Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers.
Authors note: Thank you to those of you who reviewed and welcome to the new followers and favourites.
Chapter 31
A few weeks had passed; changes were made to Niflheim. Niflheim forces were no longer searching for Voldemort, Angrboda and Thanos as they couldn't take the chance at losing more soldiers to an unknown weapon. The council had yet to figure out what they had used and Dahlia couldn't see more in her visions no matter how much she desired to. Ships were deployed though to keep watch of Niflheim from above and Hela warned those she considered to be friends on other worlds to keep watch and warned them that the weapon her enemies possessed could kill the dead.
Hela also grew with her pregnancy and being in her second trimester, it was getting hard to hide her pregnancy so Hela chose to make the announcement that she was pregnant to her subjects. She also revealed it to the Durilian royal family knowing they were doing a lot to help keep Niflheim safe and Hela knew she could trust them to keep it a secret. That wasn't the only change, Salazar Slytherin and those of his family who passed along the belief of pure blood superiority were released from Mareritt. Not all of his family were released as some were still serving sentences for crimes they committed when they were alive but those who had served their sentences and were sent back in Hela's grief were released. Hela thought it best he was released as she needed a full council for the protection of Niflheim and he had been away long enough.
Salazar was reunited with Rowena and Helena and they had begun to work through their issues and be a family. Not only that, but at the news that Salazar Slytherin was released, many began to spread rumours that the queen did it because of her vulnerable state and showed concern that the wizard may seek revenge from being locked away in Mareritt and may begin to help his living descendent and betray the crown. They all knew Voldemort was his descendant and the danger the dark wizard brought to the princess. Hela made an announcement that she trusted him and welcomed him back to the council with open arms and Salazar spread rumours himself about suffering in Mareritt as the council and royal family knew he didn't suffer and that he was cut off from everyone really suffering there. He spread the tales so no one believed Hela was weak and let him out simply because of her condition. There were even discussions of Slytherin helping in Dahlia's lessons and becoming one of her teachers.
Letters and updates from her friends from Midgard were a blessing and kept Dahlia grounded. Hela and Dahlia had even worked out a system with the twins when it came to business, it seemed them being at the wedding and supplying other royals and people from other worlds, really helped their business. They were now as popular amongst the stars as they were on Midgard and Hela had set up an order system so people could send their orders to Niflheim and then they would send the order requests through Dahlia's box to the boys once a month. The boys would then send the orders through, shrunk down, and Dahlia would return them to normal size before one of Hela's men who took the orders would use a teleport to send them to the correct destinations.
The twins had already made quite a bit of money, it was in credits of course being the universal money between planets. Hela offered to help exchange it so she would keep the credits while giving them gold but they had decided to only change half of it while keeping the other half in credits on a communication device almost like Dahlia's to keep track of their finances concerning credits. Their plan was to buy a ship one day like Dahlia originally suspected so that they could deliver the products themselves and they wished to travel too. She wouldn't put it past them if they built a Weasley Wizard Wheezers empire out of the single shop that spanned across the stars.
They sent her letters regularly, as did Hermione and Neville and she got occasional letters from Alice, Hagrid, McGonagall, Tonks and Remus who didn't care about what Sirius said about being in contact with her. He was Lily's friend, not just a marauder, meaning he wasn't going to just cut her out because she wasn't truly James' daughter.
He was the reason Dahlia was sat on the couch in front of her fireplace, the sun shining through the open-door balcony as Dahlia had a letter on the table from Hermione and another from the twins and copies of the Daily Prophet from Hermione with her usual corrections written in her letter. Surprisingly, the daily prophet didn't have much wrong according to what Hermione knew but that offered no comfort when Dahlia read the front page of today's paper.
WEREWOLF LOCKUP
The Ministry had locked up the werewolves. The few werewolves left who followed Greyback after Hogsmeade had been causing trouble and on the last full moon, just over a week ago, 15 wizards died from attacks purposely targeted as well as 8 people injured who would become werewolves when the next full moon hit. They were trying to recreate their numbers. The full moon before brought the same issues with attacks so it was decided to hunt the werewolves down and lock them away until they could deem it safe for them to be loose and trusted to lock themselves away on nights of the full moon so they wouldn't harm anyone.
