Chapter Text
Sam stared blankly at his full beer, thinking over the last week of his life. Cas had managed to pull him out of the cage, his soul barely coming along, nearly a year after he jumped in. It took him most of the week to track down Dean and Bobby, the older hunter helping his brother with a case. There was a hoard of demons who wanted revenge. Neither hunter made it. Sam now felt numb after having to burn both of their bodies. He was soon joined by a dying Castiel, who had been mortally wounded by Raphiel and had only returned to Earth to see Dean one last time. Now Sam was alone, staring at his still-full beer. Then there was someone sitting across from him.
Sam blinked slowly, gradually returning to the present, as he took in the man in front of him. He looked to be around the same age as Sam, his raven hair was messy beyond reason and his emerald eyes were hard and cold. There was a long scar that started above his left eye, across his nose and ended on his right cheek. There was a second scar, this one looking older, in the shape of a lightning bolt over his right eye. He wore black boots, dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt with white writing, and a black leather jacket similar to Dean’s. Sam could tell he was a fighter by the way he held himself. A hunter? Military? Sam wasn’t positive. He then blinked as the words on the shirt registered.
‘ My Death Will Likely Occur When I’m Sarcastic at the Wrong Time. ’
“Are you Samuel Winchester?” The unknown male asked in a British accent.
“Who’s asking?” Sam asked, suspicious.
“My name is Haraldur Prince-Black but you may call me Harry. I was born into a secret society of people born with magic. Due to the Witch Trials, we’ve kept hidden for centuries. Recently we just finished another civil war with our people. This left the populace on the brink of extinction. I was approached to go back in time to stop the war from happening. However, there are some, and I agree with them, that believe we would benefit from stopping the Apocalypse that happened here in America before it gets started.”
“You’re suggesting time travel. I’ve time traveled before. With what you’re suggesting, there’ll be two of us,” Sam countered.
“I’ve time traveled before as well. If we do a ritual that will merge our present souls and memories with the ones from the past,” Harry explained.
“How far back will we be going?” Sam asked.
“That’s going to be the tricky part. There is no guarantee when we will end up. However, we are shooting for somewhere between 1988 to 1994.”
“So why are you coming to me?” Sam asked.
“I’m going to be the one that goes back. However, if we want to stop the apocalypse too, I need someone who was involved. You and your brother were at the center of it from what I heard. Seeing as you’re the only one left, I thought I’d offer you the chance to help fix everything. I already plan to, hopefully, end the civil war by 1998 at the latest. Afterward, I could meet up with you and I could help stop the apocalypse.”
This was a very tempting offer. Sam could same so many of their friends and family. Dad, Jessica, Dean, Bobby, Cas, Jo, Ellen, Ashe, Adam… Gabriel. How Sam managed to develop a crush on the Archangle-Trickster, he has no idea. It just sort of happened. His thoughts were interrupted by Harry setting a card down in front of Sam. A quick look showed a business card with the name ‘Harry J. Prince’ in the middle.
“I’ll leave you be to think about it. Please come to a decision soon. I’m sorry to say it took me a little longer to find you than intended. We’ve only got a month before everything for the ritual is ready and I’d like to go through both the civil war and Apocalypse with you before we get sent back should you agree.” Harry then nodded his head to Sam before disappearing in a blink.
Sam only needed a day to make his decision.
They spent the rest of the month learning everything about each other. Sam mourned Harry’s losses and was angered on Harry’s behalf when he told of the betrayal of the two people he thought were his best friends. Harry commiserated with Sam’s worries about how similar he was to the Devil and mourned his loss of family and friends. Sam told him about the Demon Blood and Harry told him about accidentally becoming the Master of Death. They made plans on how to do certain events better on multiple fronts, no matter when they ended up landing. However, they agreed that, should the civil war end before 2005, Sam and Harry would meet up at Stanford. Sam was startled to realize he was slowly forming a crush on Harry. He kept it to himself.
Soon, the day of the ritual came. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley stormed the room as it was almost finished. Harry stepped in front of the Killing Curse that was aimed at Sam. Everything suddenly went blindingly white.
