CHAPTER 10:
IN VINO VERITAS
Rossweisse's eyes widened. "You're joking!"
Brynhildr's arms were crossed under her bust. "Have you ever known me to joke about anything so important, Rossweisse?"
"But…this is all so sudden, Captain. I…I'm not sure I'm ready for the responsibility."
"Rossweisse, many who say that are certainly not ready. But I think you are ready, or at least at a point where you are ready. Lord Odin himself approved of it."
Harry watched the two Valkyries' exchange. It had been a couple of days since their meeting with Gondül. He had to admit to being surprised by what Brynhildr had said himself. Not because he didn't think Rossweisse deserved this, but he just thought Rossweisse was a bit young.
Rossweisse, after a moment, bowed. "Captain Brynhildr, this is an honour."
Brynhildr scoffed. "If it weren't for the current circumstances, you'd basically be stuck as Lord Odin's nursemaid and nanny for however long you can tolerate it. You'd probably tolerate it for far too long to be healthy. And Sanngridr will no doubt give us both trouble for this. However, you're good, Rossweisse. Your magical potential outside of Seiz-style magic is comparable to the best mages in Asgard. Your combat ability is superlative for a rookie, and there is very little you can learn from the teachers anymore that combat experience won't teach you. In other words, pending a probationary period, you are a fully-fledged Valkyrie of the Valkyrie Corps. There'll be a ceremony later on. I'd suggest placing an anti-pervert charm or two on your rear. Lord Odin likes to slap graduate's rumps. Nothing too damaging, just enough to sting the old pervert."
"She's fifteen, for fuck's sake!" Harry snapped.
"He only goes that far with the younger Valkyries, and Rossweisse is the youngest graduate for some time," Brynhildr said. "Lord Odin wouldn't dare do anything further with those underaged. And if you want to take it up with Lord Odin, then I'll be sure to have Lady Eir on standby to heal you afterwards. He still eclipses the three of us in this room by sheer power. That is why I gave Rossweisse the advice I did." She chuckled, her expression lightening. "Still, I appreciate your protectiveness, Harry. Asgard is not a culture that has changed much, even over the past few decades. While we have embraced many new technologies, human or not, culturally, we're still slow to adapt, not unlike the wizards. Rossweisse has found herself an eager protector."
"She can protect herself on the battlefield better than I can," Harry said. "But only you seem to want to protect her from the people here. You and Atreus."
"While you exaggerate somewhat, Rossweisse is unfortunately a target of what you'd call Tall Poppy Syndrome," Brynhildr said. "And her family does care, but she places high expectations on herself to make up for her lack of talent in the family magic." She then approached Rossweisse and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That being said, your mission will continue to be effectively Harry's minder and mentor in his Jotunn abilities. We don't know if Loki may attempt to retrieve him, and if he may do so by force or trickery. In addition, there may be reprisals not only from anti-Jotunn xenophobes, and there's always the possibility, albeit a remote one, that somehow, the British wizards manage to make it into Asgard in an attempt to abduct or kill either Harry or Sirius Black. We've certainly been hearing rather vocal calls from Fudge's Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge in particular."
"Yeah, Remus told me quite a bit about her," Harry said. "But I feel a bit…weirded out by you saying this is a mission for her."
"Your point? Harry, it may be a mission on paper, and certainly, she was assigned to look after you, but Rossweisse has improved quite a bit since she was assigned to do so. She seems happier now. Honestly, the mission is more of an excuse to keep you guys happy and to prevent naysayers from saying we're showing too much favouritism to her. Besides, I don't want one of my most promising rookies in years stuck acting as Lord Odin's nanny. In addition, this should give you more time to work on your dissertation, Rossweisse."
"…I'm grateful, ma'am," Rossweisse said, bowing again.
"I'm sure you are, and that you've now got the full salary for a Valkyrie, even a probationary one," Brynhildr said, smirking. Rossweisse began spluttering a denial. "And that you get to spend time with your friend to boot."
Now Rossweisse was not only spluttering more denials, she was as red as a tomato. Harry couldn't help but chuckle a little, but he said, "It's okay, Rossweisse, I'm used to it. Just don't splurge it all at the variety stores, okay?"
More spluttering denials ensued, before Brynhildr gently cleared her throat. "In any case, congratulations, Rossweisse. You have earned it. However, don't slack off with your training or learning."
