Fic: Purgatory, Prophets, and Potions (Part 2 of 3, Chapter 5/8) (SPN/Harry Potter)

[hells_half_acre]

Title: Purgatory, Prophets, and Potions (Part 2 of 3, Chapter 4/8)
Author: hells_half_acre
Fandoms: Harry Potter, Supernatural
Rating: T
Genre: Gen
Word Count: Part 1 total: 18,990, Part 2 total: 30,253.
Warnings: Spoilers for all Harry Potter books, spoilers for Supernatural until 9x14.
AN: A demented'verse timestamp.

Summary: Kevin discovers a mirror in the Bunker and is introduced to a secret world.

Part 1 - Purgatory - Chapter 1 - LJ/AO3 | 2 - LJ/AO3 | 3 - LJ/AO3 | 4 - LJ/AO3 | 5 - LJ/AO3

Part 2 - Prophets - Chapter 1 - LJ/AO3 | 2 - LJ/AO3 | 3 - LJ/AO3 | 4 - LJ/AO3

Chapter 5
(or read on AO3)

That evening, Till declared Kevin well enough that he no longer needed babysitters or continued bed rest. On the one hand, he was thankful for the freedom to wander around the house as he pleased. On the other hand, he couldn’t leave the safety of the wards – which meant that he was still confined to the Weasley’s house, and Teddy had to go back to his part-time work at Ron’s store.

In the days that followed, Kevin read a lot of books, but he missed having Teddy around to talk to, and there were only so many times he could pace between the guest bedroom and the kitchen. At least in the bunker there had been the seemingly endless labyrinthine hallways to wander down and multiple rooms to explore... and the tablets. It seemed stupid to miss them – they were the bane of Kevin’s existence and the worst thing that had ever happened to him, but studying the tablets, translating them, had taken up all of Kevin’s days for over a year.

Ron and Hermione at least had a laptop and an internet connection. Ron called it a ‘lapcom’ and ‘the inner-netting’, seemingly just to get Hermione to roll her eyes. They had explained how it would work most, but not all, of the time, because apparently magic and electricity didn’t mix well. Ron explained that they kept the magic in the house to a minimum, which was why they had Muggle lights and appliances, but that they did have some magic objects in the house, as well as wards for safety, and sometimes that interfered with the internet connection.

“You should talk to Sam,” Kevin had said without thinking. “The bunker is magic but has an amazing internet connection and electricity from nowhere – like it’s also part of the magic, you know?”

Ron raised his eyebrows in interest and nodded, but he changed the topic and started telling Kevin how to bypass the parental-safeties that they had set up on the computer, even though Kevin could have figured that out in his sleep.

Teddy still came by at least once a day for an hour or two, and he promised that he and Nate would spend their days off with Kevin, if he wanted. On the weekend, since Ron and Hermione and the kids were all home, Teddy and Nate only stopped by for a few hours. They played cards and watched a movie in the guest room. It was nice to spend time with people closer to his own age, even if they were nearly four years younger. Ron and Hermione were too much like parents, and their kids, while amusing, were too young for Kevin to really want to spend time with beyond maybe watching a kid-friendly movie together.

By the next week, Kevin had to admit that he was going stir-crazy. He either needed something to do, or he needed to be able to go outside – it was another frustrating thing altogether to know he was in England and yet not be able to explore it.

Meanwhile, the news from Harry was always the same – either given to him in person, or relayed through the Weasleys – Harry hadn’t been able to get in touch with Dean. Kevin was worried, but he also knew there was nothing that he could do.

Teddy, Nate, and Harry all came over for dinner at the end of Kevin’s second week. Kevin mostly just let the conversation wash over him, until Teddy spoke up midway through the meal.

“Nate and I were wondering if it might be possible for Kevin to move in with us,” Teddy announced.

Kevin paused in chewing. This was the first he had heard of this, though Teddy had told him all about the Noble and Ancient House of Black, which was now the Noble (and Attractive) House of Lupin and Friends.

“Weawy?”  Kevin asked around his mouthful of chicken.

