Hitting the books ((open rp, Sam Winchester))

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Thanks to the multitude of televisions peppered across the Great Hall, it was getting difficult to find a quiet place to work. Sam had finally taken his books and the memory given form that was his old laptop and hunkered down in Gryffindor’s common room to try and get some additional reading done. His work was leading to one, inevitable and generally unpleasant conclusion. There was only one way he was going to save Adam from Hell.

He paused long enough to send an owl to Castiel, asking the angel to come by when he had time. It was apparent that Cas and Death were.. well. Cas looked really happy for once and Sam didn't want to interrupt.

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[nerdofthelord.livejournal.com]

Castiel had spent a great deal of time over the past several days in Death's company or thinking about her, see-sawing between a state of lovestruck, hormone-fueled euphoria and a tangle of gnawing worries that sprang from the same source.

Still fairly new to strong emotions generally (never mind the physical tension that was becoming more and more difficult to subliminate,) he was finding the experience a little overwhelming, and also beginning to understand a number of things about his human friends that had always mystified him before. Including why, after several eventful days running, they tended to act so strung-out even if rest wasn't an issue.

He'd taken to dimming the lights in his room and sitting quietly when he was alone, eyes shut, trying to silence his tumultous thoughts and find some vestige of the calm that had once come to him so easily. These days it was frustratingly elusive, crowded out by hopes and fears, memories and daydreams that made his heart race and his body pleasantly ache.

One thing was certain: even if he could make up his mind that it was the right thing to do, he'd never manage to hold a conversation with Jimmy as long as his own thoughts were in such a cacophony.

Sam's owl was a needed, if not necessarily a wholly welcome distraction. The angel took the scenic route, trying to clear his head as he walked to meet the young hunter.

He transported himself directly to Gryffindor Tower only when he looked up and realized he'd somehow managed to get completely turned around and headed the wrong direction altogether.

Finding Sam absorbed in his books, Cas stood where he'd landed and waited patiently to be noticed. Before long his own thoughts wandered back to a particularly heady tryst a few days before, his stoic expression softening and eyes going slightly out-of-focus at the memory.

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

"...even listening are you? Cas? Castiel?" Sam quirked a grin at his friend. The angel was obviously lost in a happy memory, no doubt one that involved a pretty incarnation of death.

For a moment, Sam reconsidered asking Cas about the cage or Hell or any possible escape for him or his half brother. He looked really happy, and the last thing he wanted was to spoil that for the angel. But these were questions that needed to be answered before he acted in the plan that had been forming in his mind since Crowley had arrived.

With any luck, Cas would be distracted enough to not discern the real motive behind his inquiry. If Cas figured it out, he'd go straight to Dean or Bobby and all hell would break loose.

Sam balled up a scrap of paper, aiming to bounce it off the distracted angel's head.

[nerdofthelord.livejournal.com]

Cas snapped out of it with a startled blink and gave Sam a slightly chagrined look, hurriedly pulling his thoughts together (again.) "Sam. My apologies, I was...preoccupied. You needed something?"

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

He chuckled. Love had him completely scattered. "It's okay, Cas. Me and Dean, we're happy for you two. I haven't talked to her much, but she seems nice."

Sam hesitated a moment before plowing ahead. Cas had been to Hell, he had pulled Dean out, if anyone would know and give him a straight answer, it'd be him. "I need to know about the cage, Cas. I need to know," he swallowed, "if there's a chance for me and Adam when this all ends."

[nerdofthelord.livejournal.com]

He nodded, vaguely disgruntled; not that the good wishes weren't appreciated, but everyone else seemed to understand what was happening to him better than he did and to find it vastly amusing. Which, to be fair, wasn't that different from the normal state of affairs, but it didn't usually feel quite so...personal.

Sam's question, though, succeeded in shoving the matter of his embryonic love life onto the back burner better than anything else had managed to do lately. He looked away, trying (and failing) to come up with an answer that was less than completely discouraging.

"I don't know very much about the cage, Sam. I wasn't involved in its construction. I do know that it was designed specifically to contain Lucifer's essence and to be as inescapable as Heaven could contrive." Until Heaven decided to open it, he amended bitterly to himself, but that would only be pointing out the obvious. "Presumably, it could be opened again the same way it was the first time. But not without freeing Lucifer again, as well as a very, very angry Michael."

If that ever happened, he had no doubt the consequences would be much worse than they would have been the first time. Michael was a good soldier and an obedient son (or believed himself to be, at least) and would have shown at least some respect for their Father's creation if the first battle had gone according to plan. Castiel couldn't imagine he would go out of his way to spare humanity a second time around, after everything that had happened. Depending on the subjective time that passed, it was entirely possible Michael could emerge from the Pit just as warped as Lucifer was, if not more so.

"I won't tell you there's no possible way, because I can't know that for certain. But if there is..." He shook his head, hating that he had so little hope to offer. "I don't know what it would be, or where to even begin looking. I'm sorry."

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Castiel's honesty hit him like a gutpunch. For a moment, Sam couldn't breathe. An impenetrable cage created by Heaven and the only way out would involve releasing Lucifer and a very pissed Archangel Michael in the process; both of whom would gladly lay waste to Creation out of sheer spite and fury. If he closed his eyes, he could still hear Michael and Lucifer screaming in rage as they fell.