They had caught Remus. He had been found with a group of werewolves, he had gone and met up with them for the Order to try and find information about what was going on, it seemed he had been going to and from werewolf camps for months and now an innocent werewolf who locked himself away during the full moon to stop himself from harming others was in Ministry custody. Hermione had heard from Fred that Remus had been caught as Fred attended Order meetings and they couldn't get him out of custody, even Dumbledore's influence on the Ministry didn't work as Minister Bones wasn't as corrupt as Fudge and wanted what was best for the wizarding world.
Dahlia didn't know how to help him without him ending up on the run. She could only help him be free if they broke the werewolf curse and they had found a way just days prior without using Isolda. Her father and Jörmungandr had discovered that if the werewolf curse had no foundation, no origin to cling to then it would be broken. By that, they meant if they were to do a reversal ceremony that would take the gift of shifting into wolves, the ceremony they originally did on the village, then the werewolf curse would have no origin to cling onto and would be broken. All they would need is to perform the ceremony under the full moon to maximize its affects and a wolf willing from the village. The downside, the wolf village would also lose their ability to change, as would the wolves in Valhalla. The gift would be gone.
Ulric had been spoken too and he agreed to help, if what it took to end the werewolves was for them to lose their gift then that is what the village would do. He had been informed about the mutated Grolnit and believed it best but Fenrir disagreed. He believed that werewolves couldn't change when they were spirits because that's the way it was supposed to be, their punishment was over, while the wolves could because they were pure, in a pack and connected through a gift. It was a gift to them, not a curse, they loved changing and running together, Fenrir being a part of that and he couldn't imagine anyone willingly giving up the gift. It had been decided that if they couldn't find another way by the next full moon on Midgard, then the ceremony would be performed.
Dahlia felt bad for Fenrir. It would almost be like losing the village in a way, not having that connection there and no one had told Isolda yet as no one but the leaders of the village would know until the time was closer. Even though it brought her pain in the past, the little girl loved being a wolf and Dahlia couldn't imagine what it would be like to have that taken from her, it would almost be like someone taking Dahlia's magic from her. But it was a matter of life and death if they didn't stop the Grolnit's and any other mutated species out there that now had the werewolf venom coursing through their blood stream.
They should have all known secrets don't last long, especially when the little girl they were keeping them from had wolf hearing.
"Come in," Dahlia said after she heard a knock at her door.
The little wolf she was thinking about poked her head around the door and smiled and Dahlia smiled too as she came in.
"Hey, what's up? Where's your pa?" Dahlia asked, Isolda started calling Fenrir pa since the adoption became final.
Isolda walked to her and sat down before writing in her notebook. "Pa and I got dirty on our run; he's having a bath." That explained why her hair was a little wet if she already had one.
"Well, if your pa is busy, then how about some chocolate and sweets, I've just had some sent from Midgard," Dahlia said smiling and Isolda nodded quickly.
Dahlia stood and went over to her bedside drawer where she kept her supply and brought out a few chocolate frogs, a box of Bertie Bott's Beans and some chocolate cauldron cakes. She walked back to Isolda to see her staring at the newspaper and Dahlia scolded herself for not putting it away or at least turning it over before she walked away.
"How about we eat this on the balcony?" Dahlia asked and Isolda nodded and the two went onto the balcony, taking a seat each while putting the sweets on the table.
"Aunt Dahlia, is aunt Hela okay?" Isolda wrote and showed Dahlia as Isolda took a bite of her cauldron cake.
"She's pregnant with your baby cousin, it's just making her a little sick but that happens to a lot of women when they are pregnant. You don't need to worry."
"Pa's worried."
"Your pa is always worried about his family; he gets that from your grandpa. You don't have anything to worry when it comes to your aunt Hela and the baby, she's strong and the baby will take after her and everything will be okay," Dahlia said, hoping her own worries about Hela and the baby didn't show. "Are you excited for the baby?"
