A/N: Hi, I have a good news a better news and a devious news! The good one: Hogwarts still stands…even if barely. The even better news: I entered a competition with this story for which I have to update it every week on Monday the latest. The devious news: well that one is at the end of the chapter! *grins evilly*

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Chapter 23: The Plan worked – too well in fact

The new DADA teacher they had was very good – better than Quirrell anyway. He was funny and had a refreshing way to teach his subject even going so far as to bring the creatures he was teaching about into class as long as they posed no danger to the students. Everyone loved him, but they also all knew that the teacher would leave again once the school year was over. When the students asked him why he wouldn't stay, he only answered that he had other work to do and that he was just here on Dumbledore's request to bridge the time until the summer holidays.

Harry and the others though were happy with their new teacher, even if they only had him for a few months.

What disturbed the peace at Hogwarts though was when one day Loki got bored…extremely bored…so bored that he turned Hogwarts upside down – literally.

It was going towards the end of March and Harry was currently lying in his bed wondering where Loki had vanished to since the pagan god was still missing and it was nearly time for breakfast. Usually, Loki was back before any of them were awake, but today it was different.

That was when Sam started to stir in the bed next to him.

"Good morning, Harry," Sam muttered looking over at him, not even surprised that Harry was already awake, the boy was an early riser. "What time is it?"

"Half past seven, there's still a lot of time," Harry replied with a knowing smirk.

Sometimes Sam could be such a bloody mother hen with how he behaved around Harry, making sure that he ate enough, that they weren't too late for lessons or that he was dressed warm enough. Harry though found it amusing and thought that this is what it must feel like to have a family who cared. Unbeknownst to Harry, Sam had already claimed him as his brother and even thought of Loki as family, they were keeping him sane while Dean was in hell.

"I'm going to take a shower," Sam said while standing up and walking over to his trunk to grab the necessary things. "I wonder where Loki vanished to."

"Probably preparing some prank," came the sleepy mumbling from Neville.

"As long as he doesn't level Hogwarts to the ground I don't care," Harry snickered watching Sam leave to the bathroom.

"Hopefully not," Neville said.

They both also got up and went to get a shower before all three boys emerged back from the bathroom. All three got dressed when suddenly a much too hyper Loki appeared in the middle of the room.

"Hey girls, missed me?" Loki whom Harry thought was on a sugar high piped up.

"Go back to where you came from, I want to sleep," Dean, who was woken by Loki's exclamation, grumbled.

"Why? It is such a nice sunny day, the birds are doing whatever birds are doing when…" Loki chirruped but was interrupted by Harry.

"That is something I certainly do NOT want to know," he exclaimed effectively waking up the rest of the dorm. "What did you smoke anyway that you're so hyper?"

"Oh nothing, I'm just happy," Loki grinned.

Harry looked at him blinking a few times before he groaned, he remembered that Loki had claimed to be bored the day before and he had a sinking feeling that this day would be full of surprises.

"What did you do?" he groaned.

"Why do you think that I did anything?" Loki retorted with an angelic smile which Harry definitely didn't believe for one second.

"Because you're Loki, the epitome of chaos if bored and I know that you were bored," Harry said glaring at the pagan.

Loki on the other hand only shrugged and with a grin turned around and left the dorm. Harry stared after him but couldn't bring himself to be angered knowing that whatever Loki had done would be funny and would never hurt anyone. So with that in mind, he finished dressing and after waited for Neville and Sam to finish too before they all left the dorm to find Loki waiting in the common room. The three soon were joined by the twins who were their usual joyful selves, and once Hermione joined them they all set into motion and went down to the great hall for breakfast.

Luckily for everyone, it was Friday, and soon they could relax over the weekend. Harry though sat there wondering what Loki had done that he was so hyper which even the teachers saw and caused a spark of wariness in them. That was until Neville saw it.

"Harry, stop worrying, I doubt that you'd be able to do anything against what Loki did anyway," the boy muttered low enough so that they weren't overheard.

"I know, but I have that sinking feeling that this day will be utter chaos," Harry replied with a tense smile.

Neville shrugged and turned back to Sam who was currently in discussion with the twins as to whether it would be possible for a werewolf to obtain an Animagus form.

It was at the end of breakfast and when they went to their classes that Harry was correct with his assessment that something was terribly wrong. None of the corridors and stairs in the castle led to their original destination anymore.

So what if that one staircase that initially led to the second floor suddenly ended in front of the potions classroom while the corridor to the dungeons ended up on the seventh floor. The problem though was that the layout of the castle continuously shifted. One hallway that at that moment led to the Gryffindor common room the next moment would lead to the Infirmary,

That wasn't even the most prominent thing yet.

The entire castle had been turned into something a muggle would refer to as a theme park. Something akin to a tunnel of horror found its way into the dungeons while the seventh floor was besieged by comic characters much to the amusement and delight of the Muggle-born. Pokémon invaded the entire castle, and the Avengers duelled the Justice League through the corridors leaving stunned students in their wake while others cheered them on.