Sam gasped awake, forcing his throat to close in the scream he wanted to let out when he registered that it was in a dark motel room. He heaved in breaths as his nerves slowly began to settle. Sam breathed another couple of lungfuls of air before looking at the time. 5:22 am. He then started feeling off and nearly wept with joy and mourning. It worked. He was in his younger body with the memories of the future. From the looks of it, they’re later than intended if his 14-ish-year-old boy is anything to go by, but they returned to the past. Or, at least, Sam did. Sam couldn’t tell if the Killing Curse had hit Harry or not.
“Sammy?” A muffled, sleepy voice called from the other motel bed.
“Dean…” Sam called back as tears started to fill his eyes and he started shaking. The younger got up and moved to his brother’s bed, cuddling up beside him like a child seeking comfort.
“Hey,” Dean called softly, wide awake now with his brother’s unusual display of affection and distress. “What’s wrong?”
“Where’s dad?” Sam asked once he calmed down again. He knew he could tell Dean everything but their dad wouldn’t understand, not now at least.
“He’s on a hunt in the next state over. Do you need me to call him?” Sam frantically shook his head. “What’s going on Sam? You’re making me nervous.”
“What’s the date and year?” Sam asked. He continued when he saw Dean was about to demand answers. “ Please, Dean. I need to know how far off we were.” Dean stared at his younger brother for a moment longer before shifting to look at the time.
“Um… Halloween.” Dean finally answered.
“Year?” Sam wasn’t surprised. Harry had ranted at one point about how he and Halloween just don’t work well together.
“1997. Sam, what’s going on?”
Three years. They were late by three years. They planned for this… but would the plan still work if Harry wasn’t there? Sam still didn’t know if Harry survived and that worried him. Maybe Dean would have a solution. The youngest Winchester spent the next several hours explaining to Dean about their dad going missing, the Demon Blood children, Dean’s deal to get him back, how terrible they are with coping with each other’s deaths, the apocalypse, the pit, his return, and meeting Harry. He told Dean everything. His brother was horrified by the sheer fuckery their lives became. Sam could tell that Dean was wary of Harry and the supposed hidden community of born magic users but trusted Sam’s judgment of the other man.
“So, are you planning to go to Stanford again?” Dean asked.
“That depends entirely on if Harry remembers to email me… or even made it back,” Sam said, holding the orange juice closer. At some point, the two brothers had moved to a diner for breakfast and had already finished their meals. “If Harry made it back too and emails me, we could easily set up a meeting spot. If he forgot my email, we have a plan to meet at Stanford. I hope he made it back.” Sam muttered the last part but Dean still heard him.
“You really seem to like this guy,” Dean commented with a raised eyebrow. The other joined the first when he saw Sam start to blush. “Does baby Sammy have a crush?” Dean teased, grinning from ear to ear and making his brother turn red as a tomato.
“Shut up, Jerk.”
“Bitch. Now common, spill. I want to hear about my potentially future brother-in-law,” Dean insisted. Sam rolled his eyes but didn’t hesitate to finally talk to someone about Harry.
“He’s a fighter. He could easily become a hunter and was even planning on joining us in stopping the apocalypse when he was done with the civil war with his people. Harry is smart and cunning. Give him an hour and he could come up with the most elaborate plan with a 99% success rate.
“He’s strong, Dean. Both physically and magically. I kid you not, I was 6’4” and he was about 5’3” and he managed to pick me up and carry me all over the house without breaking a sweat,” Sam chuckled at the memory. It was one of the days they had taken a break from planning so they didn’t burn themselves out. “He was essentially the general of his side of the civil war of his people. When he took command, he was serious and hard, almost like Dad when he’s focused on a hunt, but he also wouldn’t accept any unnecessary deaths and nearly everyone returned to base every single time. And Harry may have been a general, but he was always on the field and fighting with everyone when they needed him.
