Chapter Text
Now that the matters of Heaven, Hell and everything in between had simmered down after the return of God and the Archangels, Sam and Dean were taking some well deserved time off, which meant that Sam finally had time to do what he had always wanted to do...Organise the Bunker's Archives, and much to Dean's dismay he had made it a "Brotherly Bonding Activity".
"Oh come on, Dean, think of all the cool crap we could find down here! Old Scrolls, Sigils..." Sam said as he started pulling boxes of old files around to the main table, where a pouting Dean was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest like a four year old. "A spell to get that stick out of your ass..." The younger Winchester muttered under his breath as he turned his back on his Brother, only to yelp when a small paperback pocketbook hit him in the back of the head, thrown by a sour faced Dean. "What did you do that for?!" Sam yelled but Dean just shrugged at him.
"What, I didn't do anything..." Dean said but the smirk on his face told Sam otherwise and the resulting Bitchface was epic, but as Sam reached down to retrieve the small book which his idiot Brother had thrown at him he stopped suddenly, a little stunned by the title.
"The Standard Book Of Spells: Grade 1" The title read in sleek red letters and Sam gingerly picked it up with trembling hands, missing his Brothers curious questions as he ran his fingers over the cover. There was just no way...
"SAM?!" Dean barked, finally catching his Brothers attention. "You gonna tell me whats got you all wide eyed?" The Hunter asked, gesturing to the book in Sam's hands, and Sam stared down at it once again before starting to laugh out loud. He couldn't even find the words to explain so instead he handed to book to Dean, allowing his Brother to turn it over in his hands and read the cover, a small grin slowly spreading on his face. "No freakin' way...this...nah it can't be, can it?!" Dean laughed, and Sam finally found enough breath in his lungs to talk.
"You really think it was her?" Sam asked as Dean opened the front cover and scanned the first page, his grin only growing larger when he found the authors name.
"Nah...not her...him." Dean said, handing the book back to a confused Sam who read the name with a confused look.
"P.J...Rowling?!" Sam said, looking up at Dean with confusion. "Her Father? Grandfather?" The Hunter asked and Dean shrugged.
"Couldn't be, probably a lot older than that, but come on how cool is this?!" Dean said, practically bouncing on his heels with excitement and Sam had to resist the urge to shout 'I told you so', and tease his Brother for acting like a nerd. "Damn man, where's Charlie when you need her right, she'd fangirl like crazy over this!" Sam raised an eyebrow at his Brother and slowly started to smirk.
"Yeah, you're right there...so tell me, if she's a 'fangirl'...what does that make you?" Sam asked, positively beaming when Dean turned an unamused glare on him.
"Sam..." Dean growled softly in warning but his little Brother was slowly backing away with an annoying grin plastered all over his face.
"That couldn't possibly make you..." Sam said, rapidly backing up away from Dean as the Elder Winchester advanced on him.
"I'm warning you Sam..."
"A..."
"Don't say it!"
"Fanboy!"
"SON OF A BITCH!" Sam heard his Brother yell but he was turned around and running before he could see the rage on Dean's face, his laughter bubbling out of him as he ducked and dived between shelves, narrowly avoiding Dean who was hot on his heels. "You better run you little...when I get a hold of you I swear to Cas you're dead!"
"You'll never take me alive!" Sam yelled playfully, vaulting over a crate at the end of an aisle and skidding around the corner, only running for a few more feet before he hit a dead end filled with boxes and jars on shelves. He knew Dean had slowed up at the crates but he was still right behind him and it was only a moment before the elder Winchester came into view, catching the cornered Sam in his sights. "Now Dean...you don't wanna do something you'll regret..." Sam said, backing up as far as he could and keeping his eyes trained on his slowly advancing Brother, who was smirking at him evilly.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that Sammy...There is nothing I am about to do that I will regret, trust me..." Dean said and with that he lunged forward, pouncing on his little Brother and knocking him into the shelf behind him. As the pair wrestled playfully, pushing and pulling one another until they wound up rolling around on the floor, several of the jars started to tremble and topple from their places on the shelves until one small blue jar that was positioned high on the top tier was knocked out of place and came crashing to the floor, smashing to pieces between the boys. An explosion of white light blasted out of the jar as soon as it smashed open, engulfing them both and blinding them for a moment, and when it started to clear again there was a ringing in their ears which left them both deaf to the cries of the other. Each had been knocked aside and away from the other by a shockwave that came with the light, and when the effect finally started to wear off Sam blinked rapidly to clear his vision...although the sight he was met with was too unimaginable, and it took him several minutes of rubbing his eyes before he realised this was not some crazy illusion.
"Sammy..." Dean said, but he clapped a hand over his mouth when his voice, deep and manlike at first, suddenly cracked and became high pitched like that of a child. The Elder Hunter blushed a little when he heard his Brother laughing, and the thought came to him that he hadn't sounded like that since he was a teenager...but then again the boyish giggles that where coming from Sam hadn't been heard since he was a kid...what the Hell was going on.
