Chapter 5

Harry walked forward, his illusionary form waving goodbye to the hotel's receptionist as he left the building. He was now approaching his ninth birthday and Loki had deemed him capable enough at light illusions to conceal his appearance when getting a wand. In fact, he was more than capable seeing as he could pass as a rather small eleven year-old and would only need to cast an illusion over his face. What was more important was that if he managed to catch one or two by surprise, he would be able to easily deal with battling wizards.

Loki believed that Harry's parents had been magical from the way the Dursleys had always talked about them, also having suspicions that they had been murdered by a wizard as well. The illusions were simply precautions to ensure that no friends of his dead parents attempted to "rescue" him. Harry would also need to probably disguise himself as an adult if he wanted to purchase "darker" reading material.

Loki was well aware that just like Asgardians, humans – even wizards – tended to worship or fear and persecute all that they did not understand. Whilst the beings like him and Thor had received the former treatment when they had visited Midgard, "dark" or powerful magic tended to receive the latter. Harry didn't want to be seen buying books on dark magic, and shopkeepers probably wouldn't sell them to children anyway….

Overnight Loki had told Harry to sleep in a hotel nearby to where he remembered the entrance to the wizarding world was. It would not do for him to be tired when entering a world where he might be forced to fight wizards for the first time. Now Harry walked around, waiting for Loki's magic-sensitive senses to alert him of the entrance's location.

"I thought you said you already knew where it was," he muttered.

'I used to know where it was. Believe it or not, cities do tend do change over the course of a couple centuries.' He paused before adding, 'And talk in your head, you don't want these people to think you're crazy.'

'Isn't talking to voices in my head even more crazy than speaking to myself?'

Loki was silent for a moment. 'Well yes, but they won't know you're doing it.'

'But I'll know I'm crazy!' Harry exclaimed.

'I actually exist though, I-' Loki paused. 'You're just doing this to annoy me, aren't you?' Harry laughed in affirmative and the god sighed. 'Stop being difficult and shut up. I need to concentrate.'

While frustrating Loki was fun, getting a wand would be more fun, and Harry decided to follow his instructions. After a while of walking, Loki said, 'Stop, and look to your right.'

Harry did so, and saw a building that the muggles seemed to not even notice as they walked past. The Leaky Cauldron read a sign above its door.

'Is this it?' asked Harry.

Loki scoffed. 'With a name that stupid, it can't be anything else.'

Harry gave a snort of laughter before moving towards the wizarding pub. As he entered the door, he bended the light around him with only the slightest strain, only having to change his eyes and hair to brown and mask the scar that for some reason wouldn't go away. Loki suggested it was because of the being that had previously inhabited it, but his unfamiliarity with mortal magic made him unsure.

One look around the room confirmed to Harry that he was in the wizarding world. Loki had been the only person he had ever seen a robe beforehand – it was really more of an overcoat anyway – but at least his were stylish. The wizards and witches seemed to have looked through a catalogue of clothes and then decided to wear what would make them look most idiotic. There didn't really seem to be any practicality in them either, unless looking like the most cliché wizard possible gave you some kind of boost to your spell-casting ability.

Following Loki's instruction, Harry walked to the back the room and out of the door, emerging into a...dead end?

He appeared to be in an alleyway, scraps of rubbish laying around him and a dirty brick wall in front of him.

'I can sense something lays on the other side, but I don't think they'll appreciate us blowing up the wall,' murmured Loki. 'I believe there is a ward hiding noise from us, maybe sight too.'

The god had now spent enough time in Harry's head that he had been able to edit the boy's senses, so to speak, so that he could detect magic in the same way that a very small amount of Asgardians could.

'Climb over it,' Loki finally decided. With a moment of hesitation, Harry began to climb the wall.

By this point, Loki had enhanced him beyond the level of a normal human, easily allowing him to lift his own body weight over the wall – even if his strength wasn't anywhere near that of a fully-grown Asgardian.

As he fell to the floor on the other side, colours entered the world, replacing the dull greyness of the previous alleyway and London sky.

As predicted, noise accompanied the new sight, and Harry found himself in another alleyway, though this one was far different. It was bustling with wizards and witches, all dressed in equally obnoxious robes as the ones in the Leaky Cauldron had been. Shops lined the sides of the street, each selling the most cliché objects possible. From cauldrons to potions. Harry even saw a few people wearing pointed hats. Any thoughts of Loki dressing like a weirdo were instantly wiped from Harry's mind.

'Asgardian magicians are far more normal than this, and that's saying something…. Just focus on getting a what we came for and not letting your illusion fade. We will have time to laugh at them later.'

'Wand first?' Harry asked.

Loki hummed in affirmative and he began to walk forward. Even with Loki ranting about the alley's poor design, Harry eventually found a shop named Ollivanders, a sign atop its door proclaiming it a maker of wands since 382 B.C.

Ignoring the god Harry entered the shop. Suddenly a chill travelled down his spine, and Loki abruptly stopped talking, before whispering. 'I should have known by the sign.'

For the first time, Harry could feel fear coming from Loki. 'Should have known what?' he asked, trying not to panic as for the first time in his life, the being that had always been strong for him displayed weakness.

'Okay Harry,' he began, his tone once again calm. 'Whilst our telepathic conversation is faster than speech, I cannot explain at the moment. You must act like me, pretend to be me, and repeat what I say. The man will not dare do anything if he believes he is conversing with Loki.'

