A/N - Holidays on Asgard and Hogwarts approaches, shenanigans happen as people have too much time to waste.
o-0-o
Beta - eri1551
o-0-o
Harry smiled when he left the Bifrost and saw the Observatory's familiar walls, the Capitol's golden spires and the massive form of the Citadel in the middle of it all. He inhaled the air and his senses were almost immediately assaulted by the well-known and loved scent of seawater and salt.
"Welcome home, Your Highness," Heimdall said from his watch post.
Harry nodded in thanks and looked at his friends. "What do you think of Asgard?" He asked with a look at Jean, Carol and Laura.
"It looks way better than in the myths," Jean said. "More golden and more fancy."
Harry smiled and chuckled. "This is just the entry into the realm," he said and indicated the city ahead of them. "This is the Capitol."
He heard gasps of shock and surprise from them and laughed softly, their reaction was the same as that of his friends the previous year.
"It looks fantastic," Carol said. "I kind of expected wood, stone and thatched roofs, not something like this."
"That's how it is portrayed in some myths," he said and looked at them. "It looks even better from up close."
They smiled and followed him across the bridge, into the city proper and through it into the Citadel. On their way there Atalanta and him talked with them about what they should know and told them a few more interesting or amusing facts about Asgard.
o-0-o
Tonks looked curiously at the rest of the group that was lucky or unlucky enough to be allowed to go to Asgard and while she agreed with some of Dumbledore's choices, when she looked at some of them she wondered if the Headmaster was getting senile. At least to her they didn't make much sense since they would only cause issues.
"Eager to go?" Charlie Weasley asked her. "Or just wondering which of these idiots will cause trouble first when we are on Asgard?"
"Kind of both," she said and sighed. "I know that we will enjoy it, but I also know that some of them will cause trouble when we get there."
"Who?"
"Your youngest brothers," she said thoughtfully. "They are amusing, but also mischievous, so they might decide to behave or not to, we will see."
"Hopefully they will behave themselves," he said and she nodded.
A moment later a beam of ethereal light appeared in front of their group out of which stepped out Loki, who looked around and nodded. "Most of you know who I am, if not, I'm Prince Loki of Asgard and all of you were chosen by your Headmaster and deemed good enough to learn magic on Asgard. Be warned that if you break any of the rules you need to follow you will be sent back here in disgrace and your House will lose three hundred points."
Tonks heard gasps of surprise and shock, three hundred points was a lot and regaining so many was nearly impossible. "I just hope that they understand that Loki is serious," she muttered to herself, her hair changing to vivid pink.
"Since everything is clear, let's go," Loki said and they were enveloped by a beam of light and whisked away to Asgard.
o-0-o
Carol smiled as she stood on one of the many terraces of the Citadel and looked at the buildings, gardens and plazas sprawled all around it, the roads lined with trees dividing the buildings into even quarters. In the distance she could see a complex of large arenas and when she turned around she could see the Academy's massive floating form shining in the sunlight. Overall it looked like a paradise come true. "It is beautiful," she said as she turned to look at Harry. "I see why you wanted to show me this view."
"Yes, I've shown it to everybody else when they were here for the first time," he said and glanced at Jean. "What do you think of Asgard?"
"I love it," she said. "It looks like a paradise and I love what you told us about its approach to sexuality and relationships."
Harry smiled at those words. "Just be careful with whom you flirt," he said after a moment. "Most of people should have no ill intent towards you, but some might, so just be careful."
"I will," Jean promised. "So with whom can I flirt?"
"My friends will have no issues with you, but generally you could try with anybody. Most will be amused by it and most likely play the game," Harry said and smiled. "Hrolf will be a good one to start with."
"Can you introduce me to him?"
"Sure, but not now nor tomorrow as I have a few things to take care of and the sooner I'm done with them, the better."
"Those things?" Jean softly asked. "Or something else?"
"Those," Harry said with a nod. "I just want to have it behind me and allow me to enjoy not doing anything for as long as I can. I need to catch up on my reading as well, so I will be a bit busy, but after tomorrow I won't mind some entertainment and fun."
"What things?" Carol asked.
"Jean, can you tell her?" Harry asked as he looked at them. "I need to find Atalanta and talk with her."
"Sure," Jean said, Harry nodded in thanks and stepping onto the railing of the terrace, jumped, his wings opening after a moment. "Coming of age," Jean said when the two of them were alone. "He talked with me about it and said that it is a long and complicated procedure."
"Oh," she said. "It makes sense now."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Still, those holidays are nice idea and I enjoy them, even if he needs to be away from us and needs to focus on something else."
"It seems like fun," she said as they turned to watch the city sprawled all around the Citadel, away from all the worries and troubles of Midgard.
o-0-o
Laura looked around curiously as she followed Atalanta through the corridors of the Citadel, unsure of where they were going. "Where are we going?" she finally asked.
"My rooms," Atalanta said with a glance at her. "I want to talk with you and want to have some privacy while doing so, so that's why we're going there."
"About what?"
"Some stuff," Atalanta smiled reassuringly. "Nothing to worry about, you should be fine."
"Should be?" Laura asked, her claws extending.
"You will be fine," Atalanta corrected herself. "Besides, nobody will attack you as technically speaking you are under Harry's protection and nobody is insane enough to pick fights with him."
Laura nodded in acknowledgement and followed Atalanta through the maze of corridors, shocked by how opulent and rich everything around them was. When they entered Atalanta's chambers it took her a while to get over the shock at how expensive everything looked there as well.
