Unfound
Chapter Fifty-One
Billie was so close.
This plan had taken years. Of course, she hadn't known that Death would be murdered, but the ideas had sparked even when she was still just a Reaper.
Being Death had given her…additional perspective.
She understood better now why Death had given them so many allowances. It wasn't just a matter of finding them amusing. They were the cog in the wheel. They were the first humans to truly disrupt the actions of God and the original Death held a slight grudge over the power that God had taken in the universe.
Because while humans and angels liked to believe that God, and his sister, Amara were the first beings, she understood now that they were not.
Death had allowed his ancient annoyance at the all-powerful entity to allow the Winchesters to continue to live. It didn't hurt that their brother was the Master of Death.
But that same annoyance that Death had with God was how Billie felt about the Winchesters. All three of them. Who were they – to think that they could screw up the balance of the entire universe for whatever petty reason (usually keeping each other or themselves alive)? How much hubris was it possible for two humans, to have?
She thought this cycle would continue forever.
Until Harry Potter was brought back.
Harry Potter was different than his brothers.
His loyalties went beyond his two brothers and their friends. Harry Potter cared about everyone. Especially his own people and, with the right motivating factors, he was willing to sacrifice his own life. He had done so once before.
He was enough of an outsider to the co-dependent bond shared between the other two Winchester brothers shared that, if his mind was made up, he wouldn't let himself be persuaded. He was too good.
Sam and Dean had proven that they wouldn't move Heaven and Earth to get him back either.
But it would hurt them. Possibly enough to make them give up their balance-destroying ways. And certainly, enough to clean up the mess Crowley had created. (She did not stop to think about how her own actions were upsetting, and possibly, destroying, the balance.)
The setup was now complete.
Hogwarts was in danger.
Magic was in danger.
Earth was in danger, and therefore, Sam, Dean, and Mary Winchester were in danger.
Jack, the surrogate son, was in danger.
They had a treasure trove of ancient magic that they assumed came from someone they trusted (Harry banishing Gabriel to Heaven could not have gone better if she had designed it herself).
She had set up a singular path for Harry Potter to take to save everyone and everything he loved. It would require him to give everything up.
The number of his possibly endings went from hundreds to ten. And while the paths varied slightly – eight of those ten would occur in the next twelve hours.
And Billie liked those odds.
III
Sam, Dean, and Cas came back to the Bunker only to find that there was absolutely no one in the common spaces.
"Harry! Mom! Jack!" Sam called out.
No one came out.
"That's weird," he said.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Or not. I bet Jack's hiding in his room and so is Harry. Mom's probably talking to Ketch."
"And that doesn't concern you?" Cas asked. "Because I thought that your mother had told you that she and Ketch had…"
"Nope," Dean interrupted. "No, don't you finish that sentence."
"It's a perfectly natural human act," Cas said, "I don't know why…"
"Leave this one alone," Sam advised the angel, clapping him on the back. "I'll look for Harry. Cas – go check on Jack. Dean, make sure Mom and Ketch aren't doing anything that we won't want to clean up in the dungeon."
Before Dean could protest his assignment, Sam quickly moved out of the front hall.
He started with the kitchen. Harry could be found there more often than not – but he hadn't smelt anything when they walked in, which usually was the sign that was where the middle Winchester was, but it was the closest.
The kitchen was in pristine condition – which was a sign that Harry had likely been in there because the only person who kept it cleaner than Harry was Dean.
Next, he headed to Harry's room. He knocked on the door, only to find that it was unlocked and slightly ajar. Peering inside he quickly saw that he wasn't in there.
He was beginning to get a little worried. He saw Cas going into Jack's room. Hesitating for a second, he listened and only heard two voices, so Harry was probably not in the room.
Sam hoped that he wasn't hiding. Or that he had left.
He supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised to find Harry sitting in an armchair in the wizarding library section of the Bunker. He was staring straight ahead, looking haunted, while sipping on a glass of, if Sam had to guess, was whiskey.
"Does that even do anything for you?" Sam asked as he entered. Harry looked up, startled.
"I thought it was going to take you a couple of hours to get back here," he said. "Did someone fly you?"
"It has been a couple of hours," Sam crossed the room and plucked the glass out of Harry's hand. Harry didn't protest but he did look a little sadder, which made Sam feel bad. "I thought you were past drinking your problems away."
Harry snorted. "I thought I was past having the sort of problems where I needed to drink."
"Touché," Sam replied, as he took the rest of what was left in Harry's glass and downed it.
"So, any theories on what Lucifer is doing?" Harry asked, wanting to get fully up-to-date. He had spoken with Hermione shortly after getting off the phone with Sam. It seemed that things were going as smoothly as possible at Hogwarts. The attack on a small town had been enough to convince the wizarding populace that Hermione hadn't been mad. There was something else that made Harry think that Hermione wasn't telling him everything, but he supposed that she didn't need to. She knew he'd only muck it up.
"No clue," Sam said. "Except possibly trying to amass power. But that's always his go-to move. Anything from Hogwarts?"
"Nothing new. But something bad is about to happen - I can feel it. Can't you?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "But what's new?"
Harry summoned the carafe of whiskey and drank straight from it.
"Seriously?"
"What? You said it yourself – it doesn't do anything. This can't get me drunk anymore."
"We're worried about you, man," Sam said.
Harry didn't respond.
"What happened between you and Gabriel? I didn't think that anything could keep him from you."
"Yeah, well, I guess he changed his mind."
"Really – what happened?"
Harry didn't want to get into it. All he had felt, in those last moments with Gabriel was complete and total grief. Now that he had time to think about what the archangel had actually said to him, he could see that the only person to blame for Sirius' death was himself. He suspected that Gabriel had been trying to make Harry lash out at someone other than himself. And, of course, being the moron that he was, Harry had fallen for it hook-line-and-sinker.
"I don't know," Harry admitted quietly. "I – I told him to go away and he went, I think. I've tried praying to him, but I don't think he's listening." Or he's ignoring me, he thought.
"He went away just because…you asked him to?" That didn't sound like Gabriel in the least to Sam. Harry's silence was resounding. Sam didn't want to consider it, but he knew there had to be more to the story. "Harry…did you send him away?"
Harry looked down.
Sam couldn't believe that he was about to ask this question, but he needed to know. "…please don't take this the wrong way, know that I – we, just want to help you, no matter what it is, but, Harry, do you think that you hurt Gabriel?"
"I wouldn't," Harry said, but there was something behind the tone.
"I know you wouldn't hurt him on purpose," Sam tried to reassure him. "But, Harry if there was an accident…"
"You can't accidentally kill an archangel," Harry snapped. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince his brother.
Sam's eyes went wide. "You think that you…"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Harry shouted and stood up. The sound reverberated throughout the entire Bunker. Sam cringed. Harry noticed.
