A/N – Continuation of fallout of what Stryker did and few things are happening on Asgard. Not much happens in terms of plot, they mostly try to relax and in Harry's case survive. As always read and review.
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Beta - eri1551
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Harry wanted to delay the trip to Asgard as much as possible, he didn't want to meet grandfather so soon after that letter. As he felt the Bifrost latch onto him he gulped in fear and looked at Atalanta, who seemed to not care.
"You will be fine," she said, squeezing his hand. "He is just worried about you and unhappy about your behavior."
"Uh, sure," Harry snorted as they traveled to Asgard, he could see that most of the X-Men looked around curiously. He sighed as he wanted to not care about the future and look at the marvels of space around. But he couldn't look at the nebula, galaxies and hundreds of stars as they sped through the cosmos.
The moment his feet touched the edge of the Observatory he gulped in fear and looked around. His gaze was immediately drawn to his own Wolf Guard and Sif that stood behind Heimdall. While his guards had neutral expressions on their faces, she had her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pulled into a thin line.
"I'm doomed," he said and looked at the ceiling. "Why does the Fate hate me so badly?"
He shook his head and walked to them, Atalanta following him half a step behind. Sif didn't even acknowledged his arrival, which was telling a lot about her feelings for him.
"I am here to ensure your arrival to your grandfather's study," she said, her voice lacking any emotions and he gulped even more in fear. "And to ensure that you report there right after your arrival here, so get on a horse and follow us." She indicated one of guards that walked forward with a pair of horses.
Harry smiled for a moment when he saw his brown one, he took its reins and jumped into the saddle. When he landed on the horseback he bit down on a scream. Even if the wound on his back was healed, it was still causing pain.
"Should we wait for you?" Warren asked and Harry looked at his older cousin.
"No." Harry shook his head. "I will be fine or mostly fine and I will find you when I will have time."
"Let's go," Sif said, not giving him a chance to talk more with his friends. As they rode out of the Observatory she fell into place to his right. Close enough to catch reins of his horse if need be.
"You don't trust me?"
She looked at him, her eyes ice cold. "Your grandfather was explicit in his words, as soon as possible. Remember that your father also wished to see you once you are done talking with your grandfather and after that Eir is supposed to see that wound on your back."
"Do you have any good news?" He asked, his voice hopeful as they passed under the massive gates that were the border between the bridge and the city. "So far it looks like I won't come out of this alive and in one piece."
"No," she said and shook her head. "You were foolish, brash, reckless and a couple of other things, but I will leave it to your grandfather to explain them to you."
He sighed and focused on watching the city, even if he was seeing it for the thousandth time, it always had the same impact on him as when he saw it for the first time. It's wide alleys paved with plates of lapis and beryl, lined with various trees that thanks to the climate were constantly green, filled with happy people that minded their business. It looked like a paradise and his gaze for a moment darted to the houses that lined the alley. They were huge, their walls were shining in hundreds of colors and their roofs were made out of a golden material that shone brightly in the sunlight.
His good mood disappeared the moment they got onto a plaza in front of the main entrance that led into the Citadel. Sculptures that normally didn't destroy any of his happy feelings, here they crushed them and completely obliterated. He knew that it at this point ,he didn't have a single hope of avoiding those talks.
They dismounted and his guards formed a tight circle around him, not giving him a lot of freedom and in not so subtle way telling him that he didn't have a lot of freedom and needed to behave. They were walking quickly, not stopping for a moment and he was almost forced to run to keep up with them. With each step he could feel his heart beat faster as the moment of the meeting was getting closer and closer.
He didn't even notice the moment when they crossed the threshold between private chambers of the royal family and the main part of the palace. He only noticed it when he couldn't hear as many voices as in the rest of the palace. This eerie silence made him worried about the future, normally he liked it. But now he was scared of what was to come.
"It is good that you feel fear," Sif said as she walked to by side. "Nobody should feel confidence when being dragged for a meeting with your grandfather. He is a scary person and one that you don't want angered."
"I know," Harry said, tying his hair into a ponytail. Before he noticed they got to the doors leading into the study of his grandfather. He took a deep breath and nodded at Sif, who smiled and pushed them open.
"Your Majesty," she said, entering the room and bowing before Odin. "I brought your grandson as you had asked me to do."
"Leave us alone and make sure that nobody interrupts us," Odin said, his voice grave and quiet.
Harry almost winced at those words, but he managed to control his reaction and watched as guards walked out of the room. The doors behind them silently closed, leaving the two of them alone. "Sit," Odin said, indicating at the chair on the other side of his desk.
Harry dutifully sat down and looked at his grandfather, trying to read the mask he wore. There was no emotion visible and his sole eye was focused on some spot above Harry's head. "Grandfather, may I know what do you want from me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Odin asked. "You were a fool and risked your life in a very reckless manner, you were told multiple times to call your guards when needed and you decided not to do it. Can you tell me why did you decide to ignore all of those things and behave like a berserker?"
