A/N - Mostly laid back and lazy chapter, in terms of actual plot we move forward a bit and things happen.
o-0-o
Harry straightened himself as he carefully picked up a bundle of blankets, it was so light, yet felt so heavy, inside of it was Volstagg's the newest child, a son, named Einar. He had the same fiery red hair as his father, but his eyes were those of Gudrun, gray as the clouds before a storm. "He looks beautiful," Harry finally said and Volstagg laughed.
"He is my son, he is supposed to be beautiful," he said, but then he quickly became serious, looked at Harry and later at Sif. "Do both of you know what you need to say?"
"Yes," both of them said.
Volstagg nodded and carefully took the bundle with his son from Harry placed him on the altar, a large plate of jade carefully sculpted, encrusted with various gems and semi-precious stones, and inlaid with gold and silver. There were also twelve tall lit candles, each for each member of the closest family, one unlit one, and two small bowls, one from black onyx and one from jade. Finally in the middle was a small depression, its edge covered in brass runes. When he placed the bundle inside of it,the runes flickered alive, lightning up in hundreds of colors.
"Spirits of the ancestors," Volstagg said quietly and Harry could feel a slow build up of magic that thrummed in the air, filling everything and everyone with power. "Accept Einar Volstaggson as my son and bless him with fortitude, luck and strength to grow into a worthy member of the family and a strong warrior."
When those words were said the runes stopped flashing and settled on a light blue color, soft and inviting. Volstagg waited for a couple of moments before he spoke again, "I name Harald James Thorson and Sif Freyrdóttir, Einar's Volstaggson guardians."
Harry knew that it was his moment to speak, so he pushed a bit of magic out of himself and spoke, "I, Harald James Thorson, accept this responsibility and swear upon my magic and power to be a good guardian to Einar Volstaggson."
Sif said the same and fire flickered to life on top of the unlit candle, its flame long and bright, at the same time Einar cried quietly, before stopping as suddenly as he started. Harry glanced unsure of what was going on at Hrolf who stood behind him.
"It's a good sign," Hrolf whispered quietly. "Babies are much strongly attuned to magic than we are and cannot control it too well."
Harry nodded in understanding and looked at Volstagg who gently picked up a bundle with his son and handed it to his wife. "It is done," he said, joy visible in his voice. "They accepted him and now it is time for a feast."
Harry nodded and followed whole Volstagg's family, as he was leaving the room he felt Hrolf's hand stop him. "What?" He asked.
"Something you should know," Hrolf said. "You saw from my brother how attuned to magic babies are, if you don't want a baby to panic when you are close don't do any magic and push your magic as deep inside you as you can. Nurseries and the surrounding areas around them are covered in runes suppressing magic, but they don't always work, so..."
"So keep my magic under control," Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "As if I didn't have enough of that at home."
"Well, magic is a gift and a curse," Hrolf said with a thin smile.
Harry ignored that remark and entered into the hall where the tables were set and the fires were happily roaring in their fireplaces, sending hundreds of flickers across the carved columns and walls. Every single surface was carved with scenes from Asgard's history, the careful and patient work of master craftsmen showing scenes with details not many thought were possible.
He walked across the whole room and to the high table, a place reserved for the family and guests of honor. When he got there he sat down to Volstagg's right and waited patiently for the rest few dozen guests to take their places. Once everybody was comfortably seated into the room a large group of servants carrying food and drinks for everybody entered.
The feast would last till the late nights hours as the whole household and the guests would celebrate the birth of Volstagg's youngest son.
o-0-o
Atalanta smiled as she looked at Laura who was cuddled to her side. "So what do you say about the offer Harry and I have made," she asked softly.
"I thought about it and I say yes," Laura whispered. "I like you both and you are both beautiful, attractive and want to be with me."
Atalanta smiled and gently pulled Laura closer to her, bringing their bodies as close to each other as possible. "I love you, Laura," she whispered and left a peck on her forehead. "And Harry also loves you."
