About an hour later, Hermione and Loki, changed, respectable, and tidy but still slightly flushed arrived at Frigga's chambers. Clearly she had been very discreet, but one look at the two of them, their change of dress, and their air of barely concealed hysteria told its own story. Jane was oblivious, but Thor could barely restrain himself.

It was a pleasant afternoon, Jane and Hermione, as the brothers had always suspected they would, hit it off from the very first. Thor, away from the formality of the court was just enjoying some quality time with his family, and Frigga was ecstatic to have her sons back together at last.

It was a shame , Frigga thought, that it had taken Odin's death to achieve this, but she had mourned her husband two years ago, when his long life and great responsibility had finally resulted in his descent into madness. After two months of sleep, she had known in her heart that he would never awaken, a conviction that had hardened into certainty after a full year. Now, the knowledge that he was finally free could only be a blessing.

On the subject of blessings, Frigga looked fondly at her two boys. Loki had been through so much over the last few years, and what had happened to him at her husband's hands had been beyond her worst nightmare, a horror that she had never wished on the worst of criminals. But now, watching Loki with Hermione, she would never have recognised him as the troubled young man that he had been, even going back before Thor's aborted coronation, when the petrification process had already begun.

Now, she thought with satisfaction, in giving his heart to this remarkable young witch from Midgard, he had become the man that she always hoped he would be. Yes, he was quieter than Thor, brilliant, witty and sarcastic, that would never change. But his humour was no longer cruel, he was truly, completely happy. With Hermione he had finally found the security he had always craved, for she loved all of him without reservation or condition, both Frost Giant and Aesir. With her he was neither Odinson, or Laufeyson, but simply Loki, the man she loved. Being a witch, she even understood his magic. The question now was whether or not Loki would ever be able to lure her back to Asgard permanently .

The small family dined quietly together that evening in Frigga's chambers. The three nights following the funeral would be public occasions, the rest of the court would not find it odd that they would choose to be private now. Afterwards, the two girls and Frigga relaxed quietly around the fire, while Thor and Loki slipped quietly away. Frigga suspected where they were bound, but said nothing.

Jane and Hermione were discussing Jane's theories about magic versus science. It was pleasant Frigga thought to spend time with these two capable, intelligent and personable young women who would very soon, she hoped, become her daughters. The night was starting to draw in, when Thor returned quietly.

"Excuse me Mother, Jane. Do you think I could borrow Hermione please?"

Hermione rose, bidding Jane and Frigga a good night, before following him from the room.

Thor's face was serious. "Hermione, I believe that my brother may have need of you. As is custom, Loki went to pay his last respects to our Father this evening. Father's death has been harder for him than he expected and he has been in there longer than he should I think. With their recent history I believe he felt that all feeling between them was extinguished." Thor paused contemplating over a thousand years of domestic disharmony. "Their relationship was ever - complicated at best."

Hermione smiled sadly. "A friend of mine once said that no matter how complicated your relationship with your parents is - it is never as complicated as the moment that you realise that they are gone from your life forever and it is too late to change anything. I suspect that Loki has reached that same conclusion. Will you take me to him please?"

Thor led her through the corridors to an austere stone chamber lit now only by a cluster of candles. He paused by the door - uncertain.

"Hermione I believe that it would be best if I waited here, for you may require a guide back to your chamber. "

Hermione put a hand on his arm. "That is kind of you Thor but there is no need. I will be able to get us back safely. Please don't worry - I will take good care of him. Goodnight".

Once Thor had departed Hermione entered the chamber with some trepidation. The body of the King lay on a stone bier covered by a cloth of a rich blue. There was no immediate sign of Loki. She shivered, the chamber was bitterly cold, even for one accustomed to the chill of Hogwarts Castle.

The man on the bier was smaller than she had expected, his white hair and beard made him look like the archetypal grandfather figure, but the hard sunken lines of his face, and the battle scars told another story. Hermione could well imagine this man to be fully capable of the deeds attributed to him.

She found Loki moments later sitting on the stone floor on the other side of the bier his face turned away from her eyes closed. For a moment Hermione thought he was asleep. Bending down to touch his shoulder, she was horrified to feel how cold he was – hardly surprising, as he was dressed only in the light tunic and trousers he had worn to visit his mother on a warm afternoon, and he had clearly been here for some time now.

Hermione dropped to her knees beside him. "Loki, sweetheart?" He didn't seem aware of her presence, lost in his thoughts.