"It's alright, Harry," he tried to soothe. "I'm sure…"
"Well, I'm bloody not," he snapped.
Sam held his hands up to show that he wasn't going to do anything to hurt him. Dean and Cas came running into the room.
"Everything alright in here?" Dean asked, taking in the scene of Sam with his hands up and Harry staring at him aggressively.
"It's fine," Sam said. "Right, Harry?"
"Dean, he's not in control right now," Cas hissed. "Grace is coming off him in waves."
"I can hear you," Harry said, stepping towards his brothers, "I'm fine."
"It don't seem that way to us, buddy," Dean said cautiously, moving carefully to stand next to Sam.
Harry's eyes flashed green.
Everyone flinched back and Cas released his wandblade into his hand from his trench coat, ready to protect them all.
Harry blinked at the scenario in front of him. He saw the fear in all their eyes and the weapon in Castiel's hand. He stumbled back and put his hand in front of his face. What had he been about to do? The fact that he didn't know the answer to that terrified him.
"Oh, Merlin," he muttered. "Merlin…I…"
"Harry it's alright," Sam assured him. "We've all been where you are." His mind flashed to everything he had done in the name of finding Dean when he had been a demon. And what Dean had done to the Styne family when he had thought that they had killed Charlie.
"No – you've never scared each other…"
Sam and Dean didn't take their eyes off of Harry, but they both had thoughts of the dozens of times they had scared each other.
"I'm sorry," Harry said, voice full of regret. He took a couple more steps back from his brothers. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright," Dean said, "really…"
Harry shook his head and flew away. Far, far, away, where he knew he couldn't hurt anyone, especially not his family.
III
"This isn't possible," Gabriel said when he saw who Naomi had stored in Heaven's jail. "You've got be kidding me."
"Some joke it is," Sirius responded, coming up to the bars, hanging his hands outside of them while leaning forward. "I'm not laughing. Although I have to say that this place is better than Azkaban."
"But he's a…you're a wizard. What are you doing here?"
Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. "Hell if I know. These wankers haven't so much as come and visited me since they stuck me here."
Gabriel looked at Naomi.
"This has never happened before. He was in a normal human's Heaven. And if we were at full capacity, we might have been able to handle one wizard, but, as it stands, his magic put a strain on our already less-than-adequate resources."
"We think it was Crowley," a gravelly voice came from the cell over.
Gabriel cranked his head to see who was speaking. He did a doubletake.
"Yeah, it's really me," Bobby Singer said, leaning on the bars in the adjacent cell.
"What is he doing here?"
Naomi stiffened. "He helped break Metatron out of jail with Castiel. He can't be trusted."
Gabriel whistled and laughed. "Wow, two humans are now what we are ranking as important enough to toss in Heaven's jail?"
"Gabriel, this is no joking matter."
"I don't know, it seems pretty hilarious to me."
"Yak it up, asshat. You gonna let us out of here or what?" Bobby asked.
"That is not why he is here," Naomi corrected him.
"Naomi – I think it would be best if you left me alone with these two."
"I hardly think…"
Gabriel gave her a look. She pinched her lips, nodded, and left.
"Now, which one of you turkeys wants to fill me in on what exactly is happening here?"
III
Lucifer threw his shoulders back and flexed his fully functioning wings. He rolled his neck. Ah, he thought. One of the demon wizards had told him about how Asmodeus had been kidnapping and draining wizards of their grace. He had just finished up at the last storehouse. He supposed the weakest of his Princes of Hell had been good for something.
Wizarding grace didn't taste right. It tasted stale and a little bitter, but it had done the trick. And, instead of having to drain the remainder of the wizard demons he had brought back with him from Limbo, he had been able to spare about a dozen of them for the upcoming fight.
He smirked as he gave his wings an experimental flap. He was almost ready to join his forces in Scotland, but he had one last errand before then. It was time that he found his son.
III
"What happened?" Mary asked when Sam and Dean gathered and called her to the kitchen. They had sent Cas to talk to Jack to see if the Nephilim could find Harry. "Where's Henry?"
"We don't know," Dean said, pacing.
"You don't know? Wasn't he just here?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "…but he's not himself."
"What do you mean?"
"We mean that we think we were about two seconds away from him smiting us there on the spot," Dean growled. Seeing the glow in Harry's eyes had been terrifying.
"No!" Mary protested. "He wouldn't."
"You didn't see him, Mom," Sam disagreed. "It was almost as if it wasn't him at all."
Mary had her phone out, calling Harry right there and then.
"He's not going to answer," Dean informed her.
She shushed him and then waited until the voicemail came up. She hung up and called again. Same result.
"We've tried praying too," Sam said.
"Jack can't find him," Castiel said as he entered the kitchen, "he says that he's moving around – quickly, all over the world and he can't pinpoint him. He's still looking and will let us know if Harry settles down in one particular spot at any time." The angel hesitated for a second. "He also says that Gabriel is nowhere on Earth."
"What happened to Gabriel?" Mary asked.
Sam and Dean silently argued with each other or whether or not to tell her.
"We think Harry might have killed him," Castiel said bluntly before they could conclude their argument.
Mary just shook her head. She didn't believe that for one second.
"We don't think he'd do it on purpose," Sam said.
"But in the heat of the moment?" Dean continued. "If he was upset enough?"
"No," Mary repeated. "What did he say?"
"He said that he told Gabriel to leave him alone," Sam explained. "And that Gabriel disappeared after that."
"He could have just been respecting Harry's wishes," Castiel proposed, even though even he thought it sounded stupid as it came out of his mouth. Gabriel didn't respect much of anything.
"Do you really think that Harry is powerful enough to kill an archangel?" Mary asked.
"A severely weakened archangel," Sam reminded her. "You said yourself that he was impacted by the atmosphere in Limbo."
Mary shook her head. "He was – but between taking grace from Lucifer and the attack we made on the atmosphere of the dimension – he was basically back up to full powers."
"Basically, might not have been enough," Dean said. "Look – I don't care if the motherfucker is dead or alive. I mean, yeah, I think he could help us in the fight against Lucifer, but he's a son-of-a-bitch and…"
"We're mostly worried about Harry's mental state," Sam translated. "If he accidentally killed Gabriel, it doesn't just mean that he is far more powerful than we ever realized, it's also going to destroy him, emotionally. And after losing Sirius…"
"We have to find him," Mary resolved.
"If you have any idea on where to start…"
Mary's eyes lit up. "I don't. But I know someone who might."
III
It was the middle of the night at Hogwarts when Harry arrived. Although security was extremely tight, the wards had been keyed to allow him in, so he was able to slip in without alerting anyone. That was probably something that he should point out to Hermione. But now was not the time.
Slinking through the castle, he could practically feel the strain and stress in the air. There were a lot of people here. More than the old castle was used to.