"Because I didn't think that-"
"You didn't think? Do you have anything inside of your head that can think? You were told more than a couple hundreds of times that you don't think or assume that there is only a couple of enemies," Odin snapped. "Do I need to remind how important your life and well-being is to Asgard?"
"No," Harry quietly said as he felt those words hit him like a sledgehammer, each and every one of them burning out inside of his mind. "You don't need to tell me how important I am. But can't I have some freedom when on Midgard? You always told me that I was supposed to spend my time there not caring about duties and responsibilities that I have here, on Asgard, and that I'm supposed to learn there. Not be surrounded by hundreds of guards that will follow me everywhere I go!"
"Watch your tongue, young man," Odin said, not bringing his voice up and Harry looked at his grandfather. "You have freedom, but there is something called common sense. You should use it and this was one of those situations. I won't punish you for the events of that night, but the next time you call the guards or I will order them to drag you here. Is it clear?"
Harry was silent for a moment. I can argue, but he won't change his decision or I can accept it, he thought as inside of him raged a whirlwind of emotions and feelings. "Yes, it is clear," he finally said.
"Good," Odin nodded, Harry could feel some satisfaction in his grandfather's voice. "Your father was forced to travel to Vanaheim for a couple of days and he won't return until the end of this week. I expect that you do not leave this realm until his return as he wishes to speak with you."
"I understand."
Odin smiled and pressed the rune embedded into the surface of the desk in front of him. Seconds later doors opened and through them entered Sif. "Yes, Sire?" she asked, looking at Harry and her liege.
"Escort my grandson to Lady Eir and once she confirms that he is fully healed you can stop guarding him."
Sif looked at Harry, making him sigh as he got up from the chair and followed her through the maze of corridors. This time she was different, more relaxed and not so focused on making sure that he would behave. Previously she almost held him by his arm to make sure that he would go the way she wanted, now she simply walked to his side.
"Lady Eir," she said as they entered the Healers Halls and walked to one of the smaller and private examination rooms located at the end of it. It was a small rectangular room with a cot and the most basic diagnostic equipment and data terminal. "His Majesty asked me to deliver his grandson to you, you are to ensure that he is in good shape."
"Leave us alone," Eir said cooly and Sif bowed and left the room, doors silently sliding behind her. Eir turned and looked at Harry, who could feel her eyes scrutinize him and try to see what was the issue. "Lay down and take off your shirt."
Harry nodded and sat down on the cot, taking off his shirt, he winced as the cool air slammed into the skin over the wound. It was still irritated and causing him some discomfort.
"Your grandmother removed the poison," she said as she channeled bit of magic into the fresh scar. "Or at least most of it, as some is still inside of your body, not enough to cause serious harm, but enough to cause discomfort."
"What is it?" Harry asked, turning to look at Eir and wincing when he moved as his body protested. Pain flaring across his whole side and making him scream in pain.
"Depleted uranium mixed with adamantium," Eir said, a hint of disgust in her voice. "It is being fought by your immunity system, but it will take some time to heal. It shouldn't cause you too much of a problem, but it can be a hindrance as it might flare up at random."
"How soon will it pass?"
"In a couple of days or weeks, it is something that your body will heal," Eir said. "If it keeps appearing around spring equinox come and see me, then I will purge your body from whatever is left of it."
"Of course," Harry nodded as he put back on his shirt.
o-0-o
Harry stood on the balcony of his chambers and breathed in the salty air that was coming from the ocean. He was glad that his audience with his grandfather went far better than he had hoped for and was mostly painless. He heard doors into it open and when he glanced backwards, he smiled as Jane entered onto it.
"You know that your father will not be happy with your behavior?" she asked. "He can forget a lot of things, but even he has some patience and this pushed it's border a bit too much for him."
"It was you who sent him to Vanaheim?"
"Yes," she smiled. "I understand how Earth works better than him and I know much better than him that Purists are unpredictable and you couldn't have done much to avoid landing in the middle of it. Even if I'm unhappy about it, I know that it was not your fault, at least not totally yours."
"Thank you," Harry said, bowing his head lightly. "I've had enough of being told to for some time and I think if he has time to cool he will be more reasonable."
"No problem," she said. "You know that I don't care about the fact that you are only my stepson."
"You mentioned it so many times that it is hard not to know it," Harry chuckled and looked at the ocean. "Wizards are supposed to come here and I'm not too happy because of that."
"The ones that call you the Boy-Who-Lived?" Jane asked, dangerous tone appearing in her voice.
"The very same and while I like a few of them, I dislike most of them," he said and shook his head. "Hopefully I will be able to avoid them for most of the time and keep them away."
"You know that you won't be able to do it infinitely?"
"Mom, let me live," Harry sighed. "Jean already told me that much and Warren did it yet again, so you really don't need to remind me that I won't be able to dodge it endlessly. So be kind and let me live."
"I will let you, it's just that I'm worried about you."
