Previously on Defiance…

Dumbledore looked sadly at the obliteration of his favorite delicacy. "That was insanely cruel of you, Thor, to destroy such a delicacy. That said, I am sure that the stinger wasn't supposed to blast it like it did."

"I might have retransfigured your spell into a simple blasting curse, professor." Thor grinned. "Descartes' principle, you know."

Everywhere his eyes could see, was green and white. Green from the long grasses and vines, and white from the snow all around. He hung upside down, his hands, legs and even his abdomen bound using strange ropes, as a hundred poisonous spears stood levitated all around him, charmed to attack him if he tried to break the ropes using magic.

"Damn, Harry Potter. This is why Severus Snape tells you that you are just like your father. A Gryffindor."

He looked at the poison dripping from the spears as they seemed to inch closer. Not wanting to use any magic, he shut his eyes. "Think Potter. There must be something that you know that can be used to escape." He thought.

Nothing came up.

The spears edged closer.

Fuck.

A few hours earlier…

"High Master, I wish to travel out of the fortress to see this native village you mentioned the first day."

Samuel Thüringen looked at him carefully. Despite it just being three weeks into the term, Harry Potter, or rather Thor, had been quite able to keep up with the rest of the apprentices staying at the Guild. While it was a fact that he was quite young and did not have a lot of education under his belt compared to the others, the boy seemed to have a knack for understanding things and concepts when and where it mattered, and the rest he covered it by studying with due diligence. Even Derek did not scowl and yell about his incapability any more. However, that said, the boy was a recluse at heart. With the exception of a number of people he could count in one finger, the boy stayed all to himself, studying and practicing magic every second he was awake. It was almost as if he had something propelling him to better himself more and more- an odd enthusiasm which felt refreshing to his old bones.

"Yes, I remember; but Thor, I would have thought that you would want to mingle with the other apprentices. Why this… craze of adventure all of a sudden?"

Thor hesitated.

"You can say." Samuel replied supportively.

"I… well it's like I have this feeling inside me, that I am honing one part of my magic, and rejecting the rest. I don't know, maybe it is the family magic that also wants me to hone my powers."

Samuel regarded his answer. "You have Potter and Black family magic. Potters have battle-magic so that isn't an issue but Black? … I don't understand. Blacks were known for their Illusionary tactics. I don't suppose there is any place nearby that would help you hone your illusionary abilities."

Thor cleared his throat. "I am sorry; I should have made myself clearer. When I said family magic, I wasn't referring to Potter and Black." He paused, "I was referring to Peverell and Grim."

"Peverell- Grim!" Samuel repeatedly slowly, with a touch of reverence, "Ancient families, predating the Wizengamot and modern ancient history by a thousand years. I did not know that you were so thorough with your ancient family history."

"Well…." Thor drawled out evasively. "The Grim family had the original Parseltongue trait that was later known to be as Slytherin trait. It is this magic that I want to learn and discover in the village out there."

"Interesting. So you know the true history of Salazar-"

"Grim. Yes. I took a special day off from my personal training to study his history."

"I wasn't told that Salazar left diaries for Hogwarts students to open at will and examine at leisure." Samuel countered.

"No, he didn't. he kept them in the Chamber of Secrets. I found them after I killed the basilisk."

That shut Samuel up. "I see." He sighed. "Very well, I give you permission to visit the village. I expect you will be able to make your way back here before dinner?"

Thor nodded.

"Very well. Off you go."

Why does that boy's attitude feel so familiar? It is almost as if…. No, that cannot be possible.

Back to the present…

He closed his eyes and focused. There had to be some way to get out of the ropes without making any of those poisoned spears from plunging into his torso. There was no one close by, and he did not think that something would just come and provide a miraculous solution like it had in Hogwarts. He would have to figure out a way to get past these ropes himself. Perhaps Parseltongue could be a way to command the vines but if he failed, there was no stopping the spears from killing him. If only there was a diversion…

Hang on…

A diversion…

His lips twisted into a smile, as he relaxed, gathering his magical power ready for use. Once he had gathered enough power, he opened his eyes.