Nate smiled. “We just thought you might be happier living with people in your age group – and it’s not like we don’t have the space. It’s a rather large house for just two people.”

“And I own the house, so you wouldn’t need to pay rent,” Teddy added. “And I don’t mind feeding you either.”

“Thanks!” Kevin said, once he had swallowed the food in his mouth.

“That’s very nice of you,” Harry said. “But unfortunately, until we know who tried to kill him, Kevin can’t leave Ron and Hermione’s house – the wards keep him safe here.”

“We can put wards up too,” Teddy argued. “I don’t mind.”

“And how do we get him between here and there?” Harry asked, in the tone of voice that parents used when they knew they were about to dash the hopes and dreams of their children. “If there’s an angel out for him, they may be able to sense him the minute he is in transit. We don’t know how powerful their capabilities are at the moment. It’s too dangerous.”

Teddy and Nate both looked as disappointed as Kevin felt.

“I need a tattoo like Cas has,” Kevin said with a sigh – and then actually listened to himself, and looked up to find the whole table looking at him.

“Castiel has a tattoo?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah,” Kevin said, smiling. “Yes! It’s Enochian. He can write it out for me! It hides him from angels – and basically anything but Reapers.”

“Okay,” Harry nodded. “There’s only one problem – I still haven’t been able to get in touch with Dean. So we have no way to contact him.”

“Oh, you can just pray for Castiel,” Kevin said. “I can-“

“No,” Harry interrupted. “You’re dead, remember? You aren’t to pray to anyone, especially an angel.”

“Cas wasn’t the one trying to kill me,” Kevin argued.

“Humour me,” Harry said in a tone that brokered no argument. “Even if I do pray to Castiel, he still has no way of getting in touch with me.”

“Just give him your phone number,” Kevin suggested. “He can call or text. He’s gotten good at it. I taught him how to use emoticons and everything.”

“I don’t have a phone, Kev-”

“You can use mine,” Nate offered.

The whole table paused and looked at Nate, who reached into his pocket and produced an iPhone.

“What?” Nate asked, and then rolled his eyes. “Yes, I have a phone. Surprisingly, handing out enchanted mirrors doesn’t exactly go over well when I’m trying to pull Muggle boys at a club.”

“Right, uh, enough of that talk please,” Ron said, glancing at Rose and Hugo, who were both watching the conversation with curious eyes. Of course, their curiosity was only increased now that their father had ended the conversation.

As Nate handed his phone to Harry, Rose leaned over the table and whispered, “What do you mean, pull? Where are you pulling them?”

Nate bit his lip, in an obvious attempt not to laugh. “Back to my place, so that we can watch movies.”

“Like you do with Kevin when you come over?”

Nate glanced up at him, and now Kevin was the one that had to keep from laughing. It didn’t help that Ron was looking particularly murderous that they were possibly corrupting his little girls’ innocence.

“A little different than that,” Nate answered.

“Yeah, I mean, usually Teddy’s not there,” Kevin added.

“Usually,” Nate winked, and then winced as Teddy very obviously kicked him under the table.

By this point, Harry was giving Nate’s phone far more concentration than was probably warranted, and all the adults looked a mix of embarrassed and amused.

“Okay, um, so how do I?” Harry asked Kevin.

“Just talk to him,” Kevin said. “Like you’re leaving him a message. Angel voice-mail.”

“Right...” Harry nodded. He looked down at his plate. Kevin knew that it didn’t matter what position you prayed in, but he also knew that it was awkward to talk to someone who wasn’t there when you were in a room full of people. “I’m... I’m praying to Castiel. Castiel, this is Harry Potter. I have a question for you. If you could call me at 077 00900461, I would really appreciate it. Erm, there’s a... you’ll have to call the exit code and the country code, so, the whole number again is 011 44 77 00900461. Thank you... uh... prayer ended.”

Kevin laughed.

Nate’s phone rang.

*

“Hello?” Harry answered, glancing across the table at Kevin and hoping his eyes conveyed the question of ‘why didn’t you tell me sooner that I could do this?’