The moment they were inside and the doors closed behind them Laura looked at Atalanta. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"You," Atalanta said. "And we are waiting for Harry to show up as he also has an interest in this subject too."
"I'm here," someone said and when Laura looked in the direction of the voice she saw Harry walking towards them, wings folding to his back. She looked at him and had trouble believing someone could look so good, black wings, tanned skin and a mischievous smile that was so captivating that it was almost impossible not to get caught up in it. During the time she had spent at the Institute she knew he was good looking, but not that good looking. He walked to Atalanta and smiled. "I would have been here sooner, but Jean and Carol stole my time."
"No problem," she said. "I was about to start, so you were right on time, besides I would have waited for you."
He snorted, but Laura could tell that both of them were tense in one way or another and she could feel a soft humming sensation around them. "So can you just tell me what do you want from me?" she finally asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"At?" He asked, looking at Atalanta. "You explain things better than I do."
"Fine," she said and turned to look at her. "Laura, you are an interesting person and one that got our attention."
Laura looked at them, some surprise and shock in her eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Harry said as he walked forward. "As At said, you are a person we noticed and we cannot stop thinking about you."
Laura looked at Harry a bit confused and unsure of what he meant. "Harry means that both of us are attracted to you and we want to share you," Atalanta said. "I noticed that you look beautiful and Harry also finds you attractive and since we don't want to cause each other pain, or for that matter to you, we want to share you."
"What?" Laura asked, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean by sharing me?"
"Triumvirate relationship," Atalanta explained. "All of us are equal and have the same rights, I know that on Midgard it isn't common, but here, especially among younger Æsir it is extremely common."
"So what do you say?" Harry softly asked. "We don't want to hurt you, so we wanted to clear the air once we had the opportunity to do so."
"I will need to think about it," Laura said. "But I think that my answer will be yes. You are two of the few friends I have at the Institute, ones that I trust, you both are attractive and I desire you."
"Thank you, Laura," Atalanta said and she looked at her. "I like you, yet I know that I won't survive without my pet wolf." Atalanta placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. "So we needed to sort this out."
"I'm not your pet wolf," Harry said. "So please, don't call me that."
"Still, you are mine and hers," Atalanta said with a nod at Laura. "So don't complain and we will be fine."
Harry huffed in annoyance and Laura laughed. "I wonder how we are going to survive him," she said with look at Atalanta.
"Patience and more patience," she smiled and looked at Harry. "Didn't you have a scheduled appointment with Eir?"
The color disappeared from Harry's face as it turned to a sheet white hue. "I had," he said.
"Go," Atalanta said and glanced at Laura. "We two can talk while he tries to explain to Eir all of his new scars and injuries."
Laura cracked a smile as she saw Harry almost run out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.
o-0-o
Harry jumped out of the balcony of Atalanta's rooms and grabbing one of the columns made a leap onto the balcony of his rooms. Entering them he walked across them and into the bathroom, inside of it he saw twelve wax candles, a small bundle of clothes and another one of towels. He calmed down and taking the candles he started to place them in the corners of his bath and lit them with a simple fire spell. Soon the strong purifying smell of incense filled the room, he waited for the flames to get even and tall before he slowly and carefully undressed. Making sure not to extinguish one of the flames or put a single part of his clothing into the water. He put his clothes onto a neat pile away from the water and mindful of not to destroying anything slipped into the water. It had a strong scent to it, one of spices, incense and powerful antiseptics.
As he entered the bath he felt a wave of nervousness and anxiety tinted with excitement wash over him, these were the preparations for one of the most important rituals that any young Æsir could pass. He picked up a soap and a sponge and slowly washed himself, the soap removing any physical as well as spiritual impurity that covered him. He winced when it scraped over the scars he had thanks to Weapon X and their botched experiments.
"Spirits of the ancestors, help me on my way to manhood," he muttered, sending a small trickle of magic out of himself. "Give me the strength of body and mind to endure the trials that are to come."
He finished washing himself and walked out of the bath, making sure not to extinguish any of those candles. He slowly picked up one of the thick, white towels and started to dry himself, making sure not to leave a single spot wet. White was the color of purity and innocence and he was supposed to approach this trial as a pure being. Having dried himself he reached out for his clothes, as it was a ritual they were special and very different from his usual ones. They consisted of a snow white loincloth and a snow robe of the same color, tied with a wide white belt. He picked up a long strip of loincloth and slowly started to gird himself with it, having done that he put on the robe and lightly tied the belt around his waist, it only needed to keep the robe on him and close to his body as he would shed it soon enough. If not for his wings, he wouldn't have even bother tying it, but they needed to stay covered by it.
He extinguished the candles one by one, making sure not to wet the clothes with any water from the bath, the water inside was impure and if it touched him or his clothes, he would need to start the whole thing from the beginning and it would need to be purified once again.
Dressed in those clothes he walked out of his bathroom and into his bedroom, his bed was covered in a layer of white linen cloth as to ensure trial's place's purity. He heard the doors open and he gulped a bit when he saw Eir walk into the room. She would be the one to perform the ritual and from what he had heard from his friends it could be a bit painful.
"Lay on your bed," she said, her voice soft, yet full of power. "And do nothing, you are not supposed to touch your body for the whole length of this."
"I know," Harry said with a roll of his eyes as he laid on the bed.