Instantly, there was another version of him standing just in front of him, smirking at the ropes as the spears diverted towards the new invader and turned towards him. "Release!" he hissed as loudly as possible in Parseltongue, as the ropes left him loose, rushing towards the other invader they sensed on the grounds. The ropes rushed towards the illusion and shot through him, and so did the spears. The illusion flickered and died, but in the meantime, Thor was free and standing on the ground, his hands knuckled into fists and ready for battle.

"Come now, you overgrown tree." He hissed.

The spears propelled themselves magically towards him but he had a runic Imprimis ready at hand, as he sent successive bursts of flame towards the vines, burning them into shreds. He sent flames at the spears but for some reason, they seemed to be indestructible. Having deflected the spears, he vanished the shield and conjured a big fireball, rapidly transfiguring and retransfiguring it in matters of seconds, as he awaited with baited breath as the spears shot upwards high into the air, formed a huge spike towards him for a second strike.

Any time now…

The spike edged closer and closer, and Thor kept on retransfiguring, feeling the temperature rise up to match a bloody furnace, but kept on doing it.

Three… two… one….

He threw the fireball head-on over the spike and at the same time, commanded the ginormous magic at his fingertips to web around the spike, seeping out its momentum.

A perfect cage inside a furnace.

Let's see how indestructible you are…

The spike tried to get out but the web of magic around it bound it like a hundred chains, draining out its momentum, and holding it captive, just like the way Dumbledore had taught, while the super-heated fireball slowly seared and eviscerated it into soot. After two anxious minutes and a very, very taxing struggle, the entire spike was ash.

"Crap." He panted. "That took a lot out of me." Instantly his danger sense flared as he ducked. A poisonous yellow-looking spell flashed out and had he not ducked, it would have hit in the chest.

He instantly rolled and stood up, two energy bursts ready in both hands, as he turned to stare at his new nemesis.

Or rather, nemeses.

Standing opposite him, wearing all kinds of amulets and what-not, faces painted with what seemed to be runic structures, were a group of people, holding their long staves towards his direction. Even from there, he could sense the magic empowering the spell that was about to be hurled towards his person.

" Hey wait!" Thor called out, "I am not your enemy."

"Who are you?" One from the tribes shot back. He had a short stature, with what seemed to be some kind of bump on his back. The strange hissing that accompanied the reply did not go missed.

Right, Parselmouths. I should have known.

"I am a student. I came here to learn magic." He hissed.

"A... student? To learn magic? You speak our tongue. Who are you?" The other man shoot back. The rest of the tribes drew their staves back and held them steady, apparently not yet trusting Thor to not attack.

"I am…" He considered his words. There was no point in saying about how he was a Black and everything, since the Black family was completely a British thing… "My family can talk to snakes as well. I come from far away. My name is Grim."

"Grim?" An old-looking woman walked out, towards him. One of the younger-looking fellows tried to stop her, but she did not listen. "There are no Grims. They have been dead for more than a thousand years. There was a Grim, who fell from the sky fifty years ago, but you are not him. Who are you?"

Thor raised his eyebrows. A Grim fell from the sky? Fifty years ago? Suddenly the picture on the Black wardstone chamber came to mind. His doppelganger with grey eyes. Fell from the sky? Could it be… a portkey gone wrong or something?

"I do not know of any Grims who fell from the sky. I am a student and my Master told me that people who talk to snakes live here. I came here to learn from you."

Another man spoke up. "How did you break through our defenses?"

"I am a mage. I can fight."

"Well then, fight me. If you win, we will welcome you into our tribe and our magic. If I win, you will die."

"And if I want to go away, then?"

"If you wanted to go out, you shouldn't have entered into our realm in the first place. Either you fight and win, or you die. If you win, you can go back when you please."