“Harry. It’s Castiel. You called.”

“Yes, uh – yes,” Harry said. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Dean, but he’s not answering-”

“Dean isn’t here,” Castiel replied.

“Okay, do you know if he’s alright? Or, Sam?”

“Dean is alive and well,” Castiel replied. “Sam is here. He is also alive and will be well soon – I’ll put you on speaker.”

“Wait!” Harry said, feeling his heart somersault in his chest.

“Why?” Castiel replied after a pause.

“Is Sam... himself?” Harry asked, cringing as he realized that Sam might already be listening. He hoped it was Sam. It felt like the whole table was holding their breath as they stared at Harry.

“Ah, I see. There is no need to worry. Sam is no longer possessed and I am currently healing him,” Castiel replied, then Harry heard the quality of the background noise change, acquiring an echo, and he knew that Castiel had put him on speaker phone even before Sam spoke.

“Hey Harry,” Sam said softly.

“Hi Sam,” Harry said. At the other end of the table, Kevin stared at Harry with wide eyes. “Hold on, one moment.”

Harry but his thumb over the microphone and spoke quickly to the table. “I’m going to put them on speaker. Hugo and Rose, perhaps you should finish dinner in your-”

“They’ll only listen in from there,” Hermoine said with a wave of her hand.

“They’re our children, after all,” Ron agreed.

“Fine, but you,” Harry pointed at Kevin. “Not a word. Do you understand?”

Kevin nodded.

“How do I put it on speaker?” Harry asked, waving the phone towards Nate. Nate quickly jumped out of his chair, so that he could lean over Harry and press a button on the phone.

“It’s this button here – uh, Hello Sam,” Nate said.

“Hi uh... Harry? Who?” Sam’s voice came through, a little quiet – Nate reached forward and hit another button that turned up the volume.

“I’m on Nate’s phone,” Harry explained. “I don’t know if you remember-”

“Of course,” Sam said, and Harry could hear the smile in his voice. He felt relief before he even really understood why – but as Sam continued, he knew it was because Sam just sounded like Sam. “Nate? How’s it going, buddy? Aren’t you supposed to be at school or something?”

“I graduated,” Nate answered, blushing a little. “I’m doing well, thank you.”

“Graduated? Wow. I feel old,” Sam laughed. “Who else is all there?”

Nate looked over at Harry, and Harry had to give the kid credit for not just assuming that Harry was going to be honest.

“Teddy, Nate and I are over at Ron and Hermione’s house,” Harry said. “We... I should have waited, I guess, but we had the idea of praying to Castiel, and Nate had a phone... so, we thought we’d try, and here we are... I wasn’t sure it would work.”

“Well, Hi everybody!” Sam replied.

A chorus of hellos went around the table. Kevin remained silent as he stared at the phone. Rose and Hugo both said hello too.

“Oh kids,” Sam said. “Uh, Rose and Hugh... right?”

“Hugo,” Hugo corrected.

“Right, sorry, buddy,” Sam said. “You probably don’t even remember me, but I met you when you a baby.”

“I don’t remember,” Hugo confirmed.

“You were really small,” Sam said.

“Sam, can you... tell us what’s happened?” Harry asked. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Dean, but he’s not answering the mirror.”

“Oh,” Sam said. “I... right... I don’t know if he still has it on him, or it’s somewhere here. We haven’t really cleaned up yet.  I’ll look in his room. Listen, Harry, I’m sorry about... I’m sorry.”

“From what I understand, it wasn’t at all your fault,” Harry said. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“Um, not really a story for kids,” Sam replied. “I’ll find the mirror and call you back later, okay. I can’t...uh, sorry.”

“That’s fine, Sam,” Harry said. “I’m just happy to know you’re okay.” And he was, because he had no doubt that he was talking to Sam, and not just someone pretending to be him. “I actually called to ask Castiel about his tattoo.”

“What do you need to know?” Castiel asked. His voice deep and slightly jarring after talking with Sam.