He saw her smile, but then it was gone, she walked to him, placed her bag to the side and untied the belt keeping his robe in place and slowly spread it apart. Then she carefully touched his loincloth and with one smooth move opened it, revealing his groin to the world.
"Don't move during the whole thing," she said as she opened her bag. "If you move, I might make a cut wrong and remove too much or too little, if it's too little it will be easy to fix, if it's too much then..."
"I get it," he said, going through the calming exercises he was taught, evening out his breathing and slowing down his heartbeat.
She nodded and he felt her hand touch him, he looked in her direction and saw her push something between the glans and the foreskin. It separated those things from each other and would protect the glans when she'ld make the cut. She pulled out something that looked like a pen and drew a line across his foreskin. She looked and measured it few more times before she nodded content and looked at him.
"Prepare for pain," she said as she pulled out a thin and short scalpel.
His eyes moved from the scalpel down to his manhood for a few times as it neared his body. He felt the skin being pierced and bit down on a scream when he felt her make the very first cut. It hurt and burned like hell, but he clamped shut his mouth and didn't even think about screaming.
She made a few quick and trained moves with her scalpel which removed any connection between the foreskin and the rest of his manhood, then she made the last cut. He saw her remove a bloodied piece of skin and reveal the head of his penis with a thin bloody ring around it. She moved her finger above the ring and blood disappeared as the wound knitted on its own, creating a smooth and hard to spot transition.
"You did good," she said and smiled. "Your father will be proud of you."
"Thank you," he said and she nodded.
"Restrain from any masturbation for the next week or so and be careful when washing it, it is sensitive and the wound is still fresh," she said. "I can put a stinging hex connected to your hands and this so that you don't do something stupid, but I trust you to use your brain."
He blushed and nodded as she covered the spot over the wound with a bandage that would fuse with his body and add another layer of protection to the wound. She wrapped the cut foreskin in a layer of cloth and looked at him.
"It's done, don't do anything stupid and you will be fine." She placed cloth on his nightstand. "Now you just need to sacrifice it and the ceremony will be done as well."
He nodded and saw her pack her bag and then exit the room, leaving him alone. He carefully wrapped himself in a robe, grabbed the piece of cloth in which she wrapped his cut foreskin and walked to a small altar he had in the corner of a room which he used to practice magic. It was a simple one with several candles placed on it and a small onyx bowl in the middle, inlaid with steel, for making sacrifices. He kneeled in front of it, placed the bundle of cloth in the bowl and closed his eyes, calming himself.
When his eyes once again opened he slowly gathered his magic before putting it into words. "Spirits of the ancestors, take this part of me and my innocence as an offering and help me on my way to manhood," he said, each and every word brimming with power and magic. The moment he finished the prayer he sent a small fire spell at the bundle placed in the bowl and it started to burn.
It burned quickly, the flames easily consuming the flesh and the cloth, yet leaving no ashes, when they were gone at the bottom of the bowl were two more beads. He carefully reached out into the bowl and picked them up, they were different than the ones he had, those he had were round, these were octagonal and were made out of red jasper. He untied his braid and slipped his hair through them, once it was done he braided his hair again, stood up and walked out of the room, shedding the robe on the way out.
o-0-o
Illyana blinked when she saw the huge, hulking form of her brother walk through the halls of the Academy accompanied by Ulf. She hadn't expected Piotr to get here so soon, she knew that Harry was supposed to take their common friends here, but she didn't think it would happen this soon.
"Brat!" she shouted as she ran at him and threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you."
"Malyutka," Piotr said as he hugged her. "So did I."
"So how was it at the Institute?" she asked him as she released him out of her hug.
"Quite enjoyable," he said and looked at her. "And here?"
"Same," she said and smiled. "But I missed you, even with all of the friends I have it's not the same thing as having you around."
He smiled and looked at her. "Don't we have a better place to talk than in the middle of a corridor?" He asked.
"We have," she said. "The Academy's terraces."
He nodded and once they were on the terraces and watching at the beautiful sea below they talked about the last few months, trying to catch up on the events each had missed.
o-0-o
Atalanta walked out of her bathroom in a pristine white robe and walking towards an altar at the corner of her room she grabbed a knife that was a gift from her mother for her last birthday. It was a simple weapon with a leather handle, a brass pommel, a crude crossguard and a simple straight ten inch long steel blade.
When she was in front of the altar she grabbed the braid she had kept for the past six years, placed her knife against it at the base of her skull and cut. The steel blade easily cutting through her tightly braided pitch black hair. Having done that, she shed her robe, kneeled in front of the altar and closed her eyes for a brief second in an attempt to calm herself.
The moment she felt confident and composed she opened them and placed the cut braid in a granite bowl that was on the altar. Then, she took one last calming breath and spoke, her voice filled with power, "Spirits of the ancestors, take this hair and my innocence as an offering and help me on my way to womanhood."
She sent a bit of fire magic at it and it burned quickly, not leaving any ash behind, instead when they were burned at the bottom of the bowl she saw two beads. She picked them up and saw that they were made out of jade and were similar to the two she already had. For a moment she rolled them between her fingers, but then she grabbed the braid hanging to the side of her hair and quickly untying it she slipped them onto it and braided it again.
"Two steps done," she said, getting up. "Two more to go." She gathered her robe off the floor and walked back into her bedroom to find some more presentable clothing. The night was going to be amusing, she thought, as she realized that Harry had done his ritual too, and would be antsy for some time.
o-0-o
Harry poured himself some ale and looked at the city sprawled around the Citadel, it was late evening and he sat on the terrace of his rooms with just a few of his friends; Bobby, Warren, Ulf, Hrolf, Atalanta, Jean, Laura and Kitty.