“At the same time, you’d often find him in the children’s ward in the hospital entertaining the kids with magic. He heals who he can and eases the pain of those he can’t save as they pass on. He’s also fiercely protective of those he sees as his, kinda like you Dean. Once, a demon came after me and Harry was so pissed that the demon posses his friend, ironically his name was Dean Thomas, and was coming after me that Harry literally ripped the demon out of Dean, shoved it into an object, and then used a type of fire spell that took the shape of an honest to God dragon that killed the demon. Dean was fine after, a little shaken but fine.
“He was also very popular among his people because he was always kind to them. Don’t get me wrong, he was no saint. Harry’s sarcastic, a little abrasive and blunt, but he loves with everything he is. He’s still kind and thoughtful despite how often he was betrayed. And I don’t mean betrayed by just the people he thought were his friends, but the people he thought were his parents. Apparently, his real father was his potions professor and his bearer was the younger brother of the man he thought was his godfather. Yeah, that’s right, two fathers!” Sam laughed at the disbelieving look Dean was giving him. “Some wizards carry a gene that allows them to get pregnant. Harry once mentioned that his bearer passed that gene on to him.”
Sam blushed a little at that too, making Dean smirk. That smirk grew as Sam continued on and on about Harry and it eventually dissolved into Sam describing Harry’s eyes as ‘the most beautiful shade of emerald green to ever exist’.
“Alright, Romeo. I get it. You’ve got it bad for modern Merlin,” Dean teases, smiling at his brother. After everything Sam had told him about the apocalypse, he was glad his brother found someone worth fighting for.
“Merlin was actually a figurehead in their society. Someone similar to Jesus for them,” Sam said. Dean shook his head disbelievingly. The mood soon became somber. “You do know we can’t tell Dad, right? He won’t understand. I’m not sure he’ll ever understand.” Dean’s face pinched at the thought of keeping something like this from their dad but he also knew Sam was right. So long as all of this wasn’t just some elaborate dream of a product of a curse. He hoped it was real. Sam was so smitten with this Harry guy that he isn’t sure Sam would emotionally survive it if it wasn’t real.
September 2001
Dean followed Sam through the halls, helping him get set up in his dorms. The older brother was still surprised that their father kicked Sam out. After a small talk with Sam, Dean found out that Dean had been out of the motel the last time their dad found out about Stanford. The older Winchester brother knew that the main reason Sam wanted to go to Stanford this time was human connections or school but because he still couldn’t get into touch with Harry.
“You know you’re stuck with me, right?” Dean asked, finally breaking the silence after arriving at the building.
“Yeah,” Sam said, smiling at his older brother. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. It had taken some time, but Sam eventually told Dean about how Harry stepped between him and the Killing Curse just as the ritual was being activated. Dean knew Sam was worried his Harry didn’t make it. Dean hoped that Harry just forgot Sam’s email and isn’t dead.
They made their way to a table outside of the building for new students that had Sam’s dorm number. As they returned to the Impala to get Sam’s things, and a few things Dean insisted on getting for Sam, Dean noticed Sam giving the papers a bitchface. Dean bumped his shoulder and raised an eyebrow in question.
“I didn’t have a roommate last time and it doesn’t look like they put a name down at all,” Sam explained.
“Could it be Harry?” Dean asked, moving closer to Sam to look at the papers too. Neither noticed the dark figure slowly approaching them from behind. Sam gasped when he noticed the name of the headmaster/principal.
“Severus Prince-Black?” Sam whispered. “That wasn’t the headmaster last time.”
“True, my son and I only recently moved to the United States,” a smooth dark voice answered from behind, making both Winchester boys jump out of their skin and turn around.
Behind them stood a tall and slender man with a somewhat gaunt appearance. His silky black hair was long enough to tie back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. His face is pale and sallow, with a Roman nose and a thin mouth. His eyes were a deep, dark black, which reminded the two hunters of demon eyes. The older man wore a nice but casual black dress shirt with slacks and dress shoes under a dark flowing trenchcoat. Even just standing there, the hunters knew that the man walked with controlled grace, precision, and purpose. Both Sam and Dean were speechless, surprised that someone managed to sneak up on them.