Rossweisse nodded. One of the parts of Harry staying with her was to act as an unofficial research assistant. In practise, that amounted to helping her find papers and books both in the library and online. She did most of the actual academic work, but he had to admit, he was learning too, despite himself. Then again, Rossweisse, when she taught him in earnest, didn't have the same bossiness as Hermione did. Rossweisse could be bossy in other ways, but as a teacher, she was better than Hermione, as much as it pained him to admit it.
He doubted that Hermione would be too hurt by it. She and Rossweisse were still engaged in communication by mail, though now that Hogwarts was out for now, she and her parents were making arrangements to visit Asgard, around the time of Harry's birthday. So too were the Weasleys.
Still, despite the tumult his life had recently gone through, despite all the revelations he had experienced, it felt like it had settled into a new equilibrium. It meant that, with the peace and quiet his life was currently in, he could begin to heal from all that he had gone through in the past little while. He could only hope…
"C'mon, let's celebrate!"
Sirius and Remus had come to Harry's room soon afterwards, the former bringing some bottles of drink in tow. Rossweisse frowned. "But…Harry and I are too young to drink," she protested.
"And if you paid attention instead of being uptight, Rossweisse, it's Wizarding Butterbeer," Sirius pointed out. "I'm having the sole bottle of Firewhiskey, because Moony here wants to be the responsible adult. Wizarding Butterbeer has sod-all alcohol, anyway."
"I saw Winky the House Elf get drunk off it," Harry pointed out.
"Yes, but they're also small and very sensitive to alcohol," Remus said. "In fact, they have to be careful around cooking alcohol, lest the fumes make them tipsy. I wouldn't be surprised if she began drinking the cooking alcohol first."
"I still don't think this is a good idea," Rossweisse said.
Sirius scoffed. "And with an attitude like that, no wonder they're calling you the Spinster Valkyrie. Rossweisse, you need to know when to relax and have a little fun. Butterbeer isn't going to make you drunk, you killjoy."
"Now hold on a moment, Sirius…" Harry began, angered by his godfather using Rossweisse's hated nickname, but Rossweisse snatched the Butterbeer bottle away from Sirius.
"I'll show you!" Rossweisse snapped. "We Vanir have as much alcohol tolerance as an Aesir!" She popped open the cap and swigged down a good proportion of the bottle, and slammed it down on the table…before she hiccupped.
Remus stared, even as her cheeks flushed, her eyes hooded and unfocused. "Rossweisse…are you okay?"
"Yeah, never better," Rossweisse said, her slurring voice giving the lie to that. "Shee? I can hold my fuckin' drinksh, shtupid dogfather." She giggled. "Dogfather. Get it? Becaushe…"
"We get it," Sirius said, looking torn between amusement and horror. Remus and Harry just felt horror. It was like watching a road accident: utterly horrific, but there was something that meant you couldn't take your eyes off it.
Rossweisse swigged more from the bottle, emptying it, before she said, "Shtill…congratsh to me. I'm now a full Valkyrie. Hey, dat rhymesh! Hee hee hee…" She then belched, rather loudly, before tittering again.
Remus simply gave Sirius a look. "She told us she has low alcohol tolerance. But no…you decided to push matters."
"Hey, it was Butterbeer. Butterbeer, Moony!" Sirius protested. "Who gets drunk off Butterbeer?!"
"Yer mother," Rossweisse slurred.
"…My mother's dead." As Rossweisse gasped in horror, Sirius shrugged. "But she was a bitch, so that's fine."
"Ha! Bitsch!" Rossweisse laughed. "Well, yer a dogfather, sho dat ish pretty apt! Now all ya gotta do ish look like Marlon Brando." She then mumbled, "I'm gonna make ya an offer ya can' undershtand, let alone refushe…" She then giggled again.
Harry, meanwhile, facepalmed. What had Sirius done?
Remus had bundled Sirius away, along with the remaining bottles of alcohol, despite the now drunken Rossweisse's protests, though he promised to bring one of Sirius' hangover cures later. This left Harry with the task of tending to the inebriated Valkyrie, who was currently sobbing in his embrace. Why? Because she was recounting the time an acquaintance ditched her for Sanngridr, the incident where she was first called the Spinster Valkyrie to her face.