"So what are we going to do?" Jean asked, her red hair shining in the rays of the evening sun.
"Relax and forget about the world," he said with a smile, slowly sipping the ale and enjoying its taste. "There are things you haven't seen yet, but should enjoy and like, there is also Wolf Hall."
"Your summer palace?" Kitty asked.
"Same one," he said with a nod. "But I think that you will enjoy the Capitol more and there are places you didn't have an opportunity to see yet, but, as I said, should enjoy."
"What exactly?" Warren asked. "We saw quite a lot of the city the last time we were here."
"There are things you didn't see," Harry smirked and added with a grin. "What's wrong in doing nothing for weeks, while enjoying our free time?"
"Fair point," Kitty said and Harry could swear that with each passing moment she was getting closer to Ulf. "But still, we wouldn't mind seeing a thing or two."
"After tomorrow we can talk about it," he said and finished his goblet of ale. "Today I want to get used to being here and tomorrow I fear I will try not to bore myself to death."
"Council meetings?" Atalanta asked. "Or something else?"
"Usual council bullshit," he said with a nod. "Sit for an hour or two and listen as various advisors and ministers talk about various things that don't really matter."
"I know something about this," Warren said and Harry looked at him. "Father decided that I should start learning about the inner workings of the corporation and funny holidays were thrown out of the window."
"That serves you right," Harry muttered and shook his head. "But can we not talk about it? This are supposed to be a holiday and a good one at that, not a time when someone reminds me about more work."
"We can," Warren smiled. "It's you who started with this topic, baby cousin."
Harry growled, but paused and instead reached out for a carafe full of ale and poured himself a full goblet. He could tell that his older cousin wanted to mess with him and have fun, so he was not going to give him the satisfaction, instead he focused on his own pleasure.
o-0-o
Several hours later he stopped outside of the doors leading into his rooms and looked at Atalanta. "Do you want to sleep with me?" He asked her.
"What do you want?" she asked back. "I know that those nightmares can flare up at any moment and I doubt you would enjoy them."
He looked at her, his emerald eyes looking into her golden ones. "I wouldn't mind your presence," he said and grinned. "Though I might get murdered in the morning."
She chuckled and he looked at her. "Tell me did your father get killed for similar things when he was this young? After all we are known for lack of reasonable thinking and they won't murder us for something like that."
"True," Harry said. "Sill, if something happens to me I will be unhappy."
"Nothing will happen," she said. "I will get my clothes and get into your bedroom, unseen."
"Fine," he said and when he saw her disappear, he slipped into his rooms and got to his bedroom where he dressed in loose shorts and a comfortable shirt and slipped into his bed, burying himself under the layers of furs.
He felt them move and when he glanced in their direction he saw Atalanta slip into his bed, she looked at him and smiled. "You are a sweet person, Harry," she said. "So you will be fine, the nightmares will pass sooner or later."
He smiled and rolled to look at her. "I know," he said and smiled. "But now they do not haunt me and I can sleep well thanks to you."
He saw a tinge of redness appear on her cheeks. "Harry," she said. "I do it because you are my friend and I care about you," she said and looked at him. "Can we talk in the morning? It is almost midnight and we need sleep."
"Sure."
They moved for a moment on his massive bed trying to find a position that would be comfortable for the both of them, yet they would be able to stay close as well. After that sleep came onto them like a soft caress, sending their minds into a dreamless rest.
Harry stirred in the morning as rays of sun moved across his eyes, he slowly opened them and looked around. He saw Atalanta sleeping soundly by his side, her hand laying on his wing, her breathing even and slow, which suggested that she was deep into sleep, but he also was thoroughly aware that she could fake a lot of things.
"I see that you are awake," she said, opening her keen golden eyes and sitting up. "How did you sleep?"
"Well enough," he said and looked at her. "You?"
She chuckled and he looked at her. "So considerate," she said and shook her head. "Quite well, but it isn't me who needs to deal with nightmares."
"Fair point," he said with a faint smile. "Still, it isn't a bad habit to be polite."
She laughed at those words, her laughter soft and clear. "Harry, can you behave like a normal person?" she asked after a moment. "Courtiers are more than able of annoying us, so can we behave like two teens?"
"If you want to."
"Better," she said and placed her hand on his wing. "So what do you think about Laura, will she accept the deal?"
"She is a loner," he said thoughtfully. "So, yes, she should, as she will leap at any such opportunity, we both saw how she reacted when she learned that Wolverine was her father."
"Also I think she has something for me," Atalanta said and he looked at her. "Not that she doesn't have a thing for you."
"We will see," he said and sighed. "This year won't get any easier, will it?"
"Simplicity is boring," she said and snuggled against him. "Don't you agree that sometimes something more complicated is better?"
"Depends on what," he said and looked at her. "But now I want to be with my friends and you."
She smiled, a small blush on her cheeks. "Harry," she softly said. "Can you forget for a moment about everything excluding Asgard?" she asked. "You fret over things on which you don't have a lot of impact on, anyway," she said and placed her hands on his wings again "It will kill you and you are one of my few true friends."
"I will try," he said and sighed. "It's just hard."
She chuckled and he looked at her. "Do what you enjoy and like," she said. "Take a long, lazy bath and do what you enjoy after that."
He smiled. "That's why I like you, At," he said. "You know how to be convincing and what to say."
