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Chapter 4

They had almost reached the hanger when Rayna caught sight of her reflection, and she froze. It suddenly hit her why Loki seemed familiar. She had seen both him and Thor before! And an older couple, a man and a woman, with them.

"Rayna?" Thor asked, worried. "Are you alright?"

"I can't believe I forgot about the mirror." She said.

"Mirror? What mirror?" Loki asked.

"In my first year at Hogwarts, I came across this mirror. The Mirror of Erised. It didn't just show someone their reflection. It showed them their hearts desire. When I looked into it, I saw mum, dad, and who must have been my family. I only just remembered now. I was so focused on my parents but… you two were both there as well. Just behind mum."

"Well, if that is not proof enough for you, then I don't know what would be." Loki said.

"Hurry up!" Tony called from the door to the hanger bay, having only just noticed they'd stopped.

"We can discuss this further later." Loki said. "It is time to leave."

They began to walk towards the hanger bay again, and Rayna's mind was once again a blur. They really were her family. She had seen her family in the mirror, and they had been in the mirror. She had family! But how was she supposed to react to that? Was she supposed to start calling them both 'Uncle' straight away? No, it was far too soon, she decided. There was no way she would feel comfortable. But how was she supposed to approach this whole thing? For one, they were both claiming to be Norse gods. She was still reserving judgement on that, but if it was true… then it meant that she was part deity too. What was the protocol for that? Was she considered half? Or, because of her father being a wizard, did that alter anything? And what would happen once she got to Asgard? She could already see Thor and Loki were determined to keep her out of harm's way, but would that mean they would not let her return while the threat of Voldemort was still present? And what of Odin and Frigga? Her grandparents? It seemed that Odin had even passed a law meaning that any Ӕsir who came across her had to bring her to Asgard. Would he pass another, restricting her from leaving the realm eternal? He would find that her marauder side would come out pretty quickly if he did that. But was she really heading straight for a gilded cage? She hoped not. She honestly did. She saw no way out of this so far.

There, in the centre of the hanger, were a group of people, one of them holding a cylinder with two handles on either end, which contained a glowing blue cube. That must be how they would be getting to Asgard. The Tesseract, if she remembered Tony Stark's words correctly. The man who was holding it had short blonde hair and looked as if he could go a few rounds with Thor. He was wearing a uniform of blue white and red, with a star on his chest. There was a woman with short red hair, a man with sandy brown hair, and a bow and arrows on his back, a man with brown hair that seemed slightly nervous, and a man with an eye patch. The blonde man handed the cylinder to Thor by one of the handles.

"Thank you, Captain." Thor said, nodding to the man.

He nodded to Thor, and turned to eye Loki wearily. None of them seemed particularly fond of Loki. Rayna could imagine why.

"Remember the conditions that we're giving that to you. It is to never be used against our people again." The man with the eye patch said, fixing his gaze on Loki.

"Oh you have my word director." Loki said. "I will not use the Tesseract against Midgard."

The man nodded stiffly as Thor held the cylinder out for Loki to grab the other handle. Thor noticed Rayna's hesitation to grab one of the handles, and gripped her hand. "It will be fine, Rayna. I assure you."

Slowly, and still unsure, she pulled her hand free, and grabbed the handle that Thor had hold of. When she had hold, both Thor and Loki turned the handles, and a feeling of weightlessness enveloped her. She had not been expecting that feeling. She had expected a jerk of the navel, like a portkey, or perhaps the suffocating tube that she'd felt when she'd accidently apparated from that village. The feeling soon disappeared and she found herself standing on a multi-coloured bridge. The bifrost, if her memory was correct.

She gasped when she saw the shining city in the distance, completely missing the man in gold armour holding a large gold sword. The city was beautiful. Not even Hogwarts compared. She tore her eyes away, and spun round, and almost shrieked at the long drop in front of her into the empty void of space. She felt an arm wrap round her, and pull her away from the edge.

"It is a very long way down." Loki said, and she knew it was him who had pulled her away. "Trust me, I've fallen once before."

"I'll bare that in mind." Rayna replied, turning away from the drop. It seemed she really was in Asgard.

She finally saw the tall broad man in gold armour with gold eyes. His whole posture was tense, so was Thor's for that matter. She was sure that if Loki hadn't caught her, they would have moved to grab her.

"Welcome to Asgard, Princess. I apologise for failing in my duties in not finding your mother in time." He said.

So this was Heimdal. Rayna shook her head. "Voldemort took it upon himself to kill her. The blame doesn't lie with you."

"It is a relief to hear that you do not blame me, Princess."

