CHAPTER 5:

REUNIONS

I'd rather be with a girl with a big brain and a bigger heart than some tart who has neither. Harry's words had resonated with Rossweisse. Outside of her family and a select few like Brynhildr and Atreus, none had spoken words so kind to her.

And he had stood up for her. True, Rossweisse could stand up for herself, she was leagues ahead of Sanngridr in terms of combat ability, especially where magic was concerned. But aside from those mentioned before, many were content to let Sanngridr attack her with verbal barbs, if not firing off a few choice ones of their own.

But this human…well, Jotunn hybrid had stood up for her, and even fought back against that bitch. And the Boy Who Lived to boot! And his words kindled an ember deep within her heart.

Still, Rossweisse knew enough to be circumspect about her reaction. She had known Harry for all of a day, and they weren't quite friends yet, though she certainly felt they were getting that way. For all of his wariness, his anger and his self-loathing, he had been pleasant to her. What was more, while some would have claimed she felt love at first sight for Harry, she knew that was bullshit, trite tripe created for crappy romance novels and fanfiction.

He actually spent quite a bit of time indulging her, rather than the other way around. She was grateful for that, actually. More than a few Valkyries were made effectively the servants of those they were guarding, catering to their whims, but Harry made an effort to redress that balance.

The remainder of that day was spent with her teaching him something of Asgard and the Norse pantheon. She didn't know how much of it he had learned, but his questions were well-meant and well-worded for someone lacking in his knowledge of the Norse pantheon. He also asked a few questions about the Jotunn and Jotunheim, presumably wanting to know more about his heritage.

That night was thankfully uneventful, or if he had nightmares, he didn't comment on them. However, Brynhildr arrived early the next morning. And she brought news in tow.

"Three Aurors from the British DMLE will be coming to question you."

Harry blinked in surprise. "And you're letting them?"

"Actually, one of them is the head of the DMLE, Madam Amelia Bones," Brynhildr said. "Accompanying her will be her Head Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour, and a veteran Auror called Kingsley Shacklebolt. While I am sure the names mean little to her, Madam Bones is noted for her fairness and pragmatism, and has been trying to keep the DMLE afloat after Fudge and his cronies slashed their budget. As Odin has declared you to have sanctuary here, she cannot really arrest you, despite what Fudge may believe. Otherwise, she would regret it. I think she just wants to discern the truth. What's more, she is going to be taking Peter Pettigrew back into custody to stand trial, after she questions him. That's the official reason why she is present, rather than questioning you."

"If she is willing to hear me out, I'm willing to take Veritaserum," Harry said. A bit reluctantly, but if Brynhildr claimed Madam Bones was on the level, he hoped he could trust that assessment.

Brynhildr, however, shook her head. "That would mean little. Veritaserum testimonies are not admissible evidence in wizarding courts, and indeed, elsewhere. Trained wizards can thwart such questioning by answering in a misleading manner. Evidence obtained through Legilimency is similarly inadmissible, and for much the same reason. She might just use Veritaserum for her own personal satisfaction, and I reckon she'd use it on Pettigrew, but it wouldn't help your case. Sorry. However, there is some good news."

"And what is that?"

"A number of your friends have made arrangements to come here, through the Acting-Headmistress, Professor McGonagall," Brynhildr asked. "As it is a Sunday, they have plenty of time.

"Acting-Headmistress?" Harry demanded.

Brynhildr looked away. "I received word from Lord Odin that yesterday, Professor Dumbledore had an…episode. He is currently undergoing treatment in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts. It's nothing serious physically, not a heart attack or a stroke, though he came close. He urged McGonagall to take over his duties temporarily, with Professor Flitwick acting as her deputy."

"Could it have been stress?" Rossweisse asked. "Aside from Cedric dying and Harry nearly dying, he had a Death Eater masquerading as his own staff. It must've been a considerable shock."