Of course. How on earth had I ever expected any of this to be easy…. Thor mused.

Apparently, the tribe did not believe in any formal decorum for dueling, for no sooner had he agreed, the man had woven his long staff and tapped on the ground, manifesting a large circle of fire with him and Thor in the middle.

"If you can throw me out of the circle, you win. If I throw you out, you lose."

Simple rules. Really. Thor thought sarcastically.

"Very well." His wand went spinning into his palm as he started the runic matrix for an Imprimis on spot. A wand decreased the power requirements by a factor of three, and that was why wandless magic was so difficult, except for the weakest spells. Most wizards got drained way too quickly if they tried wandless magic, except for extremely powerful individuals like Dumbledore or any of the Masters. There a valid reason for it too. Master Stark had explained it to him. Unlike what people thought, wandless magic was not a measure of power. It was human biology. Plain and simple.

When a wizard called for his magical power, it travelled through his veins, and unfortunately, the veins were made for a small amount of magical transfer per second. Any more and the nerves started to flare, causing the caster a feeling that could range from mild unpleasantness to outright pain. Any more than that, and it could damage the nerves. In fact, that was exactly what the Cruciatus did- it overpowered a person's nerves with magical power, causing the victim enormous pain and agony, often blowing the nerves up. In short, since a lot of power was wasted as heat when trying to draw out magic on their own, most people relied on wands- the crutches of the magical society.

Thor held up his wand in an offensive manner. Crutch or not, wands multiplied the spell's power by a factor of three. And power was what he needed to win this fight.

The tribal man hissed imperceptively, saying some kind of obscure incantation as huge shackles shot out from the staff towards Thor who simply transfigured the incoming attack into pieces of rocks and propelled them back to the man, who dodged, all the while snarling at him in fury. He swore and sent a powerful burst of magic, slamming his shaft on the ground, causing powerful seismic waves that shook the earth, blowing up exactly where Thor was standing. Unfortunately for him, Thor was already in the air, levitating himself wandlessly as he raised his wand towards the man and whispered in Parseltongue.

"Malleus crepitus maxima."

A huge shaft of air and energy slammed against the man, hurling him away from the circle and throwing him against the trunk of a rather ancient-looking tree, rendering him unconscious. He slowly levitated himself down onto the ground while a few of the tribals gathered toward the fallen man, trying to wake him up.

"Broken his rib cage. He will need medical assistance." Thor could hear one of them speaking quickly.

"I can help." He offered, before hastily adding, "I have medicine. If you allow me."

"You can?" The old woman looked at him skeptically.

"I can."

The woman seemed to consider it. "Do it."

Thor slowly undid his belt, the very same which Sirius had gifted him, and plucked out a tiny box, and tapped it with his hand. Instantly, the box enlarged into a large trunk which opened with a click. Inside it, were several potion vials containing all sorts of draughts and potions he had procured and kept in reserve for emergency use during the summer. He took out a pain-reliever potion, along with a revitalizing elixir and Skele-gro, and closed the trunk, miniaturizing it back to its original form and putting it back to his belt which he wore back. Moving ahead, he poured the pain-reliever into the unconscious man's mouth before asking, "Can you show me where the rib has broken?"

One of the men showed him the area. Harry sent his wand back to his holster and touched the part with his bare palm and whispered. "Ossis Dispersimus." He poured the Skele-Gro into the man's mouth and then stepped back. "He should be all right in a few hours."

"Who are you?" The woman reiterated.

Thor shrugged. "I told you. I am a student. I am a Grim by blood, and I wish to learn your magic."

"Where are you from?"

Thor hesitated. "Magical Britain."

Almost instantly, a lot of people hissed in fury. The woman shot them an angry look and then turned back to explain, "Do not mind them. There was another. One that came from your land here, many years ago. He was driven away by the Grim that fell from the sky."

Someone from Britain? Could it be…?