“Well, since it would appear that you two have lost your way to the dorm, I’ll provide an escort for you,” Professor Prince-Black announced, raising a hand to summon someone over to them. Sam looked over to who he called over while Dean kept an eye on the older male. Sam’s breath hitched when he saw a younger but familiar face.
The long scar across his face was gone but the lightning bolt was still there. He looked a lot like the new headmaster except his hair flowed in waves down to his shoulders, his nose was smaller and more button-like, his eyes were as bright as emeralds, and his clothes were far more casual. He wore black jeans with a black shirt with a picture of a ghost on a treadmill and the saying ‘I’m Exorcising’. While his poster wasn’t graceful like the older man, it still held a fighting edge to it. It took Sam a moment to realize the man was studying Sam as much as Sam was studying him. He also noticed that he didn’t even look at Dean.
“Haraldur, these two need a guide to the dorms,” the headmaster said.
“Sure thing, Dad,” the young man said. Harry turned to look at the brothers again and Sam could see his bright green eyes were slowly dimming into sadness. That’s when it occurred to Sam that Harry still remembered. The moose of a man then tackled Harry into the grass with a hug and refused to let go. Harry and Sam were laughing by the time they pulled away, Severus giving them an indulgent smile, and Dean looking at his brother in concern.
“I thought you were dead,” Sam said. “I wasn’t sure if the curse hit you or not.”
“It did. That’s why we ended up in ‘97 instead of years earlier. By the way, all of our planning worked. My friend Luna is keeping an eye on everything over there. Dad and I arrived here last year and I’ve just been waiting to see if you’d remember me too. Merlin! I was worried that without magi-” Sam cut him off with a kiss, surprising both Severus and Dean. Although, Dean was relieved to see that his brother’s feelings for the wizard were mutual. “What took you so bloody long?” Harry questioned after they pulled apart.
“I guess I was just overthinking everything,” Sam answered, rubbing the back of his head. Harry just snickered at the younger hunter. Dean and Severus both helped the two up before the older male shooed them away. Harry helped grab Sam’s stuff before leading them to the dorm that Harry and Sam would be sharing.
Halloween, 2005
Sam held Harry close in bed, having recently returned from the Halloween party with their friends. They were just talking about the coming attempt at the apocalypse and what they want to do about it. The apocalypse was bigger than Harry’s civil war and they weren’t sure how best to deal with it. Harry’s already been helping Sam with meditation and occlumency to help ease the visions he’ll be having. Sam may have fallen for the more strict and hard general that Harry was, but Sam still loved the more laid-back man that the wizard had become.
“Dean’s going to sneak in soon,” Sam warned, smirking at the mischief spark that lit up in Harry’s eyes. Dean and Harry hit it off well over the years, the older brother easily accepting Harry as a second brother and great future brother-in-law. The two loved pranking each other and, if Sam joined, Sam would join Dean because Harry was a superior prankster than them. Even the one time they put the limitation of no magic, Harry still managed to beat them. Harry also helped Dean accept his bisexuality a couple of years ago.
“Is that so?” Harry asked, plans already forming. He paused in his planning when a thought occurred to him. “Are you going to go with Dean?”
“I think so. The demons and angels are going to find a way for me to get back in the hunt one way or another,” Sam said, glad they were able to have the reprieve. Harry nodded, fully understanding.
“And we have a saving people problem,” Harry said with a chuckle. Sam snickered, knowing Harry’s was worse than his. “We’re going to have to make the demons think that they succeeded.” Sam shivered and pulled Harry closer. The demons only succeeded last time by killing Jessica the same way they killed his mother. “I know I don’t always show it, Sam, but don’t forget. I’m not only a magical general but I’m also the Master of Death. If they do manage to kill me, I won’t stay dead long. Besides, I plan to have them kill a golem. The longer they don’t know about my magic, the better advantage we have.” Sam nodded, agreeing with Harry’s plan and glad that the wizard had already thought of that.
“You’ll e careful?”
“Never. I always run headlong into danger,” Harry teased, getting a snort from Sam. “But in all seriousness, I won’t let them get any of them get close to me if I can help it. I’ll be safe and I’ll make sure we have all of our stuff before the fire starts.”