Isolda nodded her head quickly as she wrote. "Pa says I can play with it but only when it gets bigger. He says I have to be careful when its first born because it will be little. Is it a boy or girl?"
Dahlia shrugged. "I don't know."
"But you can see the future," she wrote.
"Yes, but it doesn't mean I've seen what the baby is. Hela and Falcon may want it to be a surprise, they might not want to know until the baby is born so it would be unfair of me to check. If Hela and Falcon wanted me to look into the future for their baby then I would, but only if they asked. We just have to be patient."
"Okay," Isolda wrote, her chocolate-covered fingers getting on her notebook and she already had chocolate covering her face.
Dahlia went to her bathroom to get a wet cloth before coming out to clean Isolda's hands and face. "Your pa is going to kill me when he finds out how much chocolate you are eating."
Isolda grinned and her shoulders shook with silent laughter as Dahlia wiped her face clean then sat down.
"Pa keeps being busy," Isolda wrote.
"Well, we have a lot going on at the moment, your pa is busy because he's helping to keep everyone safe."
"I know and I want to help."
"You don't have to worry about what's going on," Dahlia said with a small smile. "You just be a kid and have fun. You have a family that will worry about everything else."
"I know about the Grolnit," Isolda wrote.
Dahlia put down the jelly bean she was about to eat and cleared her throat. "How do you know about that?"
Isolda pointed to her ears.
"You've been listening in on conversations?"
Isolda nodded.
"Isolda, you shouldn't do that, your pa wouldn't like it."
"I had to. Pa has been sad and worried. I had to know. I know it is because of the werewolves and you're trying to stop them, I want to help."
Dahlia gave a slight shake of her head.
"Please, aunt Dahlia. I know grandpa and uncle Jora found a way, but my wolf will be taken from me."
"We don't know if the ceremony to do that will happen yet. You should talk to your pa."
"He will say not to worry. I know there's a way to break the curse without taking my wolf away but it means me helping. I heard pa and grandpa talking about it, I want to help."
Dahlia sighed as she leaned forward. "Isolda, what you heard them talking about is much more complicated than you understand. You have to talk to your pa about this."
"He only sees me as a little girl."
"Well, you-"
Isolda cut her off by holding her hand up to silence her as she wrote quickly. "I know I am but I'm strong too. You fought the bad man who hurt you and killed your mama, I want to help break the curse. I want to be brave like you."
Dahlia leaned back into her chair as she knew the little girl was persistent and stubborn, a trait she had picked up since she began to spend time with the family and since she became a member. Dahlia knew she wouldn't give up in wanting to help, especially since she knew that her wolf was at stake come the next full moon.
"Isolda, you need to talk to your pa," Dahlia said and Isolda went to write. "No more saying no, you need to talk to him. I would do anything for you, you're my niece and I love you but when it comes to your safety, your pa is in charge. Talking about the ceremony necessary to break the werewolf curse with your help, it puts your safety at risk so even if you want to help, it's up to your pa."
Isolda leaned back into her chair, crossed her arms and her bottom lip stook out in a sulky pout as she wasn't getting her own way. Clearly, she believed her aunt would let her help without her pa's permission. Clearly Isolda didn't know what the ceremony entitled as they needed Fenrir there too so he was going to find out, even if she agreed to let Isolda help.
"Not getting your way all the time is the price you pay for having a family that loves you," Dahlia said. "Talk to your pa, he may surprise you with his decision. He also needs to know how you're feeling about all this."
Isolda unfolded her arms and wrote. "Will you help me?"
"Of course I will."
Less than an hour later, Fenrir came to Dahlia's room in search of Isolda and was pleased to see his sister laughing and daughter smiling, clearly Isolda had written something funny to amuse the young goddess. "Hey, Fen," Dahlia said noticing him.
"Hi, sis," Fenrir said as he stepped onto the balcony and saw the wrappers of chocolate and sweets. "I see you two have had your fair shares of sweets before dinner."