To sum it up in four words: It was utter chaos.

While the Muggle-born and those who knew enough about the Muggle world to get the references thought that it was the best thing Loki could have done and lingered in those corridors that suited their tastes the most, the pure-bloods were confused as to what all this mess was about. That was until those who knew what was going on took pity on them explaining what the references were.

It became even more chaotic when they found out that they could interact with everything realistically and soon students were found stalking certain areas trying to catch their favourite Pokémon or fighting along Batman against Iron Man who was equally supported by others.

However, none of the students showed up for classes that day much to the disgruntlement of the teachers.

The teachers looked at the ongoing chaos with mixed feelings, on the one hand, they didn't like it that no one showed up for lessons, but on the other, most of them thought it a nice distraction. Since it was Friday, they didn't complain overly much and stuck to keeping the children from going overboard once they became aware that everything was harmless.

"Loki, what did you do?" Harry tried to sound stern, but the amusement was clearly audible.

"What? I was bored," Loki said shrugging.

"Remind me that next time you say you're bored to prepare myself," Sam muttered ducking an energy beam Iron Man shot at Green Arrow that missed.

"You're not going to carry a gun around at school," Loki retorted making a face that he would gladly confiscate any weapon he knew Sam owned.

Sam though gave him a deadpan look telling the pagan that he wasn't stupid. "What I meant was that I'd stock up on food and hole myself up until your prank is over," he said still glaring at Loki.

"Oi," Loki exclaimed. "What's so bad with what I did?"

"Nothing, it's brilliant," Harry spoke up, watching how a Pikachu ran up to him and hid behind his leg before peaking around it electric sparks flying from its cheeks, it glared at Iron Man who had nearly hit it with one of his beams. Having seen parts of the Pokémon series while cleaning when he had been younger and Dudley claimed the TV in the kitchen to watch it, Harry made a moment's decision. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock," he called out. To his utter surprise, the Pikachu charged from its hiding place and ran towards Iron Man releasing an arc of electricity on the man in the iron suit frying the circuits much to the man's surprise.

That made the friends laugh.

"Never judge something by its size," Neville wisely commented watching the Pikachu who now sported a smug look before it turned around and climbed onto Harry's shoulder.

Neville had no idea what those Pokémon were, but he found them funny especially when he saw an Oddish hiding in a flower pot with a plant Harry had gifted him and that currently stood in the dorm on the windowsill. The Oddish shocked the hell out of him when he wanted to water the plant later that day, and the Pokémon jumped out.

All in all, everyone had a lot of fun that day though Loki was a bit peeved about the ever-shifting corridors since even he didn't know where each passage led.

"How did you do it with the corridors?" Sam questioned after having tried to find the transfiguration corridor for the 6th time.

Loki chuckled lowly. "You see Hogwarts is a sentient building and I simply talked with her, and she found it an excellent idea," he explained. "Though I have no idea why I'm not able to work out the pattern."

That was when a feeling of amusement washed over the friends. They knew that it was Hogwarts' doing so that even Loki wouldn't be able to find his way, she could be quite devious when she wanted to be. The only time someone would instantly find his or her way was when said person was hungry and on the way to the great hall, neither Loki nor Hogwarts wanted to deprive the children of the needed food.

However, soon the day came to an end, and everything went back to normal. Not everyone was happy about it; especially the Muggle-born and even a few purebloods were sad that the "assets" Loki had conjured vanished. Loki, in the end, conceded that they might have special days in the future where he would entertain them with certain themes the students could decide beforehand.

Routine set in again, and March bled into April who in turn gave way to May.

Loki held the first theme day under the headline X-men and even managed to get in lessons about meditation, morals and also focussing magic without a wand. The teachers had to admit that it was a fascinating way to teach the children. They never saw the students who attended paying so much attention in their own classes.

Another thing was that one weekend Loki finally deemed it safe enough to bring Severus to Lily. Loki actually had never seen the Potions Master so anxious before than when he told him that he would take him the next weekend. Even the other Professors could tell that the man was restless and wondered what was going on.

It was Friday evening after dinner then that Loki went to Severus' quarters, wanting to give him as much time with Lily as possible so he would take him as early as possible and return him as late as possible so probably on Monday shortly before breakfast.

The two landed between the trees that surrounded the little cottage James and Lily lived in, Loki looking around to assure that their arrival went unnoticed. Severus also looked around fascinated on how their heaven looked like.

That was when Lily became aware of their arrival and instantly came running out of the house and without pausing she flung her arms around Severus' neck hugging him close before kissing him full stop. Severus tensed up at first before he returned the kiss tentatively.

"I've missed you, Severus," Lily said once she pulled back.

"Lily…I'm so sorry," Severus replied with a pained expression.

Lily, on the other hand, placed her finger over Severus' mouth. "Even if I didn't like that you did what you did, I forgave you a long time ago," she said with a smile before kissing him again.

That was when James came walking out of the cottage snickering when he saw his wife and Severus which made said man tense up again before pulling away from Lily and looking at him pensively which resulted in James laughing.