"Do it and let me laze around some more," she said and shooed him of the bed.
"That's my bed, not yours," he muttered, rolling away and off the bed, he nimbly landed on the ground and made his way into the bathroom.
Once he was inside he pointed his hand at the door and it closed on its own, giving him some resemblance of privacy as the designers of the Citadel weren't thoughtful enough to put locks in doors leading to ensuite bathrooms. Previously it wasn't a thing he paid any attention to, but now he was very aware of the fact.
He shook his head, sent that thought away, stripped out of his clothes and walked to the full-length mirror placed in one of walls, as he looked at his body he had trouble believing that a few years ago he was just a scrawny kid. Then he stood at four feet with almost no muscle, now he was six feet tall and his body was covered in a thick layer of muscle earned through hard training and regular exercises, at first he wanted to disagree with Sif and Ullr who were running him into the ground, but by now the exercises had become habit and he could see the effects they had.
However this was just one of many changes that had happened to him since his arrival on Asgard, in the past he hadn't notice them, but previously his eyes were bleak and lacked any sharpness. Now they were a completely different story, they were bright, shining with intelligence and magical power. As he looked at the reflection of himself in the mirror he could tell that he looked like a young demigod or god, depending on his mood and thoughts. His long black hair framed his aristocratic face with its sharp lines and his elongated canines didn't make him look weird, they just made him look more wild and dangerous.
Heck, even the wings on his back made him look and feel more graceful and free than he had ever felt before; they were huge and as he opened them he could tell that they had a wingspan just over twelve feet long and were more than capable of allowing him to fly whenever and wherever he wanted.
Yet there was one thing that stood out on his body, the scars he had picked up thanks to Weapon X and their botched up experiments, and those made to remove what was left inside of his body. He had a couple of them on his chest and as he moved his hand across the back of his neck he could feel a few more, even and straight scars that were done with a very sharp tool, a scalpel.
He shuddered as memories from the time of his captivity flashed through his mind, they still haunted him, but before they could get a hold of his mind he shook his head and sent them away.
"Harry, enough brooding or she will murder and then revive you," he said to himself and slipped into a warm bath, hissing slightly at the contact of his skin with the hot water.
o-0-o
"He. Is. Insane." Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme flatly stated as he looked at Dumbledore. "This Tournament was discontinued for a very, very good reason and we both know how dangerous it was."
Dumbledore sighed and looked at his phoenix, Fawkes, soundly sleeping on his perch, then looked around his office, hundreds of magical trinkets, books and portraits of former headmasters, all of the knowledge and wisdom hidden there, useless. "I know and I tried to persuade them not to start the preparations for it, yet they still think it is a good idea," he said. "It is supposed to support international cooperation and exchange of ideas."
"It's plain and simple bullshit," Strange said and shook his head. "We both know that they want to get back the support they had lost thanks to pissing off Asgard and Fury, even if it means risking the lives of children."
Dumbledore didn't say a word, he just nodded.
"Which makes it troublesome," Strange said, shaking his head. "You, wizards, lack reason or logic and the Ministry is even worse. I dislike the Merlin, but we can agree upon some points, with your Ministry, doubtful."
"So what do you suggest?"
"Move it to a neutral venue, or more neutral than it will be here," Strange said. "I will need to speak about it with a few people, but my current ideas are to move it to Greece where they have facilities for such things, Kamar-Taj where I can make them in a day or two, or Xavier's." He raised his hand to stop the questions from Dumbledore. "I know that the Institute is a school for mutants, but it is also the most impartial place and won't give anybody homeground advantage."
Dumbledore was silent for a moment and then he slowly nodded. "What about the tasks? At the moment they plan to have the champions retrieve a golden egg from a nesting dragon, rescue a hostage from a lake in the middle of February and the last task is a maze."
"Who was the idiot responsible for those tasks?"
"If I'm not mistaken Crouch Senior and Bagman," Dumbledore said and shook his head. "They didn't even ask the people that know what the students can do about these tasks, they simply set them and I know about them only because I'm Chief Warlock."
"So the other schools don't know," Strange muttered. "Which means that the whole thing needs to be fixed, from top to bottom."
"Indeed, I planned to make the Tournament an official point during the next ICW meeting, as to remove the Ministry from the control it has over it."
Strange hummed quietly, and then nodded. "I will be there during the meeting and I will support you, as much as I love the access to lore and artifacts I have thanks to being Sorcerer Supreme, the political power that comes with it is something I don't."
"Still it is a useful tool," Dumbledore pointed out and gently stroked the beautiful plumage of his phoenix. "Fudge should give up when he sees that the ICW is unhappy, the question is if Umbridge gives up."
"I have heard that Prince Loki has ways of convincing her, so she should give up once she has a meeting with him," Strange said and smiled thinly. "If she stays bent on doing it her way, I'm sure I can come up with a way to make her reconsider her options. She is a schemer and a coward that is brave only when in the shadows."
"Yet at the moment she controls the Ministry," Dumbledore pointed out. "So we better not make her angry as she will cause a lot of problems for us and she is supposed to be here in few days, once the term starts."
Strange nodded, humming quietly and Dumbledore looked at him. "She is a minor issue," he finally said. "Ignore her and we will be fine. Show her the minimum courtesy and politeness needed, but not much else."
"I supposed that you are right," Dumbledore said with a wince. "Still, I don't like her being in my school. I can ward lore and knowledge out of her hands, but the damage done to students will be hard to repair."