He couldn't help but think about Gabriel's insistence that the secret library wasn't his. He was trying desperately to remember why he had thought that it was Gabriel's in the first place. Was it Castiel who had said it? Or had he assumed, based on the Ancient Egyptian feeling of the place that it had been the remnants of the civilization that Gabriel had built so lovingly?
If it wasn't Gabriel's, or even if it was, why had they found it when they did? Was it the castle itself? Was it like the Room of Requirement – it appeared when someone needed it the most?
Even that didn't make sense, because if Gabriel hadn't placed the library there, then who had?
Questioning everything was easier than facing the fact that he might have killed Gabriel. At the time, he hadn't even thought about it. He had just wanted the archangel gone. He had wanted to be alone in his misery and grief.
If those had really been their last moments together, Harry couldn't believe that his last words to Gabriel may have been just as bad as some of his last words to Sirius. He couldn't believe that he had allowed himself to be so callous. Gabriel stayed behind in Limbo to protect him. He had kept Mary safe – for him. And how had Harry paid him back? In hateful words spat in a moment of grief.
He had to stop his quick walk through the castle to catch his breath when his thoughts caught up with his body. What had he done?
He didn't know yet. He'd go into the library. He'd read every bloody book in there to try and figure out where the library had come from and what he could have possibly done to Gabriel. He wouldn't rest until he knew the answer. What he did with that information – he didn't know yet. But first, he just needed to find out.
III
Gormlaith knew that she was going to have to strike soon. That no-good blood traitor of a Squib had double-crossed her. She knew that the filth had gone to the witches and wizards in the castle and had told them of her plans.
Thankfully, Gormlaith was a Slytherin down to her bones.
She hadn't given Rowena any information that she didn't want the disgusting mudbloods inside the castle to know.
And her good fortune continued as she was starting to make her plans for the attack.
Gormlaith sniffed the air and smiled unpleasantly. She turned around and found six of her kind had found her.
"Did Lord Lucifer send you?"
"Yes," one of them confirmed. "He is here, in this world."
That was even better news. "And have his orders changed?"
"No," another said. "He wants us to burn it to the ground."
Gormlaith cackled with glee.
III
"What did Cas have to say?" Charlie asked, looking up from the scrolls she had been studying for the last dozen hours when she heard Luna step back into the room. She had gotten off the phone with Sam only to have Castiel immediately call Luna – the two of them hadn't had a chance to speak since. When she saw the look on her girlfriend's face, she frowned. "What's wrong, babe? I mean, other than the evil demon wizards that are threatening to kill all of wizardkind."
The dark humor wasn't enough to break whatever was swirling around Luna's mind.
"Luna?" Charlie asked again, gently.
"It's worse than we thought," Luna nearly whispered.
"Worse than the complete and total destruction of Hogwarts?" What the hell did Cas tell her? Charlie wondered.
"Yes," she replied. "Far worse. Castiel – he told me that Crowley has been attempting to close the Gates of Hell."
Whatever Charlie had been expecting, it wasn't that.
"…isn't that good news?"
Luna shook her head but didn't say anything more. Charlie had grown accustomed to this kind of behavior from her. Usually, Luna was quite level-headed, even in her odd way, but when she got overwhelmed, she found it hard to speak about it.
Charlie got up from the chair she had been sitting in, wincing slightly as her body protested that she had been sitting for so long in a single place. She pulled Luna into a hug.
"Something's very wrong," Luna finally said when they moved apart. "Crowley – he did something to the ritual on the demon tablet and…it's unsettled everything. Even though Limbo is closed now, it's like the fabric of reality as we know it is being held together by a bandage."
Terror seized Charlie. She knew they were the good guys. And the good guys usually won, but this…this felt like something beyond what they were capable of.
"Tell me what you've found something," Luna pleaded.
Charlie sighed and tried to reign in her emotions and keep them from playing out on her face. But masking her feelings in front of Luna had always been difficult. She had been sitting on her discovery but it seemed like she was now out of time.
"You have found something."
"Yes. But you're not going to like it. I don't like it. I've – I've been trying to search for another way because this – it's untenable. It's not a solution. It's horrible."
"What is it?"
Charlie glanced around to make sure that no one else had slipped into the room while she and Luna had been talking. It had been hours since everyone else had gone to bed, but she still didn't want this information to get into the wrong ears.
"I found a text…from the time that Nephilim threatened all of humanity. It took me a long time to translate because even with the guide that Castiel left, it seems to be written in an even older version of Enochian."
She showed Luna the translation. The blonde witch threw her hand over her mouth in horror. "Is this real?"
Charlie nodded grimly. "It checks out. Of course, we've never tried it on wizard demons, but this ritual is supposed to kill anything of mixed blood and grace. And not just anything – any of a kind of thing. This is how the angels destroyed all the Nephilim at once, instead of having to hunt them down one by one."
"But Harry's the first…"
"No, he isn't," Charlie said. "There was one before. Azrael. See?" She grabbed a different book from the table and put it down in front of Luna.
"And he…"
"Yes. He performed this ritual and it wiped out over two dozen Nephilim. And this was right around the same time that God and Death made the deal to allow wizards to exist. It was likely a part of the deal – Death couldn't have liked the amount of power that Azrael had."
"There has to be another way," Luna said. "Tell me you're looking for another way."
"Of course," Charlie said. "I…I actually found this weeks ago," she admitted. "Luna, I'm afraid…I don't know if there is anything else. I've read everything in here at least twice."
Luna shook her head. "What about Jack?"
"I don't know," Charlie said. "It might not affect him. Or it could kill him too. He's the first Nephilim sired by an archangel – this ritual wasn't meant for someone as powerful as him. Harry couldn't have come back if Jack hadn't been born. But Jack doesn't need Harry in the same way, so…"
"It's too much," Luna moaned, tears falling down her cheeks. Charlie didn't disagree.
"What should we do?" Charlie asked. "Should we tell Sam and Dean? Castiel? Harry?"
Luna's eyes snapped up. "No!" She exclaimed. "No. We can't tell anyone. Actually…" she ripped the piece of parchment that had the translation off the bottom half and handed it to Charlie. "You can't leave this out. We should destroy it but…"
Charlie understood. "I'll keep it with me," she said, putting it in her jeans pocket. "I won't tell a soul."
"Good. We have to find another way."
"How?" Charlie asked, helplessly.
"I haven't a clue." She thought for a second. "You know – Castiel brought me some books from the Bunker! And the papers from Asmodeus's hideout. Maybe – since you've already combed through everything we have here, we should start there?"
Charlie nodded. She was exhausted. But not ready to give up. She had heard that Rowena was in the castle, and, as a last resort, that might be an avenue to explore. "Could you get me some coffee, love? I think I'm going to need it." They could probably call a house-elf, but the little guys were already working so hard to keep the castle together and everyone fed that it would be easiest for Luna to fetch it herself.