"Who isn't?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes and walking back into the room. The wings on his back moving in synchronization with the rest of his body. After so many years of having them he didn't have the slightest issue with it. At first he was stumbling a bit as they moved his center balance, but now it was as easy as breathing.
"Point taken," Jane said as she walked out of the room and left him completely alone. Allowing his mind to wander and think about everything he wanted or needed to think about. He sat down on his bed and looked at the tapestry showing his great-grandfather during a battle at the end of the Dark War. He was surrounded by his warriors and was charging at the last line of defense that the warriors of Malekith the Accursed constructed. Bør was showed as a hulking man in a horned helmet and with a red cape over his armor, in his hand was the same spear that now Odin was wielding – Gungnir. Bolts of energy were flying from it and its tip was glowing golden.
Diverting his gaze from the tapestry Harry shook his head and slipped off his bed. He walked to one of the wardrobes and pulled out the clothes that he normally wore. While he didn't mind the clothes that he wore on Earth, they wouldn't be the best choice for him to venture into the city, they would have drawn more attention than his normal clothes.
o-0-o
Illyana sighed as she tried to understand was being said by an Instructor, Asgard name for a teacher. She had perfect or almost perfect scores when it came to practical usage of magic, but the theory behind it was something with which she was struggling. It was weird, illogical and for most of the time she was dumbly staring at the paper, trying to understand what was written there.
"Focus," whispered a girl to her right, Idunn Ragnardóttir. She was a tall, graceful girl of Illyana's age that came from Alfheim. When she was looking at Idunn, Illyana had issues wrapping her head around the fact that Asgard could be that diverse, while most of them had bright hair and blue or brown eyes. Idunn was different with her black as night hairs and striking golden eyes that were shining with intelligence.
"It's so hard," Illyana said, rolling her eyes as she made a couple of notes. "I know what he's saying and how to do it, but understanding the theory behind it, is something else."
"If you were attempting to focus, you'd understand it." Idunn said, braiding her hair backwards. "Also it's the last hour for the day."
Illyana nodded and focused, if she was going to be honest, she loved every single moment she was spending on Asgard. Her magic was growing in leaps and bounds, with each moment getting stronger and more powerful. Also she had plenty of opportunities to make friends that also used magic and could help her get acclimated here and explain things that were obvious for them. Recalling her talk with Prince Loki during Yule she needed to agree with him that being a ward of the royal family meant a lot. She had everything that she needed to have and nobody seemed eager to pick fights with her.
For one last time her gaze swept over the large classroom with its high, stained glass windows that provided plenty of light, wooden floor and walls covered in various mosaics, before it finally came to stop on the lecturer. On whom she focused and tried to hear what he was saying, while making notes so that she could try to understand what he meant.
Thirty minutes later she packed her bag and walked out of the room as the lecture ended, she was mentally exhausted and wanted nothing more than rest and forget about the events of the day. She made her way into the room she was sharing with Idunn. Entering it her gaze swept over everything that was inside of it, large beds, small bathroom attached to it, a couple of drawers and desks, thick rugs covering the floor and a large window that provided plenty of light.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw someone lean against the wall inside of the room, then they widened as she recognized who it was. "Harry?!" she finally asked.
"Yes," he smiled, braiding his hair backwards, mischievous smirk on his lips. "Sorry for this, but otherwise I wouldn't be able to find you. At least without too much noise."
"Idunn won't be here for some time so we can talk for a moment," she said, sitting down.
"Idunn?" He arched an eyebrow.
"My roommate, Idunn Ragnardóttir."
"She won't have a single issue with me being here." He shrugged. "And anyways, I wanted to show you one of the better parts of the Academy, one that you most likely didn't see."
"I need to study," she sighed. "While I understand the practical part, the theory is something that I can't understand."
"If I was being honest, theory isn't that important as long as you can explain the magic you just used," Harry smirked and looked at her. "I might have some of my notes about the theory that my uncle corrected and they could help you."
"I wouldn't mind it," she smiled. "How can I understand runes so easily?"
"Because you wanted to learn them and everybody around you uses them?" He arched his eyebrow and looked at her.
"Probably," she said and smiled. "So why don't you show me that thing you mentioned?"
"Why not," he said with a shrug. "I want to stay out of sight and there are some things that you should know."
"So where are we going?"
"You will see," he said, standing up and walking out of the room. She followed him out of the room, curious where he was going. She didn't have any idea of where he was walking.
o-0-o
"I'm shocked that you didn't discover this thing, yet," Harry said as the massive metal gates of the arena opened in front of them. It was a large triangular arena covered in white sand. Its walls were high and were inscribed with hundreds of runes that kept violent magic in check. Behind those runes were thousands of seats and boxes for the audience. It was roofed with a glass dome with four golden arches keeping and reinforcing it. "It's the place where a lot of magical duels take place and you can let your magic go wild."
"Why do I have a feeling that it will be used soon?" She asked, he glanced at her and saw that she was looking around curiously and trying to guess why he had decided to show it.
