A/N – Third chapter focused on Asgard and things connected with it, Midgard for the time being is out of sight and they are minding their own business. Some will discover new powers and some will have some nice surprises.
There is an adult scene around the middle of the chapter and if you don't like it, you don't need to read it and there is a huge warning marking its location. If you have any issues with it don't simply read it and let other enjoy.
Hopefully this chapter and the following ones will have a much better grammar as it seems that I found a better beta than my previous ones.
o-0-o
Beta - eri1551
o-0-o
Roberto was used to wealth and showing it off, but even he was surprised, as he took a better look at the rooms that Harry had. The first thing that got his attention was how massive they were. Looking around he had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that something of this size was possible, he quickly noticed a couple of doors leading into more rooms that were for Harry, and Harry only. The next thing that got Roberto's attention was the decor and the amount of priceless materials used in the room, it looked as if someone didn't know what to do with the money they had. He could see marbles, semi-precious and precious stones, exotic kinds of wood and hundreds of materials that were rare and hard to get, yet here they seemed to be all around the place.
"And what do you think of them?" Harry asked with a wry smile.
"I think that you just made me jealous," Bobby chuckled. "I'm from a rich family, but this is a thing that even I have troubles imagining as possible."
Harry only laughed at those words and sat down on his bed. "You get used to such size after some time and then stop seeing them as huge."
"Still, they are impressive,"
"Yes," Harry said and Bobby could tell that Harry was honest. "At first I was shocked by how big they are, but now they are just impressive."
"On my own room I noticed that you love huge scale."
Harry chuckled at those words. "That's the whole point of the Citadel, to show that we are rich and powerful."
"And it gets it done."
"Yes," Harry said and paused. "Can we not talk about it? I love my family house, but I don't want to talk about the politics that come with it."
"Sure, so what are your plans for this stay on Asgard?"
Harry was silent for a long moment, Bobby could see him thinking deeply about the the question. "Grandfather wishes to see us tomorrow and that's a thing that needs to be done, he isn't a person that will accept no as an answer and him being impressed by you is a thing that will help a lot." Harry shook his head. "That's the sole formality that needs to be done, other than that we are mostly free to do whatever we wish to do."
"Everything?" Bobby asked with a grin.
"As long as nothing gets damaged," Harry said and chuckled. "Other than that, yes, we can do whatever we wish to do. So it's up to you what you are going to do."
"And you?"
"Have fun, relax and do a couple of other things."
Roberto nodded and looked at Harry. "You wanted Ulf to fight Peter?"
"Yes, he needed someone to get through his ego and he wouldn't listen to someone else," Harry said and looked out of the window. "He is good, even really good, but sometimes he underestimates his sparring partner."
On Bobby's face appeared a smile. "And Peter solved the problem whilst having some fun as well."
"Indeed," Harry said. "Tomorrow I will show you two things that you should enjoy,well,at least one of them. The Hall of Heroes."
"You keep mentioning it, yet you have yet to tell us what it is."
"It's one of the more official halls of the Citadel where there are hanged banners of all the Princes,the Kings and those that did something spectacular for the realm."
"So it's a way to commemorate them?"
"Yes," Harry said. "It looks nice so you should like it and it is rather close to the biggest chamber or hall in the whole thing, the Throne Room."
Bobby nodded and took a better look at Harry, he could see his friend's skin lightly shining with its own light and his eyes were brighter than they were on Earth. It looked as if something was changed inside of him. "What happened to you?"
"What do you mean?" Harry arched his eyebrow. "I'm fine."
"You look different, as if something in you changed."
"You could have said that from the beginning," Harry said, chuckling lightly. "When on Midgard, I leave some of my power and magic here, nobody knows why, but on Midgard we don't have our full power. It's not much, but you can see a difference."
"So here you are faster, stronger, more agile and so on?"
"Yes... and no," Harry said and Bobby glared at him. "I mean that I'm faster, but it such a small difference that for most people it will be impossible to spot. The only difference you will see is that my skin glows slightly, other than that I'm the same person."
"Cool." Bobby nodded. "Do you have any idea where Warren is?"
"Probably somewhere around here, I don't know where exactly, but most likely in this wing of the palace."
Bobby nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Harry alone. He needed to sort out some things in his mind, mostly about Harry, Asgard and the whole obnoxious wealth of Harry's family.
o-0-o
"This place is incredible," Jean said as she walked with Warren. They were walking through the gardens that were behind the Citadel and as she looked around she had troubles believing that it was true. She could see plants that she thought were impossible to exist, yet here they seemed to be true. "I know what Harry was saying about this place, but even what he said is nothing compared to this."
"It's Asgard, Realm of Gods." Warren chuckled. "You should have seen some of wizarding tales which focus on Asgard, they are closer to truth than Edda."
"Wizarding tales?" She arched her eyebrow.
"My cousin gave me some a couple of years ago," Warren said. "She was Harry's mother. They are different than the normal fairy tales and I read parts that are about Asgard and in a way they are more correct than Edda is."
"In what way are they different?"
"Less cliché and certainly more darker," Warren said and looked at her. "Also they seem to love Asgard and tales about it."
Jean chuckled lightly. "Who would suspect that you like such things."
Warren laughed and looked at her. "We all read them or were reading them at one point," he said and looked around. "But seeing this place, instead of reading about it is different and I much more prefer seeing it."
"Yes." She smiled and looked at him. "Your cousin has changed, it is a slight difference, but I can see it."
"He is a Prince of Asgard, so he needs to behave here with some grandeur and consideration," Warren said. "Also I think that he wants to be away from Frost and in a more friendly atmosphere."
"Most likely, even with my telepathy I can't see what is truly going on,in his mind," she said and sighed. "The most I can get is a pretty accurate guess, but nonetheless ,still just a guess. Teaching him control over his powers is a rather interesting thing."
"Why?" Warren asked, corners of his mouth twitching.
"Because more often than not I need to control myself from wanting to murder his aunt and her family," Jean spat viciously and as she looked at Warren she could see all of the emotions disappear from his face, turning it into a blank mask.
"What did they do?" Warren asked, his voice cold and devoid of emotions.
