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Chapter 4

Aina struggled to stay awake in her Ancient Runes lesson, but she managed, somehow. Her notes weren't up to her usual standards, but she got as much down as possible. It had been three days since she had talked with Loki, and the dreams had been coming to her ever since, waking her up regularly. Dreams of living in a city that couldn't have been anywhere on earth, or dreams of her in other places, talking to people from other periods of time. Or at least, that's what it looked like, thanks to the clothes they were dressed in.

After the lesson ended, she had a free period, so she headed for the library. Hermione had Arithmancy, so Aina was left to head there on her own. She asked Madam Pince where she could find any and all books on Norse Mythology and soon had several in her arms. She walked to a secluded little table which had a window which provided a wonderful view of the lake and forest beyond, and she opened the first book and began reading.

What she'd found surprised her. If he was who he said he was, then Loki was a god. A god. The god of Mischief and Lies no less. She had gone through several of the books before she came to an account that related to her dreams, and what he had told her. According to the book, Aina had been the daughter of a prominent member of Odin's court. On her eighteenth birthday, she had been allowed to attend her first ball. She was the youngest daughter, and her father had been rather over protective, not allowing her to start looking for suitors until then. It was in the ball that she had met Loki. A year and a half later, the Aina in the legend and Loki had become engaged. But, on the way back to Asgard from some sort of emissary mission, her convoy had been attacked. As she lay, dying, she had cast a spell on herself so that she would be reborn again and again, until she and Loki could be together for good.

So, that left Aina with three options. Option one, he was telling the truth, and she was Aina from the legends. Option two, he was mentally unbalanced and actually believed that she was the Aina from the legends. Option three, he was lying. She believed he was the real Loki. How else would he have gotten into Hogwarts otherwise? And his power- she had felt it. When he had kissed her forehead, only a part had been pushed into her, for some reason or another, but she had felt the sheer amount of power he retained within him. She'd never felt anywhere near that amount. Not even from Dumbledore in the midst of a duel. He was supposedly the trickster. The god of lies. Perhaps this was his idea of a joke? But then there were the dreams. And everything was so confusing to her. Why did her life always have to be so complicated? Couldn't she have had one calm year? Just for her last year? She was beginning to think Ron was right. This year, as her last, had to be something extra special to go out with a bang.


"So, Point Break," Tony said, looking at Thor. The Avengers were all in the penthouse suite of what was now the Avengers Tower. "How come Reindeer Games is the complete opposite to you? I mean, you're a good guy, and he's a bad guy that tried to take over the world. Care to explain that one?"

Thor sighed. "Sometimes I wish I could say I do not understand how it happened. But the truth of the matter is, looking back on it now, I failed him. I failed them both terribly."

"Both?" Steve asked.

Thor's eyes grew distant as he viewed the memory. "It was centuries ago now, before I had Mjolnir or father had Guagnir. We were younger, and nothing was wrong. Or at least, not to me. It was during one of the many balls that we saw someone we had never even laid eyes on before. You would have to have been blind to say was not beautiful. Fandral, being his usual self, walked over to her to 'make her feel welcome.'"

"He was trying to get her into bed." Tony snorted.