"Because you know that you should trust your feelings? Or maybe you know that I always have a reason to do something?" He asked and looked at her. She looks good in the sorcerer's robes, he thought, his eyes sweeping over her form. She was a bit short, but had started to develop some nice muscles. Mainly thanks to the months of training and exercise at the Institute and now a lot more training here.
"Yes," she smiled. "Most likely because you have some reason."
"I have, the Tournament is coming and you might have an opportunity to shine and show your prowess in magic," he said and winced. "But from what I know there will be guests from Earth, ones that I don't really like."
"Who?"
"Students of Hogwarts," he said, sitting down, she followed him suit. "Do you remember Oliver, Tonks and others at the Institute?"
"Yeah..."
"They were students of Hogwarts and while they were nice, the rest aren't that good. As my uncle described, arrogant and narrow-minded."
"That can be... a problem," she said. "Especially when it comes to some customs."
"Yes," Harry nodded and looked at her. "Also the X-Men are here and the whole Institute is too."
"Why?"
"We were attacked and forced to relocate here," he said with a wince and saw her eyes widen in shock. "The Professor is here, as well as your brother and everybody else, but I didn't have an opportunity to see them. I was dragged by my guards to see my grandfather."
"So that he could tell you what did you do wrong?"
"Yeah and he took great pleasure in it," Harry briefly smiled. "But now it is over and I want to relax."
"I can understand that," she said and looked at him. "Any idea about when I can see my brother?"
"I don't know," Harry said and looked at the sky. "I think that you better return to the main part of the Academy, I stole enough of your time."
"What about you? Why can't we talk for longer?"
"I have some business that needs to be done, also they don't know that you are with me, so they might be worried a bit."
"I won't have much freedom, will I?"
"The problem is that I didn't mention to the Lord Commandant that I was going to show you some things," Harry admitted sheepishly. "So he won't be the happiest man alive when he learns that you went with me, without even informing someone."
"You are breaking the rules?"
"Not breaking," Harry smiled slyly. "Just bending them into a shape that fits me."
"If you say so," she snorted and stood up, dusting off the robe. "For me it is breaking them."
"Whatever," Harry rolled his eyes and they made their way out of the arena and into the proper part of the Academy.
o-0-o
William Stryker sat up in his cell as he heard footsteps outside it. For the first time in ages he felt a lump of ice form in his stomach. It was a feeling he had almost forgotten, fear.
The door opened and through it stepped a man that for him was the worst enemy and anathema to his beliefs, Nicholas J. Fury. "What do you want?"
"To talk with you," Fury smiled. "About your fate and your organization as well as this attack that was the biggest operational failure that I have seen in ages."
"What do you mean by my fate?"
"You won't see the daylight for as long as I'm Director of SHIELD or maybe even longer."
He isn't bluffing, Stryker thought, he is good at lying, but not that good and he has too much pleasure in saying those words. Damned ignorant that doesn't understand what is the true danger to the world. He gulped in fear as beads of sweat started to ran down his forehead.
"Good, you fear me," Fury smiled. "Also don't think that anybody will be able to free you, your organization is in pieces and I made sure that none of them will be able to reach you."
Stryker only nodded and watched as Fury left the cell. He knew that he needed to bid his time and wait for Fury's mistake as otherwise he was going to get killed one way or another.
o-0-o
"You are getting sloppy," Hrolf said as he pushed Harry into the deeper part of the pool.
"Am I?" Harry asked as he easily resurfaced, several meters away, his whole body covered in droplets of water. While at first he felt a bit uneasy about swimming naked, now he almost completely ignored it. "I always thought that you were the slow one and had issues with catching me."
"Now, I'm quite sure that I'm the better one," Hrolf said and narrowed his eyes when he saw a large, ugly scar close to Harry's spine. "How did you get it?"
"Lucky shot," Harry said as he rubbed the spot. "Bullet with poison that caused some pain," He shook his head and playfully punched Hrolf. "Now I want to forget about it."
"Sure," Hrolf smiled and sent Harry into the water, but before he had an opportunity to pin Harry, Harry managed to weasel his way out of Hrolf's grip. "When did you get so good?"
"Training," Harry smiled as dived and swam between Hrolf's legs opened wings, sending older boy underwater.
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"He changed a lot since his arrival on Asgard," Volstagg said as he watched his son and Harry have fun.
"Indeed," Gudrun said, faint smile on her lips. "Also it changed the Crown Prince in a way not many expected."
"He is calmer and somewhat more responsible. Two things that never were his strong side, but now he thinks and is able to control his temper."
"Yes," Gudrun nodded and her gaze flickered to her son. "He is also less focused on himself and more willing to teach his younger siblings or His Highness."
"Yes," Volstagg smiled and placed his hand on her stomach. "And we are expecting another one, not that he knows it yet."
"Yes," she said as she placed her hand on the calloused hand of her husband.