"Abused him, as I told you earlier I won't tell you details," she said, placing her hand on Warren's shoulder. "But if he was forced to live with them he would most likely turn into something, someone worse than Magneto. I didn't watch them on purpose, but I saw enough resentment, anger and other feelings that they told me enough." She shook her head and looked at Warren, her green eyes looking into his blue ones. "Don't mention it to him, it was a possibility that now is gone or mostly gone and now he is the someone that he was supposed to be in the first place."
"I won't," Warren said and she could sense that he was honest. "But there is more to this as he was never supposed to land with that woman. I don't remember the exact details, but it was either my father or Fury as his guardian."
"Fury as in Nicholas J. Fury Director of SHIELD?"
"Same one." Warren smiled. "He was a common guest a couple of years ago and still drops from time to time now. Lily, who was Harry's mother was like a younger sister to him and I think that from there you can guess the rest."
"Yes," she said as she stopped to look around. Their mindless wandering took them almost on the other side of the complex and she could see the Citadel in its whole mighty as it was far enough for her to fully see. As she looked upwards she could see its surface glitter and shine. "It looks like heaven."
"Well, in Norse myths it was considered a heaven," Warren said. "So shall we head back?"
"Yes," she said as they started to walk back.
o-0-o
"How was your stay on Midgard?" Thor asked as he walked to Harry who sat on one of many balconies built into the Citadel.
"Dad!" Harry exclaimed and launched himself at Thor when he saw him. The Thunder God only laughed and hugged him. "I think that you know the answer."
"Yes," Thor said with a smile as he looked at Harry. "You had fun, learned some things and probably caused a headache or two."
"Hmm, the two first are true," Harry said with a smile. "But the last one, no, unless someone else causing me a headache, counts."
"Who?"
"Emma Frost."
Thor at those words growled. "White Queen of Hellfire Club, I should have seen it coming."
"Dad? Hellfire Club? White Queen?"
Thor sighed and sat down on one of benches. He looked at the sea before he finally looked at Harry. "I will start from a couple of things that you should know about the Potter family, they were rich,an extremely rich family and because of that they had influence and belonged to certain clubs, one of them being Hellfire Club.
"A group of the richest and the most important people on the planet, businessmen, politicians, directors of intelligence agencies just to name a few. The Club is a place where they gather and use their influence and resources to further their goals." Thor said. "There is a certain hierarchy inside of the Club and those in charge of it are called the Inner Circle and they take titles from chess pieces. Above them is one called the Lord Imperial."
"So Emma Frost is one of them?"
"Yes," Thor said with a wince. "She is a new member to it and her rise to power was a fast one, while Potter, Stark and Worthington families had their place inside of the Club for at least thirty years, if not more. She is jealous of your status as a sole heir to Potter fortune and the fact that you are cousins with Warren."
"Potter fortune?" Harry frowned. "But Aunt Petunia never mentioned that Potter family was wealthy."
Thor only laughed at those words. "It is an extremely rich family, we have vaults filled with bars of gold, platinum, silver and gems. You will see how much of it before you start to attend Hogwarts as it is stored in Gringott, a bank run by goblins. There is also a couple of companies owned by the family, one thing that you won't need to worry over when at Hogwarts is lack of money. Even without using resources of Asgard you will have money for several lifetimes."
Harry's mouth was wide open as he listened to what Thor was saying.
"It's not a joke," Thor said and Harry finally closed his mouth. "It's the truth, Petunia never acknowledged the fact that she had the least amount of luck out of the whole family. Worthington and Potter were and are one of the most influential families."
"I guess it makes some sense," Harry said and Thor could see him thinking about something. "What should I do about Frost?"
"Ignore her as you will show her that you do not care about her and that you do not think she is worthy of your attention," Loki said as he joined them. "It usually works the best or the other approach would be for you to get a title inside of the Inner Circle, but it is a risk."
"What kind of risk?"
"That you can get killed or seriously injured," Loki said and looked at Thor. "You didn't tell him that this is the biggest gathering of snakes on Midgard? One where you either survive or get eaten?"
"No," Thor said. "He didn't ask about it, just so you know and he doesn't need that much data on the Club."
Loki nodded and smirked. "He might need it before he goes to Hogwarts as there it might give him a lot of influence and power."
"That's a future, brother," Thor said, looking up at Loki. "And now he returned from Midgard so let him live."
"Fine." Loki smiled and disappeared with a flourish.
Thor nodded content and turned to look at Harry. "Since he is gone can you tell me what exactly had happened on Midgard?"
"Sure," Harry said and started his tale.
o-0-o
Harry smiled as on the next day he walked into the Hall of Heroes, it was a humongous chamber inside of the Citadel, its vaulted ceiling so tall that it made them feel like dwarves in the home of giants. Through the middle of the hall a blood red carpet cut the chamber into two even parts. Its walls were covered in paintings showing the greatest triumphs of Asgard and its allies, each and every one of them painted by the masters of the art and each and every one of them precious, as well as highlighting the power Asgard had. From every column and wall there were hanging hundreds, if not thousands of banners of various commanders and other heroes of Asgard as well as of the Royal Family.
His gaze swept over amber-colored walls and landed on the closest banner, it was showing a black wolf with red eyes on a green shield that was placed on a red field with a golden trim. On his lips appeared a smile as he looked at it, it was one of the most familiar banners to him.
His eyes for a moment darted deeper into the room. Sweeping over hundreds of banners, some of them ancient, while some were relatively new, yet it quickly got back to the banner in front of him.
"That's your banner?" Warren asked, as if he was able to follow Harry's gaze.
"Yup."
"That wolf on it isn't an accident?" Rahne asked.
"No." Harry shook his head. "It was chosen by my grandfather after some suggestion made by his pesky Ravens."
"Pesky Ravens?"
"Huginn and Muninn," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Probably the only pair of Ravens that move wherever they want, however they wish and leave when they want. Not many dare to say them no and most of them changed their mind after some time."
"Why?" Warren asked.
"Nobody knows," Harry said and stopped in front of the column from which was hanging his banner. "But if I had to guess they are more than Ravens, much more than Ravens and they might simply use this form as it is the most effective one for their tasks."
"That is to gather data and intelligence on everything of note?" Roberto asked.
