Rise of Twilight
Chapter Four
It had been a week since the Start-of-Term feast, and Logan already had four people that he absolutely despised. Technically it was really James Potter and Sirius Black that he hated, but the other two 'Marauders', as the foursome dubbed themselves, weren't even trying to stop them. Take right now, for instance, the Slytherin grumbled. Potter and Black had approached him near the lake, Pettigrew and Lupin right behind them. Unfortunately for him, his friends were closer to the water than him, mostly because he had wanted to read. He hadn't even realized that anyone was there until his book was levitated right out of his hands.
"Hey! That's mine," he protested. Then he registered who was holding it, and smirked, "You must need new glasses, Potter. You seem awfully confused."
"Shut it, snake," Black snarled. "Anyway, you're in our spot. Move."
"No. I was here first," Logan argued. "Besides, there are other areas you can sit."
"We want this one," Potter claimed.
"Yeah, and if you don't move, you'll have to pay a fine," added Pettigrew.
"That's genius," Black crowed. Logan stared at the Marauders, speechless, before he sighed and reached into his pocket for a Galleon.
"Ah, ah, not so fast," Black told him. "We haven't established the fine yet. Oh! I know! That necklace of yours should do it!"
Logan's jaw hit the ground in shock. He knew that none of them understood that he needed the amulet, and that they probably thought it was nothing more than a trinket, which was why Black wanted it. If he gave it to them, then Frigga would know and he'd be in trouble. At the same time, if he didn't, then it would be four against one. Usually, that would be nothing to him, but this time he was mortal and needed to maintain the illusion that he was Logan Borison. Either way, this was not good.
"Well? Hurry up," Potter demanded.
Glancing at his friends, Logan was relieved to see them racing towards him. He knew that they wouldn't get there in time to stop Potter and his goons from getting the amulet, but they would at least be able to get the matron or a teacher. At Black's hiss to hurry up, Logan unclasped his amulet and threw it at the Gryffindor. He was slightly amused to see it smack into his face, but the knowledge of what was coming completely ruined his entertainment.
"There," he spat. "Now can you leave?"
"Who said we were the ones who had to leave?" sneered Pettigrew.
If he wasn't getting so tired, Logan would have made some kind of witty retort. Luckily, Lupin seemed to have hit his limit, and appeared to be asking Potter and Black if they wanted to go to the Quidditch field. As the Marauders were leaving, Lily and Sev finally arrived.
"Oh my God! Logan!" Lily gasped. "Sev! Get Madame Pomfrey!"
Now he was feeling light-headed. That's new. Side effect of being mortal? Logan wondered blearily. Closing his eyes seemed to help, he decided. But when he opened them again, he was lying in one of the Hospital Wing beds. Lily was hovering next to him, her face pale. The matron was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear his mother yelling at someone.
"Madame Pomfrey! He's awake!" Lily called. Instantly, the arguing stopped, and his mother appeared from the matron's office. For once, she was wearing robes instead of her usual more formal Muggle attire. Logan wasn't sure if she had just put on the first robes she could find or if she had chosen them deliberately, but he did have to admit that the dark forest-green color suited her. Of course, the second he saw the look on her face, the young Slytherin began to wonder if jumping off the Astronomy Tower would be faster (not to mention cleaner) than his death at his mother's hands.
"Mother, I-" he began, hoping to explain himself before she killed him, only for her to hold up a hand for silence.
"I do not blame you, Logan," she sighed. "But the Headmaster refuses to punish those boys, as he claims that it was a misunderstanding."
Logan nodded stiffly; he really wasn't surprised by Dumbledore's inaction. The old man would probably shield his precious lions from murder if the victim was a snake. Just then, he realized that something was missing, and that he could think clearly. Probably a potion, at least for my mind, he mused.
"Where's my amulet?" he gasped.
"Potter took it, Logan, don't you remember?" Lily asked him.
"Err… no," he admitted. The last thing he remembered was-
"I'm going to be late!"
"Logan, you've been out for a few hours," Lily sighed. "You've already missed Transfiguration. And the rest of your classes."
"Oh." Was the only thing he could think to say.
"And as for your amulet, I have your spare one," Frigga informed him.
As his mother slipped it over his head, Logan could immediately feel its power soothing his soul. Not for the first time, he cursed the first Loki to Helheim and back. Oh sure, he could remember each time he had been reborn, but the fact that his first incarnation was still alive (of sorts) meant that his soul was always somewhat rejected by his new body. As a result, he only had half of his soul, which combined with his power and draconic nature created just enough imbalance to have seizures; not that he would ever tell anyone, of course. No matter what Realm he was in, having a divided soul was only asking for trouble. Besides, last time he checked, he was Asgardian, and his home still had the death penalty for the mage who dared to unlock their dragon form.