Volstagg only smiled and looked at his son as he tried to catch His Highness.
o-0-o
"What?!" Fudge roared as he looked at Umbridge. "How did it happen?! How?!"
"I don't know Cornelius," she said. "Our best aurors are looking for the assassin responsible for this crime. When he is found, he will be punished with the highest possible severity."
"What about Avery's family?"
"They will be given protection at all times and we will provide them with enough money to support their lifestyle," she smoothly replied. "I also thought about awarding Avery the Order of Merlin First Class to show that he died like a hero and his death won't be forgotten. It should sway a large number of people to our cause."
"Indeed, indeed," Fudge said, looking at his most trusted underling, one that had yet to fail him. "Do you have any idea about how we can protect Hogwarts from those assassins?"
"I would suggest the deployment of some of our aurors to keep an eye on what is going on inside of it," she said, her voice sweet and too convincing for him to disagree.
"What about Dumbledore? While I see merits in this decision, he will oppose violently to it and he has much sway over the Wizengamot."
"Don't announce this move to him, simple as that."
"Yes," he said as he considered her words. "Yes, this makes a lot of sense and I like it," he said more firmly, determination appearing in his eyes. "It should make him wary of angering us and more docile."
"Indeed." As Fudge looked into her toad-like eyes he had a feeling that one day she might decide to take his place. "So Mr Minister, can I implement those measures?"
"You can," Fudge said and when she left his office,and he pulled out a bottle of fire whiskey and a tumbler. It was time to celebrate the victory and weakening of Dumbledore. It was a small pebble, but that usually was able to start an avalanche.
o-0-o
"No!" Dumbledore firmly said, his gaze focused on Umbridge. "Hogwarts was and is autonomous from the Ministry and you won't change a thing."
"I didn't arrive here to negotiate with you," she said, correcting her pink cardigan. "I travelled to tell you what was the agreement reached within the Ministry. The agreement goes as follows, due to the series of murders the security of Hogwarts needs to be upgraded and as such, for this task a group of forty aurors will be delegated, that have the right to patrol the whole castle."
"You might place them here, but they won't get any support from me. The castle is autonomous and answers to nobody so watch your tongue, Mrs Umbridge."
She hissed and looked at him, a challenge in her eyes. "Don't oppose me on this one, you won't like the outcome. They can come in by force or you can let them in willingly, I assure you that you don't want to make them force their way into the castle."
Dumbledore was silent for a moment, but then he finally nodded. "They can be deployed, but they step a toe out of line and I will remove them."
"Perfect," she smiled. "Minister Fudge will be happy with you and your loyalty to our country."
o-0-o
"Where did you disappear for a whole day?" Kurt asked glaring at Harry. "Even Warren didn't know where you were and he is the one that always does."
"Sorry," Harry said with a shrug. "But my grandfather thought that he needed to speak with me immediately after my return to Asgard and the guards he had sent wanted to obey his command to the letter."
"I see," Kurt said, his prehensile tail swinging lazily. "Can you be kind enough to mention such things the next time you are going to do something similar?"
"I will try," Harry said as he rolled his eyes and walked to the window. His gaze swept over the landscape visible behind it. He could see the dark blue calm waters of the ocean surrounding the city and in the distance the Observatory. "But you need to remember that Asgard is my home and I know it far better than any of you will ever know it. I will walk the paths that I decide to walk and you don't have the power to stop me." He turned to look at Kurt. "You need to understand that it is a different world, one which I know far better than you do, so don't expect me to obey you here. I will listen to what you say and maybe accept it."
"Fine," Kurt nodded. "I will tell that to the Professor, he also wants to see you."
"Lead then," Harry smiled and followed Kurt to a room that Professor decided to use as his office. "Professor," Harry said, bowing his head. "Did you want to see me?"
"Yes," Professor smiled. "How do you feel after that night?"
"Well enough," Harry said as he sat down in one of the chairs. "I'm not thinking about it and I don't have a single issue. I focus on it and I want to cry or curse myself."
"You shouldn't blame yourself for it, you did the only thing that was right and proper at the time. Killing is something that you should avoid, but there are times when it is necessary."
"And this was one of those situations," Harry finished and shook his head. "My logical side is agreeing with you, but my more emotional one is throwing a fit."
"Guilt," Professor said and Harry looked at him. "An emotion that usually tells us what is wrong or good, in case of killing someone it can be bad. You need to see a reason for what you did."
"To protect others," Harry said, without pause. "To protect the ones that can't protect themselves and need to be protected from those wishing them harm."
"But do you understand the meaning behind those words?" Professor asked and Harry looked up. "You were taught them, but I don't think that you know the meaning behind them."
"No." Harry shook his head.
"You are a part of the royal family and as such it is your responsibility to protect those that are too weak or incapable of protecting themselves," Professor said. "You need to accept that it might require killing someone to do it. You are not a monster, but a protector."
"What's a difference between those things?"
"A very thin and easy to miss line. When you are a protector, you kill to protect, when monster, you kill because you can and want. Do you see it?"
