Chapter 57: The End of the Halloween Chaos
Michael, McGonagall, and Crowley walked over and into the chamber that was hidden behind the opening in the statue. When they walked into the library, the children were still excitedly chattering over the knowledge hidden within it, and even Flitwick was excited about it.
"Children, we're heading back into the castle. I fear you have to come with us," Michael said.
"But...but what about all those books? All this knowledge?" Hermione whined.
Michael looked around and hummed lowly before looking at Crowley.
"I don't care what you do with the books," the demon said with a shrug. "I only added them for Jǫrmungandr's entertainment. They are enchanted to read the content aloud when you tap them on the spine."
"You added them?" Draco asked confused when it dawned upon him, and his face lit up in awe. "Wait, you're Salazar Slytherin?!"
"I was a long time ago, yes," Crowley answered. "But not anymore."
"But how can you still be alive?" Neville questioned.
"Who said that I'm alive?" Crowley replied with a chuckle while his eyes flashed utterly red.
When they saw it, Hermione's eyes widened, while Draco and Neville actually jumped back. The twins though were intrigued. Sam, who already knew who Crowley was, stared at him for shocking the others.
"Crowley, I would ask you not to scare my students," Michael reprimanded him sternly upon which Crowley only scoffed.
"You're a demon?" Draco asked in disbelieve at the same time. "But how? Why?"
It seemed a perfect thing now that Loki taught them all about demons and other things. However, he'd never thought that he'd meet one in person. Not only some random one but the one who once had been known as Salazar Slytherin. Draco didn't know whether he should be in awe over it or wary because the man was a demon.
"Well, that happens when you're pissed drunk and don't pay attention to whom exactly you're complaining about your problems," Crowley explained with a sigh. "But that's a story for another time."
"That's right. So, since Crowley has no problem with it, I think that those books would make an excellent addition to the school library, don't you think so too Ms Granger?"
Hermione blushed that Michael was asking her but nodded eagerly, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one who was happy about that solution. Draco, Neville and Sam also looked eager to be able to read some of the books. That was nothing on Flitwick though, who was bouncing slightly in anticipation, his Ravenclaw side coming out full force.
"Good, I'll send a house-elf to deliver the books to Madame Pince," Michael said. "However, for now, we'll return to the main castle. I don't doubt that you have a lot of questions and I'd find myself more comfortable in my office with hot tea."
The others all nodded in consent. As lovely as it was to be in a long-lost thought part of the castle, for the discussion to come it would be far better to be somewhere comfortable.
So, together they all left the Chamber, Crowley sealing it again though changing it so that the teachers and headmaster would be able to enter any time they wish, and walked up the many flights of stairs to the headmaster's office.
Michael meanwhile swiftly retrieved Severus, who was in an animated discussion with Dean and Alastair over how best to extract the information from Odin concerning Sleipnir's whereabouts. They met the others in Michael's office.
Once there, Michael called for a house-elf and instructed it to bring them some tea and biscuits before it was to go into the Chamber and retrieve the books there to be delivered to the library. He also wrote a short notice for Madame Pince so that she wouldn't wonder where the books suddenly came from.
It took the house-elf only a few minutes to provide them with a large platter filled with several teapots, biscuits, cake and whatever else could be consumed with tea. Michael in the meantime conjured enough chairs for everyone.
They all settled down with a cup of tea and a plate with food for each and looked expectantly at Michael.
Michael sighed deeply. "Before I tell you anything, I have to stress that you cannot tell anyone about who I really am because should the wrong people get to know that I'm here it would not only put myself in great danger but also the children and in the worst case the entire world."
Everyone nodded solemnly, wondering how one person could threaten the well-being of the entire world.
"Good. As you already know, I'm not Dumbledore. I'm the archangel Michael," he told them while looking at their faces to gauge their reaction.
The reactions of the others were quite mixed with the mildest being Flitwick, who just looked as if Michael only confirmed his conclusions about what transpired in the Chamber, Jor had called him uncle Michael after all, and the three pairs of wings also had been a dead giveaway.