In Laura's eyes swelled tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"Don't cry," Atalanta whispered. "I am with you and you are safe."
"I know," Laura whispered. "It's just that I never had someone who cared for me or who wanted me."
"Now you have," Atalanta whispered. "You have your father and us." She gently wiped Laura's tears and looked into her eyes. "You are beautiful and you deserve all of this and much more."
"Am I?"
"Yes," Atalanta said with a smile and leaned closer to kiss Laura.
Laura tensed when she felt Atalanta lips on her own, but then she melted and let her emotions control her. Atalanta noticed it and gently probed Laura's lips with her tongues and soon was rewarded with Laura's lips parting and allowing her tongue inside. They kissed for few moments, exploring each other mouths and enjoying the moment, finally Atalanta ended the kiss to catch some breath.
"How did it feel?" Atalanta asked, breathing a bit heavily.
"Weird and fantastic," Laura said. "I have never thought that something like this was possible."
Atalanta smiled knowingly and crawling onto Laura kissed her once again. "Because you didn't have time to explore and discover what you like and what you want, also you always think that physical contact is bad," Atalanta whispered as she laid on Laura, supporting herself with her hands. "So forget about everything and enjoy the time."
Laura smiled and Atalanta took it as a sign of approval and kissed her, lightly pushing her tongue into Laura's mouth, as they laid on each other she was able to feel how well muscled was their lover, which promised enjoyable times ahead of them.
"You are beautiful," Atalanta whispered between kisses, not giving chance for a reply she once again kissed Laura.
Laura tried to say something, but not a single sound left her mouth and instead Atalanta's tongue ventured inside, feeling out her mouth and exploring it, probing every single surface and trying to feel as much as possible.
Several moments later they laid on the bed, sprawled on top of each other and breathing heavily, their hair forming thick strands held by their sweat. Atalanta finally stirred and looked at Laura. "Wake up, love," she whispered.
"What?" Laura asked, slowly waking up.
"We better take bath," Atalanta said, getting up. "We stink of sweat and look even worse."
"It's not that bad," Laura muttered. "And I don't want to move."
"Take a bath together?" Atalanta suggested and Laura moved.
"Why not," Laura muttered as she got up.
Two of them walked across Atalanta's bedroom and into the adjacent bathroom, they quickly stripped off their clothes and jumped into the bath where already was warm water waiting for them.
o-0-o
Harry wrapped his arm around Atalanta as they walked towards the Observatory at the end of the crystalline bridge, bags slung over their shoulders. Laura was walking to their side, yet at a small distance, as he looked at her, he could tell that she wasn't totally comfortable with physical closeness and while Atalanta was happy to let him embrace her, she had issues with it.
"And you said that she was not your girlfriend," Sunspot shouted at them. "Yet you behave like a typical boyfriend and girlfriend."
Harry blushed at those words and looked at Atalanta. "What should I tell them, At?" He asked in thoughts.
"The truth," she said. "They will learn sooner or later and it is easier than keeping up a story that nothing is going on."
"What about Laura? She is as much a part of it as we are."
"They probably know and we can explain that it isn't an uncommon thing on Asgard, thing they need to accept or at least tolerate and that nothing will change it," she said and added after a moment. "Besides, if we do not mention her, she will feel missed and for her, especially for her, it will be bad, I spent a lot of time with her and she is an emotional mess. She is recovering from what she has suffered, but she clings to warmth and comfort she can find, we are one of its sources and she trusts us. If we betray her trust, she will revert to her previous state."
"I get it," he said. "We do not mention her and she is back to her robotic state, where she only dumbly follows orders and doesn't even have a percent of her current personality."
"More or less," Atalanta said and smirked. "She is a much better kisser than you are and has a nice, petite body."
Harry blushed at those words and glanced at Laura. "She is small and is fit, so she should have a nice body," he agreed. "But about kissing, I need to see it for myself. I don't trust your judgment, maybe you think that she is a good kisser, because she is a girl?"
