Prologue

No one knew what happened to Angels when they died, not even the Archangels. Death wasn't talking, either, so the Heavenly Host had just assumed that they ceased to exist upon their destruction.

Gabriel was finding out that that wasn't entirely true.

He was only partially aware of the forest around him but that didn't mean anything as he was restricted inside the bark of the tree which held his Grace. It was odd, he noted, not being a full conscious and only being part of himself. If this was what it was like when angel's Fell, than Gabriel couldn't see the appeal of it. It was beyond boring.

Of course he wasn't the full consciousness of the Archangel Gabriel. He was just the Grace and the Angelic memories that a human brain wouldn't be able to handle. Every now and again, new memories would join him in the tree but Gabriel didn't pay much attention to those additions. He had a feeling that it would only make his entrapped state that much more difficult to handle.

Gabriel was also aware that he was no longer on the original Earth. His Father had made many different universes (and with them, Earths) but the original was the one where the Winchester's had been born. As it was the First Earth, most angels focused on that one as well, with a few seraphs assigned to keep tabs on the other universes. Gabriel himself had mostly kept to that Earth but every once in a while, he would sneak up to Heaven and to another Earth when he was bored enough.

He wondered how everything was going on that Earth; his last memory was of Lucifer killing him after all and he really hoped that he didn't die for those Winchester's just to muck up that plan he'd given them. Then again, Gabriel very much doubted that Lucifer would let the other Earth's be just because he had managed to destroy that particular one so it was likely that those two morons had managed to succeed.

It was also apparent to Gabriel that the forest around him was mostly dead, which was something that felt odd to him. There were plenty of creatures living in this forest and he (or was it the tree? Gabriel was having trouble separating the two of them) was in full bloom. It must have looked out of place in the strange, dead forest, and yet Gabriel couldn't find it in himself to care.

If he was going to be here for God knew how long, then he might as well look good while doing it. He doubted it would be anytime soon that his main conscious found him.

Harry James Potter was a not so ordinary first year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It didn't help that he had recently been caught after hours with his friend Hermione as they were sneaking a baby dragon to the Astronomy Tower at midnight. Luckily they'd gotten the dragon away before they'd been caught but it hadn't stopped the docked points (fifty from each of them and another fifty from Neville, as he'd been caught trying to warn them). The fifty from Draco Malfoy didn't seem all that fair in the long run, as Gryffindor ended up docked one hundred and fifty points.

So here they were, all four of them serving detention in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with something killing unicorns on the loose. Harry was even stuck with Draco since the blond Slytherin hadn't been able to last long before he'd taken the opportunity to scare Neville. 'I hate people like him,' Harry thought uncharitably as they continued following the unicorn blood through the forest.

He had never expected to come across the dying (how did he know it wasn't dead?) unicorn that had a large, black leaning over it. 'It's drinking the unicorn's blood,' he realized in utter horror. His stomach clench in nausea and his scar throbbed in angry pain as the figure noticed them.

He barely registered Draco's scream of horror or the fact that he'd fallen as he backed up, his ankle caught in the root of a tree. There was a humming in his head that he couldn't ignore and the unicorn killing figure seemed to become less important the louder the humming got.

The centaur showing up to drive the figure away managed to regain his attention and Harry blinked as the humming dimmed. 'The unicorn,' his mind whispered and Harry focused on the bright creature that lay dying.

His magic swelled inside his chest as Harry, more than anything, wanted the unicorn to be alright. His magic exploded outwards, feeling similar to when he'd found himself on the roof of his primary school building.

A sharp intake of surprise was the only thing Harry heard before he was consumed with a head-pounding dizziness that made him want to bury his head in his knees. However the rest of his body seemed to be rebelling as well as he couldn't bring himself to move his knees in the required position that would need.

Arms picked him up, feeling strangely safe, and Harry felt himself be carried out of the dark and intruding woods.

He lost consciousness not long after hearing the concerned voice of Hagrid from overhead.

A/N: I know, I know, I should be updating one of my existing stories instead of posting a new one but...It was just begging to be written and the plunnie just wouldn't leave me alone! And once I had already written a certain amount on the idea, I couldn't just not post it...

Don't kill me? I promise I'll be updating some of my other stories soon! Probably...maybe... errr... I'm a horrible person that can't make any promises because I'm easily distracted and more than a bit forgetful?

Read and Review? (preferably not to inform me of how horrible a person I am?) Constructive criticisms are welcome!

~MisteryMaiden~