"Ms. Evans," Madame Pomfrey began, "It's getting late, and I will not write you a pass if you are outside your dorm during curfew."
"Yes ma'am," Lily mumbled. In a slightly louder voice, she called, "Bye Logan! See you tomorrow!"
As Logan gave his friend a half-hearted wave, he could hear Madame Pomfrey telling his mother that he would have to spend the night in the Infirmary, but she would be in her office if either of them needed her. A few minutes passed, and then Logan could feel Frigga weaving a series of spells around them. The most prominent one that he could sense was a silencing spell, and that quite frankly terrified him. If she suspected anything…
"Loki," she began, "Madame Pomfrey performed a scan on you while you were unconscious, and she found something rather disturbing…"
Oh no. Please, not that, he silently begged. Tell me she didn't see the state of my soul. Please.
"Why in the Nine Realms would you even think about using demonic magic? Have I taught you nothing over the years?" Frigga hissed at him.
Well, that's slightly better, he decided. But still bad…
"Mother, I can explain-" the Slytherin started.
"You had better!"
"If one of us sheds their mortal form," he finished as if she had never spoken.
"Loki Odinson, you will explain this instant, or so help me, I will turn you over my knee. Do not think I won't; you are still young enough for me to do so," Frigga warned. Internally, he wailed, That's what I'm trying to do, woman!
"Mother, I am trying, but I am under geas not to tell anyone of my species. And as we are currently mortal…" he ground out. Even that was hard to get out, but not impossible; his geas had never said that he couldn't explain it to anyone. Fortunately, his mother got the hint, and with a flash of sapphire light, was once again Queen Frigga of Asgard.
"Thank you," he sighed. "Now, as I was saying, it actually started shortly before my… ah, attempted time-travel…"
Loki couldn't help the large grin that spread across his face as he read the spell in front of him. It would allow him to bend both space and time to the exact point that the caster wanted. In his case, he would have to travel to the future of Midgard as he didn't think that any of the other Realms could help him with his shaking. Of course, the spell would take a lot of power, but it had been a month since he unlocked his draconic form, and he knew he could do it. The only problem was performing it without getting caught; he wasn't even supposed to have this book in the first place.
Suddenly, his book vanished from in front of him. The little prince's heart leaped into his throat as he realized that someone was not only holding it, but they were right behind him. Ever since he had begun his weapons training, being approached from behind terrified him. He knew that Mother was starting to suspect that something was wrong, and while that certainly was a problem, right now he had to focus on the fact that he had been caught with a book from the forbidden section of the library.
"Brother, why do you insist on reading so much?" sighed Thor. "You're never going to be a proper warrior that way."
"Maybe I just like reading," Loki spat. "Now can I have my book back?"
Thor started flipping through it curiously, then made a face and asked, "What language is this, anyway?"
"Latin. It's Midgardian," he clarified at his brother's blank look.
The older boy grimaced slightly at the word 'Midgardian', but then he frowned, "What does this do?"
"What?"
"This phrase here," Thor told him impatiently, as if he was the slow one.
"Thor, do not say it; show it to me," Loki demanded, apprehension suddenly welling at the familiar look of 'Let's poke a bear with a stick' in his brother's eyes. Thor didn't listen, as usual.
"Oh come on, Loki, all it says is 'Processit spiritus inferni invoco in adiutorium meum intende'. I'm not even using magic!" the blond complained.
"THAT DOESN'T MATTER! Latin responds to magic, and magic is LITERALLY IN MY BLOOD!" Loki screamed.
Thor paled slightly, but argued, "So? It's just words."
"What you just read was an incantation to summon demons!"
"Why the Hel would you have a book like that?" Thor yelled, face suddenly bone-white.
Before Loki could answer, the air suddenly became much hotter and reeked of sulfur. A blood-curdling laugh echoed in their ears, and with an explosion of fire, the demon appeared in front of the terrified boys. The first thing they noticed was the tattered remains of what had once been wings, and the blood-red skin. But the black horns and eyes only served to enhance the horrifying image.
"Well, well, which one of you boys summoned me?" it purred.
"I did," Thor called, voice somehow staying steady despite his fear.
The demon studied him for a minute before snarling, "Do not lie to me boy. You don't have the power to summon a worm, let alone a demon. You, on the other hand…Mm. I haven't seen your kind in ages."