"Mayhaps or mayhaps you are just a jealous, petty person that won't admit that someone can be better than you are in something."
"Fine," he said in resignation. "She is a better kisser than I am, are you happy with my answer?"
"Passable, so now explain things to them."
He nodded and looked at Sunspot who was waiting with arms crossed over the chest. "It is a little bit more complicated than you think."
"Oh?" Sunspot asked. "Explain then."
Harry could see the rest of his friends lean closer and focus on him, ready to listen to the very next word he was to say. "Well, for starters, she isn't my only girlfriend," he said and gently placed his hand on Laura's shoulder. "She is also one," he said with a smile and Laura nodded.
He could see their jaws drop in shock and surprise, finally Warren shook his head and looked at him. "Two girlfriends at the same time? Isn't that too much?"
"On Asgard? For our age group, no," Harry said. "Actually it is the most common thing as we tend to be unsated and that's how we end up with two lovers."
"You just made me jealous," Warren said and bent over in pain when Jean's elbow slammed into his stomach. "I didn't say a single thing," he said with a look at Jean who looked as if she was ready to murder him. "Really, I didn't want to say those words."
"We will talk," Jean said, twisted Warren's hand and dragged him with her and walked towards the Observatory.
"As I was going to say," Harry said. "It is normal and nobody will look weirdly at it."
"Good luck," Sunspot said with a smile. "Also don't expect teasing to end."
Harry nodded and they walked to the Observatory, so that Bifrost could take them back to Midgard and the Institute there.
o-0-o
Fury finished reading last page from a large stack of papers that made its way onto his desk and then looked at Banshee who was sitting in front of his desk. "I want X-Men to have some real capabilities that would allow me to divert all cases with mutants to them," he said. "I know that you were one and still are, so tell me what would they need to work as an equal partner for SHIELD."
"Director, may I be completely honest and blunt with you?" Banshee asked.
"You may."
"They have muscles to do the job," Banshee said. "Not a lot of them, but Wolverine is doing his job and they are quite well, they have their planes from Stark and Worthington, as well as almost anything they need, excluding three things."
"What three things?" Fury asked.
"Satellite communication, precise navigation and easy access to high quality on demand photos of area where they are going to fly. Now we use those done by commercial satellites, but they aren't always of as high quality as we would want them and some places are impossible to get. Not to mention they are usually not the freshest ones."
"Photos and navigation are easy to get," Fury said. "We have our own satellites and there is also GPS which we use, communication won't be an easy, fast or cheap solution."
"What about our satellites?"
"Normally I would gave them access to them, but not now," Fury said and shook his head. "Moles and traitors everywhere, if they get access to communication between X-Men, it would be a nightmare. Few people will hate me for it, but Stark will be happy and X-Men too."
"Own satellite constellation?"
"More or less. It is expensive as hell, but redundancy never hurts and it will be a nice way to gain their trust."
Banshee nodded in agreement. "It will be a good gift many will enjoy," he said. "I remember first days and then it was tough, working with whatever was gained through whatever means that were at our disposal. Now we have much more, but satellites will be a very appreciated and useful gift."
"Well, you also will get new planes from Stark," Fury said and Banshee looked at him. "He met with Worthington and they talked about improvements for the Institute, one of them were planes."
"Honestly speaking, I won't complain, Blackbird is good, but is getting to the limits of what can be done to it."
Fury nodded and looked at Banshee. "That's everything I needed, you are dismissed, Agent Cassidy."
o-0-o
Harry entered into his room and stopped when he saw a large owl sitting on the headrest of his bed, really unhappy about something. "How did it get here?" He asked, looking at Atalanta. "It is a middle of the day and owls are nocturnal birds."
"Don't ask me," she said with a shrug. "I was with Laura and when I got back it was here."
He nodded and when he walked to the bird he noticed an envelope tied to its leg. "Messenger bird?" He tentatively asked and an owl bobbed its head.