She reached forward, taking his face gently between her hands, wiping tears away as she did so.

"This is my fault Hermione. I pushed him to this..." his voice was little more than a hoarse whisper..

Anger flared in the pit of her stomach, principally with Odin, for all that he had failed to do for his son, but with Loki too, for his martyr's willingness to accept the blame for other's failings as well as his own. But Loki didn't need her anger right now – he needed to be taken care of. .. Taking a deep calming breath, she took a firm grip of his hand, and apparated them straight back to their chamber.

The fire had already been lit, for which Hermione was very grateful. She was also glad to see a jug of wine warming on the hearth possibly delivered on Thor's instructions. Trying a little on the end of her finger, she discovered that it was delicious, warmed with spices, and sweetened with honey. Ushering Loki into the seat nearest to the fire, she wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and pressed a cup of the wine into his chilled hands. Conscious of the mixture of emotions boiling in her head, she left him by the fire for a moment while she stepped out onto the balcony, gasping at the spectacular night sky above her. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, she sent up a prayer to whoever out there might be listening, that she might find the right words to help Loki find the truth.

She found herself thinking of Professor Dumbledore, and all the terrible mistakes that he had made in his dealings with his family. Of Ron Weasley, forever growing up in the shadow of his brilliant brothers and famous friend. Most of all though, she found herself thinking of Remus, a man haunted by what he perceived as the monster inside him, and of Tonks, the woman that had loved him in spite of all of his issues, including his stubborn determination to push her away at all costs. Feeling suddenly comforted, she returned inside with, she hoped, renewed patience.

"You're angry with me." Loki was staring into the fire, his fingers still wrapped around the cup. His voice was flat, his face bleak and resigned. Hermione sighed...

"Why Loki? After everything Odin did to you, why do you still give him this power over you – even now he's dead? I'm not angry, just confused – explain it to me."

Loki turned away from his contemplation of the flames, his eyes wet and haunted. "Because I wasn't enough." The words sounded as though they had been ripped out of him. "I tried – so hard - my whole life and I was never good enough. It's my fault he's dead. If I hadn't been a constant source of disappointment to him. If I had only been – better – more – just more..." Loki's voice cracked and he took a moment to check himself before continuing.

"Growing up he would tell Thor and me that it was both our birthrights to be Kings. But the last time we spoke, he told me that my birthright had been to die as a child, cast out upon the frozen rocks..." Hermione gasped, horrified at the bald brutality of his words "...he should have left me there, it would have been better for him, better for everyone..." Hermione stopped him with a kiss, her hand on his cheek.

"Not for me Loki - never say that please"

As if from nowhere, or perhaps from Remus - another gentle brilliant man with a penchant for self loathing - inspiration came to her...

"Come with me" taking his hand, she led him out onto the balcony, wrapping her arms around him, pulling the blanket closer against the night air. "Look" she said.

Loki looked up at the magnificent wheel of stars above him. As always it was a breathtaking sight.

"It's stunning, isn't it?" Not sure where this was going, Loki nodded mutely.

"Can you see it during the day?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Loki looked confused at the obvious question "because the sun is shining".

"Ah, the sun. The sun isn't always good is it? It gets in your eyes, sometimes it's too hot, you get sun burn – and it stops you seeing all of this." Wondering if she was losing her mind, Loki nodded.

"So, if your father could only see the sun -was blind to all of this beauty, mystery and magnificence, is it the fault of the night sky, or the fault of a man too blind to see what is in front of him." Loki was silent, understanding dawning.

"Is it his fault, or is it the fault of the night sky, that it is not bright enough - beautiful enough?"

Overwhelmed, Loki could only whisper "it wasn't my fault".

Hermione's hands gripped his arms. "Loki, you have made some earth shattering – cataclysmic mistakes in your life – but this may be the most destructive, because it lies at the heart of every other mistake you have ever made. You are good enough. You are more than simply good enough. You always have been and you always will be. Your mother knows it, Thor, knows and I have known it from the very first. The only one that could never see it was your Father, and you believed him because well - the bad stuff is easier to believe."

For once in his life, utterly lost for words, Loki held tightly to Hermione, burying his face in her curls. Eventually, Hermione could feel him starting to shiver again, and drew him back inside to bed.

Hermione's comment about Loki's complicated relationship with his father was shamelessly pilfered from Abby Sciuto of NCIS. It is one of my favourite lines from the show...