“What about Papa?” Sam asked. Severus and Sam had bonded over knowledge over the years to the point where they both felt comfortable with Sam calling Severus Papa. Harry was very proud when he heard.
“He already knows my plan and we have Magmis so we can keep in touch if we need to leave right away,” Harry explained. Magmis was Fawkes’ grand hatching who decided to demand to become Harry’s familiar. The flaming bird was considered the ‘black sheep’ of the family due to the green and black coloring of his feathers as opposed to the red and gold Fawkes has. “It’s just a matter of waiting for the wards to go off. Speaking of which, the wards are telling me that your brother is here.” Harry quickly got out of bed and away from a laughing Sam.
They quickly dressed into sweats and t-shirts before Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and disappeared. Sam slowly made his way out of the room to watch the show. He saw Dean enter the apartment but stayed hidden, wanting to see what Harry will do. He could tell Dean felt like he was being watched based on the tense way he stopped moving. Which was his undoing. Dean yelped when something got poured on him, followed by a curse as something else was dumped on him too. Suddenly the light was turned on, blinding both brothers momentarily. When Sam could see again, he burst out laughing. Dean was now covered in feathers, glitter, and confetti. All of which were pink. He could hear Harry laughing as well, but the wizard seemed to still be under the cloak.
“Really? Come on, man. This isn’t all going to come off,” Dean whined.
“Maybe you should have thought about that instead of trying to break in,” Harry teased, head popping into existence next to the light switch.
“Dude, why didn’t you stop your boyfriend?” Dean asked, pouting at his brother.
“Because Harry has pranked you every single time you’ve broken into the house instead of coming to the door like a normal person?” Sam said with a smirk. “Not my fault you don’t learn.”
“Go on and get cleaned up,” Harry said, still snickering, as he gestured down the hall to the spare room they save for Dean. “I’ll have pie and a beer waiting for you when you’re done.” Harry then waved his hand to clean up the mess on the floor.
“Dude, if you don’t marry him, I will,” Dean stage whispered to Sam, making the younger blush. Dean might not have known, but Sam already got a ring to propose to Harry with as well as Severus’ permission, not that he needed it but it was nice to have. Dean left to shower and change clothes while Sam joined Harry in the kitchen with a few slices of pumpkin pie and beers for each pie. Sam and Harry sat in chairs next to each other, Sam resting an arm around Harry’s shoulders.
“I’ve already got Dobby packing your things,” Harry told him. Sam was glad that Harry was able to save his little elf friends, although it had been a very close call.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Sam asked again, earning a sigh from Harry.
“I’m sorry, who survived dragons, megalomaniac wizards, a giant venomous snake, a werewolf, hundreds of soul-sucking-nightmare-inducing monsters, and the killing curse while still a teenager?”
“Alright, alright, I get it,” Sam conceded, pulling Harry to his chest and kissing the top of the shorter man’s head.
“I know you don’t want me to end up like Jessica did last time,” Harry soothed, leaning into Sam. “That’s why I’ve been trying to every precaution possible.” Sam closed his eyes and just breathed Harry in. Sometimes, he forgot just how smart and perceptive his boyfriend could be. “Riddle and his followers tried to kill me for years. Dumbledore also tried to send me to my death. So many people have tried to kill me, Sam. None of them have succeeded. Even when I didn’t really have much to fight for, they still couldn’t kill me. Now I’ve got you and the future we can have together. Not even the gods will be able to stop me from fighting to stay alive and stay by your side,” Harry said, holding his palm open to Sam. Sam stared in shock at the silver ring with a complicated-looking Celtic knot wrapped around the band sat in the middle of Harry’s palm.
“Dobby,” Sam breathed out, joyous tears threatening to overwhelm him.
“How can Dobby be helping Master’s Hunter?” The elf asked when he popped into the room.
“Can you bring me the velvet bag in my bedside drawer, please?” Sam asked, not taking his eyes off the ring. Dobby bounced in excitement before popping out and returning with the bag. “Thank you,” Sam said, taking the bag before the elf popped away again. He opened the bag and carefully slid the ring out. The ring was mostly black with green runes carved in for protection, which Sam had gotten help from Severus to do. Harry snorted.