"Yes." Harry looked around and tried to call from the deepest parts of his mind layout of this part of the palace. "From what I know from my grandfather he wants to meet us as soon as possible so I will get us to him and later we will finish the tour."
"You don't like the idea of a meeting with him?" Jean asked.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's just that he rarely wants to meet any diplomats so soon, he usually let's them get all nervous and uncomfortable with the tensions that are in the air."
"So maybe he wants to meet us before we are driven insane by the atmosphere?"
"Hopefully that's the case," Harry said and led them through an open courtyard. He smiled when he felt claws digging into the shoulder area of his shirt. He glanced there and saw Hábrók land there.
"There is a bird on your shoulder," Warren said.
"It's an eagle," Danielle said with a smile. "A golden one if I'm correct."
"And you are." Harry smiled. "It's a gift from my godmother from a couple of years ago and I like him."
"You have a weird taste," Warren chuckled.
Harry only laughed at those words and focused on guiding them through the maze of corridors and hallways that would take them to the place where his grandfather usually met with various people. That is if he wanted a more private setting, as some were held in the Throne Room and that meant that there would be no serious business. As no diplomat with at least some knowledge and respect for their position didn't want to talk about anything in front of hundreds of courtiers and spies.
After a while of walking Harry stopped in front of golden doors emblazoned with the Triskelion and took a deep breath, trying to calm down his racing heart that wanted to jump out of his chest.
He took last one breath and nodded at the pair of guards that stood there, guarding them and making sure that the King wouldn't be interrupted when he didn't wish to be. They opened the doors and waited for them to enter the room, after that they closed them.
Harry looked around and saw that excluding them and his grandfather they were completely alone in the room. Sitting down in one of chairs around an oval table he motioned for them to do the same and his gaze focused on his grandfather.
"Grandfather, what is so important that you decided to see us so soon? I would understand that you want to see me alone, but them?" Harry asked, indicating X-Men that were unsure of what would happen.
"So that I know who they are" Odin said with a faint smile. "While according to what my son and your uncle, Prince Loki, was saying they are honorable and good people, I am too old and too experienced to only trust a report. That is why I want to meet them in person and confirm what your uncle has told me."
Harry nodded, it made some sense to him that his grandfather was so cautious, there was so much at stake here that nobody was insane enough to risk a single mistake if there was a possibility that it could have been avoided. He was glad that it would be in an informal setting without courtiers and annoying nobles that would try to interrupt and get something for themselves.
o-0-o
"He seems friendly enough," Rahne said over an hour later as they were eating lunch in one of smaller parlors of the Citadel.
"Yes," Harry said, his mind returning to the meeting. He was a bit surprised by how generous and open his grandfather had been. "He is usually less warm, but I guess that my presence caused him to change his mind and be more friendly than usual. As I said earlier to Bobby, as long as you managed to impress him, we are good."
"Why?" Warren asked. "I know that he is a King of Asgard and the All-Father of the Nine Realms, but I have thought that Asgard's influence wasn't that far reaching on Midgard."
"It wasn't," Harry said with a smile. "But now? My dad is a common sight there, uncle is dropping by from time to time and I spend most of my time on Midgard, it will rattle a lot of things and cause our influence to grow."
"Fair point," Bobby said. "So what exactly does it mean?"
"That if the Institute needs Asgard's help it will come, no matter the cost to Asgard and no matter how wise it is." Harry said and looked at them. "And that means a lot as most things will back off when they will hear that any move against the Institute will be treated as an insult to the All-Father."
"So most enemies will run away before they even get close to the Institute?" Warren asked.
"If they know what Asgard can do, yes," Harry said and sighed. "Which means that a good part of things on Earth will still gladly attack us."
"Which is still good," Bobby said and Harry looked at him. "I mean that you can't have too many allies, especially when they are as powerful as Asgard is."
"There's this approach," Harry said and looked at them. "The fact that he didn't decide that you can not stay here, means that we can do whatever we want."
"And what are you going to do?" Danielle asked.
"Train and have fun," Harry smiled. "As well as maybe learn about what was going on since I left and knowing my grandfather he will throw an official feast to celebrate the fact that I'm here and that it is a time of winter solstice."
"Which was two days ago," Jean said.
"On Earth yes, here nope."
"So when it is here?" Rahne asked.
"Six days after the one on Earth." Harry said and looked out of the window. "It is one of the most important events here, along with summer solstice and equinoxes."
"Times when winter and summer gain or lose power," Danielle said. "Each of them starts a new part of a year, one that will bring creation and new life or death and cold."
"Yes," Harry said as he finished his meal. "You can do whatever you want, nobody will say no to you and they should be mostly friendly. Just stay in or around the Citadel."
"Why?" Warren asked.
"Because the city is a giant maze designed to trap and slow down anybody that doesn't know what he is doing or where he is going."
"Okay, that can be troubling," Bobby said and Harry nodded.
o-0-o
"What's that?" Warren asked as he mindlessly walked with Harry through the Citadel, mostly wandering and seeing more interesting spots.
"What?" Harry asked and followed Warren's gaze towards a liquid ball of weird silver-grey metal that seemed to be floating above a pedestal. "Nobody knows what it is, Dwarves tried to copy it, but they didn't manage to do it, they only know that it is magical and can be very sharp if shaped properly."
"Seems interesting," Warren said as they got closer to it, he extended his hand and placed above it. "It feels warm."
"What do you mean by warm?" Harry asked as he reached out and felt nothing. "For me it looks and feels normal."
"It just feels warm," Warren said and shrugged. "I can't explain what I mean, it's just warm for me."
"O-Okay," Harry said and at the same time towards Warren's hand shot out a tendril of metal that wrapped itself around it and made its way up his arm, towards his wings. "Warren?"
"I'm fine."
"I don't think that it can be described as fine," Harry said as he watched whole ball of metal disappear and wrap itself around Warren's body. "I think that you better see the healers as it doesn't look too friendly to me."
"I'm fine," Warren said, flexing his hand as this thing was making its way up his body, towards his head and wings. The moment it touched his wings, he screamed in pain and dropped onto the ground, writhing in pain.