Thor chuckled and nodded. "That is correct, Tony. All we could see was that she was being polite. She did not seem as eager as most other women he turned his attention on, but they danced. He introduced us to her. Aina Asgerdottir. Her father was one of my father's most trusted advisors and a man who went on many trips to settle squabbles with other realms peacefully. She was his youngest daughter, and his pride and joy. She and Sif got on well. At that point, I did not know she and Sif already knew each other, but they did. Anyway, she and Loki got on immediately. She was very good with magic as it was. He offered to teach her more, and she jumped at the chance. She had taught herself mostly, and him being one of Asgard's best magic casters meant she was not about to turn the offer down. They got on well; it was obvious from the start. She had captured his attention as no other woman had. The next day, Sif asked if one of her other friends could join us in training. We agreed, and when I asked where he was, he turned out to not only be a she, but Aina. Apparently, she had taken Fandral's flirting personally. Or at least, that is what I thought when I saw her thoroughly beat him into submission in the training session. He never offered to go easy on her again either. After that, Loki's interest in her only grew. We all grew close to her in one way or another, but it was Loki that she had the greatest effect on. He had never seemed so happy. She soon became a regular member of our group and even accompanied us on hunting trips. It did not come as a shock when Loki asked Asger for permission to court her. Just under a year and a half after they began courting, he proposed. The preparations for the wedding began straight away. Father and Asger were the only ones who had known he was going to ask her to marry him. It came as a shock when he and Aina gathered Sif, the Warriors Three and I together and told us. We had thought they would wait for a bit longer, but they were happy. Then, Asger was sent to Vanehiem, to sort out several problems within their court that pertained to Asgard. Ever curious about anything and everything, Aina asked to go with him and his convoy, to learn more on foreign politics. The day they were to return was two days before the wedding. News reached us of trouble on the roads. Bandits had been attacking travellers for a while. Father sent me out to ensure their safe return home. Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun and I rode out, expecting to meet them half way.

"We had to go a bit further, because they had been held up. The convoy was already under attack. Asger was dead, and Aina was one of the last remaining members. She had her father's sword and was fighting well, but she was heavily wounded. We leapt into battle, and killed most of the bandits, driving the rest away. When we turned to the survivors, a healer who had travelled with them was bent over Aina, who was then on the floor, bleeding heavily. It was no use. Aina held on for a little while longer, however. She cast one final spell, and in her last moments told me that it was so her spirit, instead of passing onto Valhalla, would be reincarnated, again and again, so she could be with Loki one day. She would just have to be found, and her memories, and probably her powers, restored. When we brought her body back… he howled." Thor's voice was a whisper and tears were in his eyes.

"I had never seen anyone so distraught, and it was my own brother. He grabbed her, holding her against him, begging her to wake up. He did not leave her side until the funeral, the day that was meant to be their wedding. He did not leave until the final embers on her funeral pyre went out. And until then, he would not listen to me. I tried to tell him several times before then, but I finally managed. It was not for another fifty years that he really believed. We found her on Midgard, living on a small farm. She had no recollection of her past life, until Loki found a spell to restore her memory. Two weeks after her memories were restored to her, she perished in a fire that killed her entire family. She kept being reborn, kept coming back, and she kept dying. Always before her powers could be restored to her. She was never reborn Æsir, she was always mortal. None of her deaths were ever pleasant either. He had to watch as she was torn away from him again and again in the worst ways possible. I have lost count of how many different funerals, how many different burial grounds that I have been in, for her funeral. Always hers. Loki was never the same after her death. I think that is another reason why he targeted Midgard. One, it would make it easier to find her if he succeeded, and two, it was mortals who killed her all but the first two times."

"He want's someone to pay for her death?" Bruce asked.

"No wonder the guy's unhinged. Imagine going through all of that." Tony said. "But, like you said, you were close to her too. How come you aren't out for revenge?"

"I loved her like a sister. I still do. But, Loki… she was the most important being in the whole of the Nine Realms to him. Losing her again and again, coupled with finding out about his Jotun heritage… I think it all became too much for him. The best bet we have I think is looking out for her, and restoring her powers to her."

"Is that possible?" Steve asked. "If she's born mortal, how can she become Æsir?"

"There are spells. And she was originally of Asgard to begin with," Thor said.

"If we find her, and keep her from dying, and help her get her powers back, do you honestly believe the Loki you used to know will come back?" Steve asked.

Thor sighed. "I hope so. I know he still searches for her, so that is a good sign. I just hope that when they are reunited she can talk some sense into him. He has this shell; he would retreat into it, and not talk to anyone when he got into a certain mood, losing himself in the library. I think we were all surprised when she found out about it, and after a mere two hours of trying, brought him out of it a few weeks after they first met. I hope that it will be like that."

"How does he know to find her?" Steve asked.

"Even if she cannot access it, she always has some sort of magic. Usually, after her seventeenth, her magic calls out to him. He can follow it to wherever she is, or if she is travelling, to where she will be. If there is one thing I know, it is that so long as she is alive he will always find her."