“Of course we had the same idea,” Harry muttered before moving to put the silver ring on Sam’s finger and put the black and green ring on his own. Sam and Harry smiled like loons the entire time and stared at their rings for a moment before Sam caressed Harry’s face to move the shorter male so they could share a kiss.
“Ew! Didn’t you two have plenty of time to do that while I was in the shower?”
“Shut up, jerk,” Sam snapped back, causing Harry to snicker.
“Bitch,” Dean snapped back before sitting down and devouring his pie, Harry and Sam joining him.
“So, what brings you around for a visit this time, Dean?” Harry asked. “Social or help on a hunt?” Dean paused, bear halfway to his mouth, to look at Harry and Sam.
“You already know,” Dean stated, recognizing the way the two stared at him. They didn’t do it often, but he know that look would become more common as the years go by before it eventually fades.
“Assumptions make an arse out of everyone,” Harry countered. Dean sighed before speaking up.
“Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days.”
Line Break
“Dean,” Harry called quietly before the boys left. Dean looked over to Harry and walked over, wondering what the shorter man wanted to talk about. “After you drop Sam back off here, I need you to take him to this address.” Harry handed him a slip of paper with an address on it. Dean gave him a confused look.
“What?”
“I know it doesn’t make sense now but it will,” Harry urged.
“Alright,” Dean said with a confused nod. Harry smiled at him, patted his shoulder, and then walked over to Sam for final farewells.
Line Break
It was unreasonably early Monday morning when something malicious got through Harry’s wards. Warrior's side immediately kicked in, Harry called Dobby to activate their plans. Sam hoped Sam would forgive him for the scare he was about to have but they needed the demons to have no doubts of their success. Harry made sure the golem was in place before taking Dobby’s hand and popping away. The golem only had a few years worth of memories and no magic, making it seem like he was a normal muggle who was dating Sam.
Harry only stumbled a little bit when they landed in his dad’s living area. He check that the duffle with his and Sam’s clothes and personal items were there in the corner, having dropped them off the morning before. A few minutes later, Harry could hear footsteps coming towards him, the wards having alerted his father that he was there. Harry was soon in Severus’ arms, knowing this would be the last time either of them saw each other for a while.
Line break.
Sam watched as a firetruck was parked outside the apartment building he once shared with Harry, firemen and police keeping back gawkers. The older brother looked at the burning building and the gawking people before putting his hands into his pocket. He startles slightly when he feels a piece of paper there that he had forgotten about. Dean joins Sam next to the open car trunk, the younger hunter loading a shotgun. Dean looks at the trunk, then at Sam, whose face is set in a mask of desperate anger.
“Hey. How you doing?” Dean asked, worried. Sam looks at his brother, sighed, and then looked back down.
“I'm fine,” Sam lied. He tossed the shotgun into the trunk. “Come on. We got work to do.” Sam shuts the trunk.
“Sure thing, but we need to make a quick stop first,” Dean said as he got into the car. Confused, Sam hops into the passenger seat.
“Where?” Dean hands his brother the paper.
“Harry told me to take you there after dropping you off,” Dean said. “I didn’t understand it at the time but I think this is what he meant.”
“I know where this is. It isn’t far,” Sam said before giving his brother directions to the house. As soon as they arrived, Sam jumped out of the car and headed for the door, which Severus opened before the two brothers could reach it fully and was let inside. Sam made a beeline for the living room, knowing that was where Severus and Harry usually spent time when visiting. Sure enough, Sam froze in the doorway to stare at a perfectly safe Harry sitting on the couch. The two met in the middle where Sam gave Harry a desperate kiss, relieved that his fiance was all right.
“I’m sorry for scaring you like that,” Harry apologized once they pulled apart. “I wanted to make sure the demons thought they succeeded.” Sam muttered acceptance to Harry’s apology from the crook of Harry’s neck. Harry was safe and alive, he didn’t care about demons at the moment. They would need to leave soon and get out of town before suspicions occurred to the demons, but for now, Sam just held onto Harry.