"Yes," Harry said and shook his head, sending away those thoughts. "There is a rather interesting tournament coming up, one that most of the Institute would enjoy watching."
"Your uncle mentioned it," the Professor said, a smile on his lips. "And I decided to accept his invitation as it should be a good way to relax for most of the students."
"Also he said something about curbing the arrogance of a certain group," Harry said and looked at the sky that was becoming clouded and in the distance there could he heard a rumble of a thunder. "I better disappear as father is coming and he isn't happy."
Professor X only nodded and Harry walked to the window, opened it and jumped out, his wings spreading and keeping him in the air.
o-0-o
"Do you know how foolish your actions were?" Thor asked, both of them in Harry's chambers. "I know that your grandfather explained those things to you, but it doesn't change the fact that you are a foolish and stupid person."
"I know," Harry said with a sigh. "He explained it and later Sif also had a couple of words for me, harsh words."
"Because you disappointed her," Thor said. "She hates when one of her students fails her and you just did it."
Harry winced at those words.
"Also I'm not happy about you, while what you had done was brave, it was also foolish," Thor said. "I won't punish you as your grandfather already did, but the next time you do it you won't be able to get away from it. Is it clear?"
"Yes," Harry said with a gulp.
"Good." Thor ruffled Harry's hair. "You won't do anything as foolish as this for the second time, will you?"
"I won't, I promise." Harry said sincerely.
"As I thought," Thor smiled. "You can now do whatever you wish, though be careful as the Hogwarts students might be arriving shortly."
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes before walking out of the room and towards the training grounds, he wanted and needed to release some pent up energy.
o-0-o
A blade flashed in the sunlight and flowed towards Harry's head, he rolled out of its path and raised his shield to stop it. With a loud clash they collided, sending sparks in every direction.
"Not bad," Atalanta said as she was the one that sent the blade. "You are better than you were before."
"Thanks," Harry smiled as he flexed his fingers tightly and gripped the handle of his sword. He launched himself at her, his sword making an arc in the air, where it was met by her shorter and more nimble blade.
His eyes followed the path of her sword, while his mind tried to calculate the best possible counter. Before he had a chance to do it, flew a hunting knife flew towards his chest, one of two she had. It forced him to jump away and use the blade of his sword to deflect it. "Clever," he said as he saw her smirk.
"Didn't you miss something?" she asked and his eyes widened when he saw that both of the knives were missing. He barely heard the sound of the metal cutting through the air and just in time moved his shield into the path of it.
"When did you get that devious?" He asked as he walked towards her, his eyes watching for any more surprises.
"I always was, you just didn't see it," she smiled, pulling out her sword and charging at him. This time he didn't get surprised by anything and his sword slammed into the hilt of her weapon, forcing her to release it with a pained yelp. "I surrender," she said, the moment his blade touched the side of her neck. With his second hand he easily caught her blade and pointed it at her heart.
"I didn't injure you, did I?" Harry asked, some concern visible in his voice as he lowered the weapon.
"No," she said, flexing her fingers. "I just didn't expect it to hit so hard, that's all."
"You asked for it," Harry said with a cheeky smile and handed her the sword she lost.
"When?" she asked and with a swipe of her legs she sent him onto the ground. He didn't have a chance to do anything before he was the one that was forced to surrender. "Someone is getting careless."
"No, I'm not," Harry protested and yelped when her sword embedded in the sand between his legs, too close for his comfort. He gulped and looked at her. "Fine, I was careless."
"Much better," she smiled and helped him get up.
"Why are you so angry at me?" Harry asked, massaging his sore back.
"Because I don't want to lose you. You are one of my true friends, you know that most of my family doesn't like me and would love to see me killed."
"I get it," Harry said as he looked at her.
"Good," she smiled. "I wouldn't like to lose you, I like you too much."
"Thanks." He picked up his discarded weapons and looked at her. "Another round?"
"Why not," she shrugged, her hands wrapping around the handles of her daggers.
o-0-o
Amelia Bones frowned as she looked at the photo showing Avery's body or what was left of it, his head was intact, but most of his chest was gone. Though on the remaining part of it there was a sign left, a triskelion placed inside of a crosshair. She looked at it and closed her eyes, trying to recall her knowledge about the runes.
"Why does it look familiar?" Wisdom asked her as he entered her office.
"Because it is a sign that all wizards should know, or at least the weird spiral in the middle of it." She rubbed her forehead. "I'm almost certain that whoever is responsible for this has only issues with certain members of the society. Macnair was a Death Eater, Avery also. More important is the fact that nobody out of their families was targeted."
"They want fear and they are getting it," Wisdom said. "You also saw the reports from the Ministry, they are afraid of walking out of the building alone."
"As if in a group they had a better chance against trained assassins."
"True, but psychology makes us seek company when we are unsure of our surroundings and when we feel fear. It somehow gives us some feeling of safety, even if rationally it changes nothing," Wisdom said and shrugged. "Not that this is the worst thing that will happen to them, Fury called and according to him, Loki and him are planning something for Hogwarts. Something that should shake them."