Aina groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. Her whole body hurt, especially her head. And why was it so cold? She thought when she realised why she was shivering violently. Suddenly, the drapes of her four poster bed were pulled back to reveal Hermione, fully dressed and ready to face the day ahead.

"Time to- Aina! What's wrong?" She asked, her voice turning frantic.

"I don't feel well, Mya." She groaned. Even her throat hurt!

"Lavender! Go get Professor McGonagall! Aina's ill!"

Aina heard the sound of someone leaving the room in a hurry. Hermione sat down on the edge of her bed and placed her hand on Aina's forehead. "You're burning up. Is it your scar?"

"No. I think that's the only thing that isn't hurting."

"You're in pain?"

"It hurts all over."

"You may just have the flu." Hermione said, frowning. "I hope it's not anything worse. Or perhaps just a twenty four hour bug, or something." She chewed her lip nervously.

It didn't take long for Lavender to return with Professor McGonagall in tow. The Gryffindor Head of House wore a worried frown when she saw the state of one of her best students.

"You'll need to be seen by Madam Pomfrey, Miss Potter." She said. And without any more fuss, she conjured a stretcher and levitated Aina onto it and levitated it out of the room. Whispers broke out in the common room when they saw McGonagall levitating the stretcher with a very sick Aina Potter out of Gryffindor tower.

"What's wrong with Aina?" Ron asked as he came down the stairs.

"She's sick!" Hermione said. "It looks like the flu, but could be something else entirely."

"Come on, let's go with her." Ron said.

Hermione nodded and they quickly followed their friend and their Professor. The moment they entered the hospital wing Madam Pomfrey took charge and directed the stretcher to a bed (Aina's usual) and began waving her wand in an intricate pattern. It took a few minutes, and then she frowned.

"What is it Poppy?" McGonagall asked.

"We have mentioned, on several occasions, how Miss Potter here seems like an old soul. I caught the trace of a very intricate spell- I almost missed it. It is a spell designed to release memories of past lives should the receiver be a reincarnated soul." She looked down at the now unconscious girl, and then to her two friends. "Miss Granger, has she been having trouble sleeping?"

Hermione nodded. "She's been having weird dreams too. Of people and places she's never been to or met."

"It is as I suspected. This is not the first life Miss Potter has lived, though I doubt she remembers it. However, that is changing. I believe that the moment that she comes out of this, she will remember her past life, or lives as it may be."

"You mean she's not just Aina?" Ron asked. "But other people too?"

"A soul's nature never changes really. The main points are always there. More often than not, apart from upbringing, they turn out almost exactly the same. Even in appearance. You need not fear a change in your friend."

He looked relieved. "I'm glad she's not going to change into a pompous prat or something."

"But she will need her friends to be there for her. From the accounts I have read of this occurring, it can get confusing for the person involved. She may mention something you have no clue of that she learnt in a past life. And, depending on how she died, several… problems may arise in her psyche. All you can do is be there for her and support her steadfastly, and remember, underneath it all, she is still the girl you became friends with when you first came to Hogwarts."

"We'll keep that in mind, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said.

"You two should get to breakfast. Until we can further assess the situation, and she has decided what to do, do not tell anyone except your closest of friends."

McGonagall said. "Such as Mr Longbottom, Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood."

"Of course, professor," Ron said. With a final glance at their friend, they turned and left, mulling this information over in their minds.

"What did you leave out, Poppy?" Minerva asked.

"As I said, it was a spell that released the memories. Meaning, someone had to place it on her. And it was no student. The spell is so complicated Minerva, I think the only one with the ability to perform it would be the Headmaster. And from what I've read of the spell, it only takes a few days for the recipient to exhibit these symptoms. And Albus has only just returned to the castle after one of his excursions."

"So someone must have found a way inside. Someone who isn't meant to be here." She nodded. "Thank you for informing me Poppy. I will go and talk with the Headmaster. No doubt the staff will need to be informed as well. I will leave her in your capable hands." With that, she turned and strode from the room. There was, or had been, an intruder in the castle. Merlin only knew what sort of trouble they could cause. Especially if they were on level with Dumbledore power wise or anywhere close.


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