"You are fine, really?" Harry snorted and lifted Warren from the ground. Harry threw the body over the shoulder and made his way to the Healer's Halls which from this spot were on the other side of the whole complex. Which made trip there with several dozens kilos of thrashing body not an easy task.
"Can you stop moving?" He asked as Warren's wing slammed into his head and left a long cut that reached to the bone. Harry dropped his cousin's body and when he saw blood on the tips of the feathers he touched the back of his head, only to feel weird, wet and warm thing cover his palm. Looking at them he saw red liquid smeared on his skin and dripping between his fingers.
Focusing on magic he sent a trickle of it towards the wound, willing for it to stitch back and heal. It would take a moment, but it was the least of his worries. The biggest one was thrashing on the floor in front of him.
"How am I supposed to drag your moving and trashing form there if you are going to cut me to pieces?" He asked himself. "That could work," he said as an idea appeared in his mind.
Sending raw magic towards Warren he forced it to ensnare the body and with a snap of his fingers Harry lifted it off the ground. As he looked at it, he wondered why the hell he didn't decide to do something as simple and neat as this. It kept those sharp wings away from him and he didn't need to bother with dragging it.
"Huginn, show yourself!" he said as he walked down one of the massive stairwells and felt a small ball of magic somewhere in the air.
"What do you want?" Huginn asked, landing on Harry's shoulder. "He touched that ball, didn't he?"
"Yes," Harry said. "Can you find Jean Grey and get her to the Healer's Halls? She is his girlfriend and if I don't tell her that something happened to her precious boyfriend, she will murder me."
"Host of the Phoenix Force?" Huginn asked, shifting uncomfortably on Harry's shoulder.
"Yeah, the same one. You have issues with her?"
"Might have an argument a while ago."
Harry sighed and glanced at the feathery advisor of his grandfather. "With whom you didn't have an argument in the past? Dad hates you, Jane wanted to murder you a time or two, Atalanta isn't too happy when you are nearby."
"Your grandfather?" Huginn suggested. "Your grandmother?"
"I think that you still get what I want to say," Harry said and looked at Huginn. "Will you do it or should I turn you into a new stuffed animal."
Huginn croaked in indignation and disappeared, making Harry smile.
"It works as well as it used to," he said to himself and focused on dragging Warren's body through the palace.
It took him over fifteen minutes of walking and dragging Warren to get into the Healer's Halls, who only looked curiously at him and later at the thing he was dragging before indicating one of the cots.
"What had happened to him?" Eir asked, looking at Warren. She was one of very few people that scared Harry. While she was just a Healer she was the one that patched him up after training mishaps or more heated duels and he preferred to avoid getting her angry or annoyed at him. She was a tall, graceful person with dark chocolate eyes, fair skin and fair hair and she was wearing green robe of a Healer.
"He touched that weird ball on the tenth floor or so," Harry said. "You know which one and it attached to him."
She nodded and moved her hand surrounded by a soft green glow just above Warren's body. "He seems to be fine, it bonded with his body in a way that will cause unpredictable effects. Some are visible." She indicated Warren's wings that turned color to silver and instead of soft and gentle feathers, now there were sharp and metallic ones. "But most of them are still unseen, it won't kill him or change his mind, but it will change his body."
There was a sound of someone running and when they turned they saw Jean running towards them. "What happened to him?" she asked as she came to stop and looked at Harry. "Your raven didn't mention a thing."
"He touched an artifact," Eir said. "It activated and merged with him, he is alive, but in coma as his body tries to merge with the thing."
"Will he be alright?" Jean asked.
Eir looked at the unmoving form of Warren and later at Jean. "He should be, so far all of his vitals are looking okay and that means a lot. He should wake up in a couple of hours, but how soon I can't predict."
Jean nodded and looked at Eir. "Can you send someone to find me when he wakes up?"
"Of course." Harry could swear that he had seen a small smile on Eir's lips, as if she was able to tell that the two were in love. "Your Highness, do you want to be notified about him waking up?"
"Yes, he is my cousin after all," Harry said and looked at Jean. "Are you staying here or doing something else?"
"Actually I was showing some telekinesis to one of your friends," she said with a smile. "Atalanta has one that is quite potent and can develop into something even scarier than it is now."
He paled as he looked at Jean. "This was a joke?" He finally asked.
"No, she is learning quite fast and already knows a lot."
At those words Harry groaned. "She will be a nightmare to fight and she was already almost impossible one to beat."
"Maybe you also should stop slacking off?" She suggested "And actually train."
"Maybe," he said and looked at her. "Do you know your way well enough not to need a guide?"
"Yes," she said. "You can go and smash some targets."
He nodded and with a smile walked towards the training grounds to train and let loose some of his pent up energy.
o-0-o
Warren groaned and slowly opened his eyes, he looked around and saw that he was laying on some sort of a cot. In a place that looked and felt foreign. "Where am I?" He asked, sitting up and taking a better look around. He could see that the walls were made from the same golden material as everything on Asgard was made and that they were covered in swirling patterns interwoven with runes.
"In the Healer's Halls of Asgard," one of women that were walking around said as she walked to him. "Your Highness has brought you here when you lost your consciousness and the metal connected with your body."
"So what did it do to my body?"
"Your wings are now made from it and from what we learned while you were asleep your body is far stronger than a normal human's would ever be," she said. "There might be some other changes, but we were unable to find any of them."
"Thank you," he said and touched his back and wings. They were cold and hard, not warm and soft as they used to be. They felt as if made out of metal, not an organic tissue. Standing up he walked around as he tried to get used to the feeling of a different wings on his back. He could feel them being different. Not worse nor better, but different and strange. "Where can I find His Highness?" he finally asked.
"On the training grounds behind the Citadel," one of Healers said and he nodded in thanks to her. Walking out of the hall he entered a large swathe of open grounds that created most of the more open and public training grounds.
He fully spread his wings and with a jump to propel himself higher, he took off into the air. He made a circle around the Citadel and took a look at it from above. Finally he could see the true beauty of the building, it's golden surface dotted with hundreds of spires, towers, balconies and terraces as well as concealed weapon emplacements. Spotting the winged form of his cousin on the ground he folded his wings and dived there, wind howling in his ears.