Isolda jumped off her chair and pulled the chair out before pulling Fenrir to sit down. She then sat on his lap and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head as she leaned against him.
"Well, it's not like we'll get toothache," Dahlia said as it was harder for a goddess to have any medical problems, especially with her teeth and Isolda was already dead so she wasn't getting toothache.
"I'll just have to catch up," Fenrir said reaching for a few jelly beans. Fenrir then pulled a face. "Why does that taste like sick?"
Dahlia couldn't help but laugh while Isolda put her hands to her mouth so she wouldn't. Dahlia then poured him a goblet of juice she had a servant bring them. "Here, you've got the worst flavour. Take a drink before you're actually sick"
Fenrir took a few gulps before he offered the goblet to Isolda who had her own but still took a sip out of his before he put it down. Fenrir could almost say the silence between them was peaceful as they sat on the balcony on a nice day looking over the city but he then noticed his sister and daughter looking at one another and Dahlia giving a quick gesture of her head towards him.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking between them.
Isolda reached for her pencil and notebook and wrote. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said cautiously but still meaning it just as much as every day.
"Don't be sad."
"Sad about what?" he asked then looked at Dahlia. "What's happened?"
"Do you want to tell him?" Dahlia asked Isolda.
"You tell," Isolda wrote and showed her aunt.
Dahlia cleared her throat. "Don't he mad-"
"I'm starting to get concerned," Fenrir interrupted. "What's happened?"
"Nothing, in a way. Isolda is fine and nothing has happened to her, it's just…she knows," Dahlia exhaled. "She knows about the Grolnit and it being because of the werewolf curse and she also knows about the ceremony dad and Jora found and the affects it will have on her and the village."
Fenrir frowned. "Why would you tell her?" he asked almost angrily.
"I didn't," Dahlia said defensively, knowing why he would think that as she did originally want to explain the truth to Isolda. "She's been using her wolf hearing to listen in on conversations, specifically between you and dad."
Fenrir took a deep breath and leaned his head back to look up at the sky before looking to his daughter. "Isolda, we talked about you listening when you're not supposed to."
"She was worried," Dahlia said, defending her niece. "She noticed that you were busy and sad and worried about something so she wanted to know why. I think she wanted to help make you happy again."
"Is that true?" Fenrir asked the little wolf.
Isolda nodded.
"Fen," Dahlia said. "She also knows about the first way the curse can be broken. She heard you and dad talking about it and she wants to help."
"No," he said to his sister then looked to his daughter. "No, not happening."
Isolda wrote. "Why not?"
"Because I said so."
"That's not a reason."
"I'm your pa, I don't have to give a reason,"
"You do if you want to take my wolf away,"
Fenrir took a deep breath, frustrated. "Taking your wolf away is the last thing I want to do."
"But it will happen."
"No, it won't. We're trying to find another way, a way which you get to keep your wolf and the werewolf curse breaks, not only on the werewolves but on all creatures like the Grolnit that have been affected by the werewolf venom. I give you my word, you have nothing to worry about."
"But if the full moon comes and you don't have a way, my wolf will go."
Fenrir shook his head. "That won't happen. The wolf was all you had all those years ago, I know you were in pain and hurt because of what that wizard did but the wolf was all you had, I won't let anyone take that from you. They need me to participate in the ceremony to take your wolf away and I refuse, I won't help."
"But the Grolnit, the werewolf curse, more monsters, they'll hurt people."
"We will find a way to deal with them, a way that doesn't involve you in anyway or that puts your wolf at risk."
Isolda looked down at her notebook, her pencil tapping at the page, clearly hesitating about something.
Fenrir used the tips of his fingers to lift up her chin after almost a minute passed. Her chocolate brown eyes locked onto his green as he gave her a small smile.
"What is it, blueberry? You know you can tell me anything."
Isolda still hesitated before she finally began to write. "I want to help."
Fenrir took a deep breath. "Isolda, I do not want you anywhere near a werewolf or anyone with werewolf venom in their system, you will stay far away, do you understand?"
Isolda looked back down.
"Fen," Dahlia said.