"It's possible, but Lord Odin hinted there was something more going on," the senior Valkyrie said. "However, I don't know much more. In any case, aside from your friends, I have been told that Remus Lupin and Sirius Black will be coming here, with Black seeking sanctuary here for now." She then sighed. "Honestly, it's going to be busy for a while. Incidentally, Rossweisse, Atreus told me of what happened yesterday. Sanngridr's family had a link to the Valkyrie who was supposed to be supervising Sanngridr during latrine duty, and allowed her to go free. I've made it very clear to her, and to Sanngridr and her family, that when I assign punishments, they are to be followed through, and if they don't like it, then I will dismiss her from the Valkyries." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, that brat's getting even more wilful. I had to get Lord Odin to back up my authority, and thankfully, he acceded."

"She reminded me of a boy I know back in Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy. And she acted like a damn bully," Harry said.

"True, but the problem with bullies is that they often play the victim when their victim fight back," Brynhildr said. "Thank you for standing up to her, though, Harry. You bought enough time for Atreus to take notice and send Sanngridr where she needed to go. That speaks volumes of your character. I may be hard on Rossweisse, but I wish to turn her into the best Valkyrie she can be, despite her handicaps."

"…What handicaps?" Harry blurted out, before wincing. "Sorry, that was tactless of me, wasn't it?"

"No, it's fine," Brynhildr said. "I let that slip. I apologise, Rossweisse."

"It's okay, Captain," Rossweisse said with a sad smile, before turning to Harry. "…I'm unable to use Seiz-style magic. That may not mean much to you, but it is the foundation of many magic spells within Asgard, including my family's hereditary magic."

"…But you used magic just fine," Harry said, confused. She couldn't be a Squib. "Hell, you seemed far better than I am."

"Because I trained myself in other kinds of magic," Rossweisse said.

Brynhildr chuckled. "Indeed. Rossweisse is quite the talented mage, even without the use of Seiz-style magic. She even developed a custom runic magic circle to optimise the power of the spell with the minimum of mana usage. Rossweisse has considerable potential. It just needs nurturing…"

Not long afterwards, the Aurors arrived, and Harry had to admit, Madam Bones, despite her strict appearance, nonetheless did a good job of putting him at ease. So too did the burly, dark-skinned Kingsley Shacklebolt. And while Rufus Scrimgeour was gruff and sceptical, the man at least listened.

Veritaserum was indeed used, and Harry answered the questions calmly. Thankfully, the questioning, done under the supervision of Brynhildr and Rossweisse, was soon over. Rufus looked over to Bones. "Do you want Shacklebolt and I to go to Pettigrew yet?"

"No, we'll do so together. And I want to be sure that he won't get away. Even if he isn't the traitor, the fact that he remained in hiding despite being a celebrated hero is telling." Bones looked to Harry, a stern, middle-aged woman with auburn hair and a monocle, her features softening. "Forgive me for the questioning, Mr Potter, but in my line of work, I need to be sure. However, I doubt that Fudge will be swayed any time soon. While what you did was close to self-defence, what matters to him and his sycophants is that you slew many 'upstanding Purebloods', and using a magic mostly unknown to the wizards, beyond the annals of myth."

"In other words, I've been as good as convicted already," Harry said morosely.

"If it's any consolation, the three of us personally believe in your innocence, and indeed, even Rufus had doubts about how guilty you were before we came here. However, Fudge and his cronies hold too much power for now. Hopefully, there may be a change of regime coming soon, but I wouldn't bank on it. If there is such a change, though, you may be exonerated, or at least pardoned. Then, you may return to Britain…assuming you wish to."

Harry pondered that, but he didn't fancy his chances. He just hoped his friends wouldn't be targeted by association. "Have you heard anything about Professor Dumbledore?" he asked, deciding to change the subject. "I just heard he stood down for some reason."

"I'm afraid not, Mr Potter," Bones said with a gentle sigh. "I can only hope that he recovers soon, if only because I may need answers from him…"

Thankfully, the three Aurors left soon afterwards, and Harry was left to wait for his friends' arrival. Brynhildr had left for now, leaving him in the company of Rossweisse. And it turned out that they didn't have long to wait.