"But it'sh not fair!" Rossweisse wailed. "I wanna boyfriend ta hang out with, but…there'sh more to life than findin' a boytoy, ya get me?"
"I get you, Rossweisse."
"Shee, ya get me," she said, nodding sadly, before abruptly standing. "Beshidesh, I'd kick deir arshesh if it evah came to a fight." She took up a boxing pose, and began punching and kicking an imaginary opponent. The movements did some very interesting things to her breasts, making them bounce in very arousing ways, and Harry was trying very hard not to stare. She kicked out with a faux-kung fu cry, only to lose her balance with a shriek.
Harry, thinking quickly, used a Levitation Charm on her as she fell, and Rossweisse stopped in mid-air. Harry gently guided her over to the lounge, and set her down, sitting down on the lounge next to him. After the initial shock died down, a goofy smile touched her lips. "My hero," she slurred. "Helpin' me out…even tho' I'm sho ushelessh…"
"You're drunk, not useless," Harry said. "Besides, you're a fully-fledged Valkyrie now, right? That's why Remus and Sirius were here, to celebrate that!" Even if it went pear-shaped, Harry reflected privately. Out loud, he continued, "You're not useless! Hell, you're more capable than I am! I should be the one feeling like I'm useless! I don't, but…"
"Yer not ushelessh!" Rossweisse snapped. "Yer've been de mosht kind guy I have met in agesh. Plush, yer killed thoshe Death Eatersh dead! With ishiclesh through their arsheholesh! Ishicle shodomy! Hee hee hee…" Her face fell. "…It'sh jusht…I…I do wanna boyfriend, I really do…but they don' wanna Valkyrie with shmartsh! Oh, they want my body, my boobsh and booty, but they don' want brainsh."
"Then they're idiots!" Harry snapped. "Whoever got you would be lucky to have you! You're beautiful, intelligent, and best of all, you have a good heart! Honestly, I feel like I don't deserve you as a friend."
At this, Rossweisse seemed to sober a little, staring at him in surprise. "Bollocksh," she slurred softly. "And I'll prove it."
And with that, she grasped his head, and kissed him.
As she withdrew, her blushing cheeks were mirrored on his own face. After a moment, she looked utterly mortified. "Shorry!" she exclaimed. "I…I dunno what came over me! I jusht…wanted to kish a boy jusht onshe."
After a moment, he said, "…You can do it again, if you want. Just…no further than that, okay? You're drunk, and I don't want to do anything both of us will regret."
"…Neither do I," she said, before leaning forward, and kissing him once more. She withdrew, a goofy smile on her face, before she slumped onto her back, eyes closed, snoring softly.
After a moment, he opted to call Brynhildr. He needed a second opinion on how to deal with this mess, and he trusted the Valkyrie Captain's opinion. He just hoped she wouldn't be mad at him…
As it happened, she had only just gotten off training the rest of the rookies, and was still in the armoured leotard that seemed to be the Valkyrie uniform. She pinched her nose as she listened to his explanation. "…Damnation…I'll be having words with Black."
"How could she get drunk off a single bottle of Butterbeer?" Harry demanded.
"I have no idea. The prevailing theory is that it has to do with a curse inflicted on her father by a Danish witch. She tried to seduce him, despite knowing full well that he was married. When he defended himself, she cursed him. He can't remember with what, but there is nobody I know in the world who could get drunk like Rossweisse does." She sighed, looking at the gently-snoring Rossweisse. "It can't be helped. Thank you for calling me promptly. Do not misunderstand me, I trust you enough not to do anything untoward to her, but that you notified me as soon as you could spoke volumes."
"You don't blame me for her kissing me?"
"She was drunk. And I'm sure that if you did do anything without her consent, she would tell me, or else ensure you regretted it. I doubt your mother would stay silent about it if you did anything wrong."
"Nope! But Harry did nothing of the sort!" Lily chirped, materialising Weregild Lilja briefly, long enough to add her tuppence worth.
"Though honestly, at least it's better than last time." On his look, she said, "She unleashed a lot of magic from those runic circles of hers. Thankfully, it was out in the middle of the North Sea, the party was on a boat that had been hired, but it all had to be covered up with our contacts in the Norwegian Ministry of Magic, along with the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence, as the result of drunken naval officers setting off flares and explosives. It is the only black mark on her record." She smiled ruefully as she looked at Rossweisse, drooling slightly as she snored. "It's rare that she truly shows her age. She forced herself to be more mature, too soon. But you give her some much-needed joy, Harry. Until you came along and befriended her…well, she wasn't as happy."