"Could he also speak the serpent tongue?"

The woman nodded.

Thor raised his wand and summoned his magic. Dust gathered up from the ground as he manipulated them to form an image very similar to the Tom Riddle he had met in the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago. "Is this the man?"

The woman preened a little and then slowly replied. "He looks similar to the one that tormented us. Are you his descendant?" She eyed him warily.

"What? NO. This man… the one who tormented your people, he killed my parents. I am learning magic so that I can…" he hesitated, "so that I can kill him."

The woman seemed to believe him. "You have come to our land. You have fought on our rules and you have won fairly. You are a Grim and you have saved one of us. We welcome you to our land and our lore."

Thor grinned.

"I hope you had a most illuminating day, Thor."

"Yes, sir." Thor grinned. "It was positively illuminating."

"Did you get to go beyond the entrance?"

"Yes. Sir."

"Indeed. What did you do?" Samuel asked.

"I'm not allowed to reveal it, High Master. I am under oath."

Samuel looked a little disheartened. "Alas! I thought I might finally figure out some way to get past the vines."

"You mean you never got in?" Thor looked at him in shock.

"No." Samuel sighed. "The defenses increased with every single use of magic. I suppose Parseltongue did the trick?"

Thor considered it. "I will just say that you have excellent instincts today, High Master." He smiled and walked out of the office.

Five weeks later…

"Are you ready to leave, Thor?"

Thor considered it. He had fallen into the schedule of studying and practicing without any kind of intervention except during the classes, to which he looked up to for further advancements in his knowledge. Even Master Prince was treating him like anyone else, and for him, that was great advancements. It was true that it had been only two months into the term, it felt as if he was there forever. Suddenly the idea of returning to Hogwarts, enjoying the feasts, getting angry at Snape, yelling in frustration and the school-gossip, it all fell alien to him. The initial week, he had felt slightly homesick since there was no way he could talk to Sirius, since the charms did not allow the communication mirrors to work. The fortress was an isolated, magical environment, that was perfect for only one thing- studying and honing one's skills. Even his stature had increased a little, courtesy to the different food and nutritional potions he was given to ingest as part of the diet. His personality had truly calmed down, and he had become much more logical and had learned to stem down his emotional reactions. Things had accelerated ever since Master Prince had finally deemed him ready for private sessions to intensify his knowledge and pull him up to the required level of knowledge. Once they had crossed the adversary-teacher-student phase, Master Prince or rather, Derek, as he had asked him to call him, was a brilliant teacher.

"Harry?"

The mention of his original name shook him out of his reveries. He had forgotten what it meant to be Harry Potter and had settled in, quite comfortably in his Thor persona. Thor, who was powerful yet junior to all; one who knew how to work with due diligence and lived a reclusive life after classes. Thor who spent his evenings in the tribal village learning all sorts of things he never thought possible- the true versatility of the serpent tongue.

"Yes, Professor?"

Dumbledore eyed him curiously. "I asked, are you ready to go back to Hogwarts?"

Thor stayed quiet.

"Should I think about it as a No?"

Thor hesitated. "It's not like that, Professor. I want to go back and meet Sirius, and Daphne, and well, everyone there back at Hogwarts."

"I sense a but," Dumbledore replied.

"It's… I have kind of... well. I have settled myself as Thor, and now, I will have to become Harry Potter again, and the moment I enter the gates of Hogwarts, I will be observed, commented upon, and will become the object of people's prejudice." He looked up. "Here, I spend my evenings learning intricate magical lore in Parseltongue. There back in Britain, people will start vilifying the moment I hiss out loud."

"I understand." Dumbledore replied. "What do you want me to do?"

Thor pondered over it. "I suppose… I suppose I should go once. Besides, I haven't talked to Sirius or Daphne for a long time. I will be returning in two days, right?"

"Yes, you will. Are you interested in taking classes during the two days? I hope you understand that I won't be available to teach you, because of my duties."