"Something tells me you still blame yourself though." Rayna said.

"I am unable to locate your parent's murderer. I confess I do not even know who to search for beyond a false name. When I saw your mother's death, he did not lower his hood."

"I'm quite adept at drawing, and I've seen him enough times to draw you a picture if you would like. And his real name is Tom Mavarlo Riddle."

"That would help greatly, my lady, thank you." He nodded. He turned his gaze back to Loki. "Welcome back, Prince Loki." He said, rather emotionlessly. It seemed it wasn't just people of earth that Loki had pissed off. He'd annoyed the god's too. But yet again, he was the god of mischief.

"I see you have already sent for horses for us, Heimdal." Thor said. "Thank you."

Rayna's eyes were drawn to three horses, one white stallion, a black and then a beautiful dappled grey mare. "I don't know how to ride." Rayna said, chewing her lower lip nervously, eyeing the horses like they might attack her. Riding Buckbeak twice certainly hadn't prepared her for riding a horse any long distance, she thought.

"Then a brief lesson is in order." Thor said. "Come." He said, motioning to the mare. Rayna approached the horse cautiously, and Thor helped her up into the saddle. It took a while, especially with the large skirt of the dress, but eventually she was sat in the saddle of the horse, holding onto the reigns, her knuckles white from the grip. "Relax." Thor chuckled. "If you are nervous, your horse will sense it. It will be less likely to behave. Relax your grip a bit on the reigns; you aren't going to get thrown off."

That was when she noticed Loki on her other side, obviously waiting to catch her if she fell off the other side. When they were confident she wasn't about to fall, and was safely sat in the saddle, they both approached their own horses, and easily swung onto the backs of the two stallions.

"How?" She asked, slightly dumbfounded.

Loki laughed. "You will be able to ride with-out a problem after a while."

"The fact that I'm wearing a dress doesn't help." Rayna muttered. She vaguely registered that she was acting rather oddly after her experiences, but brushed it off. Perhaps it was some sort of delayed reaction.

They set off at a slow pace for quite a while, before they started to trot. For Rayna's sake they didn't go any faster. They had just reached the city by the time she seemed to look comfortable riding at the pace, so to save her from embarrassment, the pace remained the same. It also gave her a chance to take in her surroundings. Everything was masterfully crafted and beautiful. She had never seen anything else quite so stunning.

"There is no finer craftsmanship in the whole of the Nine Realms." Thor boasted proudly.

"Well I've never seen anything more beautiful, I'll admit. And I always thought nothing could top Hogwarts. I was very wrong, it seems." Rayna admitted, continuously looking round.

"The awe will wear off after a while. This is your home after all; you won't go round staring at everything for eternity." Loki said.

She looked at him, and started. "When did you change?" He was now wearing gold armour with a green cape and a golden helmet with horns on it.

He smirked. "Magic is a wonderful thing." He said.

She laughed. "You have that right." She said.

When they arrived in-front of the palace, three men rushed forwards to take the reins of the horses. Loki landed lightly on his feet, and walked to her horse, and held out his arms. Gripping his shoulders, Rayna swung her right leg over the horses back, and slid off the saddle, and dropped to the floor, Loki's hands on her waist stopping her from falling, or seriously hurting her ankles when she landed on the floor. Her boots were heeled; no doubt she would have at the very least twisted one of her ankles if she'd tried to get down on her own. The three horses were led away, and Loki and Thor led her up the steps and through the large, open palace doors. The large open spaces and pillars reminded Rayna of Greek architecture slightly, but it was also so very different at the same time. And of course, it didn't seem to be carved in stone, either.

"Where are we going?" Rayna asked, quietly.

"The throne room." Loki said. "It is where everyone will be."

Rayna swallowed back her nerves. "What should I do? In front of Odin, I mean. Kneel, or something?"

"Kneeling is fine." Thor said. "There is nothing to worry about, I promise."

"Just remember to let him make the first move after you've knelt. Don't say anything, until you are spoken to." Loki told her. "But you will receive a warm reception. We have been searching for you for years, with no leads until now. So, don't worry about anyone reacting badly to your presence. This is where you should have been from the beginning."

She nodded, but she couldn't help the nerves rising inside her. This was all far too much for her. She woke up to find she was safe- and that she was the daughter of a goddess turned mortal. She was with her two uncles, both of whom were determined to take her to the realm of the gods, where she was now, and she was about to meet her grandparents- the king and queen of the gods. And in front of the court of Asgard too. If she didn't faint at some point it would be a miracle. She thought she was taking this damn well so far.


A/N: Please Review! I hope you enjoyed!- Angel