They couldn't go back. Pale and a little shaken, Sam looked away. That small and desperately irrational hope of some kind of rescue dwindled even further.

"It's ok, Cas," he said, his throat tight. "I was getting that sense from what I was reading."

Now their only hope lay with Crowley and the knowledge that what he had planned it would devestate his loved ones

[my-soul-itches.livejournal.com]

The roof was usually a good place for Megan to think. It was relatively quiet, had an awesome view, and the very highest parts was hard to get to unless you really tried. Or had wings. And she really, really needed to think.

It was hard to think when you were out in the cold and had 'ported out without so much as a coat.

She tried to think, or at least have a good sulk, regardless of the temperature and wind and everything. She started with a lot of resolve, but as her fingers and ears went quickly cold and then numb, she had to admit defeat. Back inside it was; maybe the fireplace would be lit in Gryffindor, and she could warm up for a bit before locking herself in her room. With a frustrated sigh she 'ported herself to the common room, appearing in her usual puff of pink light.

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Megan's sudden arrival startled Sam, but after traveling and hunting with an angel who had the same habit, he was getting used to the feeling. He closed the book in his lap, frowning in concern at the general air of melancholy around the teen.

"Hey, what's wrong, Megan?" he asked gently.

[my-soul-itches.livejournal.com]

She "eep"ed and shot up in the air, but really, of course there would be people around a fireplace in winter. It was what fireplaces were for. And it was only Sam. Megan's deer in headlights look gained a big smile.

"Hi, nothing's wrong, why would anything be wrong, I was just out for a bit and forgot my coat, silly me I'd forget my own wings if they weren't stuck to my back so now I'm here because of the fireplace, see, and really absolutely nothing is wrong except it's really cold out and anyway, how are you and aren't fireplaces just awesome and did I remember to ask how you were doing?"

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Sam failed to keep from smiling as he lay a hand on her shoulder. "Um, maybe breathe between words for starters? C'mon, sit down, warm up," he said, gesturing towards the roaring fireplace.

While Megan got warm and situated, Sam had a house elf bring over some cocoa for her. He sat down across from her. "So it's absolutely nothing at all whatsoever, huh? Okay, if you're sure. You know I'd listen if you needed someone to talk to," he offered.

[my-soul-itches.livejournal.com]

"Right," she said weakly, fluttering over to where it was warmer and sitting down. It was nicely distracting, wonderfully warm after the chill and wind of the roof, and the light of it caught in her wings and she amused herself for a little while seeing what kaleidoscope-like effects she could make with them. See? Cheering up already.

"Oh, no," she said in a far too breezy manner when he'd sat as well. "Everything's tidy. I just needed some air." Megan gulped at the cocoa, coughed as she burned the roof of her mouth, and grinned a little manically. "But, y'know, hypothetically speaking, let's say I had questions about demons. You wouldn't mind if I asked, right? And you wouldn't yell at me for forgetting the magic bag of whatsits that I'm supposed to never forget or whatever in my room this morning? I really didn't mean to forget but I was in a hurry and it just slipped my mind and really you can't expect someone to just get used to carrying all that stuff around all at once and I've been really good about it otherwise--" stop, breathe, ignore that she'd forgotten it one morning out of every three since learning to make Devil Traps with his dad, "--so I probably shouldn't get yelled at is what I'm saying."

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Sam blinked, sorting through the too-rapid torrent of words. Did all teenage girls talk this fast and he had just forgotten? He sat down across from her, "Megan, breathe. Slow down, nobody's going to yell at you about anything. Magic bag of whatsits? What do you mean?

"You have a question about a demon? I'll answer what I can about them," he said. "They might not all be the same as what we've seen back home. There are some that don't seem as evil as the ones we ran across. Kurone is a kitsune and he seems like a decent guy. Bobby likes him well enough and that's saying something," he said wryly.

[ra-tilt-chimera.livejournal.com]

Zelgadiss wandered down from his dormitory, Lina the cat nipping at his heels. He'd retreated up there to study, and Lina was rather upset that he hadn't done so bearing an offering of food. True to her namesake, despite the vast amount she consumed, she was still quite lean; Zel was starting to suspect something wasn't entirely normal about her.

He settled a kettle of water over the fireplace, intending to have some tea without going through the Great Hall; he had absolutely no interest in the Hat's latest obsession, and since he wasn't being forced into dealing with it, he saw no reason to do so, and had been resolutely avoiding anywhere he'd have to watch or even hear about 'Hat Shore'. It was only when he looked up from his tea-making that he realized he wasn't alone in the common room. "Oh, hello."

Hopefully Sam was used enough to Hogwarts by now that Zel's unusual appearance wouldn't be too disturbing.

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Fortunately for Zel, it was just Sam in the common room. He had become accustomed to all manner of odd looking students and it didn't faze him much anymore. The hunter looked up from his book and snapped it shut with a discouraged expression.