"I understand. I am not allowed to take any books from the library to Hogwarts, am I?" He gave a pleading look.

Dumbledore laughed. "No, you don't. However, you are in luck. I have an intricate collection of books on battle-transfiguration and you are permitted to peruse through them at your leisure." He paused, "Would you like to stay in Gryffindor tower?"

Thor thought about it. Did he really want to go back and hang out at the tower, and meet his betraying best friends at every corner?

"No. I can manage my own room. I kind of, created one for myself while at Hogwarts and put it under the Fidelius."

Dumbledore guffawed. "You put a Hogwarts classroom under the Fidelius? Your father and godfather would have thought of it as a prank well-executed. Speaking of which, Sirius is now the DADA professor, so you can simply meet everyone at Hogwarts?"

"Sirius is DADA professor? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Skipped my mind." Dumbledore quipped. "Now, are you ready? Or does Thor need a little more time to transform back into Harry Potter?"

'No, no he doesn't." He answered. "That is because, I have decided not to let other's prejudices affect me anymore. I am Thor. An apprentice in the Transfiguration-Masters Guild. Anyone who has a problem with what I am…. Well, they can deal with it."

"You do understand that you cannot mention your pseudonym out there publically?"

Thor nodded.

"Very well. I hope you recognize this." He produced the familiar red cloth as Thor, now once again Harry Potter, touched it. With a very familiar tug at the navel, the portkey ushered them away.

Hogwarts.

There was a sudden flash in the empty Headmaster's office, distracting Fawkes who let out an irritated screech as Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore appeared out of nowhere. The portkey felt almost normal, not surprising considering the fact that Derek had him portkeyed all over the fortress thirty-seven times in two hours, until he was satisfied that Thor could portkey without losing his head or splinching himself in the process. The same had been done for apparation but luckily for him, Thor could apparate by the fifth try. Not that it meant the end of troubles, since Derek wasn't satisfied until Thor could apparate silently.

"Hello Fawkes." Harry wished, and Fawkes squawked back, not at all in his most pleasured tone.

"Sorry." Harry laughed. It was strange to be in this office once again, after two months of that life. It almost felt like, something from another life.

"Ahem!" Dumbledore coughed. "I guess I should tell you somethings beforehand. Dolores Umbridge is in Azkaban, she was arrested On Halloween."

"My first day at the Guild. And there I was thinking why I was being kicked around by the Masters. Must have been the Halloween effect." He laughed.

Dumbledore guffawed. "Well, I already mentioned that Sirius is the DADA professor. Alongside that, I got a young professor named Jonathan Drizzle, who has a NEWTS in History of Magic to teach the subject."

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Harry replied in an awestruck voice, "so much just for me? If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you were trying too hard to appease me."

Dumbledore laughed.

It was time for dinner in the Great Hall, with all students filling in. The professors were sitting on the staff table, waiting for the Headmaster to arrive in the Great Hall. There was a hush of whispers as Albus Dumbledore strode into the Great Hall from the antechamber wearing sweeping robes of aquiline blue. He walked up to his throne and stood, facing the students sitting on the tables in front of him.

"Good evening to everyone. Before we start the feast, I would like to give out an important announcement. As I believe you all will remember, Harry Potter was chosen for the Transfiguration Masters Guild as my apprentice."

Malfoy sniggered in the crowd. "Just you wait. I am sure Potter failed in performing adequately and was thrown out from the Guild." Pansy Parkinson snorted at the thought. Daphne frowned at the girl and looked back at the Headmaster.

Dumbledore continued, "As my apprentice, I invited him to stay at Hogwarts for a two-day break before he would be rejoining his education at the Guild. I must impress upon everyone, students-" his glanced subtly at Ron and Hermione who were downright glaring at him, "—and teachers-", he looked at Sirius who was seated next to Snape, though anyone, including Sirius could tell it that the Headmaster meant to emphasize it to Snape, "- that he is not a student of this school anymore. He is my apprentice and is thus, not bound by the rules of the school" - Snape snorted here-"and will defend himself if he is, in anyway attacked in any form, without fear of punishment. As it is, I will implore others to treat him with fairness and allow him to spend the two days without any issues. Thank you."