"No, Dahlia," Fenrir said looking to his sister. "You know why I can't let her near them."
"Fenrir," she said with a sigh. "I understand and I'm not trying to undermine your parenting but you're not listening. For two wolves with your hearing, neither one of you are truly listening. Brother, you haven't explained to Isolda why you don't want her help or have her near anyone infected with werewolf venom and you," she looked to Isolda as the little girl looked to her aunt. "You don't just want to make you pa happy, you don't just want to help, there's another reason, isn't there?"
Isolda gave small hesitant nod.
"What is it?" Fenrir asked.
Isolda looked to Dahlia first who gave her a small smile, showing her that she was there for her. Isolda then began to write, covering what she was writing from her father's view and Dahlia had to move to see better when Isolda did reveal what she had written as the writing was so small.
"I started it," Isolda wrote. "I wanted them to hurt like they hurt me, I knew the full moon was important so when I died, I knew they would hurt like I was. I wanted them to hurt and I didn't care who hurt then but I started to. I know hurting good people is bad, but I didn't care when I died. The pack helped me care again. Good people died, good people got hurt, good people turned into werewolves because of the curse that I helped create. You taught me to be me, you taught me to be brave, to be strong, to be a wolf. The wolf is loyal, protective of the pack and family, the wolf is free. Let me be free, let me say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Fenrir asked confused.
"I think she means goodbye to the werewolves" Dahlia said and Isolda gave a nod of confirmation. "She wants to stop the werewolves, not only because of the venom spreading to other species but to let go of what happened in the past. Fenrir, you've spent all these months helping her be more confident, more open, perhaps you helped her a little more than you thought."
"Magical people aren't bad," Isolda wrote. "I've met them, I know them better now, Midgardian magical people weren't to blame, only the bad man and his followers were. They suffered so it can stop now. The werewolves can go away now and I want to be the one to send them away. Please, pa."
Fenrir sighed as he understood his daughter, wanting to let go of her anger and fear was a very powerful thing and she showed a strength he didn't have. He didn't know if he could stand in the presence of Odin and his other capturers, his tortures, those who hurt him for a thousand years, to stand in front of them and not feel anger and want to kill them seemed impossible. Yet his five-year-old daughter was willing to stand in the presence of werewolves, the very creatures that would remind her of her torture and say goodbye to the years of suffering. But she didn't know the truth of his resistance.
"Now let's hear your pa talk," Dahlia said to her niece. "He listened to you, now you have to listen to why he doesn't want you to do it. Okay?"
Isolda nodded and put her notepad down and put her hands in her lap, her eyes then trained on her father.
He gave her a small smile before he stroked the back of her head and placed a kiss to her forehead. "You know that I will protect you from anything and anyone that wishes you harm, well the werewolves are one such danger". Isolda was about to reach out for her notepad when he stopped her. "Let me explain…you have only ever known the werewolves that were tethered to you, the werewolves that looked more like us than their cursed forms and could shift whenever they wanted without pain. After you killed yourself under the full moon, they began to change. You heard them changing, you heard their pain as they changed into werewolves. They have a shorter snout, human-like eyes and tufted tail but it's their violence that is the real difference between them and us. They hunt humans and are aggressive and are hard to stop because they're not in control of their minds. You know this."
Isolda nodded, she was told about werewolves throughout the centuries.
"What I doubt you know is how their scent changed. You were dying as they changed and the werewolves that have died don't come here infected, they come here free of the venom…before our family returned to Niflheim, during our stay at Hogwarts, I met with a pack of wolves whose home is in the Hogwarts Forest. They looked like any ordinary wolves but they are far more intelligent, less violent than the average wolf because they have a more developed mind than normal wolves. Their scent led me to believe however that they were something different and I soon discovered the truth. They are the product of two werewolves mating under the full moon, they cannot change to human form they are only wolves. The pack are decedents of the original pups born so their scent is much faded from werewolves and the original pups. Your aunt Dahlia knew I wanted to meet a werewolf, I was so angry with just hearing the story of what happened to the village and to you that I needed to meet one. She knows one, Remus Lupin, a friend of hers and he was a friend to her mother too. I met him but…"
He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to shake the memory of the scent of the packs blood, twisted and broken. He opened them again when he felt a small hand on his cheek and looked to see it was Isolda and she was looking at him worried.