Harry was touched by this admission. He had hoped he hadn't caused any real problems for her, but to hear that she was happier around him…well, it helped leaven some of his remaining issues from the slaughter in the graveyard, to say nothing of the revelations afterwards. Certainly, the carefree smile of the silver-haired Valkyrie lying on his lounge was proof of that, assuming that wasn't just from her inebriation.
But he thought to their kiss. Given to him by Rossweisse, even drunkenly…well, he'd never been kissed like that before in his life, or at least not on the mouth. Hermione had maybe kissed him chastely on the cheek once or twice, as had Ginny, but that was pretty much it.
I just wanted to kiss a boy just once, she had said, once you divested her speech from the slurred words that had marred it. Now, he was sure Rossweisse wasn't a lesbian, she had already said she wanted to get a boyfriend once she had succeeded in her studies. But those words held the air of resignation, as if she would never get anyone.
He hoped she would one day. Hell, if their relationship ever developed that way, he'd be more than willing to fill that role, as long as she was willing to have him too. She had kept him sane over these past few weeks. It was only right to help her in return…
CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:
So, there you have it. Some nice Harry/Rossweisse fluff, and some drunken Rossweisse antics.
Originally, this chapter was about Hermione and her parents arriving in Asgard, but after writing that and another chapter, I realised it didn't really advance the pairing. I decided to scratch that chapter and write a whole new one. And after some consideration, I thought it'd be Sirius who had Rossweisse drink some Butterbeer, with predictable results. I vaguely recall someone suggesting that Rossweisse get drunk off Butterbeer either in a review of one of my attempts of a Harry/Rossweisse story, or else in correspondence I had with one of my correspondents, like Dis Lexic or Gabriel Herrol, or discussing a challenge in a forum. I can't remember which.
I actually thought Rossweisse being drunk was one of the funniest and yet awesome moments in High School DxD's fourth season (and I love the dub better than the sub: Rossweisse's lines feel better). It actually goes to show that Rossweisse, even when plastered, can muster up enough power and ability to create what has to be scores of runic circles. I pity any rapist who dares try and take advantage of her. Any normal human or lower-tier supernatural being would end up with a broken limb at the very least. Plus, it wouldn't be High School DxD without at least a little Gainaxing, hence Rossweisse's impromptu drunken shadow-boxing.
I actually thought I'd put in some nice drunk Rossweisse comedy, but mix it in with some real character moments that help pave the way for the pairing. Rossweisse is still haunted by her bullies' nickname Spinster Valkyrie, something she's been stuck with for nearly two years now (she's 15, but she'll be turning 16 soon: her canon birthday is August 8, a little after Harry's), so her desire for a kiss was partly spurred by that.
Of course, when she wakes up, she'll be embarrassed as anything. But it's a step in the right direction, right?
Review-answering time! moscardonrl7: I sort of teased that in an omake based on my first story in this crossover, Fall to Zenith (which was a hot mess, IMO), but despite Ron's proficiency at chess, I honestly think pairing Ron with Sona is as bad as pairing him with Hermione.
cdflamingspider: I am actually giving serious thought to a potential crossover with God of War, with a Harry/Freya pairing, though it's still very much in its earliest stages. I'm still wondering whether I should base it on the first of the Norse-based God of War games, or else wait until I've played God of War: Ragnarok, as the latter may be interesting to have Harry temper Freya's desire for vengeance. Of course, doing it based on God of War (the PS4 game, not the PS2 game) is still appealing, as I have this notion of Baldur calling Harry a 'motherfucker' or something similar, and Harry would retort something like, "Of course! And your mother loved every second!" XD
Dragon Man 180: I was inspired not only by my own knowledge of physics, but also about what is said about Serafall's abilities. She's considered to be a prodigy in her extreme proficiency in using ice magic, and you don't see that much ice magic in High School DxD or the Potterverse if I recall correctly, so I thought I'd explain why.
WearyCurmudgeon: Nice theory, but in practise, the enmity generally has to have a component of malice, so anger isn't as much a factor as malice is.
No numbered annotations this time.