"I see that you are awake and that you have changed," Harry said as his presence was noticed.
"Yes," Warren said as he gracefully landed on the ground. He looked around and saw Harry's wolves laying to the side and watching them. "So what would you say about a duel?"
" Hand to hand or with weapons?" asked Harry. "Hand to hand."
And so they began. Harry avoiding the strikes that could hit him and blocking the ones that he couldn't avoid.
o-0-o
"He is good," Hrolf said as he placed his axe on the ground and looked at Harry who was fighting with Warren.
"You don't say, brother dearest?" Alaric asked, he was the oldest son of Volstagg with a mane of black hair and keen brown eyes that seemed to be a common trait for all of them. "They know how to fight and they do it quite well."
"Though Warren doesn't play as hard as he can," Hrolf said and frowned. "As if he is getting used to the power."
"Watch his wings," Alaric said and Hrolf's eyes widened when from Warren's wings flew feathers that looked like darts. If rumors about the metal were true, they were going to be a problem, even for someone as tough as Harry.
They flew through the air and towards Harry whose eyes widened in a mix of shock and fear. He slapped the ground and barely avoided those feathers that howled above his head, screaming through the air and ready to bring death on ones that were stupid enough to get into their path.
"Okay...," Hrolf said as he watched those darts and saw them impact the hard stone of the wall to the side of the training ground. They slammed into it and instead of falling to the ground, they lodged into the wall. "That was scary and he did it unintentionally."
"Yeah," Alaric said and looked at the wall. "If he masters it, they will be a scary thing to deal with. Almost impossible to stop and can change you into sliced meat."
Hrolf only nodded and looked at Harry.
o-0-o
Harry rose from the ground, looked at the wall peppered with darts, looked at the wide open wings of his older cousin and back at the wall. "Can you explain to me what just happened?" He asked, as he checked if none of them hit his body.
"I don't know," Warren said, wings folding on his back and starting to regrow missing feathers. "It just happened on its own."
"Uh, sure," Harry said as he walked to the wall and tried to pull out of it one of the darts. He gripped it and grunting he slowly pulled it out, it didn't change shape and the tip wasn't bent. "Whatever it is, it's tough and sharp."
"Looks like it," Warren said as he joined Harry and placed hand on his shoulder. "I didn't want to injure you, it just happened."
"I know," Harry said and looked at Warren. "And you didn't injure me, I'm fine. You just need to watch out for how you are moving your wings."
"Easier said than done," Warren said and looked at Harry. "Any idea how I sent those things at you?"
"Not the slightest." Harry looked at the dart and later at Warren. "I think that you might be able to launch some of your feathers as projectiles."
"As well as have other kinds of powers?"
"Looks like it," Sif said as she joined them. "You are visibly stronger as I saw you duel His Highness and while you were far below anything that normal Æsir use, it was above human levels of power."
"Okay," Warren said and looked at Harry. "One more duel?"
"Just don't turn me into a piñata," Harry said with a grin as he walked towards the training grounds. He looked back at Warren and saw him hesitate for a moment, but then follow him.
o-0-o
Lemon ahead!
o-0-o-0-o
"Who am I?" Warren asked. As he sat down on his bed and looked at Jean Grey. He was only wearing silver boxer briefs, revealing the rest of his toned body to her. Faint scars covering his body made him look somewhat wild for her, but in a good way. He was a perfect example of a human male with his curly golden hair and blue eyes. She was glad that he was hers and only hers.
"The same person that you used to be," she said with a smile. She was wearing only her red bra and plain black panties. When it came to her looks, she wasn't lacking in any department, in fact she was one of the most desired girls out of the whole Mutant High. She had long, wavy fiery red hair, green eyes and body toned from hundreds of hours of training. Her large, perfectly round breasts made her even more desirable for ones that were able to take a better look at her. "At least you are the same person for me and our friends."
"Yet I can kill any of you with just a move of my wings."
"You can," she said and looked at him. "But do you really wish to do it?"
"I don't want," Warren said and sighed. "Yet I can do it, even when I don't want to do it."
"Don't worry about it as you will drive yourself mad."
"Did you see what I did whilst training today?" Warren asked. "I almost killed Harry, completely by accident."
Jean rolled her eyes and fought the urge to chuckle. It reminded her of Warren soon after his arrival at the Institute, he was broody, angry and arrogant. Now it looked as if it was returning on a bigger scale than it did in the past. "You received new wings that you don't know how to use and you are worried because you did something not knowing their limitations and capabilities?"
"Yes," Warren said and made her sigh.
"You are a sweet person and I love you, but you are also incredibly worried about everything," she said as she looked at him and into his haunted blue eyes. "You did nothing wrong, it was an accident and nothing will change that. Stop brooding about the past and focus on the things to come."
He looked at her, not sure where she was going with it. "You don't understand it, he is my only relative that I can tolerate and I don't want to kill him and the last time it got awfully close to me killing him."
"Did you kill him?"
"No."
"Then stop being angry about yourself," she said. "You will drive yourself into insanity by doing so and I'm in no mood to pull you out of it."
Warren was silent for a moment, but he finally nodded and looked at her. "Than what am I supposed to do?"
"Don't get so broody and focus more on the future," she said and looked out of the window, she could see eight moons of Asgard climb up the sky. "You have everything you need or want to so use it and focus on the future."
"It's just that I don't want to harm anybody with those wings," he said and she could see conflict of emotions in his eyes. "You didn't see their reaction when I used those winds for the first time. They were scared, afraid of me and the power I have."
"Because it is something new and foreign to them," she said and reached out to touch Warren's wings, who didn't even flinch and let her do it. "They are not like any wings they had seen, especially not for a living being." She plucked one feather from them and Warren didn't even wince. "Did you feel it?"
"Not really," he said, shaking his head. "They are less sensible than they were and feathers are different."
"They look like darts or knives," she said as she held in her hand and she could see light shine on the surface of the feather, making it look like a pure silver. "Not to mention that they look magical, not in a bad way. So don't think too much about what they can be, but about who you are."
"I will try," Warren said. "It's just I thought that I had some resemblance of normalcy and was settled into some usual life."
"New isn't always bad," Jean said and looked at Warren. "Don't think too much about it. It's late and you are tired, which means that you aren't thinking clearly."