"Don't worry," James spoke up. "I have been a complete arse to you in the past, and it took my…our deaths to grow up and see the truth for what it was, but I changed. Lily loves me, which I know, but that doesn't mean that there isn't enough space in her heart for her to also love another man. Because of our past, I doubt that we'd ever become friends, but I'm more than willing to at least be civil."

Severus could only stare at James. The man had profoundly apologised in his letter but never in a million years would Severus have ever expected this, so it was no wonder that he was speechless.

James couldn't help but laugh at the dumbfound expression Severus sported. "Come on, let's get inside and talk there. I think Lily made a really nice apple tart," he told him while waving for him to follow them.

At first, Severus could only stare after them, but soon he came out of his stupor. He turned around to thank Loki for bringing him here only to find that the pagan had long left. So he could only follow James and Lily into the cottage.

As promised, Loki then returned Monday morning which was much longer for Severus though thanks to the difference in the speed of time. To Loki, it seemed that James and Severus came to an understanding. As James said they probably would never become good friends, but at least they now were friendly acquaintances.

"Severus, stop longing after me, it won't do you any good," Lily told Severus with a smile when it was time for him to leave. "Go out, find yourself someone to love and be happy and stop wasting your life."

Severus swallowed not knowing what to reply to that, so he merely nodded, knowing that Lily was right. What they had was a platonic love, but it was something that nothing would come ever out of, not that it would work anyway.

"I love you and always will but I'm dead and you're very much alive. I'd hate to see you become an old, lonely, bitter man." Lily cupped his cheek with her hand.

A lone tear rolled down Severus' cheek. In reply, he leaned down and kissed Lily. "I promise," he said, his voice wavering slightly.

"Good!" her smile broadened while she took a step back.

"I think you have to leave, stay any longer, and you'll be late," James spoke up. "Greet my son from me, will you?"

Severus grabbed James' hand that was held out toward him and firmly shook it. "I will," he said with a curt nod.

After that, he turned around and walked over to Loki who was patiently waiting for him. With a last smile towards the couple standing a few feet away from them, Severus and Loki were gone, only to reappear in the man's personal quarters.

Loki went to leave while Severus took a deep breath before speaking up.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Loki smiled at the man even if he didn't see it. "You're welcome, I'll see you at breakfast in an hour," he said before finally leaving the room.

The effects that Severus' visit in heaven had on the man became obvious two days later when said man appeared at Lunch wearing dark green robes instead of his normal black ones. To Severus, it looked like he had fallen into a deep depression when Lily died. The visit lifted a weight from him he never realised he carried around. Though now he had finally gotten over his friend's death and after all that time was now finally able to live his life again.

The students, on the other hand, were shocked to the core that their usually dour Potions Professor suddenly had a slight shift in his personality. Not that he suddenly ran around all happy and humming like the headmaster, but he became less snappish and sarcastic. Instead, he was more inclined to explain mistakes that should be avoided and help his students more instead of just snapping at them and vanishing their potion. However, he was still strict when it came to brewing and didn't tolerate messing around.

What happened in the middle of May though was the most interesting for the group of friends around Loki. It was on a Tuesday during lunch that an overly excited Padfoot came trotting into the great hall. Up 'till now nearly everyone knew who he really was but Sirius didn't care, he liked to show up that way and since no one commented on it…. Though he usually only visited during the weekends because McGonagall would have revoked any right for him to visit his godson because he distracted him too much. Since she bent some of the school rules for him, claiming that it was so that Harry could acclimate to being his godson because he just met him and he was his magical guardian now, he was very much inclined to respect her terms as long as he could meet with Harry and his friends.

Today, however, Sirius was on a mission, and everyone could see that with how determined but also excitedly trod over to where the group of friends was sitting enjoying their meal.

Sam, when he saw the black hound coming over, looked concerned.

"Something has happened," he muttered so that only those in his close vicinity could hear him. "Padfoot never comes in during the week."

Loki who was also confused, looked over to Sirius when his face lit up. "Dean," was all he said.

Sam instantly tensed up fearing the worst until Sirius reached him, grabbed his sleeve with his muzzle and urgently pulled at him. That was when Sam finally understood what Sirius was trying to tell him, Dean has returned.

A range of emotions flittered over Sam's face ranging from shock to surprise and undiluted happiness. It took him only mere seconds to jump up and run after a pretty quick Sirius through the front doors and across the Hogwarts lands towards Hogsmeade. Harry who saw that was quick to follow them, leaving behind stunned friends. Again it fell to Loki to explain the situation to the teachers who were also stunned by that behaviour.

Sam, Harry and Sirius rushed through the small village of Hogsmeade until they reached a small house that was large enough to live comfortably and where Sirius finally turned back. They entered the house together, Sirius leading them through to the kitchen where Dean was sitting at the counter nursing a glass of beer and an opulent meal.

Though when Harry's gaze fell on the man, he stopped dead in his track. This was something he definitely had NOT anticipated!

A/N: Yes! A cliff-hanger! 'til next chapter!