Luna kissed her lightly on the lips. A kiss couldn't fix what was ahead, but it still gave Charlie strength. "Yes. But meet me up in our room? That's where the books are and I think it'd do you good to get out of here."
Charlie nodded in agreement. "Love you," she said.
Luna smiled brightly. "Love you too."
III
Rowena was exhausted. She had spent the last couple of days going over every single weakness she had ever found in the Hogwarts wards and every weakness she could possibly think of when presented with the rest of them.
What she had accomplished with those two things were sides of the same coin.
She had gained the trust of the witches and wizards in the castle. Or, at least, the tentative trust of Hermione Granger. Which was valuable in its own right – the woman was the most powerful witch in the United Kingdom and being in her good graces was leverage that Rowena was ready to use if she ever needed it. And, likely, she was going to need it.
The second side of this coin was less good. For better or worse, by fixing the imperfections and loopholes in the wards, she had stuck herself in this castle for the foreseeable future. That meant that as Gormlaith was gathering forces outside the gates because there was no doubt that was what the demon witch was doing, Rowena had no way to escape before the fighting began. It was possible that in the chaos of battle, she'd be able to slip out, but there was no guarantee.
Oh, how I wish I could talk to Fergus, Rowena couldn't help but think.
It was new – this wish to speak to her son. She had spent most of the time since she had rediscovered him wanting to kill him. Or use him to her advantage with little regard for what would happen to him in the end.
But Lucifer killing her violently had changed something in her.
She vowed, when this was all over, that she would repair her relationship with her son.
For now, though, she had been granted a tiny room of her own (hardly up to her standards, but it was a small miracle that she had been able to have this and not a tent out on the grounds). The room was comfortable enough, with a plush bed and a desk in one corner and very little else.
Rowena realized it was late. Her senses were telling her that something had shifted in the castle, but she was far too exhausted to worry about it now. A problem for tomorrow morning, she thought to herself as she put her head down on the pillow.
She was ready to fall asleep with an infernal note hit her on the nose. She recognized the handwriting on the outside as Charlie's. With a deep sigh, she knew that it would just keep bothering her if she didn't read it. At first, she was annoyed that she was being summoned. Rowena needed her beauty rest. Then she thought through the implications, grabbed her dressing gown, and headed out. I can sleep when I'm dead, she thought. Which is probably bloody soon.
III
"Jaaack," Jack heard in his brain. "It's me – it's your old man."
Jack shuddered. The onslaught had been happening for hours. Everyone in the Bunker was too busy for him to consult them.
Mary and Castiel were working with Ketch (who Jack thought was a bad guy, but he seemed to be helping now) to try and find Gabriel. Sam and Dean were doing everything they could to find Harry. Which left Jack, alone, with the voice in his head.
Lucifer.
He understood now that the pull to go to him had been something other than the man who had sired him.
Because there was absolutely nothing subtle about Lucifer's attack on his mind.
"I know you can hear me, Jack. I don't know what those Winchesters have told you about me, but I assure you that it's not true."
"You didn't torture Sam in Hell? You didn't try to use him as your vessel to try and destroy Michael and take over the world?"
Jack could feel the wince from the other side of the communication. Prayers, maybe? But there was also some satisfaction in the tone. That he had finally responded.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Jack. I did do those things, but not for the reasons you think. Just – hear me out. Give me one chance. Hear my side of the story, and if you still don't like it, I won't ever bother you ever again."
"And the Winchesters?"
"Them either," Lucifer responded.
Jack didn't know what to believe. His father sounded so…nice…in his head. So understanding. And maybe Jack could put an end to all of this.
Oh! He thought to himself. I can fix everything! He knew that Lucifer had created the demon wizards. If he talked to him, he could convince his father to get them to stand down. Hogwarts would no longer be in danger. Harry could have the time he needed to grieve without the weight of the world on his shoulders. Castiel would be proud of him. Sam wouldn't have to be afraid of Harry any more. And he could prove to Dean once and for all that he was trustworthy. That he was good.
"I'll listen to you," Jack said.
Jack could feel how proud his father was. "Great, Jack, you won't regret it, I promise. You can just come and meet me and…"
"Oh no, I can't leave where I am," Jack said. He wasn't stupid. Castiel would be so disappointed if he left. He had promised he wouldn't again without permission, and he couldn't imagine that he was going to get permission for this.
"Jack – this isn't a conversation that can be had over prayers," Lucifer said. "You never know who could be listening in."
"Do you have a cell phone? I have one! We could talk on the phone."
"Do I have a – NO! I'm an Archangel. I don't have a cell phone. Jack, just come and meet me. I know you don't want to give me your location. That's fine! You can come to me. Or we can meet someplace completely different. But there is something I want to show you. Something that I think will make you see that I only want good things for you. Come on, Jack. Live a little, son."
Being called son filled Jack with a warm glow that he had never experienced before. It really meant something. "You won't hurt me?" He asked.
"Never! You're my son, I could never hurt you."
Jack knew that humans hurt their family's all the time. Harry had even explained that it was part of a loving relationship. But maybe, just maybe, with angels it didn't need to be that way. Castiel had never hurt him, after all. At least, never within his control.
"Alright. Where should I meet you?"
He'd be sure to leave a note. They might not understand at first, but Jack was sure they would eventually.
III
"Any luck?" Dean asked Sam when he walked into the war room of the Bunker. Sam had spent an hour on the phone with Charlie, with her trying to explain how the software might be able to be manipulated to track angels instead of demons. But neither she nor the spells that Ketch knew had given him anything. He shook his head at Dean, exhausted.
"You?"
Dean shook his head. "No. I've talked to every single Weasley and every member of the DA and not one of them has seen or heard from Harry." It had been way too much time on the phone for Dean. Most of the witches and wizards didn't have cell phones, so he had made those that did track down any person that Harry may have confided in.
The door to the Bunker opened and both Sam and Dean looked up hopefully. Their faces fell when they saw that it was Cas, not Harry.
"Did you find anything, Cas?" Sam asked after the angel had made his way down the stairs.
Cas shook his head. "No. All the gates to Heaven are closed. I couldn't even get anyone to come down and talk to me." He had gone to see, on the off chance, if anyone had seen or heard from Gabriel. Castiel was pretty sure that Heaven was the last place Gabriel would go, but it had been worth a shot.
Dean threw himself into a chair. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," Sam said, sitting in a chair himself.
"Did I hear the door open…" Mary came into the war room. Her face sank. "It's not Henry."
"No," Dean confirmed.
"Do you think that he…"
"I think that if he had done anything drastic, Jack would know."
"Has Jack told you anything?" Cas asked.
Sam looked at Dean. "I haven't talked to Jack in hours," Sam said. "Dean?"
