted by a handsome man with dark hair and an exhausted look on his face.
"I think you're the last one of the night," he said to her, smiling.
Oh, aye, he's a handsome one, she couldn't help but think.
"Name and where you're from?"
"Rebecca MacLaren," she said, using a name close to her own. "Inverness-shire."
He looked down at his list. "You're not on the list – have you been living abroad?"
"Aye," she said. "I've been in the States for the last…ten years or so," she said. "I was home for a visit when…"
"That makes sense. Just one more security measure. Could you please present your wand?"
Rowena froze. That wasn't something they had been requiring earlier. So, she did the only thing she could think of. She burst into tears.
"Oh, oh no," the man said, his voice immediately going to one of caring instead of sheer exhaustion. "Don't cry, you're safe now."
"It's only that I lost it! I was fleeing that terrible thing and…and…"
"You saw the demon?" he asked. "And lived?"
"Just barely," she said. "I don't think she noticed me sneaking off…"
"We've got to get you to see Hermione then. Unless – do you need healing first? We can start in the hospital wing…"
"Oh, no, dearie. I couldn't possibly bother the Minister." This was all going splendidly to plan.
"Of course, you can. She'll want to see you."
"If you're sure, dear," Rowena said.
"Neville," he introduced himself. "Neville Longbottom."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Neville," she said. "I think I'd like to see the Minister first, and then I can have a wee kip. I'm so tired."
"Of course, right this way."
He quickly looked up to see if there was anyone else on the road. Confirming that there was not, he nodded at the Order members that had come down to close the castle gates for the evening and started shepherding her up to the castle.
III
Jack froze. He was almost to the edge of the wards when he felt the worse pain he had ever felt in his, admittedly short, life.
He was finding it hard to breathe and he collapsed on the ground.
It took him a second to recognize that the pain was not coming from him. He wasn't hurt. It was Harry.
In a split-second decision, he realized that his father was going to have to wait.
Harry needed him.
III
They had walked down what seemed like endless corridors of colorless walls and doors with people's names printed on them.
"I was hoping, Mr. Black, if you could explain to me how you came to be here. This walk will take a little bit of time, but I am quite busy, so let's not waste time by walking in silence."
Sirius didn't know who this lady was, but he didn't like her.
"I don't know where here is, so I don't know how to tell you how I came to be here."
"Heaven, Mr. Black," she said.
Sirius stopped walking. He was dead? The last moment of his life flashed in front of his face. Oh, he thought. But this is wrong…this isn't what Harry described. "Where are Lily and James?" He blurted out.
"I'm afraid that I don't know to whom you are referring," she responded, sounding annoyed, "I need the answer to my question. And we need to keep walking."
"I got here by dying," Sirius said. Shouldn't this lady know that?
She huffed. "Yes, we've already established that you are dead. But you don't belong here. None of your kind has ever entered this Heaven."
"This Heaven?" Sirius wasn't sure what it was – the harsh white light or the having just realized that he was dead but his brain seemed to be moving very slowly.
"Yes, the Heaven meant for the non-magical," she said. "At least, the non-angelic magical. We've had a couple of Earth-bound witches make it up here," she sniffed as if she had an issue with that, "of course none of the demon ones made it here, having doomed their souls to Hell to get their magic."
That took Sirius a second. "Wait – this is Muggle Heaven?!"
"Quite so. You do not belong here."
"I – I was in Limbo with the Winchesters and then…"
She pursed her lips. "The Winchesters. I should have known. Whenever something this disturbing occurs they are somehow involved. I suppose you're one of their…friends." She said that with complete and total disgust.
"No. They're not friends of mine," Sirius said darkly. "I'm Harry's godfather."
"Harry Potter?"
"Yes," he was pleased that she knew him by that name.
"He's a Winchester as well, if only in blood. Well, Mr. Black, we have arrived."
They were in front of a plain door that didn't have a plaque on it denoting who was inside.
"What's this?"
"Your home, for the time being," she said, opening the door. "Until we get this all sorted out."
Sirius walked through the door. And immediately wanted to back out, only to find that she was standing firmly behind him.
He had sworn to himself that he would never enter another prison. And those were jail bars.
"Come along, Mr. Black," she said. "I am sure it won't be permanent. As soon as we figure out how to get you back to where you should be, we'll come and fetch you. But we need you in a place where we can watch."
He was ready to fight, but when he saw that there were another four angels behind Naomi, he sighed. "Fine," and he allowed himself to be led into a jail cell. His heart stopped a little when the door clinked shut behind him.
He fought off the feeling of despair as she did an abrupt about-face and left him there. There were no dementors. The bed looked comfortable. It was a small room – but comfortable enough. At least, in comparison to Azkaban.
Sirius sat down on the bed, heavily. He had a lot to think about. However, that plan was quickly disrupted.
"What'd'ya do to end up here? I thought the angels were too scarce to cage any of their own." A rough, American voice came from the cell over.
"I'm not an angel," Sirius responded. Having company was another tick in this place's favor as an improvement to Azkaban. At least, company that wasn't wailing and screaming from insanity.
"No? Just another poor bastard like me, then. Human, at least."
Sirius sighed in relief. "Yes, yes, I'm a human. I don't understand – I'm not even supposed to be in this Heaven."
"And which Heaven did you expect to be in? Because I can tell you, this is not a real Heaven. It's a miserable pit where the angels store people who have inconvenienced them."
"Oh yeah?" Sirius asked. Something about this man's voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "All I can tell is that they didn't expect me. I don't know how I ended up here – I was just trying to help keep my godson alive. Why are you here?"
The man sighed. "I helped some idjits jailbreak an angel. It was worth it, though."
"For me too," Sirius said. And he realized that was true. Sure, he wasn't with Lily and James, and he was sure that he would have plenty of time to feel depressed about that later, but for now, this was a huge step up from Purgatory or Limbo. And if it meant Harry was safe – he'd live here happily with his grumpy neighbor for the rest of eternity. "I'm Sirius."
"Sirus?" the man said. "Like Sirius Black?"
Sirius wasn't sure how the man knew. "Yes. Have we met?"
"Balls," the man swore. "Yeah, we have. In Purgatory."
Sirius remembered. "Bobby?"
AN – Anyone see that twist coming? (If you read my response to comments, you may have, haha.) I've had a particularly exhausting week so there may be more errors in here than normal – my apologies.
There is a special moment in this chapter that I really hope make some of you really happy. When I wrote it I was grinning and thinking of your reactions. Let me know if I managed to surprise you. (If you know, you know.)
I once again want to remind everyone that this story has a happy ending. I mean it. Happy. It's just gonna be dark for a couple of chapters. Also, Major Character Death is not tagged. Remember that if you're distressed.
Well, that's it for now. I will see y'all next week!