The door to the room opened, and Harry saw a small group file in. McGonagall, Remus and Sirius led it, with Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George following close behind. Harry searched their expressions for any judgement of what he had done, any condemnation. Thankfully, he found nothing of the sort. Just unadulterated concern and relief to varying degrees on each and every one of their faces.

Hermione promptly rushed forward and embraced him. "…You're all right, Harry," she said, her breathing not quite a sob but not far from it.

"Well, as much as I can be, under the circumstances," Harry said. "Thanks for coming, all of you."

McGonagall cleared her throat. "Mr Potter…while I have had more than a few responsibilities dumped onto my shoulders, I also wished to discern with my own two eyes the state you are in. This past year has been considerably harder on you than before, and what happened was a capstone to such an Annus Horribilis. Still, what I was told by that man claiming to be Odin paints a rather fantastic but chilling tale, if you'll forgive the unintentional pun."

"I was worried about what happened to you, Harry," Sirius said. "We all were." Then, he looked at Rossweisse, and smirked. "Still, you seemed to have good company."

"Ah, yes, sorry, this is Rossweisse," Harry said. "Believe it or not, she's a rookie Valkyrie. And before you ask, Hermione, apparently her father was a fan of Wagner's operas."

"She's a Valkyrie, mate?" Ron yelped.

"Indeed I am, and it's a pleasure to finally meet those Harry has spoken of," Rossweisse said, giving a brief bow.

"…Those can't be real," Harry thought he heard Ginny say, her facial expression somewhere between a scowl and bemusement.

"What can't be real?" Harry asked.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Never mind that. I think all of us have some catching up to do…"

After the discussion and hearing what happened, Hermione shook her head. "This could only happen to you, Harry. I mean, I'm still having trouble believing that this place is Asgard, and that you're a Valkyrie, Rossweisse! And that's without you potentially having Jotunn heritage, Harry, or this Sacred Gear thing."

"Oh, I have heard of stuff like this," Sirius said. "Mostly through the old Black family grimoires. Old family stories have it that the Black family frequently summoned Devils to make deals with them. And I have heard of one of our number, one of the nicer Blacks, actually becoming an Einherjar after dying fighting his kin in Sweden. And there's actually a tome on Sacred Gears I read once when I was bored years ago."

Remus nodded. "After I was forced to resign from teaching at Hogwarts, I worked for a time under the aegis of Lady Yasaka, the leader of the youkai or magical creatures of Japan. Dumbledore actually sent me there. Do you know of Yasaka, Rossweisse?"

"Yes, she's a kyuubi, isn't she? A kitsune or fox-woman with nine tails," Rossweisse said. "She recently had a daughter, I believe."

'Yes, Kunou. I was actually acting as her tutor," Remus said. "The supernatural world is wider than most people, even wizards, like to believe. However, it's partly due to close-mindedness. And because of that, Harry's been basically exiled from Magical Britain, for now at least."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Harry said.

"Mr Potter, while what happened was a trifle excessive, and I would have preferred it resolved another way, the fact remains is that those present at the graveyard were intending to sit by and watch you be murdered by You Know Who," McGonagall said solemnly. "In the end, you defended yourself against those vile excuses for people. Am I disquieted by what happened? Any reasonable person would be. But I also recognise the circumstances. And you clearly do not revel in their deaths or the violent ways they were caused, which is heartening. But…too many are baying for your head, even those who weren't followers of You Know Who."

"Yeah, they think you've gone completely spare, mate," Ron said. "Skeeter's articles hadn't helped. I mean, she was writing what Malfoy told her, that you were nuts."

"She's a cow, that's what she is," Ginny said, with a scowl that turned quickly to a vicious grin. "Though Hermione fixed her, didn't you, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, smirking a little. "Your comment about bugging you turned out to be literal: she was an unregistered Beetle Animagus, one who had been hiding her abilities to eavesdrop and get juicy scoops. I managed to find her, and I made it clear how much she had messed up." The smile fell off her face. "That being said, she was only the star muckraker of The Daily Prophet, they have many more in their stable."