Strange was silent for a moment and Dumbledore could feel the slow ticking sound of his instruments, the snoring of his phoenix and something much more gentle. The true power of the school, the ancient genius loci, being created and strengthened by every person that stayed within these walls and studied magic. Every being added a small sliver of their power to it, on its own those slivers were almost meaningless, but over the ages? Over the ages they created one of the most powerful magical constructs, one of protection and knowledge. On his own Dumbledore was one of the most powerful wizards in existence. Here he had power, knowledge and experience enough to challenge the Queens of Faerie and the Sorcerer Supreme.
"The damage would be caused no matter what we do," Strange finally said. "She is an evil thing we can manage. So let her come, but make sure she knows her limits and is aware that one wrong move and you can kick her out."
Dumbledore nodded and slowly stroked the plumage of his phoenix, his gentle and thin fingers moving over the beautiful golden and red feathers. He saw Strange leave his office without a single noise being made and he settled in his chair, musing about the events to come. The times in which they lived in were certainly interesting and potentially deadly as well.
o-0-o
Warren slowly sipped his coffee, carefully placed the china cup on the table covered in carafes with drinks, plates and bowls with their late breakfast and looked at Jean. "Being the cousin of a person who is second in line to the throne has some advantages," he said contently.
"That it does," she agreed and looked at him, her green eyes meeting with his blue. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but he is in love with Atalanta."
Warren laughed at those words, but then he composed himself and nodded. "He is in love with her, yes, though considering their age, I wouldn't call it that exactly."
"Two lustful teens that let their urges direct them?" Jean asked with an arched eyebrow. "Weren't we the same?"
Warren frowned, but then he shook his head. "No, we weren't," he said and looked at her form wrapped only in a silk bathrobe. "Although now I wouldn't mind it."
Jean shifted in her seat and his gaze followed her every move, he licked his lips and felt his hormones waking up. She looked at him and chuckled. "Show you some boobs, or move even, and you easily get all hormonal," she said.
"What can I say?" He asked. "After all I'm a nineteen year old male and you are a hot, desirable female."
"Fair point," she smiled sultry. "Yet I would have thought that after three years of sleeping with me you would have learned how to control your body."
He breathed heavily and shook his head. "Jean, I'm just a human male and you dangle in front of my eyes something every male wants, a beautiful body."
She nodded, picked up her own cup and slowly sipped coffee. "They know how to make a good coffee."
"Yes," he agreed with a faint smile. "They know how to do a great deal of things and Asgard is also a perfect holiday location." He sipped his coffee, finished the cup, placed it back on the table and picking up one of the cookies looked at her. "Harry has been secretive recently and I'm worried about him." He bit into the cookie and enjoyed the liquid pleasure that filled his mouth before swallowing. "I mean, normally he has some secrets and I let him keep them, but now he is even more secretive than usual."
Jean nodded. "I guess..." she said and paused. "I guess that he some things he doesn't want to share with us."
"Why?" Warren frowned. "I mean, he isn't the most open person, but he is my cousin and usually he is willing to tell me a thing or two."
She sighed and he glanced at her. "Didn't you notice the way he behaved yesterday?"
Warren paused and closed his eyes for a second, replaying his memories in his mind. "He was fidgety for most of the day and avoided moving in certain ways as if he was in pain," Warren finally said and she nodded.
"So do you think he is willing to share with us what makes him uncomfortable?" she asked. "I doubt he is willing and I'm almost sure he wants to forget about it," she said and Warren felt her gaze focus on him. "Don't even think about cornering him and asking for details, unless you are willing to end up in the hospital for a few more weeks."
"That bad?"
"Yup," she nodded. "You will force him to do something he doesn't want to, and we both know his temper, a temper that can flare up and lash out, and in this case I would do the same,."
"Ouch," Warren said, Jean's temper was dangerous and he had seen his cousin pissed off before. "So what should we do?"
"About Harry?" she asked and he nodded. "Nothing," she said and looked at him. "But we can have fun as it is still early and I know that you want it."
Warren finished the cookie and looked at her, enjoying her beauty and grace. "Aren't you hungry for it too?" He asked as he stood up and followed her into the room, dropping his shorts the moment he was inside and leaving himself naked.
She dropped her robe, revealing her naked form before looking at him and smiling. "I won't mind," she said and smiled sultry. "The question was if you want it."
"Jean," he breathed heavily as he felt his hormones buzzing all over his body. He shook his head and made his way to the bed and landed to her side. What followed was passionate lovemaking that left the both of them tired and covered in sweat, yet happy and sated.
o-0-o
Carol Danvers smiled when she saw Jarl walk towards her, he was one of the few boys that she didn't want to murder the moment they got close to her and he actually possessed a working brain. "You know that you look beautiful, right?" He asked approaching her.
"Thank you," she said with a blush. "You don't look bad yourself."
He laughed at her words, his voice clear and silvery. "Maybe we should go for a walk?" He suggested. "Harry won't be able to show you some of the places around the city, while I can and we can also have fun while at it."
She looked at him and felt her heartbeat stop for a moment, it was not something she had expected. "I accept," she said and he smiled. "So where are we going?" she asked as they passed under the gates of the Citadel.
"Stadiums and arenas," Jarl said, indicating at the arenas she had seen from the terrace. "One of the better places to see and in the evening Harry will most likely drag everybody to a tavern or two."
"You can drink alcohol?" she asked, shocked.