'Wha-' Harry got no further in his enquiry as a man stepped from the shadows on the other side of the room.

"My, my. The aura of an Asgardian – and is that a hint of Jotun? It has been a long time, Loki Odinson. From the ice magic I can sense flowing through your veins I assume you have discovered your true parentage?" the man asked.

"Yes, though why am I not surprised that you already knew?" said Harry, repeating Loki's words and mimicking his tone and arrogant demeanour as he let the illusion disperse. "But that is not what I wish to discuss, Vandr."

"Oh?" Ollivander, who Harry had decided was now whoever Vandr was, raised an eyebrow. "I had thought you had came in the guise of a child for a reason, but now your illusion is gone and I see a child who looks much like you did at that age with Harry Potter's scar upon his forehead-"

Before he could say anything further, Harry interrupted. "What? How do you know of the scar upon my vessel?"

For a moment, Vandr looked surprised, but then his expression smoothed over. "Ah, I suppose news of mortals tends not to reach Asgard. Nonetheless, the body you now dwell within is that of the Boy-Who-Lived, the only mortal to ever survive the killing curse, and something of a messiah to the wizarding world." He paused. "May I inquire as to why you have taken the body of him?"

Harry could feel Loki rushing for an answer that would not alert the man of his weakness. "May I inquire as to why you felt the need to falsify your demise and live on Midgard?"

Vandr tilted back his head and laughed. "Ah, Loki, how I have not missed you and your silver tongue!" he exclaimed. "Now, I suppose you'll be wanting a wand?"

"Yes. How exactly do I go about getting one that matches me?"

Vandr grinned gleefully. "Normally you would have to go through many a box searching for a wand to fit you, but I have just the thing."

As the man disappeared into a back room, Harry began to question Loki. 'Who the hell was that?' he demanded.

'Vandr,' Loki unhelpfully supplied. 'An Asgardian sorcerer I thought long dead. His enchanting skills are unmatched by even my own, and I am not exactly surprised that he has decided to sell wands for a living.'

If Loki was going to say anything else, he was stopped as Vandr returned, now carrying a slim golden box which he presented to Harry, opening the lid. Inside laid a golden rod around a foot in length that tapered down to a needle-sharp point, a handle wrapped in white leather the only part free of elaborate carvings and runes.

Harry felt Loki start. 'What is it?' he asked.

'I was not expecting him to have Asgardian metals,' Loki murmured. 'I do not detect any traps. Pick it up.'

As Harry lifted the wand into his hand a comfortable coldness shot through his body, his magic reacting to the wand's call. Light began to spill from the runes, a blue and golden glow that illuminated the dimly-lit room. For a moment, the rest of Harry's world was drowned out by the blissful sensation that was coursing through his body, but then he was nudged back into reality by Loki.

'This feels familiar. Ask him what is inside it.'

"What is inside of it?"

Vandr cackled ominously. "Before I left Asgard, I managed to capture a sample of the Casket of Ancient Winters' power." A jolt of shock came from Loki. "I fashioned it into a wand for myself in case I ran into any trouble, but even with the copious amounts of Asgardian enchantment I put into it, it refused to comply with me. But you, Loki, are perfect. Part Asgardian, and part Jotun! The wand was practically made for you! It isn't as though I can sell it to anyone else, so you might as well have it free."

"And not because of the favour you owe me?" Harry asked, once again copying out Loki's words.

Vandr chuckled. "You never change, old friend."

Surprise shot through Harry. If Loki was suspicions of his friends killing him when he was weak, what did he think about his enemies? "Goodbye, Vandr. Do not tell anyone of me being here, and I will offer you the same courtesy."

"Very well, Harry Potter, or would you prefer I call you Harry Lokison?"

Before the dumbstruck Harry could reply, Vandr had vanished into the back of his shop.

'How did he know?' Harry wondered as he exited the shop.

'I'm not sure,' Loki replied. ' Your acting was flawless. Perhaps if you had worn a cape he wouldn't have known,' he said, attempting to joke about the unnerving situation.

Harry snorted before wrapping his illusion around himself once again and making his way to find a bookshop, both to find out about himself and mortal magic.

The first book store he entered, Florish and Blotts, bore many useful looking books. Upon Loki's guidance Harry picked out a few on basic magical theory and a few low-level ones as well as one on a range of defensive magic. After also picking up one named The Rise and Fall of the Dart Arts, Harry paid the cashier with some illusionary golden coins that every seemed to be using and left with his bag.

From looking in the other bookshops in Diagon Alley it seemed as though that there were no shops with books detailing darker spells, and both Harry and Loki were starting to suspect that they might actually be illegal. It looked like their only option was to go into a place called Knockturn Alley where all of the black-market seemed to be situated.

A single glance into it revealed that it didn't look to be the kind of place Harry would want to visit with only one hand free. He decided upon coming back the tomorrow.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. I didn't want to do the whole cliche 10,000 word Diagon Alley trip, so after a visit to Knockturn next chapter it will be over. There's the introduction of Vandr, who will probably be in the story at some other points. Tell me what you thought!

I should clarify that Vandr is an original character, and that the Casket of Ancient Winters is the ice thing in Odin's Vault from Thor 1