"Oh joy," Harry groaned. "So, really, unless Fudge gets kicked out and someone more willing to listen to my side of things comes in, I'm pretty much stuck in Asgard, or at least I can't go back to Britain."

"Unfortunately, that seems like it'll be the case. Even with Madam Bones taking custody of Pettigrew, we can't guarantee Sirius' exoneration either," Remus said. "His escape from Azkaban tarnished the reputation not only of Fudge, but his underlings, especially the Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, who is a nasty piece of work."

"Lord Odin has offered both of them his protection," Rossweisse said. "The British Ministry of Magic cannot gainsay his word, and if they try it, they will regret it. The same goes for any surviving Death Eaters who mark them for death. And I myself am not fond of bigots and xenophobes. If any make an attempt on Harry on my watch…" She held up a hand, summoning up a runic circle pointed at the ceiling, making her point clear.

"Bloody hell…" Ron murmured, summing up the thoughts of everyone present.

His friends and loved ones eventually left, though they promised to stay in touch. Hedwig was currently in Hagrid's care, but she would be sent over soon. Harry ended the day in higher spirits than he started in, especially now that Sirius was in Asgard as well. And hopefully, the DMLE wouldn't screw things up with Pettigrew.

Still, when he retired to bed that night, he wasn't expecting to have a rather vivid dream. It was of a small, cosy living room. He was sure he hadn't been here before, not ever, and yet, somehow, it felt familiar.

Thinking back to the times he had dreams of Voldemort, he was on-guard. But then, he heard the voice. One that he only knew from nightmares, screaming in desperation. But now, it was calm.

"I know it's probably wise to be paranoid, sweetie. I'd be the same in your shoes. But…well, what happened in that graveyard finally set me free, or at least loosened my shackles enough. As for where you are…well, this is my memory of Godric's Hollow. It's where you spent your last moments with us."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Who are you?"

"You know the answer to that very well. I am what lies at the core of your Sacred Gear, Harry. I've decided to name it Weregild Lilja. I've been asleep all these years, rousing only a few times. And ever since Tommy Boy woke me up with that Cruciatus, I've been spending time catching up. What you went through…well, let's just say I'm going to be having some strong words with Tuney and Vernon…possibly including Crucio."

And then, into the living room strode a familiar form, one that he instantly denied. It couldn't be her. It just couldn't be. Not with the red hair and green eyes he was familiar with from photos, and only those.

"Hello, Harry," Lily Potter said solemnly. "We have a lot to talk about…"

CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:

And finally, there it is. The first big twist, the reveal of the secret of the Sacred Gear. It has Lily's soul in it. In other words, though we'll get into this in further detail in the next chapter, Lily actually turned herself into an artificial Sacred Gear. I actually posted this idea as a challenge ages ago.

The name, or at least part of it, was an easy one to come up with, especially given the Norse theme of the story. Weregild is a surprisingly early form of compensation payment that was paid to avoid revenge killings spiralling out of control. It literally means 'man-price'. It refers to the Sacred Gear's ability to basically give the victim instant karma for the wrong they did to someone. Although Voldemort was the only target so far, now that Lily has awoken, Harry can use it to inflict serious damage on anyone who is his enemy.

As for Lilja, that's Old Norse for lilies.

Review-answering time! Dragon Man 180: I forgot about Skyrim. Ugh, how embarrassing. As for Mimir and Thrud from the God of War games, Mimir isn't going to appear anytime soon, and Thrud, despite my liking what I've seen of her from clips on Youtube, probably isn't going to appear at all.

Lexarius: Not really. He wouldn't go as far as rape, but he'd certainly grope women or teenager's arses, or look at their panties. Sadly, he's still leagues above his counterpart from the God of War games, which Atreus is aware of.

Asharzal: They don't, actually. They just have diplomatic relations, or leave them alone. My personal fanon, for crossovers of this type, is that the Biblical Factions left the conflict in Magical Britain alone because they didn't want it to devolve into a new Great War by proxy.

No numbered annotations this time.