"His kind?" Thor hissed. "My brother is of Asgard, as am I!"
"I wasn't aware that Asgard welcomed dragons into her midst, let alone called them 'brother'," the demon smirked.
Thor was about to protest, until he saw Loki. His little brother was panting, and he knew that Loki hadn't had wings or scales a few seconds ago. Within thirty seconds, his brother had been completely replaced by a small, catlike dragon with painfully familiar green eyes.
"So, his non-draconic form can't handle the heat? Odd, those beasts always could, no matter what their skin…" the demon mused. "Oh well, he'll make a fine host, regardless."
"Stay away from my brother!" Thor roared.
"Make me," it taunted, only to screech in pain as a black blur sank his teeth to its leg.
A blast of hellfire and a powerful kick sent the dragon flying across the room. He wasn't moving, either, and Thor was suddenly terrified that he was dead. Even though Thor knew that this creature would be sentenced to death if anyone found out, he also knew that this was still his brother. Besides, he grudgingly admitted that he couldn't take on a demon himself. This didn't stop him from charging it, however. But the next thing he knew, the demon had him by the throat and was lifting him up into the air.
"Foolish brat," it whispered. "Did you really think that you could stop me?"
"I can," came Loki's voice. But it sounded… Older, somehow. Before Thor could process this, a sword was seemingly sprouting from the demon's chest as Loki shouted, "Now, boy!"
Foreign chanting filled the air, and the demon screamed, either in agony or rage. Thor wasn't sure, but he didn't care to find out. Suddenly, the blond found himself on the floor as the demon lunged towards his brother, who was kneeling in front of him. Then how did I hear him behind me? Thor wondered blearily. Then everything went black, and he knew no more.
Quite frankly, when his first self appeared, Loki had been relieved. Then the redhead impaled the demon, and he quietly hoped that he would reach that level someday. He instantly forced himself to focus; he would have to start the Banishing spell as soon as the other Loki gave the command. It would have worked perfectly, if the demon hadn't used the split-second of disembodiment it had before being forced out of his dimension to possess him.
Instantly, the two were battling for control. As strong as it was, however, the demon began weakening under the force of Loki's love for his family. The boy knew that if the demon was able to take control of him, then his family and people would suffer. And Loki could not allow that to happen. But it had one last trick up its sleeve, and just as Loki was able to subdue it, the demon used his body to level a powerful curse on the two boys.
Thor would simply wake up a few minutes later completely unaware of what had just happened. A servant with bright red hair would inform him that the phrase he had read was a blasting spell, which was why the room was destroyed. As for Loki, he had thrown a hasty shield around his brother, but had taken the full force of the explosion. He would be fine, if he spent some time in the Healing Rooms. Thor would believe this, of course; he had no reason not to.
But the curse on Loki was much worse. The demon was aware that its host would probably tell someone as soon as he could, and simply placed the boy under a geas. It could be broken only if the person he was speaking to wasn't the same species as him. And while he was actually Jotun, he believed himself to be Asgardian. Therefore, he would think that he couldn't tell anyone, and as the boy chained it and forced it deeper and deeper into his mind, the demon smiled at its own cunning. It would wait until he grew complacent and convinced that he had won, and then it would strike.
And once it claimed his body as its own, the world would burn.
A/N: Finished! Geez, my plots keep running from me. I was planning on this being a 'Loki and gang settle into Hogwarts' chapter, but then the characters were telling me to add in some conflict with a side of whump. (Sigh) Anyway, what do you guys think? I haven't been getting too many reviews, and those make me type (and update) faster. So please drop off a review! You'll get virtual cookies and a Loki to comfort!
By the way, Loki was given a Wit-Sharpening potion as well as a few other potions for clearing up concussions the first time he woke up in the Infirmary. He just fell back asleep until a few minutes later when the potions actually kicked in. Even while he was being moved there, he was drifting in and out of consciousness, and until he got his amulet, had seizures each time he passed out. Also, Frigga showed up within minutes of Loki taking off his amulet thanks to that notification spell she put on it. But since she wanted to talk to Dumbledore, she convinced Madame Pomfrey to let Lily and Snape stay to watch Loki.
In addition, Lily and Snape have a pretty good idea of what to do when someone has a seizure as well as why Loki's amulet is so important. This is mostly because of Frigga,since she didn't want any incidents happening thanks to childish curiosity. I keep meaning to write a seizure from someone else's point of view, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe in a later chapter?
As previously stated, please review!