Dean closed the door to the safe room behind him as he left Sam, Jack and the kids behind. He was glad that his brother had volunteered to stay with Hugo and Rose during the spell. As much as he wanted his brother to be in the room with him, there was no one he really trusted more than his brother to be with those kids. He had really tried to push this moment off for as long as possible, but, here he was. Heading toward the room where they kept the box, ready to give this the old college try.

He hoped this would work. Not only did he really not want to spend eternity on the bottom of the ocean, he could feel whatever Hermione had put in place weeks before starting to weaken. So if this didn't work, and they talked him out of the box plan, he didn't think he could hold Michael off. And then it was good bye Dean and good bye world.

He walked into the room to see Hermione and Cas already there, both with grim expressions.

"Who died?" Dean asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Not funny," Hermione said, frowning at him.

"I know, sorry," he said moving to the empty chair in front of Hermione. "So, how's this gonna work?"

"I'm going to enter your mind and make a bee line for the place you have Michael locked up. I'm going to start the spell and once I get near the end, I'm going to fling open the door, and sort of guide Michael into the box."

"I'm going to use my powers to sort of piggy back in with Hermione," Cas continued. "I'll be inside to make sure things are going well. And then once we get to the point of pulling Michael out and putting him in the box, I'll jump out to make sure the box gets closed."

"And closing the box isn't super critical because the idea is to tie him to the box as a whole, but it makes everyone feel better if the box is closed. It's sort of symbolic."

Dean nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"At the beginning, I just need you to try and clear your mind and try and focus on the room where Michael is, just like we did when I put the block in. That will just make it easier for me to get where I need to go. From there, I just need you to try and relax and not push me out. If you push me out too soon, the spell won't be successful, and I don't know what will happen."

"Focus on the bar fridge, relax. I think I can handle that."

"And it'll be sort of painful, and give you a headache. I'll have a headache potion for you after and it should clear it right up."

"Look at you, you little rebel. Breaking all the rules."

Hermione shrugged. "I think that if I went through all the proper channels, what I am doing would be approved. Hands down, no hesitation."

Dean gave her a smile. "So, are we ready to do this?"

Hermione took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder at Cas, who gave her a little nod. "Yes, I think we are."

Dean took a deep breath and settled in the chair, making sure he was in the most comfortable position possible. He rested his hands on his thighs and sat up straight. He squared his shoulders and looked Hermione straight in the eye.

He couldn't quite read the emotions held there, but he knew that she was worried, and that she was going to try her hardest to make this work. He just needed to do what he was supposed to and not fuck it up.

"Alright," he said. "I'm ready."

Hermione raised her wand and whispered, "Legilimens."

SPNHP

Hermione found herself falling through Dean's memories, following a version of him wearing a pageboy cap, until she found herself in an abandoned bar. She looked around and noticed that Cas was next to her.

"He's in here," Cas said, leading the way behind the bar, back into the backroom. They moved past a kitchen and glassware and extra booze until they made their way to a walk in fridge. The perimeter of which was glowing with a white light.

She walked as close to the door as she dared and began reciting the words she had spent the last week memorizing. She knew she wouldn't have anything with her to read off of, and the incantation needed to be said just right. When creating a Horcrux, you needed to kill someone, which severed a piece of your soul. And then you were able to tie that piece of yourself to an object. She had done a lot of research about how to tether that piece of your soul to an object, and she had taken the general idea and found an incantation that should work with it. She just hoped that it would work with an angel. There wasn't anything in any texts she saw about angels.

She could feel Cas hovering behind her. It made her feel a little better that she wasn't in here alone. That she had back up. She may have been considered an elite mind healer, but this was completely out of her wheelhouse. She had never done anything like this before. She usually just used her skills as a type of therapy.

She moved into the part of her spell that involved wand movements, and as she began, the light behind the door began to intensify, and Michael began pounding against the door. He moved against the door so hard that it was beginning to bow toward them. She hesitated for a minute.

"Keep going," Cas said. "It's working, I can tell."

Refocusing, Hermione kept going, moving carefully through each motion. Being careful to pronounce each word correctly. The slightest mis step and that would ruin the whole thing. And at this stage, the results would be devastating.

A couple more wand movements and then she would be entering in the last stages of the spell. She would need to open that door soon in order to grab hold of the archangel in order to tether him to the box. She finished the wand movement, and then reached forward and unlatched the door. She had just placed her hand on the handle when the door flew open, knocking her back.

The door swung open, and inside the fridge stood Dean, but the version of Dean wearing the pageboy hat and suit. He took a step out, and she immediately raised her wand and immobilized him.

"Oh," he said, smirking at her. "A witch. You're new. Usually it's the red headed one." He looked her up and down. "You're much younger. Much prettier. It'll be a shame to kill you."

Hermione closed her eyes, and forced herself to concentrate. She couldn't afford to lose concentration now. This part was critical. She just wasn't expecting Michael to look like Dean. This was unexpected. Slowly she opened her eyes and raised her wand. She looked Michael right in the eyes and began the last part of the incantation. This was the longest part. The part that involved the most magic. The part that was volatile. One wrong move, and it would all be messed up.

Michael started laughing. "They sent a child in to try and get rid of me? Let me tell you, sweetheart, I've destroyed worlds. There's nothing you can do that will even slow me down. Just give up. Let me walk out of here, and I'll even let you live. Dean seems pretty fond of you. I'll keep you around. Warm my bed."

Hermione was proud of herself, she didn't even flinch. She didn't miss one word or one wand movement. She had enough experience during the Horcrux hunt, wearing that necklace, destroying the cup, to know not to let things get into your head. No, Michael's monologue was not what was going to cause her to lose her concentration. That was going to be the world around her starting to move.

Dean was fighting it. He was starting to push her out.

Desperate, she kept trying to keep her focus. To keep reciting the spell. She was so close. But she could feel her grip in Dean's mind slipping.

"Keep going," Cas shouted behind her. "I'll go out and try and get Dean to refocus."

And then he was gone. At least he had figured out what was happening.

Michael laughed. "It seems like Dean doesn't want to get rid of me after all. He likes it when I'm in control. The feel of pure power coursing through his veins. The feeling of killing with your bare hands. The control over others. And let me tell you, you're going to love it when I'm the one driving Dean's body for the rest of eternity. Well, at least for the rest of your mortal life, or however long I allow you to live. It's been a while since I've had a good fuck, and let me tell you," he paused, looking her up and down, "I can tell you'll be a good fuck."

The world around her began to shake in earnest and she began to lose her grip on Dean's mind. She could feel herself start to get pushed out, the air rushed around her, and she felt herself leaving the bar.

"No!" she shouted, fear gripping her. She hadn't finished.

The last thing she heard before the world went black around her was Michael's triumphant laugh.