Dean shook his head. "Been on the phone. Talked to Teddy for a bit. By the way, we've done a great job giving them something else to worry about while their entire world is in danger. Mom?"
"I've been holed up with Ketch," she said.
Dean made a face.
"Not like that," she said at the look on his face. "He thought that he remembered some angel-tracking spells that he learned back at Kendricks. None of them have worked."
Castiel sighed. "Hopefully, he's just sleeping. I'll go check on him," he left to go just that.
"Great," Dean said, standing up from the chair. "I've got to get some shut-eye. Or I won't be able to find anyone or anything. Sam?"
"I took a nap a couple of hours ago, but I might make some breakfast."
"Bacon?" Dean asked hopefully.
Sam shot him a bitch face.
"Right. I'll just be going to bed then."
"DEAN! SAM!" Cas shouted.
The alarm in his voice was enough to make both of them hurry over, Mary hot on their heels.
"What is it Cas?" Dean demanded.
Cas looked ashen. As ashen as an angel could, at least. "It's Jack," he said.
"What about him?"
The angel held up a piece of paper. "He's gone. He went to meet with Lucifer."
III
"But where could he have gone?" Hermione fretted. "My point-me spells aren't working."
Ron, Ginny, and Luna were all gathered together. They had all spent the last couple of hours running all over the castle, at Dean's behest, trying to see if anyone had heard from or seen Harry.
"It's because he's lost," Luna said.
"Yes, I know he's lost," Hermione snapped.
"Hermione!" Ginny corrected.
Hermione shook her head. "Sorry. Sorry, Luna, I'm just – it's just – it's too much. I don't know how much longer I can keep this all together."
"Don't worry, Hermione, I understand," Luna said, forgiving as always. She understood that Hermione was under a strain that she could never possibly understand. "I should have been clearer, anyway. Harry has lost his sense of self. As evidenced by your spells not working. They only work when you really, truly, know someone, and right now, no one knows Harry because he doesn't know who he is."
Hermione should have learned long ago not to be surprised by Luna's wisdom, yet, here she was.
"We would know if he had…if he was going to…if he already…" Ginny couldn't get herself to say the words. The thought of losing Harry again was too terrible. Ron gave her a side hug on the couch they were both sitting on. That was enough to put her over the edge, and she started to cry.
"I think we would know," Luna said with confidence. "He and Jack are connected. The Winchesters are with Jack, I'm sure they've already asked him."
Hermione sighed. She had about ten million other things she needed to be doing. "Well, everyone's on high alert. I need to meet with my Head of Departments and the council that the people elected to represent their interests while we're all holed up here."
"We'll keep looking," Ron promised.
"We've got this, Hermione, let us worry about it. You have bigger issues," Ginny agreed with her brother. It was unfair how much was on Hermione's shoulders.
"Charlie thinks that she's just about at a breakthrough on a spell that will help us fight the demon wizards," Luna added.
Hermione gave them all a wry smile. She was truly grateful, but, oh so exhausted. "Thank you," she said. They all took it for the dismissal that it was.
III
After not finding her in the library, Harry went looking for Charlie. He remembered that she was the one who rigged the computer in the Bunker to be able to find demons, which had led to his rescue from Asmodeus. Maybe she'd have some idea on how to track Gabriel.
Then Harry would know, once and for all if he had killed his friend. It wasn't so much that he wanted to know – the sinking feeling in his gut told him that he didn't know what he'd do if he had, but he needed to know.
Charlie wasn't in the library. Bill was – and he had overheard a conversation that let him know that Sam and Dean were looking for him. Which wasn't really a surprise, but Harry wished they wouldn't.
He muttered a quick spell to find her.
There were so many people in the castle that even now, even though it was only dawn, moving around invisibly was difficult. But he knew that he would likely set off alarms if he flew. In fact, he knew that he would, because he was the one who had insisted on the ones that let people know that there was someone with wings flying around the castle.
Harry made his way to where he assumed Charlie and Luna's room was.
He hoped Luna wasn't there because he was sure that his friend would be able to sense him.
Just a little way up the corridor from the room he saw not one, but two, red-haired women speaking. They were talking in hushed voices and when Harry realized one of them was Rowena, he stopped his plans to just appear. He didn't think that he had the mental fortitude to deal with the Scottish witch just now. He decided to just go straight into the room and wait there, until the conversation was over.
He snuck in, feeling a little like a truant teenager.
Harry didn't know what to do with himself. He figured that he would give Charlie ten minutes before finding some way to break up the conversation in the corridor. Looking around, he spotted a stack of books and scrolls on her desk. He frowned a little when he realized that some of these texts were from the hidden library. These books weren't meant to leave that area. This was highly dangerous.
He was ready to charge straight back out of the room and give her a security lecture, when he moved a book slightly, just to confirm that there was another book here that shouldn't be when a book went tumbling to the ground. Thankfully, there was no one around to hear the sound.
He bent down to pick it up, intent on just putting it back where he found it. But, when he was getting back up he noticed a parchment folded up on the ground next to the bed. It was folded in half, which felt odd to him. So, he took it and opened it.
His eyes widened. There was something on here about Nephilim. He wondered if it had something to do with Jack. But, as he read through it all, he felt like there was a rock sinking in his stomach.
It was a ritual. One used to wipe out all the Nephilim on Earth – but from Charlie's notes, he could see that she had done some complicated equations in the margins and altered it slightly. This looked like it would work. Why hadn't she called and told him about this immediately? It seemed that they would have everything needed and this could, theoretically, destroy all of the demon wizards. Charlie truly was a genius.
Then he saw the last two things needed, clarity came over him. Oh, he thought. If he wasn't focused on being quiet, he would have laughed. Of course, he thought. Of course. How could it be anything but this?
Grace and Blood of the Angel of Death
He forgot everything and fled.
III
"I just don't understand how Crowley turned you into a Muggle," Gabriel said. "That shouldn't've been possible."
Sirius shrugged. "I know that he mentioned that he had somehow modified the ritual."
"Why in the world would he think that would work?"
"If I knew that I would tell you!" Sirius snapped.
"We don't have any answers. Now, why don't you answer some of our questions?" Bobby asked grumpily. "Like why in Sam Hill are you here? Last I heard you hated this place and hadn't been back since Daddy took away your toy soldiers."
"I want to hear that too, but first, you gonna let us out of these cells?" Sirius interjected.
Gabriel blinked – he hadn't even thought of that. "Yeah, of course," he said, reaching for the keys on the wall and opening each of the cells. "Let's go someplace a little more comfortable."
With a snap of his fingers, they were in an entirely different room.
This space had the same bright white light as the rest of Heaven, but it looked more like a living room with a large sofa and armchair in a circle around a coffee table in the center of the room.
"Better?" Gabriel asked.
"Yeah," Sirius said, immediately stretching himself out on the sofa leaving the armchairs for the other two.