He yawned and nodded. "You are right."
She only smiled and watched him. She was quite surprised that they were actually dating each other, few months ago her feelings about him were unsure. But now she could tell that she loved him and she could tell with her psychic powers that feelings were mutual. "But I don't think it is too late for some fun," she said as she caught his lips with her.
It took him a moment to grasp what she meant, but he finally opened his mouth and allowed her tongue inside while his own explored her mouth. He was glad for an opportunity to forget about the events of the day.
He lightly pushed her and they tumbled onto the bed, as he kissed her, he could feel that his underwear became a couple of sizes too small and really uncomfortable. He could feel her writhe under him, as if she felt him.
"I love you," he whispered between the kisses as his fingers snaked across her torso and towards her back.
"And I love you," she whispered back and moved so that he could unclasp her bra and throw it to the side. He kissed her neck and collarbone and smiled when she moved under him. As if attempting to tell him where he should focus.
"You want it, don't you?" he asked, looking deep into her emerald green eyes. He felt his heart tighten as he waited for her answer. Then, she nodded and he could feel a rush of excitement spread through his body as he realized what would come next. He lowered his head onto the level of her breasts, white, freckled and nipples hard with excitement. As his lips latched onto her nipple his nose entered her smell of exotic incense and freshly fallen rain.
He lightly bit it and her breath hitched as she moaned in pleasure.
"I will take it as a sign of approval," he smiled as he stopped for a moment and looked into her eyes. He could see that she wanted him, desired him, which caused another wave of excitement pass across his body.
"Yes," she said and moaned as his tongue darted across her breasts, leaving in its wake trails of saliva. Finally he smiled and sat up on her. He looked at her toned and tanned belly, muscles visible under her perfect skin, untainted by imperfections. Then his gaze lowered to her crotch. He could see wetness turn her panties into a soaked piece of material. And more importantly into a translucent one, allowing him to see through them. As he looked at her most sacred and precious part of the body, he smiled and lightly licked his lips from excitement.
"Someone is excited," he chuckled as his fingers touched her panties, for the first time being able to feel how excited she truly was. He could hear her moan and deciding to stop torturing her, his fingers hooked up around the elastic and pulled them down. Revealing her nether region in all of its glory, other than a small bush of neatly trimmed hair there was nothing around her slit.
"As if you weren't," she said, looking at his underwear and following her gaze he smiled. His erection was standing up, straining the material of his boxers.
"Point taken," he said as she pulled them down. He sucked his breath as a rush of cold air smashed into his hardness. The cold of the air crashing against the heat of his body. He moved so that his head was above her pubic area and lowered it slowly. He sniffed the air and his tongue shot out from between his lips. The moment he touched her heated clit, he felt her shudder under him.
"Warren," she moaned as his tongue swept across her clit and into it, exploring every space he could reach, making her shudder and writhe under him. As he looked at her green eyes he could see that she enjoyed herself. They were glazed with lust and pleasure, pleasure that he didn't have an opportunity to see for far too long. Recently they didn't have that much freedom at the Institute to make love to each other.
"I love you," he whispered and kissed her snatch. It was enough to make her whole back arch, moan loudly and for fluids to gush out of her snatch. He lapped at them with gusto and when he drunk all of them, he looked up and licked his lips from the rest of them.
She laid there, breathing heavily, a happy smile on her face. "It was awesome," she said finally catching her breath.
"Thank you," he smiled as he laid to her side and kissed her. "I love you, Jean."
"And I love you," she whispered, her hand wrapping around his hardness and sending jolts of electricity up and down his body. "And I want you."
He smiled, reached out to his bedside table, he grabbed one of condoms that were laying there, tore its container and rolled it over his throbbing erection. He waited for it for too long, far too long.
"Always prepared?" Jean asked, some amusement in her voice.
"For you, always." He smiled and crawled onto the bed. He almost lost control of himself when she wrapped her hand around his hardness and guided it to her heated snatch and into it. As he slipped into her, he groaned and his groan turned into a moan of pleasure as her legs wrapped around his back and pushed him deeper than he dared to. He looked at her and after a nod he started to move inside of her.
His first few moves were a bit reluctant as he tried to synchronize them with her own moves. However the moment they found their pace they picked up speed, making them groan and moan in pleasure.
"I love you," she said, between one hitched breath and another. Sound of their bodies slapping against each other filled the room. Occasionally interrupted by their moans of pleasure and lust for each other.
"And I love you," Warren said before groaning, arching his back and hitting his release. He could feel tensions leave his body as his heartbeat reached its peak and then started to slow down. He could feel his whole body shake as stream, after stream of cum flowed into the condom. He laid there for a moment, trying to extend the moment for as long as possible. But finally he was forced to remove himself from her. He tried to extend even that,he slowly slipped out of her, removed the condom and threw it into a trash can that was nearby.
"It was fantastic," she said as they snuggled against each other, covered by a thick woolen blanket. He closed his eyes and with a happy expression on his face they drifted off into sleep
o-0-o-0-o
End of lemon!
o-0-o
Danielle twirled daggers in her hands and looked expectantly at Sif, who was supposed to show her how to use them. As she looked at the Goddess of War she needed to admit that Harry was right in saying that the moment his grandfather accepted them on Asgard all kinds of doors would open for them.
Sif cleared her throat and Danielle focused on her. "This is a weapon designed for you, it relies on speed, agility and being nimble. Three things that you have spades of, so you should be able to learn how to use it effectively in a couple of weeks of training," Sif said and she nodded. "From what I know we have around a week and a half to two weeks, which for the basics will be enough."
"I understand," Danielle said and looked at Sif. "I normally use my psychic powers and a bow, but when at shorter range I need to switch to hand to hand which is often-"
"Insufficient," Sif finished, making Danielle look at her. "I learnt and mastered most of the weapons that we use and most of martial arts that we know. I know too well that a marksman without any decent close combat weapon is dead when the enemy gets close to him.
"Those daggers that you are holding were designed with marksmen in mind, they can be also used for throwing," Sif said as her hand shot forward and she released a single knife, similar to one that Danielle was holding and it slammed into a target. The move was so fast and fluid that Danielle almost missed the moment when Sif did it. "But that is a thing on which we will work at a later date, now the basics."