She looked at him and nodded. "Not the worst idea ever and it certainly will help us, especially in the long run and maybe undermine Fudge's position."
"We will see, but I don't think so. Once you left there is nobody excluding Croaker that is opposing him and he can rule as he wishes to. Also Dumbledore doesn't want the position of the Minister, he prefers being in the shadows and leading from there."
"Still, if everything we learned about Asgard is true, it will be a good lesson for them," she smiled. "And remember that children will tell their parents and they might look weirdly at Fudge. Considering the fact that even with the current involvement of Asgard nobody contacted the Ministry says a lot about Asgard's feelings towards it. While it won't convince Malfoy or the other extreme conservatives, it should do its work on the more reasonable ones."
"And that should weaken his support by quite a lot. Which even if it doesn't destroy him, it will force him to be more careful and consider his moves and actions before committing to them."
"Assuming that he can think," she said sadly. "If he works with Umbridge, it won't happen. I saw enough of her to know that she can manipulate anybody to do her bidding and now she is his second in command."
"We will see," Wisdom said as he threw onto the table a thick pile of papers. "Those are transcripts from the Interrogations of all of our prisoners, those that got caught in the USA."
"You want me to take a look?"
"Yes," he smiled. "You will learn more than I ever could."
"Yes," she sighed and reached out for the first sheet of paper. She didn't even notice him slipping out of the room.
o-0-o
Fury drummed his fingers on the surface of his desk and looked at Alexander Pierce that entered his office. Looking at his second in command he had a feeling that there was more to him than he was willing to admit. "What can you tell me about the Congress and the President?"
"They accepted your explanation of what happened and won't ask any questions," Pierce said.
Fury smiled and looked out of the window. "Prince Loki mentioned in passing that he can make sure that some people are forever lost and won't have a chance to escape their punishment. He also assured me that they will be out of the way and they will completely disappear from this realm."
"What did he suggest?"
"If I remember correctly he mentioned the mines of Nidavellir, hot, dangerous and exhausting work."
"Slavery?" Pierce asked with an archer eyebrow.
"No, he said that it is the harshest punishment short of the death sentence," Fury smiled. "Considering that Thor's son was injured because of those idiots, well, I don't have too many qualms about giving them to Asgard."
"The Council will need to be convinced about this as they might have a problem that we hand humans over to aliens."
"Can I count on you swaying them to our cause?" Fury asked. "I would have attended the meeting with them, but there are other duties that I have."
"You can," Pierce said, stood up and walked out of the room.
o-0-o
"What is this whole tournament that everybody is talking about?" Danielle asked as she, Rahne and Jean walked with Atalanta through the market district of the city. She had trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that it could look so good.
The alleys were wide and paved with various stones, along them were hundreds of stalls filled with uncountable goods, starting from the most common ones to artifacts and pieces of art that she had trouble believing were possible to create. But the thing that got most of her attention was how happy the people seemed to be, it looked as if it was a heaven.
"An opportunity for sorcerers to show how good they had gotten in the last few months and to have fun," Atalanta said with a playful smile on her lips. "Usually it is a bit later, but Prince Loki decided to push it a bit earlier."
"Sounds exciting," Danny said as she stopped in front of one of many stalls with jewellery.
Her gaze swept over hundreds of various necklaces, pendants, rings, earrings and bracelets. Each of them made either out of silver, gold, platinum or this weird metal that Harry showed her, which was called mithril. "Is this pure gold?" she asked as she looked at a necklace showing a pair of wolves made out of gold holding a triskelion made out of something that looked like emerald. It's chain seemed to be so thin that it was almost impossible to see it. "And emerald?"
"Yes," the Dwarf said, he was standing behind the stall, his voice was laced with indignation. "I wouldn't even dare to make jewelry in anything else than pure metals and real gems."
"I thought that I mentioned it," Atalanta said with a sly smile. "You need to work hard to impress some tastes here and nothing else than the best would pass."
"Indeed, Your Highness," Dwarf said with a bow of his head. "I guess that the bill for everything needs to be send to the palace?"
"Yes," Atalanta said and as Danny opened her mouth, Atalanta glanced at her. "I have more than enough money to spend and I like you, so I can pay for all of those things."
"If you say so," Danny said. "It's just that for last couple of years I didn't have a family and such things were beyond my reach."
"Oh," Atalanta said in understanding. "As I said, you can buy whatever you want, the palace will pay those bills."
"This shape looks familiar," Jean said as she picked up a necklace with a golden bird with rubies as its eyes.
"It is a sign of the Phoenix," Dwarf said. "Sign of rebirth and creation."
"I know," she said, her eyes flashing gold for the briefest moment and as Danny looked at her, she could feel the power in this color. "I will take it."
"It does look good," Atalanta smiled. "So it should fit you."