"Look, I don't know how much time we have. Things are getting pretty dicey on Earth and they are going to need our help sooner rather than later. I'm here because Harry sent me here. On accident, I think, but it turns out to be a happy one because I think you, Sirius, are going to be the key to everything."
Sirius looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean things are dicey on Earth? Are the boys in trouble?" Bobby asked.
"Of course, they're in trouble. When have you ever known them to be not involved in some sort of world-ending cataclysmic event?"
Bobby just tipped his head in acknowledgment of that. "Is it the wizard demons?" he asked.
"You know about the wizard demons?"
"Black told me all about them."
"We've been very bored," Sirius explained.
"You can assume that I know everything that he knows," Bobby said.
"Well, that does speed things up. Even after your laudable attempt to stop them, Lucifer and some of his demon wizards escaped Limbo," Gabriel said.
"I died for nothing?" Sirius asked, eyes wide. "Great. Of course."
"No, no, you completely closed off Limbo. I don't know for a fact, but I believe that it is the only place in the universe where wizarding souls can be demonized. Asmodeus tried on Earth for centuries and was never able to accomplish it."
Sirius felt marginally better. He was still dead but at least it had meant something. Bobby had taken some time to warm up to him, but after he had explained that he had never pressured Harry to come home that summer, that some outside source had done that, the two of them were able to find some common ground. They figured that they were going to be stuck together for a very long time.
"How's the kid holding up?"
Gabriel didn't know if Bobby Singer had gained the ability to read angelic minds (maybe he could hear angel radio – but Gabriel had shut off the wavelengths that would allow anyone to reach him in his mind) or if he was just that sharp, but he looked up at him with surprise.
"Not well," he admitted. "He blames himself."
"Of course, he does," Bobby huffed. "Idjits, the lot of them."
"Agreed. I made my own decision," Sirius insisted, his heart sinking. "And I'd do it again."
"In particular," Gabriel said carefully, "he is upset at how things ended between the two of you. He regrets kicking you out of the Bunker."
Sirius blinked. "Why? He was right. I wouldn't have left his brothers alone. As it was, I stole some books from them on my way out."
"What?" Bobby asked.
Sirius shrugged. "I thought it was the right thing at the time. And maybe it was if it means that Crowley can now close the Gates of Hell."
Gabriel shook his head. "He's not going to do that." Sirius looked like he was going to ask a bunch more questions, but the archangel cut him off. "It hardly matters now. I think our chit-chat time is up."
He held out his hand to touch Sirius' forehead. The man flinched back.
"I'm not going to hurt you!"
"You can't just randomly touch people! You could've been about to smite me."
Gabriel gave him a look. "You're already dead, what would be the point of that? Just – come here."
Sirius leaned forward, but he still looked suspicious.
Gabriel concentrated. He pulled his fingers back.
"Wow. Crowley really did steal all of your magic," Gabriel said.
"Tell me somethin' I don't know," Sirius muttered.
"But it's better than I thought. He took your grace, but because he got it from your blood instead of taking it directly from the source, the channels in your body that can hold grace weren't destroyed, like they have been in the witches and wizards that the demons completely drained."
"In English?" Bobby grumped.
"I can fix you," Gabriel said. "And once I do – I believe your soul will be rejected from this place and sent to where it should have gone all along."
Sirius' eyes were wide. "Really?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yeah. All we need to do is figure out how I can hitch a ride."
Bobby let out a big sigh. "Guess it's time to hit the Lore then. You got books?"
Gabriel looked up at him in surprise. "Uh – yeah, I guess." The research wasn't what he had in mind. He had planned to cure Sirius and then just hold on real tight. But, thinking on that now, it seemed rather foolish. Heaven didn't have books per say but the angels had started writing down everything they could remember learning from their father after he had disappeared.
"Well then, what are you waiting on? And if you've gone any whiskey, I'll take that too."
"You got it!" There may only be half a dozen angels in Heaven, but that should be more than enough to round up the information they needed.
III
Lucifer could hardly believe the young man that he saw standing before him. He didn't think he had ever seen anything so…glorious, in his life. So beautiful.
"Jack!" He greeted. He opened his arms. He was pleased when Jack came over and returned the gesture. For a couple of minutes, they held each other.
"Lucifer," Jack said, pulling apart from him.
"Oh, come on, you can call me Dad," Lucifer said. "Nothing would make me happier."
"Dad," Jack tested out. It felt better to say than he ever thought. "Dad – I came as you asked. Now, I have to ask you something. Please – please call off the demon wizards. They hurt Harry really badly. And Gabriel is missing so we have no way to fight them. One of them, Gormlaith, is threatening to kill every witch and wizard in England."
Lucifer arranged his face to look concerned. "They were able to hurt Potter?"
Jack nodded. "I couldn't heal him! I don't know if Gabriel could either, but the last I saw him, he still had it bandaged."
The devil hid how pleased he was at this news. And even though he didn't like that his son was concerned about the well-being of a Winchester, he did like that Jack was showing his hand.
His son was a good-doer like the men who had been raising him claimed to be.
That meant that he would be text-book easy to manipulate. Of course, Lucifer would have to punish him for his gullibility later, but for now, he could work with it.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Jack," he said, sincerity rolling off his tongue. "That's actually what I wanted to show you. Those wizard demons – they are abominations. It was Asmodeus. He told everyone he was working under my orders and it was only when it was too late did, I realize what he had done. I'm trying to squash all these…monsters before they can cause any more damage than they have before. Come look," Lucifer led his son over to the corner of the warehouse they were meeting in, so he could see the bodies of the demons and demon wizards he had killed.
"You can see this group attacked me!" He exclaimed. "But I took care of them."
Jack's eyes were huge. He had been right. Lucifer was just misunderstood. Oh, the Winchesters and Castiel would be so, so pleased.
"Now, I might need a little help taking care of the rest of them. Would you like to help me, Jack?"
"Yes!" Jack agreed immediately. "Yes, please!"
Lucifer smiled. "Great. First step – we've got to go to Scotland. Our first father-son trip."
"Oh! I've been to Scotland. I'd love to show you around."
Even better, Lucifer thought. This was all going way better than he could have ever imagined.
III
"I was wondering when you were going to call me," Billie said with flashing eyes, gripping her scythe in one hand as she faced Harry.
"I was hoping I would never have to," Harry admitted. He had snuck into the Room of Requirement. It had surprised him that they weren't using the chamber to house people, but he figured Hermione had a good reason for leaving it empty. Because, after the Battle of Hogwarts, that's mostly what it was. It had filled up some during the years but was mostly dusty furniture and a couple of lost items.
She cocked her head not looking the least bit amused.
"Well? I don't have all day. Unlike you, I have an actual job that needs to be done."