"Yes," Jarl said with a smile. "There is no drinking age, at least no legal one, we just need to be careful."
"On Earth," she said and quickly corrected herself. "On Midgard, where I live you need to be twenty-one to legally buy it."
"Poor you," he laughed. "Here you can drink ale whenever you wish, mead it is for people around our age, so we can indulge ourselves and nobody will say a single thing to us about it."
"So why did Sif make you run until you were throwing up?" Carol asked and Jarl paled.
"Because there is a custom, but not a law," he said with a sigh and she looked at him. "It is hard to explain. A custom is an oral tradition that is more of a guideline, the law is the law."
"Ah," she said. "So for breaking the custom you might be punished, while for breaking the law, you will be punished?"
"Exactly," he nodded and winced. "What we did wasn't a crime per se, but it wasn't the smartest thing to do as well."
"And Sif wanted to make sure you would never do something so... idiotic?"
Jarl slowly nodded. "She can he cruel and cold, but she wants to teach us and sometimes her ways are such," he said and exhaled. "Still, compared to my past life it is a paradise, so I don't mind it."
Carol nodded and for a moment they walked in comfortable silence, each step bringing them closer and closer to the arenas. As they neared them she could see details, reliefs covering their surface, columns supporting the entry ways and hundreds of people walking in and out of them. "How big are they?" she asked.
"Not the biggest," he said. "I think fifty thousand is the biggest one, but watching sports is one thing," he said and shrugged. "We can also train there, arenas are just one part of it all."
She whistled, and it was then when she noticed that the arenas were further behind, before them was a large complex of buildings, merged with the arenas. However it was obvious that the two weren't the same thing. "I think that I like Asgard," she said with a wide smile.
"It's not the friendliest place in the universe, but it has some perks."
She smiled and looked at him, a mischievous fire in her eyes. "Handsome and polite boys being one of them?"
She saw him blush and she chuckled. "Yes," he finally said. "The truth is that I'm not the most polite," he admitted. "I just control myself and since I'm a ward of His Majesty I don't want to end up in trouble."
"His Majesty, as in Harry's grandfather?" she asked.
"Yes," Jarl nodded. "The current King of Asgard and one person you don't want to see mad."
She nodded and saw him get a bit uncomfortable. "So what does it mean that you are his ward?"
Jarl was silent for a long moment, before he finally sighed. "He is the one who is responsible for me and my actions, the one who is supposed to provide me with a place to live and education. In return I need to show him the same respect I would show my parents if they were alive and don't bring shame upon him."
"I see," she said and pursed her lips. "So you are basically his adopted son?"
"No," Jarl said and she looked at him. "Adoption means that I have rights of succession and have some of his titles bestowed upon me. Harry's full title is «His Royal Highness Harald James Thorson, Prince of Blood, Prince of Asgard, Lord of the West March and Jarl of Södermars and the Black Forest». The title «Lord of the West March» was given to him when his uncle was banished."
"Uncle? I thought that he only had one, Loki."
"Tyr," Jarl explained. "He was one of the Gods of War and is His Majesty's half-brother. "
"Ah."
Jarl nodded and continued with his explanation. "«Jarl of Södermars and the Black Forest» is a title from His Majesty, as well as «Prince of Asgard» and «Prince of Blood». Wards are under his protection, but don't get anything special from him, just protection and education. At least officially."
"But unofficially?"
"Unofficially I have an easy path to titles and glory," he smiled. "I get the same education as Harry, and I am in contact with the upper echelons of the nobility and those that make decisions. Also His Majesty is generous and when I come of age he will find me some title and land that I can name as mine, on top of those that are in trust for me."
"I see," she said and looked at him. "Can we forget for a moment about all of this and have fun, while you show me around?"
"Of course, milady," he said with a light tilt of his head.
She smiled and let him lead her around the city, showing her interesting sights and places, where Harry was most likely going to take them. They had a great time together in the city. Doing nothing, but enjoying each other's company and the time they spent.
o-0-o
Harry tried not to sigh when he entered into one of the smaller study rooms adjacent to the Library and looked at his uncle Loki, who seemed focused on something not in the room. Harry sat down in one of the chairs and looked at his uncle, used to his weird moments of silence. It took a long while, but finally Loki stopped his musings and focused on Harry.
"Good, you are here," Loki said as he started to pace across the room. "I covered with you most of our cousins and their domains as well as everything else you should need to know. So now it is time for something that might be of great use for you. Sidhe and fae."
"What are they?" Harry frowned. "I remember them from the fairy tales from Midgard and some texts that I found in the library."
"Fairy tales are mostly right. After all they are based on folklore and compared to it we are relatively new on Midgard," Loki said and turned to look at Harry. "Midgard is one of the Nine Realms, but we didn't pay too much attention to it until recently."
"Recently?" Harry frowned. "How recently uncle? For you recently could either mean moments ago or ages ago."
"Around the Fall of Rome," Loki said and smiled thinly. "It was orchestrated by your grandfather and his brothers as the Olympians were getting annoying."
"Oh."
"Yes," Loki nodded and resumed his pacing. "After that we had the opportunity to walk among mortals and teach them. It is an interesting tale, but for a different time. As I was saying, fae are as old as humanity is, or even older than that. Their closest relatives you have met are the Alfs and there is not much difference between the two, mainly where they live."
"The Nevernever and Alfheim," Harry said, knowing well that his uncle was waiting for him.