McGonagall, on the other hand, looked more surprised and a bit shocked. It seemed that while she had her suspicions about who Michael was, she still couldn't fully believe it.
Hermione, on the other hand, gaped at Michael in awe. It wasn't that she was overly religious and her parents hadn't forced her to attend church, but it wasn't that she didn't learn all about it in school. Though Hermione didn't really think that God really exists, for her he was more like an abstract concept, something people believed in to give their life purpose and meaning. Then again, she spent most of the time in school right next to the Norse god Loki, who also taught her and her classmates a lot about the supernatural side of the world. Sure, she knew that angels were real ever since that…idiot Zachariah tried to get Harry possessed by a demon near the end of the summer holidays, but that she would ever meet an archangel, not to mention Michael, who was said to be the leader of heaven…no, that she'd never have dreamt of.
Draco and Neville both also were quite surprised though they were far more reserved about it while Crowley looked at Michael in barely concealed boredom since he already knew about the angel.
The most amusing reaction though that Severus, who also was already aware of Michael's identity, observed was Sam's. The boy spat the tea he was sipping right at that moment over Michael's desk and began to cough heavily.
"WHAT?" he finally brought out.
The only thing Sam could do was staring at Michael in obvious disbelieve, his mouth hanging open in shock. That was when he remembered what Loki told him about the cage and that Lucifer was about to get out of there. So, what did it mean regarding the Apocalypse that Michael was staying at Hogwarts? What about the children? Were they in danger? What was Michael even doing here?
"What are you doing here?" he in the end asked.
"Hiding," Michael simply answered with a shrug. "Heaven is hell-bent on restarting the apocalypse, but I'm not in the least interested in fighting my brother. So, when I learned, what one of my other brothers did, I thought that if he can do it, I certainly can do it too. When I then also got to know how involved Zachariah was with Harry's life, the decision of where to go was quite easy."
"So, you don't want to fight Lucifer and restart the apocalypse?" Sam asked for clarification.
Michael just nodded.
With the new information brought into the picture, Sam could clearly see that just maybe the Apocalypse had been cancelled, funnily enough, because Loki had been bored.
That was when Crowley suddenly began to laugh profoundly. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt.
Everyone else on the other hand only looked at him as if he lost it.
"And what, pray to tell, is so funny about this?" Michael asked imperiously.
"Oh, nothing of importance," Crowley answered once he calmed down again only to receive a glare from Michael.
What happened was that Crowley remembered Harry's prank that he had in preparation. Sure, for some time Michael thought that Lucifer might be inclined to come to Hogwarts because he was curious about Harry, but when Harry showed up in the cage, he told him that the curiosity abated. So, it would be highly amusing when Lucifer did show up at Hogwarts especially on Harry's invitation.
He couldn't wait for the day that Lucifer finally got out and wasn't that a surprise? Not even a year ago he would have moved heaven and hell to prevent the fallen angel from getting out of the cage, but now it seemed to be the best thing that happened in the last millennium.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of bringing Harry's wrath over me."
That made the children in the room chuckle. To think that a demon was scared of Harry was amusing, to say the least.
Michaels glare darkened but eventually he let it go, knowing very well what chaos Harry could unleash and he didn't want to give the boy the incentive to anger the wrong demon by pranking hell.
"Can you promise us, that there isn't any danger to the children with you staying here?" McGonagall, who finally came out of her stupor, asked.
"Not more than there already is with Zachariah being after Harry," Michael answered. "Only the people in this room plus Loki, Harry, Harry's parents and Sirius know who I really am and I want it to remain that way. Should hell, or worse heaven, learn that I'm here...believe me then it won't matter where I am hiding."
Everyone nodded solemnly, neither of them wanted to imagine what earth would look like if Michael would have to fight his brother again.
After that, they talked for a bit more, mostly what it meant that Loki found his son again and what would now happen with Jor. Michael expressed his wish for Jor to remain at Hogwarts because he doubted that the boy would leave his father's side any time soon.
McGonagall didn't object to the idea, and so it was decided that Jor could stay with Loki.
"Another thing we should have an eye out for is a strange behaviour of one or more students. Someone opened the Chamber, and we still have no idea why," Michael suddenly said.