When Dean looked up at Sam he had to bite on his tongue to keep from screaming in shock, and it was a long time before he could even process what it was he was seeing. His younger Brother - and he did mean younger brother - was sitting across from him and he was a far cry from the huge and lanky Sasquatch that had been there only moments before. The kid was tiny, like eight or nine, drenched in his clothes which looked like a giants compared to his small frame, and Dean felt himself shaking all over as he slowly lifted his hands up in front of his face. It was just as he feared...he was smaller to, his hands almost half the size they had been and remarkably smooth, all the scars he had from years of Hunting and hard work where gone...he was a kid again.
Dean sat staring at his hands for the longest time, his thoughts running at a million miles an hour, but when Sam broke the silence it all became too much for him.
"Dee..." The boys timid voice floated across the room, and suddenly everything was too close. Dean felt his chest tighten and his vision blur, and ever little noise around him sounded like thunder in his ears. He knew Sammy was talking to him but he couldn't make out what he was saying, and the kid was crowding him so much that he felt like lashing out but he couldn't get enough strength in his arms to push him away...The last thing Dean saw through his blurred vision was a flash of white light and a pair of stunning blue eyes, then everything went black.
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"Is he gonna be alright Cas?" Sam sniffed, the boys tears barely controlled as he sat beside his unconscious Brother, and Castiel placed a hand on his shoulder the way he had seen Humans do to comfort one another and smiled.
"He will be fine Sam, I promise you, I would never allow anything to happen to him." Castiel reassured the trembling boy, but when Sam looked up at him he was pouting.
"This happened to him..." Sam said, crossing his arm over his chest and Castiel frown.
"Yes it did, but I was not aware of it at the time...I can only help if I am here with you, Sam." Castiel explained, trying to be as gentle with the boy as possible considering the massive shock both he and his Brother had just received. Sam took a moment to think about it before his hand shot out to grip Castiel's sleeve, his eyes wide and filling with tears again.
"Then don't leave okay, just don't leave again and he will be okay right?" Sam asked and Castiel opened his mouth to answer but just as he did Dean groaned from the bed where Castiel had laid him down and slowly began to open his eyes. Both Sam and Castiel leant over him and the Angel placed a hand on his forehead to check him over, analysing everything from his heart rate, to his breathing and all the way down to his blow flow. The boy seemed to be in perfect health, and the Angel smiled at him as he pushed his hair back out of his face - hair which was soft and a little shaggier now that he was a teenager again. Dean took a moment staring up at his Brother and his Angel, trying to make sense of why he was tucked up in bed with a baby Sammy and a smiling Angel staring down at him but as the memories of the Archives came flooding back to him he tried to sit up too fast, only to be pushed back down by Castiel.
"What the Hell happened to me!?" Dean yelled, struggling against the Angel's inhuman grip which had been hard to break as an adult, and was damn near impossible to break now that he was...
"Dean you have to calm down, you are in no danger..." Castiel tried to soothe the frightened Hunter but the boy was having none of it.
"I will NOT CALM DOWN! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!" Dean started to scream and Castiel was forced to pin him down with his Grace to stop him from hurting himself in the struggle. Sam had started to cry again and was backing up slowly against the wall, his hands over his ears.
"Dean please stop shouting, Cas is here to help he promised!" Sam yelled but Dean barely heard his baby Brother over the blood pounding in his ears, and he felt close to passing out again when Castiel's face suddenly loomed over his own, hard eyes holding him in place as he spoke in a calm but firm voice.
"Dean Winchester!" Castiel said, his tone firm and leaving no room for argument. "I understand that you are upset but if you continue to fight me in this way you will only succeed in hurting yourself, now please calm yourself!" The Angel kept him held down but his touch became gentle when tears started to fill Dean's eyes. "You are safe, Dean, I swear to you. I understand this is a shock but you are safe with me..." And with those words Dean collapsed back on the bed, crying softly to himself as Castiel stroked his hair, hushing him gently. As things quieted down, Sam snuck forward and - with an approving nod from Castiel - crawled up next to his Brother and lay down at his side.
"Don't cry, Dee...Cas is gonna look after us..." Sam said, cuddling up next to Dean who reached out to put an arm around his baby Brother, eyes fixed on Castiel.
"What happened Cas?" Dean finally managed to ask, choked up with tears, and the Angel reached out to swipe away the dampness on his cheeks with his thumb, smiling when Dean unconsciously leaned into his touch.
"I don't know, Dean, but I swear I will find out and when I do we will fix this. I'll do whatever it takes."
"You might regret that promise..." A familiar and unwelcome voice sounded from the doorway, and all three of the men whipped around to find Gabriel - mischievous grin and lollypop in place - standing there staring at them like they were the hottest show in town. Sam stared over his Brother with wide-eyed curiosity, and Castiel frowned in confusion at the presence of the Archangel, but Dean sat up with a growl, glaring daggers at the Trickster.
"I might have known it was you!"