“Kevin... uh, some weeks ago... mentioned that you had a tattoo that hid you from angels,” Harry explained. “I was wondering what it looked like and if I could get a copy of it for our files.”

“Do you want me to text you a picture,” Castiel asked.

Kevin tapped at the end of the table, drawing Harry’s eyes to him. He mimed writing.

“Could you write it out on a piece of paper for me?” Harry asked. “I can send the portkey bag back, so that you can send it to us that way.”

“Certainly,” Castiel replied. “Was that all?”

“I’d also like to know more about the wards on the bunker,” Ron replied. “But that can wait.”

“Right,” Sam said. “Because of.... because of what happened to Kevin?”

“No,” Ron said. “Or at least, not entirely – I’m interested in how they interact with electricity.”

“Oh, okay,” Sam said, his voice breaking somewhat. “I’ll see what I can find.”

“We’ll send the portkey bag now,” Harry said, trying to keep them on track and away from the subject of Kevin – who was now biting his lip and staring at the phone. “If Cas can write out the tattoo and send that back right away, just while I’m here to receive it directly, that would be most convenient. I can send the bag back again immediately afterward so that you have it when you collect the information Ron’s requested – or, if Dean’s lost the com-mirror, you can let Ron know and he’ll get you another one.”

“Okay,” Sam said. “Uh, thanks for getting in touch... I... I know I already said, but I’m sorry about... uh, what happened.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Harry repeated. “We’ll talk about it later.” Harry then held the phone out to towards the table. “Say goodbye everyone!”

There were a chorus of goodbyes which Sam and Castiel both echoed, and Harry ended the call.

Kevin took a deep breath at the end of the table and then let out a long shaky exhale.

“We can’t tell him until we know it’s safe,” Harry said.

“I know,” Kevin replied. “It’s just... I’m glad he’s okay.”

Harry nodded. The relief he felt was immense.

“Does this mean that Kevin can come live with us?” Teddy asked, adding, “Once you give him the tattoo.”

Harry looked at Teddy and Nate, both of whom looked hopeful and eager for his answer. Kevin was looking at him with wide-eyes, but he wasn’t objecting.

“If Kevin wants-”

“I do,” Kevin said. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate Ron and Hermione’s hospitality, but... it’d be nice, I think. Like... college.”

“Well, hopefully not quite like college,” Harry muttered, knowing full well what ‘college’ usually meant to American teenagers.

“We understand,” Hermione said with a laugh. “Though, if it doesn’t work out for any reason, you’re always welcome to come back here.”

“Thank you,” Kevin replied.

Harry stood up, gesturing towards the office as he did so. “I better go send the bag, then maybe I’ll get to finish my dinner before we start talking about whether anyone knows how to tattoo in this family – because I certainly don’t.”

*

Sam called a couple of hours later.  This time, he called using the mirror. Harry put his fingers to his lips to remind Kevin not to speak. Hermione was just finishing up the tattoo.  Teddy was watching Hermione work, while Nate sat on the bed next to Kevin and held his hand. Kevin said it wasn’t as painful as the muggle tattoo – but he still appreciated the hand holding.

“Hi Sam, you found the mirror, I see,” Harry greeted.

“Yeah, uh, Cas found it,” Sam said.

“Hello Harry,” Castiel’s voice said, Sam tilted the mirror briefly so that Harry could see Castiel sitting across the table.

“Hello Castiel,” Harry replied.

“We’re just going through the files to see if we can find any information for Ron,” Sam explained. “But I thought I should call, and let you know I found the mirror – and, uh, tell you what happened, if there aren’t any kids around.”

“The kids have gone to bed,” Harry confirmed. “It’s just us adults left.”

“Okay, umm... okay, yeah...” Sam said. “So, I... I was possessed.”

“How?” Harry asked. “You’ve got the tattoo, and you need to consent to-”

“Dean tricked me,” Sam cut Harry off. “We were trying to close the gates of Hell - and there were these trials. The third trial... it was supposed to kill me, but Dean, he... he talked me out of going through with it. He said... it doesn’t matter.  I stopped the trial, but it was too late and I was already... I was already dying, and I think I knew that... but, he talked me into stopping and then uh, then he tricked me into getting possessed.”