"Indeed," Loki said with a smile. "Fae live in the Nevernever, while the Alfs exist in our world. Other than that, there are not many differences between them when it comes to looks or magic. Both are graceful, both are strong and both are magically powerful, but there is where the similarities end. Alfs, you know about them, or at least you should, so I won't bother with that.
"Fae can be divided into three groups, the Unseelie, the Seelie, and the Wyldfae. Unseelie and Seelie are organized groups, while the Wyldfae are scattered and when Unseelie or Seelie go to war, the Wyldfae align themselves with one of the two," Loki said and looked at Harry. "The Unseelie and the Seelie are the most important groups out of the Fae, think of them like the Vanir and the Æsir from the times when we were two races and realms."
"So one is the total opposite of the another?" Harry asked and Loki looked at him. "I mean, in myths we are described as warlike, strong and destructive, while the Vanir are calm, peaceful, wise and focused on growth."
"You could say so," Loki agreed and smirked. "Actually that's not far from the truth, I wouldn't put it in those words, but it works. Unseelie or Winter Fae are cold, ruthless, logical and cruel; Seelie or Summer Fae are passionate, emotional, irrational and warm. Each court has three Queens: Mother, Queen and Lady."
"The Mother is the last Queen, the Queen is the one who rules at the time and the Lady is groomed for the position of power?"
"Indeed," Loki said and looked at Harry. "They are extremely powerful beings, Mothers have the power to challenge your grandfather and fight him to on equal terms, Queens are equally powerful and Ladies are weaker, but still a formidable force, however there are limits to what they can do."
"What limits?"
"Same ones that affect all of the fae, they cannot lie, yet they can twist the truth, iron is a poison for them, but those six cannot attack mortals that aren't tied to their courts by a debt or any other ties," Loki said and looked at Harry. "What's on your mind?"
Harry was silent for a moment, thinking how to phrase what he wanted to say. "If they cannot attack mortals that are not tied to their court, how do they exercise power outside of their domain?"
"Knights," Loki said. "Mortals invested with some of their power, they can kill whoever gets in the way of their courts and are their wetwork people. We have power to create them, but we rarely use it. We can freely interact with the mortal world and there is rarely need for them."
Harry nodded in understanding and looked at his uncle, thinking about something. "Uncle, all of this is important and all, but why are you telling me about it? You could have simply given me a book or two to read on them and I would have learned the same."
"Because from the book you won't learn how important fae can be and how useful they are," Loki said and explained. "They know everything, or as close to it as it can get without omnipresence, so if you want information and cannot find it in other sources it is a safe bet to ask them, however there is one small price to pay."
"What is it uncle?" Harry asked and then his eyes widened. "Bargains needs to be struck?"
"Indeed, so be careful what you say, how you make it and how you ask questions. You may not get the answer you want," Loki said, kneeled on the ground and drew a simple circle with a bit of charcoal. When it was done he looked at Harry. "They can manifest on their own in our world, but this is a safer approach when you want to talk with them."
"So that I'm somewhat insulated against their power?"
Loki nodded and looked at him. "I won't summon any, but if you have trouble getting data, it is the best way to get some, it is especially useful when it comes to magical lore. I bargained some things with Mab in your name and you can ask her thirty questions you want to ask and she will answer them. Beyond that you need to strike bargains with her or the other fae. Lesson over."
When Harry heard that the lesson was over he almost disappeared from the room in a blur, he was here to relax, not study and his uncle's lessons could wait for the summer. He calmed down when he was almost on the other side of the building, close to his rooms, and saw Atalanta approach him.
"What's wrong with you, this time?" she asked. "You just ran through the Citadel with magic and we both know you do that rarely."
"Annoying uncle who wants to steal my break to teach me about the Fae," Harry said and paused to catch his breath. "Eir made it clear that I cannot train, so he used the opportunity."
She smiled reassuringly and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You are a big boy, you will be fine," she said and her smile widened. "You have nothing planned for today, right?"
"No," he said. "So what do you have planned?"
"Have fun and enjoy the time we have," she said as they walked towards his rooms.
He let her drag him as he knew that it was a better choice than the other things he could be doing this day, and he wanted to have some fun too. When the doors closed behind them she let go of his hand. "So what do you want to do?" He asked as he looked at her.
"Enjoy the time," she said and placed her hand on his shoulder, sending jolts of electricity through his body. "Harry, since last holidays we haven't had a moment to enjoy our time together without any interruptions and we lacked privacy."
He looked at her, her golden eyes glowing with joy and happiness. "At," he breathed out before pulling her into a kiss.
His lips melted on hers and he felt as if he had landed in heaven or paradise. He felt her lips part and he pushed his tongue inside, trying to explore her mouth, only to be met by her own tongue. He felt her hands move across his back and wings, as his own did the same across her back. Feeling out every curve and shape, the hard muscles hidden below her skin and trying to explore her body and feel it, while her hands were doing the same.
When they moved away from each other he only saw joy and happiness in her eyes. "Harry," she breathed out. "I love you."
He felt shudders pass across his whole body, those three words being more than he ever expected to hear. "At," he whispered and felt their fingers intertwine.
She only smiled and dragged him deeper into his room, a place where they would have more privacy and be more comfortable. He sat down on his bed and she almost immediately fell to his side. As he felt her warmth press against his side he only smiled and could tell that he was going to enjoy these holidays, more than he had expected or anticipated.
o-0-o
A/N - For all that were wondering when Hogwarts arc will happen, it's just seven chapters away and there will be quite a lot of changes happening before that time.