"Hey," he said with a nod. "I think this is one of the few places it hasn't occured to the Hat to shove seven or eight televisions. Do you need to move some of this over?" he asked, indicating the expanding stacks of books and papers spread across the table.

[ra-tilt-chimera.livejournal.com]

He shook his head, straightening up a little. "It's fine; not like that's the only flat surface in the room." The cat curled up in front of the hearth, purring as she enjoyed the warmth of the fire. "And I noticed that. How long do these reality shows usually last? Because I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."

He sighed as he dusted his hands off. "Whose bright idea was it to leave the Hat in charge of the school, anyway?"

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Sam nodded, but still tried to get the overflow into a few more manageable stacks. He shook his head at Zel's question, "Not sure. Normally the Hat seems to have ADD when it comes to things like this, I kind of expected the whole thing to have failed to hold it's interest for this long."

He made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort, "Good question. Sometimes I wonder that myself. I'm Sam, I don't think I've met you before," he said, reaching across the table to offer a hand.

[ra-tilt-chimera.livejournal.com]

"I would have thought so, too. Its obsession with marrying people only lasted a couple of weeks. I'm not sure whether this is a good sign or not."

He shook the proffered hand, smiling slightly. "I'm fairly sure you haven't; I've been keeping to myself lately. Zelgadiss Graywords; just Zel will do. Nice to meet you, Sam."

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Up go the eyebrows at the mention of marriage. "It's got my brothers stuck in there, I hope it doesn't start remembering marrying people off. My older brother isn't what you'd call the type."

"Here's hoping something new and shiny distracts the Hat long enough to let them out soon. That and those televisions everywhere are headache-inducing. A little quiet would be nice."

Sam nodded at his books, "I know what you mean. You too." He glanced down at the cat with an amused look, "And someone just made themselves quite comfortable."

[lovereallybites.livejournal.com]

Sorting was over, that was definitely an experience. She'd been wondering pretty aimlessly and found her self here. She looked around a bit, a lounge? Her eyes fell on Sam, well at least the scenery was nice. Even if she was pretty sure it wasn't where she was supposed to be.

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Sam looked up at the new arrival and offered a smile. "Hey, come to escape the madness of the Hat and it's weird ideas on tv and reality shows? It's at least quiet here."

He moved some of the books over to one side, trying to clear some room for her.

[lovereallybites.livejournal.com]

" That, or just got lost wonderin around here. Either way, here I am." she said returning the smile and moving over to sit.

" Home work, or just work?" she said looking to the books.

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

"Must be new here, then? Yeah, the moving staircases can get a little tricky to navigate until you figure them out. There's a pattern to it, it's all in the timing."

He looked down at the books, "Personal research. There's not much in the way of consistent classes, so if you really want to learn anything, you've either got to corner someone into showing you, or hit the library and start figuring it out yourself. I think the Runes professor keeps a box of old wands outside his office, you can snag one there to get you started."

Sam began closing some of the material up, as most of it had to do with Hell and demons, he didn't want to frighten her off. He also didn't want to get into a conversation that opened with "so.. studying hell, huh?"

[lovereallybites.livejournal.com]

" That must be how I ended up..." she pointed her fingers in several directions. " All turned around." she looked to him a little bit of a sheepish smile " Am I that obvious?" her hand came up to lightly palm her head.

She did get a look at some of the material Sookie is a little nosy after all. That conversation starter for Sam was probably right up there with Sookies 'So..I got freak abilities that attracts things that go bump in the night' Just not happening right now.

[hunter-returns.livejournal.com]

Sam chuckled, "Everybody gets that look for the first few days. I think it's part of the deal, especially after talking to a floating Hat. I wouldn't worry, you'll get along just fine once you get used to the relative insanity of the place.

"It's gotta be a little odd finding yourself in Scotland after the deep South. Down Alabama way?" he guessed.

((set for the evening of the Hat Shore party, Death makes a retrieval))

[endlessgoth.livejournal.com]

“Heya Sam,” Death said, appearing in a corner of the common room. A sense of hopelessness hung over the young man like a pall, and she ached for him. For a moment, she was sorely tempted to tell him about her intent to keep him safe, but that was something she would let Castiel do in his own time and in his own way.

He glanced up at her sudden arrival. Death wore a simple, but elegantly cut black dress, her long hair piled in a mass of soft curls atop her head. Her bare shoulders and arms gleamed like marble in the half light, contrasting sharply with the dark color that she wore. She smiled a little self-consciously and looked down, absently smoothing down invisible wrinkles in the soft material. She didn’t wear dresses often and wasn’t sure if she had chosen appropriately for the occasion.“You don’t think it’s too much do you?”

Sam’s mouth opened and closed at least twice before he could find his voice. “I, uh, no. I think you look great.” He tore his eyes away and started closing the books on the table. “Cas, he’s a lucky guy.”

“You’re sweet, Sam. Now come on,” she said briskly taking his arm and hauling the significantly larger hunter to his feet with ease. “No more of this tonight. There’s a party over at the house, we’re going and you’re coming with. You should spend some time with your brothers.” Death took his arm and winked. “Nope. No arguing, not allowed.”

With that, she transported them to where Castiel was waiting.