“I don’t think I understand,” Harry said. Across the room, Kevin was looking at Harry with wide eyes.

“Months,” Kevin mouthed.

“The angel told him that it was the only way to heal me – from the inside,” Sam continued, not really looking at Harry, but just staring sort of blankly into space. “I was in a coma, and Dean showed up in my dream and told me that I couldn’t die, that I had to choose to live. So, I did, because... I hadn’t even closed Hell like I was supposed to, so dying would have been for nothing. I should have just gone through with the trial, if I had known... so, of course I said yes, but I was saying yes to Dean, not...”

Sam cut himself off, looking away fully.

“Dean was also partially deceived,” Castiel’s voice began to explain. “The angel called himself Ezekiel, and when I spoke to Dean on the phone, I told him that Ezekiel was a good soldier, and honourable angel – I did not know about the plan to possess Sam, but I did vouch for Ezekiel and implied that Dean could trust him.”

“But it was a lie,” Sam continued. “It wasn’t Ezekiel. It was an angel called Gadreel... and he killed Kevin.”

“Do you know why he killed Kevin?” Harry asked.

“No,” Sam replied. “He took the tablets too... and he left, uh, he left a note that just had Kevin’s name on it. Like... I don’t know, maybe he has a list or something?”

“Do you know if he killed anyone else while he was...” Harry started to ask, then realized what he was asking.

“I don’t... I don’t want to-” Sam started answering, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

“He did,” Castiel’s voice answered matter of factly.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Harry apologized to Sam. “How did you get him out? Is there an exorcism for angels?”

“No,” Sam said, deflating. “Dean had Cas remove my tattoo and then Crowley possessed me, in return Dean let him walk.”

“Silencio” Hermione whispered across the room, and Harry glanced over to see Kevin silently yelling – Harry couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he had the distinct impression it involved a lot of swearing.

“Crowley found me,” Sam continued, unaware of what was going on. “Gadreel had me buried in my own mind, and Crowley told me what had happened... and once I knew, I was able to cast Gadreel out.”

“My God...” Harry muttered. Across the room, Kevin seemed to have calmed some, though now he was glaring at Hermione.

“Yeah,” Sam laughed bitterly. “It was a party in my head and no one was invited. And now what do we have to show for it? Hell is still open. Abaddon is still on the loose, and now Crowley’s in the wind too... Kevin’s dead... and we’re no closer to finding Gadreel than we were before. I’m doing the world a whole lot of good by being alive right now, let me tell you. God, I should have just-”

“Sam,” Castiel cut in before Harry could. “I thought we agreed that you would cease to run towards death.”

“You see me dying?!” Sam practically yelled back. “I agreed that Gadreel wasn’t worth dying over – doesn’t mean Dean shouldn’t have just let me do the goddamn trial. Or he could have let me died after – at least then Kevin would still be alive.”

 “Sam...” Castiel said, but then didn’t follow it up with anything. Harry looked across the room at Kevin, who had stopped glaring at Hermione in favour of looking pleadingly at Harry.

“Tell him,” Kevin mouthed.

*

Sam shook his head, cutting off whatever placating crap Castiel was planning to throw at him. Everything had gone to shit, and Sam didn’t know what stung worse – the betrayal or the fact that it could have all been avoided if Sam had just died like he was supposed to.

“About that...” Harry said. “We lied.”

“What?” Sam asked, genuinely confused. “Lied about what?”

“Kevin wasn’t able to tell us much when he arrived,” Harry explained. “But he did manage to tell us that you were possessed.”

“He was still alive when...” Sam said, eyes widening. He couldn’t remember much of the attack, but he remembered running him through with a sword – and, according to Cas, Dean said that Kevin’s last ditch attempt at escape had ended up tearing him apart because of the wards.

“When you called,” Harry continued. “Uh, I mean, when... the angel called, Hermione decided it was probably safest if he thought that the attack was successful.”