"Yes," Jean said with a faint smile. "On Midgard not many know about the Phoenix."
Danielle smiled and looked at the necklace she was debating if she should buy, it looked good and she liked it. "I will take it," she said with finality, putting it on to see how it looked. She could feel the cool metal touch her skin and as she looked at it, she needed to nod in approval. It was going to be an interesting day and one that allowed them to forget about the more gloom issues.
o-0-o
"Brat!" Illyana exclaimed as she threw herself at Piotr. "I missed you," she said, embracing him.
"As did I," he said and looked at her, he could see subtle changes in her, he could tell that she was forced to train not only in magic, but also in more physical things, like martial arts, as she had started to develop some muscle. "How is it at the Academy?"
"Good and tiring," she said as she released him and calmed down a bit. In the brown robe she looked a bit intimidating, at least in his opinion and on the shoulder of it he noticed a triskelion held by a pair of roaring, crowned wolves, a sign of her being considered a royal ward. "I thought that it would be nice and slow, but they don't know those two words."
"You actually need to train?" He asked with a grin.
"A lot," she said with a smile. "But I can feel getting stronger with each day and I like the Academy as well some of my friends that I made there."
"Should I feel envious that you have an opportunity to be there?"
"No," she chuckled. "Unless you enjoy being woken up at an unholy hour and spend half of the day studying and the second half doing your homework and trying to relax."
"I will pass, I think." he smiled. "With X-Men I already have more than enough of things to do or learn."
"Still, it is a nice place to be," she said with a smile. "Also the people seem friendly and helpful, so I really like being at the Academy."
"That's good," he nodded and looked at her. "What is this tournament that Harry mentioned a couple of times?"
"From what I heard it is a traditional tournament held two times per year and it is an opportunity for us to show our abilities and powers. Also we compete with students of the other two academies of magic that are in the realm of Asgard," she said and frowned. "From what I was told, there is a moment when we make an oath in front of Odin about service to Asgard and several other things."
"Do you need to?" He asked, he disliked an idea of his sole sister being forced to make such an oath.
"I don't really have a choice," she smiled weakly. "I also talked with Prince Loki and the Lord Commandant and both of them said that unless I plan on staying on Asgard after I'm done with my education it will have little to no effect on me."
"That's good," he said and looked at her. "So do you have any idea of when the tournament will start?"
"In a couple of days, ten if I remember correctly," she said. "Harry should tell you as he knows it and from what he mentioned the whole Institute will be invited for it."
"Neat," he smiled and looked at her. "Since we have some time you can tell me more about the Academy."
"I guess I can," she smiled in return. Thinking about how to explain to him several things about the Academy.
o-0-o
As the time for the Tournament was getting closer and closer, Realm Eternal started to change. Hidden defense positions were revealed and guns normally unused were brought out, their muzzles pointing at the sky. Ready to unleash destruction upon any enemy foolish enough to get close to the Citadel and the Academy.
Even when silent they were reminding everybody about the might and power of Asgard, their silver turrets and massive cannons placed inside of them standing out amongst the architecture of the city. Each and every one of them stood like a sentinel amongst the buildings, ready to unleash its fury on anybody wishing to harm anything under its protection.
While the defenses of Asgard were revealed, other parts of the city were taking far less lethal and maybe even more intimidating preparations. Hundreds of warriors, sorcerers and cadets of various military academies scattered around the whole city were preparing for the great military parade that would open the tournament. They were the very best that Asgard had to offer and they were going to show that to the whole universe.
Yet one of the most important spectators to be of the event was unaware of the things that he was going to see when he would travel to Asgard. He was completely oblivious to those preparations, his sight focused on much smaller issues than the schemes and games of gods.
o-0-o
A/N – Small rant first, while I know that in canon Stryker group is called Purifiers, I changed it to Purists as it sounds better from PR point of view and there is a smaller chance that it gathers attention from SHIELD/ATF/CIA/FBI or any other agency. Purifiers sounds a bit racist and xenophobic which is a bad thing for public image, really bad. While Purists has a more religious vibe which is better and more neutral, as well draws far less attention.
Appearance of Asgard, if you watch Thor The Dark World, you will see turrets and actual energy weapons being used on Asgard. Here it is mostly a show of power and silent reminder of what will happen if you break the law.
Reviews:
randomplotbunny – It will be and they will be, but they want to catch breath and rest while Fury can do whatever he wants to do.
TimothyB – You will need to wait one more chapter for it to fully unravel, generally they won't enjoy it, maybe some will enjoy, that is if they like being woken up by a bucket of freezing water to the face.
GothicChevy – I think that it should be fixed in this chapter, dialogues will feel stiff, but I'm not a native speaker and still have a habit for writing full constructions.
TL14 – Development of characters is a thing that I enjoy a lot, also alongside building the world it is probably the most important thing in any book. Dialogues might be lame, but if characters have some depth and aren't perfect you will ignore the dialogue, if you add nice world most of readers won't see a lot of issues with the book.