"The reason I don't want you near a werewolf, especially during the ceremony, is because of their scent. Isolda, werewolves smell like the pack, like you, but corrupted, evil, tainted. The man who hurt you, who killed the others, he used your blood to help change him and then he bit his followers to become like him, his venom passed on until you made it a curse and changed them…Isolda, if you were in the presence of a werewolf, you would not only smell the tainted smell of the pack, you would smell he who caused all your pain."
Isolda dropped her hand from her father's cheek as her eyes went wide and she looked to her aunt to see her giving her a pitiful look. She then looked back to her pa as she knew his words were true and she didn't know what to think.
As each moment passed, Fenrir was growing more and more concerned with Isolda as she looked down to her lap and didn't look back up to either her aunt or pa. The last thing Fenrir wanted was to hurt her and he didn't know how she would be affected after he mentioned the wizard responsible for hurting her. He knew she might think about what he did but the last thing Fenrir wished is for Isolda to lock herself away, to become a shell once again. So, he wrapped his arms around her, kissed her forehead and whispered comforting words to her. That she didn't need to help, that he loved her and that she was safe with him.
Almost five minutes passed with him holding her, Isolda snuggling into his chest, then she finally pulled away and reached out for her notebook and began to write.
"I want to help," she wrote.
"Isolda," he sighed.
"Please. I can be strong."
"It's not about you being strong, you're already stronger than anyone would expect you to be…this is about you being who you are, all the progress you have made. Isolda, I was barely able to keep my wolf at bay when I met Remus Lupin, before I even met him, I could smell him and I didn't go through what you went through. Sometimes you get hurt psychically but sometimes, you can be hurt here," he pointed to her head. "In the mind. If you were to meet a werewolf, it might make you think about what happened to you and I can't stop you from thinking or protect you from your thoughts or memories."
Isolda wrote something but seemed hesitant to show. "I see it every day."
A silence passed between them as they all knew she thought about it, but her writing that she did, it broke their hearts.
"You're worried, pa, but I can do it. Let me show you. I can meet aunt Dahlia's friend, I'm strong. I have to say goodbye."
Fenrir glanced to Dahlia who shrugged her shoulders as she spoke. "She has a point."
"Dahlia," Fenrir warned.
"Fenrir, she's not going to back down and we both know she has to have some involvement in the ceremony in order to let go and move on the way everyone has been trying to help her do for centuries."
He let out a deep breath as he knew it to be true. "What do you suggest?"
"What if she did meet Remus? Think about it, he's a good man, he would never wish to even scare her, let alone harm her. I know him, you're acquainted with him, you spent hours with him and you went from wanting to kill all the werewolves to asking dad and Hela for a way to break the curse."
"His scent could affect her."
"But he could also help. Isolda wouldn't be alone, she'd be with us, she trusts us, she'd know Remus wouldn't want to harm her because we know him. We can do it in the safest possible way so that if his scent is too much for her, we can leave and hopefully with us by her side, it will lessen the effects and impact the scent has on her. All we can do is try."
Fenrir glanced down to see Isolda pouting as she gave small nods. "Fine," he sighed and both girls smiled. "But one meeting, if you can't handle it, no more and you can't be involved in the ceremony, understand?"
Isolda nodded then kissed his cheek.
He then looked to his sister. "Now we have to tell the rest of the family. Hela isn't going to be pleased."
"We'll work it out," Dahlia said.
"I hope you're right about this."
Hela was not at all pleased when they told the family later that night in the family room.
"You can't be serious," Hela said as she paced in front of the fireplace, Dahlia, Fenrir and Isolda sat on the couch while Loki and Jörmungandr sat in the arm chairs and Falcon stood near the fireplace. "Isolda, please leave the room. I need to speak to your pa."