"Okay," Danielle nodded as she walked to Sif, hoping that she wouldn't embarrass herself too much.
o-0-o
Illyana smiled as she summoned a ball of light to her palm, she didn't believe when Harry told her at the Institute that she had some magical potential. How she could see it with her own eyes and she smiled at him. "How did you know that I have magic?" she asked him.
"When you are a sorcerer you tend to spread your senses over a large area to pick up things that can be a danger to you or are users of magic," Harry said. "So when I did it once you arrived at the Institute I almost immediately picked up your magic, but until now I wasn't sure."
"Why?" She asked, her eyebrows forming a line on her forehead.
"Because there is a lot of creatures and human beings that have the same signature as a sorcerer unaware of their power," he said and summoned two balls of energy, one of them substantially larger than the other. "If someone isn't aware of how powerful he is, his magic will be like this smaller ball, if he is aware of it, it will be much larger."
"And what does it mean?"
"That a lot of creatures and beings will try to possess, control or kill you," Loki said as he appeared in the room. "There is a reason why most of magical families have houses that look more like a fortress, not a house. So that their children even if they know about magic from the beginning of their lives can develop in safe and friendly environment. My nephew had at least enough intelligence to show you magic when you got here."
"Why, if I may know, Your Highness?"
"You can and please drop those titles," Loki said as he sat down on the floor. "Asgard has one of the strongest wards, that is magical protection, in the known universe and nothing, I mean nothing will get through them. And even if it gets, it will be weak and easy to banish."
"And there is Heimdall," Harry said from his place as he tried to avoid Loki's glare.
"There is that," Loki nodded and Illyana could feel his eyes focus on her. "You have power that needs to be developed and it is too powerful for me to teach you from time to time as I'm teaching my nephew. You need to be taught in a continuous way, without any breaks and interruptions. Which leaves three options, but if I was honest, I would only name two of them as ones that you will profit from."
"What are they?" She asked as she glanced at Harry could see his eyes widen as if he guessed to what his uncle was referring.
"Hogwarts in the UK on Midgard, I could without any issue get you accepted there," Loki said and winced. "But if I was being honest, I'ld say, that it was a good school, a long time ago and while they are still good, they don't have a good approach for people from foreign countries and I don't trust its Headmaster. Which leaves two options apprenticeship under Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme of Midgard, I trust him and I know that he can teach you magic and how to use it. However there is also an option on Asgard, one that I think you can enjoy more."
"What is it?"
"Academy of Magic on Asgard," Harry said. "Rahne asked me about them when we were walking from the Observatory to the city. Do you remember those floating buildings?"
"They are hard not to remember," she said. "They look kind of cool."
"That was the Academy," Loki said. "They will teach you magic as well as you will learn how to fight in more normal way. So if I was being honest it is the best opportunity for you to learn magic and learn it in a way that will make a lot of people on Midgard jealous."
"Why?"
"Because it is on Asgard," Harry said, trying not to chuckle. "And because they don't have too many prejudices when it comes to magic, so they will teach you about all of the branches of magic."
"While on Midgard they have issues with using certain branches of it," Loki added. "So what do you say about this offer?"
"I think that my answer is yes," she said after a moment. I don't have too many options to choose from and even if brat disagrees, Harry and Loki are right. I need to learn how to control my magic and power. Right now I'm useless at the Institute as everybody else has some power and control over it. While I have none and it is annoying, she thought and looked at them. "The answer is yes, my brother will not be happy, but I want to learn how to use magic."
"Good," Loki said with a smile. "Talk with him and I can show you the Academy, also I don't think that Harry will mind a trip over there?"
"No," Harry said and grinned at her. "You did a good choice with this one."
"Thank you." She smiled. "Any idea where my brother is?"
"I would guess Ulf challenged him to another duel," Harry said with a weird grin on his face.
o-0-o
Convincing her brother to see reason proved a harder task than she thought it would be.
"No," Piotr said. "As much as I like Asgard I don't want you stay here for most of the year while I am on Earth."
"No?" She repeated softly, anger burning inside of her. "You won't let me study magic because of what?"
"Because I don't want to lose you," he said and her eyes narrowed. "Our parents are dead, our brother is missing and you are my last living relative."
"I will be fine here, also you won't lose me and I want to learn magic. We both saw what Harry can do with it when he wants to."
She could see him be silent for a moment and then he nodded. "I don't like it, but I know that you would do it even if I said no," he said. "Don't get killed so that I won't feel guilty for letting you stay here."
"Thank you, brat," she said, launching at him and hugging him. "I won't get killed, that much I can promise to you."
"Good," he said with a smile. "So you will be a sorceress?"
"Given proper training and education, she will," Loki said as he joined them, they looked in the direction of Loki and she could see Harry walking to the side of the God of Mischief and Magic. "So shall we see the Academy? Your brother can also see it as it isn't a secret," Loki said and on his face appeared a small smile. "Also I think that it will put him at ease."
"How are we getting there? It is a bit far away from here," Piotr asked and she looked at Loki.
"Magic," Loki said and smiled. He snapped his fingers and in the air appeared a rectangle of black, opaque space. "It leads into the Academy."
Illyana glanced at her brother who nodded and walked through the portal, she waited for him to step through and she followed him. She stepped out of it in a large circular chamber with a massive tree in the middle of it, with a large pool formed around its roots, she could feel powerful magic spread from the tree.
"It's beautiful," she said, looking around. The room was massive with floor made out of different kinds of wood, with circular mosaics placed around the massive tree that was in the middle of the room. Walls were made out of colorful stone and with massive stained glass windows. Between windows were placed massive golden sculptures of some beings, all of them looking ancient and wise. She looked up and she couldn't actually see the ceiling, she only saw nine arches of gold with nothing between them. Her gaze slipped back onto the ground level and she took a better look at the tree she spotted a pair of Æsir standing in front of it with staffs in their hands. They were wearing loose brown robes with wide red trim and tied with a wide golden sash to which was attached a scabbard of a knife. One of them was a girl in her teens with blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes, while the other one was a boy in his teens with black hair and golden eyes. But the thing that got her attention were his ears, they weren't round, instead they were slightly pointed.