"Indeed," Severus conceded. "To me, it sounds as if one of Riddle's blasted soul-pieces found their way to Hogwarts."
Hermione seemed to be lost in thought when she suddenly spoke up.
"Wait, Draco told us that he fears that a black book found its way to Hogwarts and that it was a Horcrux," she added.
"Yes, Harry already informed us about that but unfortunately we weren't able to locate it yet," Michael mused. "But I wonder why he burdened you with this knowledge."
Hermione blushed lightly. "He wanted to warn us about it so that we would know what it is should we come across it."
"This makes sense," Severus said with a nod.
"A black book you say?" one of the twins suddenly asked her. They hadn't been in the compartment when Draco told them everything, and apparently, Harry forgot to tell them.
"About this size?" the second twin asked, showing with his hands the size.
"Yes, that's it. Do you know something?" Hermione answered with a nod.
The twins though looked at eachother and held a silent conversation before they turned towards Michael.
"Since this summer, our little sister Ginny is running around with a black book that fits the description."
"We thought that she began a diary or something like that."
"But what if it is this Horcrux thing?"
"What if it is hurting our baby sister?"
It was apparent how worried the twins were about their sister and Michael had to admit that he was quite concerned too. If what the twins said was right, then their sister was in grave danger because she was writing in that book. They had to act and fast.
"Severus, Minerva, we'll have to talk to Miss Weasley now and, should she be uncooperative, we'll have to search her belongings. This is imperative because I fear that if it is indeed a Horcrux, she's in grave danger. We'll also have Poppy looking her over to see if she retained any damage from the prolonged exposure," Michael commanded in a voice that broke no argument.
Severus and McGonagall both nodded.
"Filius, I'd ask you to accompany the children to the Gryffindor common room and stay with them until we have further information," he then told the small professor before he turned towards the now heavily worried children. "You, I'd ask to stay with Filius. We'll resolve the problem and inform you as soon as we have new information. Under no circumstances are you to search for the object yourself or approach Miss Weasley, is that understood? It could be detrimental to her health."
They all nodded solemnly, knowing that it would be better to do what Michael said as none of them wanted to get Ginny hurt.
With that, they all left the office and went to the Gryffindor common room in the hope of finding Ginny there.
Harry had no idea when he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up, he found his book on the nightstand and Jor firmly wrapped around him and Loki. He had no idea how the boy was doing it, but it seemed to work. That was because Loki was lying on the other side of Jor and was currently reading. Jor was lying between them, his legs wrapped around Loki while his arms were wrapped around Harry. Everyone else already seemed to have left.
"Good morning Harry," Loki greeted him when he became aware that Harry was awake. "I hope you slept well, it seems that my son won't let you go anytime soon."
"Too bad, I need the loo," Harry grumbled.
Carefully he tried to untangle himself from Jor's iron-tight grip, but unfortunately, the boy had other ideas. So, alas, Harry's attempts at getting away woke him up.
"Where're you goin'?" Jor mumbled sleepily.
"I just need to go to the toilet, I'll be right back," Harry said in a reassuring tone.
"NO!" Jor exclaimed and tightly clung to Harry.
Harry looked at Loki a bit lost when he had an idea.
"Hey, how you come with me, don't you need a toilet too? Afterwards, we could have a nice shower, what do you think?"
"Toilet? Shower?" Jor asked confused.
When it became apparent that Harry didn't know how to react to the questions, Loki explained a few things.
"The last time Jor was out in civilisation, things like toilets or showers hadn't been invented yet. When you needed to do the bathroom deeds you went to a hole in the floor that led straight into the open. For washing yourself you used either water from the well, or you went to the closest river if you washed at all," he told Harry.
Harry hummed lowly before he smiled at Jor.
"I have a feeling that you'll love it then," he said before he picked the boy up and walked over to the bathroom.
Jor on the other hand suddenly tensed when they walked away from Loki, who still sat on the bed. When he saw that, he stood up and walked over to the two.
"Jor, I found you, and you're safe now. Now that I found you I won't let anyone separate us ever again, and I trust Harry. I mean he brought me to you, didn't he?"
