AN: I was kind of blown away by the favorable response this story has gathered in only 24 hours since posting the first chapter. As promised I have posted the next one, hopefully to the standard of my usual style. A big THANK YOU! to all of you who reviewed, favorited and decided to follow this story and me. You are GREAT! :)

Rating: T;

Pairing: Loki/Harry - It's complicated;

Beta: Un-betaed. Sorry guys for all the remaining mistakes.

Warnings: mention of blood, violence, swearing, fem!Harry.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are property of their respective owners. Everything else is the product of my imagination. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

The second time Loki opened his eyes, he felt much more awake. He still couldn't move a muscle below his neck, but the dull, throbbing pain radiating from his chest all the way to his limbs told him that largely his body was still in one piece. Quietly he analyzed his cell: cream colored walls, dainty drapes partially covering a window on his right, which had under it a desk covered with bottles of what he supposed were medicines, at least based on their smell. Opposite his bed there was a big dresser and on his left the door. On the surface a quaint place, but underneath it all, it was where the room showed its true colors. When he closed his eyes and concentrated he could actually see them: wards all over the place, soaking through the walls and the furniture until to his mind's eye they shone almost painfully.

Not so ordinary after all, he thought, only to be pulled back to the common world when the sound of shuffling feet near him told him he had a visitor. He could hear someone moving in the room, the swishing of fabric as they came nearer; until he could tell they were right beside him.

Slowly, and with great care, Loki opened his eyes for just a little and turned to where he knew his visitor was waiting. The first sight was a blur of browns and whites and Loki had to blink twice for the image to settle into a mop of brown hair, round face, golden brown eyes and an ear splitting grin.

"Hi! You're awake!" the child exclaimed, but mercifully he didn't speak too loudly. "I'll go and tell mom." And he almost run out of the room when Loki called softly after him, "Wait," then winced when he realized how pathetic his voice had sounded, but the boy skidded to a halt.

"Yes?" the child answered head cocking to the side.

"I would like some water,…please," Loki barely remembered to add the last part, when the boy came rapidly around his bed and stopped near the desk. There, with a look of deep concentration on his face, he took a jug sitting on the desk and with only a few sloshing sounds he poured some water into a glass. When he had the glass half full he almost dropped the jug on the desk, wincing a little when the pottery moved a little, but thankfully didn't dip, and then he stopped short. Because Loki had his arms under the blanket, there was no way he could drink on his own, and the child realized that but seemed reluctant to continue. Resigned, he held the glass to Loki's lips with exaggerated care, and when the patient had drank, the boy put it on the table with almost visible relief.

The antics of his visitor almost brought a smile on Loki's lips, but he quickly smothered it. For all he knew, he was in enemy hands - even if that theory got feebler by the minute - but he couldn't discard it just yet. Thinking about that he continued with what he had had in mind the first time he had realized he was no longer alone: fishing for information. "What's your name?" Loki asked, keeping his tone mild.

"Teddy," the boy answered readily, "what's yours?"

"Loki," the god answered calmly, watching for the reaction.

True, his botched invasion of Midgard had been a year ago, and the boy was still young, but Loki was positive he must have made some kind of impression.

"Like the Norse God of Lies and Mischief? Cool!" the boy beamed.

Alright, maybe that wasn't the reaction he had been expected. "Exactly like him," Loki answered mildly. "Say, Teddy, could you help me with something?"

"Sure."

"Can you lower the blanket and help me get out my hand? You see, I have this terrible itch on my nose." Loki made sure he looked suitably contrite, even if his nose did actually start to itch.

"Eh," for the first time Teddy looked uneasy. "I don't think I'm supposed to do that. Mama told me not to disturb you." He was watching the door, fidgeting a little, and Loki knew he had to act quickly or lose him."Please," he made sure he sounded extra pathetic, "what harm would that do?"

"More than you'd think," a new voice interrupted and Loki cursed in his head when he saw the boy's ears turn red.

"Mama, I didn't disturb him! He was already awake when I came," Teddy said shuffling his feet and looking at his mother through his bangs.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that you entered the room when I told you not to. Go and do your homework, we'll talk later." She dismissed him only frowning a little and Teddy rushed away. "And no running in the house!" Harry called after him loudly, before turning her complete attention to her patient, "As for you, I'd appreciated if you didn't try to corrupt my son."

Loki smirked unapologetically, then he turned serious, "Why can't I move?" suspicion evident in his tone.

"Because you're being currently held together by will-power and spell-tape." Harry answered calmly, already mixing medicines on the desk.

"What exactly does that mean?" Loki frowned. Sure he felt raw and aching, but what she said sounded much more ominous.

"Perhaps it would be better to show you," Harry said and then she took her wand and waved it above him in a complicated pattern, muttering something softly.

Loki tensed when a strange greenish light covered his entire frame, even if strangely he didn't feel threatened by it, and then a few moments later the light disappeared and a smaller reflection of himself stared back. The reflection was transparent, floating gently above the bed, and inside it there were lines in deep red and dark patches.

"What's this?" he asked, curiosity lacing his tone. He could guess what the red lines were, one particularly long one crossed his entire torso, but the black spots had him worried.

"A spell showing you, your wounds, without actually having to move you." Harry explained, with a faraway look in her eyes. "Here is a wound to the shoulder and some torn ligaments," she said tracing some of the red lines, "but the real problem is this, where someone tried to gut you like a fish," she tapped her wand on the one crossing his belly.

"I don't understand. A wound like that should have closed in a day, and I've been asleep for more than that," Loki wondered aloud. Harry looked surprised, but hid it quickly, "perhaps from a normal blade you would have. But this was made with a cursed dagger, spelled not to close until you've bled to death."

Loki's eyes turned flinty, while Harry continued with her explanation, "You're lucky he was quite skilled and didn't touch any of the internal organs. Otherwise there would have been nothing that I could do."

"Lucky," Loki answered, voice cold. "And the dark spots all over?"

"Poison, most likely from a magical snake species." Harry watched him speculatively, then she added the conclusion both of them had reached, "someone out there really wants you dead."

"Indeed," said Loki and then he remained silent and drank all the potions she gave him without protest, too busy thinking. His considerate jailer notwithstanding, the situation was worse than he'd imagined.

TBC.