Harry flinched. He didn't want to ask. He didn't want to know. "I need to know," he started. "I – I think that I might have…"
"Might have what? Spit it out," Billie said. "Trust me, after everything, there is nothing you Winchesters can do to surprise me. Except maybe die."
Harry could feel the chilly hate coming off this woman-shaped entity. He knew that the new Death wasn't a fan, but this was something else entirely. "It's Gabriel," he finally got out.
"What about him?"
"He – he was helping me. Or trying to but I – I wanted to be alone. I wanted to be miserable by myself and he wouldn't stop talking so I told him – I told him to go away. And now we can't find him."
"I hardly see how this is my business," Billie said. "You lost an archangel? That sounds like a you problem."
Harry closed his eyes. "I need to know – did I kill him?"
The next couple of seconds were the longest that Harry had ever experienced in his life.
Billie gave him an up-and-down look, raised an eyebrow, and pursed her lips.
"Do you know?" He asked, in desperation, when she said nothing.
"I know," she said. "I'm just trying to figure out what telling you is going to get me."
"What do you want?" Because as much as Harry didn't want his fears confirmed, he needed to know. The suspense was killing him.
Billie narrowed her eyes. "What do I want? I want balance. I want you and your brothers to stop messing with the balance of the universe. I want you to listen when you are warned and I want to never have to deal with you or your kin ever again. But I don't believe any of those things are on the table."
"I – "
"Save it. I'll tell you. He's dead. You destroyed him. On a molecular level. There are no pieces to be found, which is why you haven't found anything. You wished him dead in a temper tantrum. And that was someone you claimed to love. Now, imagine what you could do to people you hate."
Harry hadn't heard anything past when she had said that he was dead and he had destroyed him.
"NO!" He yelled.
"Yes. Now – I have a job to get back to. You see, I have to clean up after monsters like you when no one puts a stop to you."
She disappeared and Harry collapsed to the ground, unable to hold his body up any longer. He had killed Gabriel. He had killed the man that had protected him and brought him back. The man that would have done anything for him.
And he was gone now. Dead. There was a roaring in Harry's ears and everything around him exploded. But the sound didn't compare anything to the cry of pain that came screaming out of Harry's mouth.
If anyone had been in the room to witness this all, it would have been terrifying how the debris around the grieved man rose from the ground and slammed back down violently over and over again until there was nothing there but dust.
Harry sat in the middle of it all and sobbed.
III
In the end, it hadn't been that difficult to sneak in. Gormlaith almost lamented the loss of common sense and intelligence in the wizarding race. She blamed it on the Muggles they had bred with.
They had sealed off the passage from the house in Hogsmeade to the grounds. But they hadn't sealed off the house itself.
They were demons – meant to come from below, so they just created their own tunnel parallel to the original one.
"We won't have much time once we get to the grounds before they will know we've arrived," Gormlaith warned the others.
No one said anything. They all knew that it didn't matter. These witches and wizards had nothing that could protect them. It was only a matter of time before they killed every living creature on the grounds.
III
Charlie had decided to take a quick cat nap after her extremely frustrating conversation with Rowena. She had made Luna promise to wake her up – she didn't want to leave Rowena alone with the materials for too long.
But it wasn't Luna that woke Charlie up. It was a blaring alarm. She absent-mindedly, reached for her phone to press the "snooze" button. She was still exhausted. After several minutes of this not working, her eyes flew up.
It wasn't her phone's alarm that was going off.
She was at Hogwarts.
And they were under attack.
III
"It's time, Minister," her Head Auror said as the alarms started blaring. Her face was pale. What she had feared was going to happen was happening.
"How many?"
"Unconfirmed. We've mobilized everyone. Aurors are focused on getting everyone on the grounds into the castle. Hit wizards are acting as a cover."
It was exactly as they had planned. Hermione had just been hoping that they would have had more time.
"Get me, Rowena," Hermione said.
"Yes, Madam Minister," the Head Auror said before leaving the room.
Looking out the window to the grounds, she couldn't see anything just yet. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon.
She felt like a coward, up here in this office. But she had to trust that her people knew what they were doing. She would enter the fray if they were down on numbers, but, until then, they needed someone to lead them.
Her mobile rang.
She looked down. Of course, the Winchester brothers had fantastic timing.
"Sam, I'm afraid that I don't have time for whatever this is. The demon wizards have broken onto the Hogwarts grounds."
"What?" Sam asked on the other end. "I thought that you had wards to prevent that!"
"So did I," Hermione responded. "But they are strong. It was only a matter of time…"
"Have you seen Jack?" She heard Dean ask. She must be on speakerphone. She frowned.
"I thought that you had found him again."
"We had. But – he's left the Bunker to meet with Lucifer."
A shiver ran through Hermione's spine. "Do you think…"
"No," this time it was Castiel. "We don't think that he knows what he's doing. Lucifer is extremely manipulative. He must have said something that made Jack think that he was doing something good by going to him."
"I don't have time to worry about that," was all Hermione could say. Harry was missing and so was Jack and they were currently facing monsters that were hellbent on killing every last man, woman, and child in this castle.
"Right, of course, Hermione," Sam said. "Is there anything we can do to help you?"
Hermione wanted to laugh. At this moment in time, she couldn't think of anything she needed less than intervention from the Winchesters. "If you know a way to kill these things, let me know, otherwise, stay safe. It won't be long before they come after you." She hung up, as several officials ran into the room, ready to report.
"We've counted ten of them Minister," one of them told her. "They've set fire to the Whomping Willow."
"And the people on the grounds?"
"All on the move," someone else answered. "But there is mass panic. We are doing our best to keep people calm. A couple of dozen have run off into the Forbidden Forest."
"Why would they do that?"
"No clue, Minister. Maybe they think if they can escape the grounds, they'll be safer."
Hermione had no clue if that was true or not. "How long until we get everyone inside?"
"Twenty minutes, Minister. So far, we haven't suffered any casualties, but I imagine that will change at any moment now. The Holy Water helped us get several people out of their immediate range. But I think it was just a shock. I don't expect that it will actually stop any of them."
Hermione nodded. "Keep me updated," she said as a dismissal. She was itching to do something, but all she could do was sit and wait. With a heavy sigh, she kept pacing. All she could do was hold down the fort for as long as possible, but she couldn't help but wonder if this is what the captain of the Titanic felt like.
III
Jack and Lucifer arrived at a hill outside of the Hogwarts grounds. Flying here with his dad had been incredible – almost as fun as flying on a broom with Harry. They had taken their time, chasing each other, doing flips, and enjoying the freedom of the air around them as they flew.
But all the levity went away when they arrived.
"There's a fire!" Jack exclaimed. "And look at all those people running. We have to go help."
Lucifer put a hand on his shoulder. "Now, Jack, wait a moment."
Jack looked at him. "We have to help."