"That's Yggdrasil, or to be proper, one of its saplings," Loki said as he joined them. "Those two." He indicated two that stood in front of the tree. "Are honor guard, students rotate and are standing guard all the time."
She nodded and looked more keenly at one with pointed ears, she saw his skin have a subtle glow to it. "Who is he?" she asked. "He doesn't look like most of people I had seen here."
"He is from Alfheim, isn't he?" Harry asked. "Home of the elves and one of the most powerful magic users."
"Indeed," Loki said. "Though their magic is mostly focused on healing and illusions, typically battle mages are a rarity amongst them, so if he managed to get here."
"He is very good, but most likely a lazy slowpoke," Illyana said and they looked at her. "What? I just most likely stated the obvious truth."
"Your tongue will get you into so much trouble here," Harry said as he tried not to chuckle. "But anyways, uncle, can we stop standing here?"
"Yes," Loki said as they slowly walk through the hall and towards the tree. "Student's quarters are in different part of it," he said, looking at her. "Here are mainly administrative and ceremonial chambers, as well as some of the classrooms and training grounds." He knocked at the large, golden doors and they opened without a single noise. Revealing another long and tall hallway, she looked expectantly at Loki, curious about what was there. "Administrative part of the Academy," he said with a shrug.
"Humans are accepted here as exceptions and only when they are exceptionally powerful so a lot of paperwork needs to be done," he said after a moment. "From what I remember in the last thousand years there were three hundred wizards and witches of pure human origin, there was more of them with blood of Asgard in their veins." He looked at her. "You will be treated here as a ward of the royal family, as I said, humans are a rarity."
"What does it mean?" Piotr asked.
"That for all intends and purposes she will be treated as if she were under protection of my father," Loki said. "Which means that anything you will need will be provided to you and most of people will know that doing anything untoward towards you is going to end badly for them. Badly as in suicidal kind of badly."
"Why?"
"Because whatever can be said about my father, he treats agreements and treaties as sacred things. As well as he does not ignore any of his responsibilities," Loki said with a weird smirk on his face. "And unless someone is utterly and completely foolish, he will back off well before incurring wrath of him."
She nodded and looked around, she could see that the decor changed. Instead of loud, gold decor that around the tree, here it was decorated with more taste. Walls were decorated with banners and tapestries. The thing that got her attention was the roof, it was translucent and she could see the sky above it.
"Here we are," Loki said as they got to the doors at the end of the corridor. He pushed doors open and they stepped into the room after him. She looked around she saw a massive room decorated in the same style as most of rooms she had seen on Asgard, behind a massive desk that was placed in the middle sat an Æsir with a completely bald head and braided silver bear. He was wearing red robe covered in rich embroidery and around him was a feeling of airy confidence.
"That's Bragi, God of Poetry and Magic," Harry whispered and she nodded. "Lord Commandant of the Academy and one of the most powerful sorcerers."
Bragi seemed to be focused on something that he was reading, but the moment they entered he looked up and his eyes widened. "Your Highness," he said. "What do you need from the Academy?"
"She is a sorceress of unparalleled power and potential," Loki said as he placed his hand on Illyana shoulder. "She needs to study here as schools of magic on Midgard are lacking knowledge and experience, how to train people with the same amount of power as she has. So it would be detrimental to her development if she was placed there, instead I offered her training here and she has agreed, so would it be a possibility?"
Æsir looked at her and she could see his brown eyes focus on her for a moment than he nodded. "Indeed, she needs the training we can provide her with. I'm guessing that she doesn't have any knowledge of runes or magic whatsoever," he said and looked at Loki. "She will be a ward of your father?"
"Indeed." Loki smiled. "So I think that the usual paperwork can be done and will be done."
"Perfect," Bragi said and looked at her. As she looked at him she saw that he was merely curious about her and who she was. "I would like to officially greet you to the Asgard Academy of Battle Magic and Sorcery."
"Thank you," she said with a smile as she glanced at Loki, who only nodded and smiled. "It will be an honor to study here."
"Your Highness learned a couple of things here," Bragi said as he indicated Harry. "So he can tell you some things about how it looks and probably give you a tour of it. Prince Loki, can you make sure that she makes her way here by noon tomorrow"
"Of course," Loki said. "For today that will be all."
"What now?" she asked.
"Do whatever you wish, paperwork needs to be pushed through and done," he said and looked at Harry. "Giving her a tour wouldn't be a bad idea."
"Can you send the rest of the X-Men to the lobby?" Harry asked. "So I can show it to all of them?"
"Why not," Loki said as they walked to the hall with a sapling of Yggdrasil. Loki waived his hand and her eyes widened in a mix of shock and surprise when she saw the rest of their group appear in the room. She was getting used to magic, but this was a new thing.
o-0-o
A/N – Academies of magic on Asgard fall under the control of their military which causes a lot of things, different titles and names for positions, focus equally placed on normal ways of fighting and magical ones, as well as topics strictly about warfare, stricter discipline and much tighter control when it comes to quality of education. Also this honor guard comes straight from military, more of such things will be revealed in coming chapters.
Royal ward is a term generally used for description of people under protection of ruling monarch and it means that any attack against them can be treated by monarch as an attack aimed at him. Which means that basically when they are attacked one that did it will pay, also he covers any expenses they have, but other than that they are treated the same way as everybody else. For Illyana it basically means that nobody will be eager to do something untoward towards her or to pick fights with her, however she still can be punished as harshly as everybody else. And Hogwarts ways of punishment will look kind of soft and weak compared to ones here.
Reviews:
naruto – is there any point in it? Without it he would look like a copy of his uncle which normally would be ignored or mostly ignored, but not on Asgard where legality of children is extremely important and even rumors can be bad. Also this particular shape doesn't have the worst meaning out of all runes, it is a sign of sun, which implies growth, hope and peace.
Iptfog – I try to improve my grammar and compared to my earlier works this is really good, also this particular chapter should be even better. Mysteries aren't bad and soon there will be more of them.
TimothyB – I think that you will be happy with the amount of romance in this chapter.
*I am a human, I consider nothing human alien to me.