“Wait, are you saying...” Sam trialed off.  He tried not to hope; it’d be too cruel to have it ripped away.

“Ron and Till were able to save Kevin,” Harry stated plainly, as though the simple sentence hadn’t overwhelmed Sam completely. “He’s been living with Ron and Hermione for the past two weeks.”

“Oh my God,” Sam all but breathed. “Oh my God,” he repeated once more, looking across the table at Cas, whose eyes were wide and joyous. Sam blinked back tears. “Is he okay?”

“You can ask him yourself, if you like,” Harry replied.  Sam simultaneously felt both incredibly anxious to see Kevin with his own eyes and nervous about what he could possibly say.  Harry’s image and the room tilted and turned in the mirror, as Harry walked over to wherever Kevin was.  “We’ll give you some privacy,” Harry added, the mirror moved too quickly for Sam to see who else was in the room, but he thought he caught sight of Hermione’s hair.

Then suddenly, it was Kevin looking at him through the mirror, Sam sucked in a breath. It suddenly hit home that Sam had fully believed that he would never see Kevin again – and yet, here he was.

“Hey Sam,” Kevin said, and smiled – smiled – at Sam.

“Kevin,” Sam’s voice was thick as he responded. “I’m sorry... I... I’m really sorry-”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Kevin said, somewhere on Kevin’s end, a door closed. “It wasn’t you. I knew it wasn’t you.”

“Still, I... I feel like I should have been able to tell,” Sam shook his head at himself. “I knew there was something wrong, I kept losing time – but Dean said it was nothing and I... I believed him.”

“It’s okay, Sam,” Kevin replied. “Well, I mean... it sucked, but... I didn’t put it together until it was too late, and I had both of you acting strange. I mean, you going out alone all the time – then Dean asking for that spell... but you had the tattoo and there was no way that you’d have said yes to an angel...”

“Yeah,” Sam replied, the familiar anger rising in him. “I didn’t.”

“Fucking dicks,” Kevin muttered. “Angels are such assholes.”

Sam bit out a laugh at that. Then looked up to see Cas frowning.

“Uh, except for you Cas,” Sam said.

Cas didn’t seem particularly comforted.

“Kevin?” Cas asked, looking at the mirror. Sam tilted the mirror so that Kevin and Cas could see each other. “Did Gadreel say anything before he attacked you?”

“No, not really,” Kevin replied. “He just... went in for the kill.”

“What do you mean, ‘not really?’” Sam asked.

“Well, I thought it was you – so I asked if you’d noticed anything weird with Dean lately, because I thought he was acting strange,” Kevin explained. “And uh, the angel... he said not to worry and that Dean would be fine.”

“Mm,” Cas acknowledged.  Sam knew it wasn’t anything helpful – the fact that Gadreel hadn’t attacked Dean when he had the chance was evidence enough that he hadn’t intended to hurt him. Whatever the guy’s beef was, it was just with Kevin – maybe he was after the angel tablet, and thought that the next prophet would be more cooperative than Kevin.  If that were the case though, he was about to get very disappointed – with Kevin alive, the next prophet wouldn’t be activated.

“When’s Dean getting back?” Kevin asked. “We didn’t exactly have the best parting words – and since... uh, Harry figures that I should stay over here for a while. They can ward for angels and now that I have Cas’ tattoo, I might actually be able to go outside. Teddy also says that they can use magic to make me look different.”

“Yeah, uh, yeah,” Sam nodded. “That’s probably... probably for the best. We never did do that great a job at keeping you safe. I’m sorry, Kevin, I really am.”

“It’s not like you could have seen it coming,” Kevin shook his head. “But, uh, yeah – if Dean could maybe call when he gets back?”

“I’ll tell him,” Sam answered, ignoring the issue of when or whether Dean was coming back. “Listen, if the angels are after the tablet and possibly whoever the next prophet is supposed to be – they’ll know something is up when the next prophet doesn’t get activated with your death. So, lay low, alright, man? Do what Harry says and stay safe.”