Jor nodded tentatively.
"How about I leave the door open so that you can look and see that your dad is still there?" Harry asked him with a warm smile.
Hearing the suggestion, Jor beamed at him and nodded enthusiastically.
"Good, then come," he said while continuing his way to the bathroom and the toilets.
Jor regularly glanced towards the door to see whether his father was still there but turned his attention to Harry, who patiently explained to him how the toilet worked. The boy fascinated watched how everything was flushed away. Afterwards, Harry guided him to the shower stall that was closest to the door so that Jor could watch Loki. Luckily, Loki's bed was opposite the door so that it was in good view.
The boy was absolutely fascinated by the warm and clean water, and in his childish glee, he completely forgot his fears, at least for the moment. He happily jumped under the water jet and began to splash it around. It was lucky for him that the tiles were charmed against slipping because Harry didn't doubt that Jor would have slipped and fallen by now, probably hitting his head in the process.
Harry couldn't help himself and laugh about Jor's antics. He never had the freedom to be a child and play around in a bathroom, so he gladly indulged himself in the childish game with Jor, and soon a water fight erupted between the two.
Neither boy relented with his attacks on the other, and the fight went on for over half an hour until they heard coughing coming from one of the sinks opposite of the shower stalls. Instantly they both ceased their attacks and looked at the source. Leaning against the sink and sporting a broad smile, stood Loki.
"Having fun, you two?" he asked amused.
Jor's only reaction to that was to splash water at his father, hitting him right in the face. Loki's face darkened before he shot a jet of conjured water at his son and with a laugh joined their game after vanishing his clothes.
They only had to stop because, at some point, Neville came into the bathroom and informed them, that it was lunchtime and that since they already missed breakfast, they should come down to the great hall.
Loki quickly cleaned up the mess they made, having flooded the entire bathroom by that time, and Harry and Jor promptly finished their shower. After drying themselves, they walked over and into the dorm. Harry quickly dug into his trunk and pulled out an AC/DC band shirt that he got during his holidays and some jeans trousers before getting dressed.
Loki in the meantime got his son and himself dressed. Once they were done, the three of them walked down to the common room, where they were greeted by their friends. Jor was hiding behind his father, but Loki didn't want to have any of it, so he swiftly picked him up and sat him on his hip.
"Jor, these are our friends. This is Neville," he said introducing the boy. "Hermione, the twins Fred and George, and last Luna and Sam."
Jor looked shyly at them and waved his hand but didn't seem to know what to think of all the people. Luna bounced over to him with a broad smile.
"Hey there," she said. "I always wanted a little brother, and I have a feeling that we'll get along splendidly. Maybe we can find us a few Nargles to prank later, what do you think?"
"Nargles?" Jor asked tentatively, but he stopped trying to hide away from the girl.
"Yes, nasty little buggers. They hide your things, are generally unfriendly and call you names, but pranking keeps them away. You see, they don't like it when someone gets back at them for what they did," Luna explained.
Jor's face lightened up hearing that.
"I know what you mean. Dad also loves to give them some payback!" he piped. It seemed that he had caught on with what Luna wanted to tell him via her strange creatures.
"And I know just the right place for setting up the pranks," Harry added.
With that, they set off towards the great hall for lunch. On the way there they told Loki and Harry what happened the day prior after they had left.
Ginny had been confronted by Michael, McGonagall and Severus and after pointing out just how dangerous the book was, she relented and handed it over to them. It was currently stored in Michael's office under powerful wards.
Ginny also was checked over by Madame Pomfrey and other than that her magical core was a bit drained, she was alright.
Later that day then Loki met his brother and added the soul piece from the book, which was the largest they found until then, to the others in the pendant he was always wearing.
Hopefully, with that, the happenings on and after Halloween finally found an end and they could move on.
If that day also a few Ravenclaws, whom Harry had caught at bullying a first-year housemate, found themselves covered in a sticky substance and feathers...well they should have known that neither Loki nor Harry liked bullies. Jor though found it hilarious.
A/N: 'til next chapter!