Hogwarts AU I

Sherlock Holmes typically did not pay much mind to the throng that clogged Hogwarts's halls. He was far too engrossed in his textbooks and studies of choice; today's being on the art of Occlumency. Not a skill he found particularly useful but he was running out of reading material and people to hone his deduction skills on. As it was, the curious Ravenclaw was about to graduate to the Restricted Section of the Library for new subjects, having bored through the books available freely to all. If only he could convince any of his teachers to give him permission to do so… So far every teacher he had asked had shook their heads in what could only be described as sheer terror. As if they feared he was actually going to attempt to practice forbidden spells and curses on his fellow students. Actually… that was a very viable concern.

The Ravenclaw couldn't pursue a curse list for very long, however, as he collided book-first with another body. A flash of Gryffindor Scarlet whizzed past him as Sherlock's back and skull made contact with the stone floor, causing the teen to groan in pain. He was vaguely aware of two voices trying to communicate with him but his mind was far too muddled to comprehend what exactly they were saying. The only clear thought in his mind was to add whoever was cackling like a hyena to his Curse List. When a pair of gentle hands guided him into a sitting position, he didn't resist, far too focused on the shooting pain in his skull. Optimistically, it felt as though he had a small concussion. However, his mind had pushed the pessimistic diagnosis into the fog.

"Are you okay?" Sherlock had to blink several times to bring the speaker into focus. A pair of emerald eyes were looking down at him with concern. "Can you hear me? Thor, stop laughing! He could be seriously injured you oaf!" The young wizard thought he should give his rescuer some sign that he was alright – or at least conscious – but he found himself captivated by the pale features before him.

"I'm sure he's fine, Loki. He's just stunned, is all. Besides it was an accident."

"He's not responding. We should take him to the infirmary." The pale speaker, now identified as Loki, proceeded to help Sherlock, only to steady him with his body when the floor began to tilt beneath the Ravenclaw. The one Loki called Thor seemed more concerned by this action.

"Perhaps you are right, brother." He had finally stopped laughing, now assisting Loki in keeping Sherlock steady. Meanwhile, the Ravenclaw was trying to figure out where he had heard those names before.

"Loki…? Thor…?" He knew those names. Why did he know those names?

"Sorry, yes that's our names. I'm Loki," Loki pointed to himself as he spoke then to his companion. "And this is my brother, Thor. Don't worry; we're just trying to help."

"You… you're the Odinsons, aren't you?" Despite the pounding persistent there, Sherlock's mind was beginning to clear a tiny bit. "Wealthy family, right?"

"Despite the idiots of our bloodline." Loki rolled his eyes but flashed Sherlock a dazzling grin. "You must be feeling a bit better."

"Between poundings… Those stone floors can do quite a number on one's brain." Sherlock winced as his curious hand made contact with an impressive knot on the back of his head. "I should pay more attention to where I am going."

"I ran into you, not the other way around. I should be apologizing to you," Loki countered, easing the boy onto one of the hospital beds. "Well, my brother and I should be."

"He got dragged away five minutes ago. By his quidditch buddies I'd say," Sherlock elaborated when Loki looked around in confusion. "You didn't notice?"

"Pretty face distracted me." Sherlock's face turned blood red at that. Loki hadn't looked at anyone except him during their journey here. There was a small chance the Slytherin had caught sight of a pretty little thing out of the corner of his eyes. The younger Odinson was known to be quite a flirt. Something about Loki's smirk suggested otherwise, however. "I do have a weakness for baby blue eyes."

"Are… are you flirting with me…?"

"Do you see any other blue eyed beauties here?"

"Five. Two potion mishaps, one backfired spell, and two suffered an unfortunate encounter with a blast ended skewrt."

"They're all girls."

"You like girls."

"I like anyone with a nice face. Though I don't usually run them over to get their attention." Loki's smirk morphed into an amused chuckle as Sherlock's face turned blood red again. "No, I'm not looking at the girls." Sherlock gulped, suddenly at a loss for words. "Not used to another boy hitting on you are you?"

"Nobody ever 'hits on' me." Most students – and one or two teachers – thought he was an ass.

"I've been trying to get your attention for weeks."

"Really?" Loki laughed, his emerald eyes glittering with amused mischief.

"You're quite oblivious, aren't you? I've been watching you for months in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"You have?"

"Yes, but you always either have your head buried in the textbooks or are correcting the teacher. Which you do quite adorably, by the way."

"What the hell am I supposed to say to that?!" was the only thing Sherlock could say, completely stunned by everything Loki had just said. He immediately regretted it though as Loki's face instantly drooped and dimmed as if hurt. Contrary to popular belief, Sherlock wasn't completely heartless. Just the shock of the Slytherin's confession and flirtations had completely sideswiped him. "Look… I didn't mean… You just… OW!" Sherlock groaned as his hands flew to his head which had started pounding yet again, this time harder than before.

"Easy, easy…" Loki cooed gently, carefully pushing Sherlock to lie down on the hospital bed. "You're hurt and I did just give you a lot to think about. You need to rest."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be just yet. You get better then we'll worry about this." He gave Sherlock a conspirator wink. "I'm sure you're in very good hands now anyway." Sure enough, Madame Pomfrey was trotting up to meet them. "Don't worry, Sherlock Holmes. If you want to, we will see each other again," Loki assured as he leaned close to Sherlock, slipping something into the pocket of his vest. The disoriented young wizard actually leaned in as Loki's lips brushed against his cheek. "Till next time, handsome." And with that Loki sauntered off, only stopping long enough to explain what happened to the flustered nurse.

It wasn't until after a nice long nap that Sherlock finally discovered what Loki had left in his pocket. It was merely a scrap of parchment with a date, time, and directions to the Slytherin common room (which he didn't need as he had the school's layout memorized) scribbled in the neatest script Sherlock had seen from a fellow fifth year. The note was sealed with a Slytherin green kiss mark, probably acquired from a female friend. Those house pride lip glosses were all the rage right now. The Ravenclaw found himself smiling at the freshly scribbled addition to the note. Let your head heal a bit first. I like my men of sound mind. "Oh why not? The teen years are for experimenting after all."