Kevin nodded. “I will. Same goes for you guys.”

Sam smiled. “Call if anything happens or you need us for any reason. Uh... Dean, Dean kinda broke your cell phone, I think – but it probably wouldn’t work in the UK anyway. But, uh, if you get a new one – you still know my number?”

“Yeah,” Kevin replied. “And, um, until I get a phone again, you can probably reach me by calling Nate.”
Sam nodded. “Take care, Kevin.”

“You too, bye, Sam. Bye, Cas.”

“Bye, Kevin,” Cas replied.

Sam clicked the mirror closed and laid it on the table.

“You should call Dean,” Cas said. “If Kevin’s alive...”

“What? No harm done?” Sam raised his eyebrows.

“That was not what I was going to say,” Cas shook his head.

Sam sighed and took out his phone. He turned, so that he could pretend that he didn’t notice Cas’ hopeful look.

Dean picked up on the third ring.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, uh, Harry called, wanted to know what happened.”

“You tell him?”

“Yeah, he uh... had some news that I thought you should know.”

“Something bad?”

“No, but... where are you right now?”

“Illinois, heading north. Why?”

“No, I mean, are you alone?”

“Yeah,”

“Okay, uh... so, Kevin’s alive.”

There was silence from Dean’s end of the call. Sam wondered if he was driving. Now that he listened, he thought maybe he could hear the wind, the hum of the engine.

“What?” Dean’s voice came back, more of a whisper compared to what it had been a moment ago.

“Kevin was alive when he landed – he managed to tell them how I was possessed, so...”

“So they lied, because they didn’t know if it was just you or both of us.” Dean finished for him, and Sam could hear him let out a long breath. “Smart. So... he okay?”

“He looked okay,” Sam replied.

“You saw him?” Dean asked, before Sam could say anything else.

“Yeah, the mirror-”

“Right, the mirror... I... left it.”

“Yeah... Kevin said he wanted to talk to you – I could... I have a number you could call him at. It’s uh, Nate’s phone, but Kevin-”

“What am I going to say?” Dean replied. Sam swallowed, and tried to think of how to respond, but before he could, Dean continued. “He was right – he... before uh, before... he said- said he always trusted me and he always got screwed, and he was right – I’m poison, Sam. Kid’s better off... better off far away from me. Tell him that for me, would you?”

“Dean,” Sam sighed. “You should call-”

“Is Harry okay with looking out for him?” Dean interrupted to ask.

“Yeah, they got the place warded. Dean-”

“That’s good. Tell Harry to keep him safe for me, will ya?”

“Dean-”

“Bye, Sammy.”

The call cut out.

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before he turned back to look at Cas. Castiel was frowning in concern. Whether the concern was for Sam or Dean, Sam had no idea. Probably Dean.

“There, I told him,” Sam muttered. “It doesn’t change what happened, Cas.”

“Where was he?” Castiel asked.

“Driving north through Illinois,” Sam answered. “Why? You want to meet up? I thought you were going to look for Metatron?”

“I am,” Castiel replied. “But Dean said he was going to find Gadreel – and I wondered if he had found anything.”

Sam hadn’t considered that. “Let’s see,” he said and pulled opened his laptop and pulled up the police scanners, news sites, and hospital reports for all Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan, to see if there was anything that pinged the radar as a possible lead on Gadreel. There were no angel-deaths though, nothing too out of the ordinary... there was just a John Doe brought into a hospital way up in northern Wisconsin – Sam nearly dismissed it until he saw the picture.

“Son of a bitch,” Sam muttered. “He could have fucking told me.”

“What is it?” Cas asked.

“Dean found Garth,” Sam explained. “Listen, Cas, feel free to stay as long as you like, but I’m going to hit the road. I want to know where the hell Garth’s been this whole time – he was supposed to look after the Trans, if he hadn’t just skipped town like that-”

“But Kevin’s alive,” Castiel argued. “Certainly, you don’t blame him for-”

“Kevin might still be alive, but his mom isn’t.”

Chapter 6