"Those wizard demons are dangerous," Lucifer cautioned. "I just got you back, Jack, I really don't want to risk losing you again."
That took the young Nephilim by surprise. His father's eyes were a little wet. The Winchesters always said they wanted to keep him from danger, but if they needed him, they never hesitated. Jack was torn between feeling exasperated for being treated like he couldn't handle the situation and feeling like he was being truly protected for the first time in his life. After all, even his brief break at Hogwarts had been about getting his powers under control so that Harry could get his back.
"Will you help?" he asked.
"Of course," Lucifer assured him. "Let me get you someplace safe and I will come right back here and help. I know how to defeat these monsters. I've done it before."
Jack nodded. "Ok. But if you need help…"
Lucifer did his best to stop from grinning too brightly. He put a hand on Jack's shoulder and took him to a very safe place indeed. One that was built, long ago, to hold Nephilim like him until they could be destroyed. No prayers would be able to get through either.
Of course, he had no plan to destroy his son, but having only known him for a short time, he could already tell that Jack wouldn't stand for what was about to happen at Hogwarts.
"Just stay here, son. I'll take care of everything."
III
Bille knew better than to count her chickens before they hatched. But she did feel a sort of smug satisfaction as Lucifer whisked away the one thing that could have put a wrench in her plans. The kid wasn't the brightest either, so she doubted that he would figure it out on time. Not with all the confusing thoughts she had been planting in his head for the last couple of months.
Doubts about the Winchesters. Doubts that his father was really evil. The belief that Lucifer was a tiger that could be tamed, if someone would just be nice enough to him.
Chuck had made a mistake when he linked the two entities together. For as much as Potter was the Master of Death – with some control over Death's dominion, the Nephilim was his opposite – where Death held the same control over him.
Most importantly, Potter had taken the bait. He didn't even question that there was yet another spell that would require someone to give up their life to work.
It was very satisfying to use his hero complex against him. The spell wasn't designed to do what they thought it would either. It was a real ritual, of course, otherwise, it wouldn't work. It was an adaption of the spell that angels used to kill Nephilim. Potter wasn't exactly a Nephilim, so it had to be changed, but Billie had taken a peek into the Book of Harry Potter's life and this was a way for him to die. Not the only way, sure, but a pretty certain one. And once he was dead, the scales would balance in a way that even his troublesome brothers would have a hard time reversing.
Billie debated going to find a sunny beach and await the news. But she knew better than to underestimate a Winchester, even one who barely counted as one. She would stay here, on the Hogwarts grounds, to ensure that Harry Potter would die. No matter how many other people she had to kill along the way.
III
"Stay safe?" Dean repeated after Hermione hung up the phone. "Stay fucking safe? Has she met us?"
"What do you suggest we do?" Castiel asked.
"Uh – we've got to get to Hogwarts," Dean said. "Sam – you've got one of those teleportation thingings, don't you?"
"A portkey?"
"Yeah. That thing."
"I mean, yeah, but…"
"No, but, Sam. If I were to make a bet, Harry's gonna be there soon, if he isn't already. He's not going to let this sort of thing go down without trying to help. And if that's where he is, that's where we need to be."
"Right. I'll go get Mom," Sam said, "and some angel blades."
"Oh! I can finally show Bill the grenade launcher – be sure to pack that!" Dean yelled after him. He didn't need to see Sam's face to know that he was rolling his eyes.
"What about Jack?" Castiel asked.
"I'm betting he won't be too far away either. If this is Lucifer's big stand, then I can't imagine that he can turn down the kind of power Jack has."
"Jack is a child!"
Dean raised his hands in defense. "I ain't arguing with you. But you gotta think like Lucifer."
"I'd really rather not. I'm going to keep trying to reach out to him. Maybe, we can find Teddy at Hogwarts and he can help too. Jack has always been very responsive to him."
"Good idea, Cas," Dean didn't care much about Jack at this point, outside of the fact that he could be helping Lucifer. He was very worried about Harry. On the best days, the middle Winchester wasn't the most mentally stable. That could be said for any of the Winchesters, actually, but particularly Harry.
He didn't know why – it seemed very dumb in retrospect, he didn't think that Sirius Black dying would hit him that hard. His hate for the man clouded what he knew of his brother.
It felt a little trite, but he once again promised himself that he would stop fucking up when it came to Harry. That he would make this up to his brother. That he would be better.
Mary came into the library before Sam returned, she had Ketch in tow behind her.
"No," Dean said.
"Yes," Mary said. "Tell him what you told me, Arthur."
"Arthur?" Dean mouthed to no one.
"The Men of Letters – we hid some objects on the Hogwarts grounds," Ketch explained in his usual drawl.
"Objects?" Sam finally reemerged into the room.
Ketch rolled his eyes. "Alright, weapons, if you'd like to get technical," he said.
"What kind of weapons?" Cas asked.
"I'd tell you if you would all stop interrupting me," Ketch said harshly. "Weapons of the magic-destroying variety."
"At a school for children?" Sam was horrified.
"Yes, yes, we are terrible people. Or rather, were. But some of those weapons may come in handy for other beings with the same sort of…magic…as you people. Hmmm?"
"Just tell us where they are, and we can chain you up in the dungeon while we go," Dean said.
"Yes, well, as fun as that would be, they can only be retrieved by a Man of Letters."
"I'm a Man of Letters," Dean argued.
"Hardly."
"He means a Muggle, Dean," Mary explained.
"You and I are Muggles," Dean didn't want to take Ketch with them.
"True. But you're just going to have to trust me on this one. You need me. And I'd prefer not to starve to death in a dungeon because you lot went off and got killed with a prisoner locked up in chains."
Dean hadn't considered that option. He didn't dislike it either.
"Fine," Sam said. "You can come with. But you have a lot of enemies there, so don't think you can just escape."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Sam pulled out the quill that was the portkey. "Everyone put a hand on the quill."
They gathered in an awkward circle with too many broad shoulders to be comfortable.
"Ready?"
Everyone nodded. "Beam me up, Scotty." For once, not even Dean smirked at the passcode.
The portkey whisked them off.
AN – We're so close y'all. Next week is the final chapter! It is currently coming in at a whopping 16k. I actually took some of the beginning of that chapter and put it at the end of this one because I didn't figure anyone would appreciate a finale of over 18k words.
I hesitate to mention this – even though I have before, I don't want to be one of *those* authors, but I have gotten only one review on ff dot net and very, very few comments on Ao3 for the last five chapters or so. I hope I haven't pissed anyone off (I could have) or made anyone give up. My current hope is that people are waiting to binge the last couple of chapters. But, if you have a moment, I would really appreciate some encouragement going into this last chapter. I've missed my regulars!
Even without the comments or reviews, I do see that I'm still getting views, so thanks to everyone reading. I'm looking forward to sharing the end of this story with y'all next week.