A few whispers began in the crowd.

"And now, I welcome my apprentice, Harry James Potter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Everyone looked in silence as a sound of footsteps was heard as a vividly different-looking, glassless Harry Potter walked into the Great Hall. Instead of the usual Hogwarts robes in which everyone was accustomed to seeing him, he was adorning dragon-hide robes with green linings on the edges. There was a billowing silk cloak with his hood fallen back over his neck. Strong dragon-hide boots made a thumping sound, with the periodic tap-tap noise produced by the silver staff that he carried with himself.

Silence.

Everyone stared at the person standing in front of them. The Gryffindors were staring in wonder about how different Harry seemed to look. The Ravenclaws on the other hand, seemed to wonder more about the staff that seemed to hold with ease in his hand. It was made of a goblin silver and had a thestral head on top of it, looking eerily similar to a cane. It looked stylish and very different from the wooden twig-like staff they had seen Mad-Eye-Moody carry around in fourth year. The Slytherins on the other hand, seemed to wonder what kind of dark magics Potter must have learnt, given how he practically screamed dangerous. The Hufflepuffs were more interested in his robes, what with the way he had too odd-looking crests built on either side of his dress robes. On the right, there was a runic representation of a snake, while on the left, there was a strange triangle with some odd lines drawn inside it. Dumbledore had merely smiled when Harry had shown him the Peverell crest but had not commented anything, keeping him in ignorance for the moment.

"That is Harry Potter?" A young first-year Gryffindor mumbled out. A group of students stared at the firstie who ducked in embarrassment.

"Professor, I would like to go and sit with Miss Greengrass, if you do not mind?" He asked Dumbledore who nodded.

Every eye that belonged to anyone dressed in green and silver stared in silence as Harry Potter stalked towards the Slytherin table. He edged near to where Daphne was sitting beside Tracy Davis and requested gently. "Miss Davis, can I sit here with Daphne?"

Tracey just nodded, shifting aside and giving him some space. From the Gryffindor table, Ron and Hermione were glaring daggers at him, though fortunately or unfortunately, their glares were met with complete indifference. Harry sat beside Daphne and slowly nudged her. "I am sorry it took longer than I expected it would."

"Did you have to come and sit over here, Potter?" Daphne muttered back.

"I thought that I should spend some time with my would-be-betrothed." Harry replied back.

"Your would-be-betrothed whom you left all alone without a care for two months." Daphne shoot back giving him an icy glare. She instantly lost her angry expression as her cold, blank façade returned. "Leave." She returned to her meal and begun biting small portions of food.

Damn. Looks like she is really angry. You screwed up big time, Thor. Crap, I guess I am more used to being Thor than I assumed.

"I am sorry." He tried.

No reaction.

Fuck. Okay, what would I normally do in this case?

His mind went back to what should be done. The regular training had dimmed his emotional reactions and when thought out logically, it wasn't his fault. After all, he fully remembered Daphne telling him that she had no problems to him being gone.

"Daphne? You do remember telling me that you had no problems with me going there?"

Daphne gave him an icy look. All right, that wasn't perhaps, the best thing to say. Damn! No Master had taught him how to deal with such situations.

Being Thor was much more simple.

Shut up.

You agree with me.

Shut up.

Harry decided over his options. Daphne did not seem any more convinced to talk to him than Malfoy looked ready to dance in a tutu. He looked at the fresh meal in front of him, the smell radiating out was much more exotic than what he had had for the last two months.

Angry Girlfriend? People staring? What was the best option?

Harry made up his mind. Taking up the spoon and knife, he began his meal.