Isolda shook her head and crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch, surprising everyone as she wasn't looking at Hela as the queen but at her aunt.
"She doesn't have to leave," Fenrir said standing. "Hela, do you really think I would come in here and tell you the plan for Isolda to finally say goodbye to her past if I thought it was going to harm her?"
Hela stopped pacing but stood close to her brother. "What I understand is the way she was before. Fenrir, you've only heard stories about how she was before, especially right at the beginning. Seven months of happiness with you doesn't change what she has been through."
"I have my hesitations too, which is why if Lupin agrees, it will be done safely and at the first sign that she can't handle it, we will leave and she will never ask this again."
"This is insane," Hela turned away from him and walked to her husband who put his arm around her waist.
"Fenrir, you have to understand," Falcon said. "We have a duty of care to every soul on this realm. Those who are guilty suffer, those who are innocent are at peace."
"I know your system," Fenrir said, almost with a roll of the eyes.
"Then you'll understand that subjecting Isolda to the presence of someone who will remind her about what happened, for her to sense the presence of her captors, some spirits will look at that as torture."
"But it wouldn't be. I'll be there right by her side and everyone knows I will protect her with my life and soul."
"Yes, but there is also the matter of if it does work and she can handle the presence of a werewolf, other spirits may wish to leave Niflheim to solve their own unfinished business and we can't have the dead scattering across the nine realms causing havoc."
"This is a special circumstance. If Isolda can handle it then this won't just be about her saying goodbye, it will also be about the protection of Niflheim and who knows how many other worlds with how vast the venom is spreading."
Hela shook her head then looked to her father. "Papa, talk some sense into him."
Loki didn't look at any of his children or speak. His focus was on his granddaughter and he leaned forward and gestured for her to come to him. Isolda unfolded her arms and went to her grandfather and stood in front of him as he reached for her hands and held them. "Do you want this?" he asked. "Do you really want to say goodbye? No lies or I'll be able to tell."
Isolda went to reach for her notebook but he stopped her.
"No writing. Yes or no. Can you do this?"
She nodded.
"You understand that being near a werewolf you will sense what happened to you, it may bring bad memories to the surface. It might make you scared."
Isolda pointed to him and then gestured to the rest of the family.
"Yes, you will have us. But you understand that if you can't do it, you won't be doing it again."
Isolda nodded again.
"Then okay," he said then looked to his children. "One chance. One chance to meet a werewolf, ask any questions she has, one chance to say goodbye."
"Papa," Hela sighed.
"No one in this room has a right to judge Isolda or make any decisions about how she plans on moving on from her past. We all have a past that we would rather not confront or admit to but we have the choice to confront our past and move on so Isolda should get that same chance. I believe her when she says this way will help her so all we can do is support her and if it backfires, then we will be there to help and heal. Either with her help or without it, the werewolves will be vanquished but if we say no to her request, she will never again get to be in the presence of someone who has the venom in their veins and she will spend the rest of eternity wondering if it could have helped her saying goodbye. Hela, you did a remarkable job trying to care for her before but we all have darker parts of ourselves filled with our fears, regrets, our actions caused in anger, that part of us can only be faced by ourselves. Isolda has to face her fear in order to progress further, to talk, to put her trust in others, to walk around the city alone without fear."
Isolda then moved her hands out of her grandfather's and got her notebook and wrote a quick note before going to her aunt and uncle and showed them. "I'll be okay, aunt Hela and uncle Falcon. I can be brave enough for all of us."
The three smiled and Hela kneeled. "When did you get so brave?" the queen asked.
"I have to be brave and strong for my baby cousin," Isolda wrote and showed them then patted Hela's belly.
Hela then pulled her into a hug as she spoke. "I still don't agree with this and the council is going to have their opinions but…one chance. Just one."
"That's a yes then," Dahlia said. "I'll go to the Ministry tomorrow, see where they are holding Remus and we can arrange a date."
"Let's hope this works for all our sakes," Jörmungandr said as he looked around his family knowing the atmosphere would be very different if or when Isolda met a werewolf and it turned out badly.
Authors note: Please review