He removed the envelope, the bird took off from the headrest and disappeared out of the room through an open window. Harry plopped down onto his bed and tore open the envelope, inside was a single piece of paper, his eyebrows arched when he saw who was the one to write them.
Harry,
Sorry for not writing for so long, but I didn't have time or mind to write as last few months at Hogwarts were tough and there were things that occupied me. I don't know if you know, but we were raided by SHIELD and they arrested some students, on top of that I need to study to attempt to get for the second trip to Asgard and there is also Quidditch.
Anyways, we miss you at Hogwarts and we hope that you will be joining us next year. Are you still trying to date Atalanta or did you find someone else?
Oliver
"This is a thing I didn't expect," Harry said as he finished reading the letter and looked at Atalanta. "One of friends from Hogwarts remembered about me."
"They use owls to carry messages?" she asked.
"Looks like it," he said and once again looked at the paper. "SHIELD payed them a visit and raided the school, other than that the usual."
"After you were kidnapped?"
"Most likely," he said and added after a moment. "From what uncle told me, they aren't known for being rash or making mistakes, so if they attacked the school they had a good reason to do so."
"What are you going to tell him?"
"Probably I will ignore mention about SHIELD, it's not like everybody needs to know about events of this year," Harry said and reached for a piece of paper, a pen and a thick book on which he could write. "Other than that I'm going to be mostly honest."
"Mostly honest?" she arched an eyebrow.
"I won't lie, just be careful with what I say and very creative in how I say it."
"So that it sounds like a tale you cannot disagree with?"
He only smirked and started to write, choosing his words with care and consideration, he wanted to pass a message that would say just enough. He labored for over twenty minutes, but finally he was content with the way it was written. He rolled it and snapped his fingers, the moment he did it in the room appeared a large ball of light and when it was gone in its place was his pet eagle Hábrók. It softly landed on the bed in front of him and looked at him, waiting for a command.
"It was a long time since you last used it," Atalanta observed. "Finally decided that he has some uses?"
"Illyana was mostly using him to exchange messages with Piotr," Harry pointed out. "So he was a bit busy, but now he can be back mine."
Hábrók waited patiently as Harry tied the letter to its leg and once it was secured it took off into the air and disappeared in a ball of light.
"How does he do it?" Atalanta asked. "I felt magic of some kind when he did it and I know that I felt it somewhere."
"I'm not sure," Harry said. "Heimdall mentioned that he can use branches of Yggdrasil."
"It might be it," Atalanta said and he looked at her. "It felt like something fresh, yet ancient and powerful."
Harry looked at her and blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" He asked after a moment. "For me it felt like every other magic, wave of power that appeared and vanished soon after."
"So you cannot feel and see colors and kinds of magic?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I feel it, know direction from which it is used, usually by whom and that's all I can see or feel."
"I can tell people apart by magic," she said and he looked at her. "I don't know why or how, but I can usually feel subtleties in magic, who used it, how their magic looks and so on."
"So what can you tell about mine?"
She closed her eyes and was silent for a long moment, finally she opened them and looked at him. "A lot like your father, wild, hard to control and powerful," she said and paused for a moment. "But it is also more organized, as if it was capable of subtler tasks."
"Thanks," he said with a smile, moved to her side and looked at her. "You know that you are beautiful?"
She blushed lightly and smiled. "Thank you," she said and placed her hand on his. "You also look good."
He smiled and leaned closer to her, feeling comfortable warmth of her body. "I love you, At," he whispered as he placed his hand on her back.
She smiled and moved even closer to him, so close that their bodies were touching each other and placed her own hand on his wing. "Harry," she whispered, leaning towards his ear. "I love you."
He gently kissed her, his lips melted on her, sending jolts of pleasure across his whole body, he probed her lips with his tongue and she allowed him inside, where her tongue almost immediately met his. They kissed for a while, finally she ended it, pushed him onto the bed and her lips once again latched onto his. He felt her chest squeeze against his and she gave him a chance to explore some of her body, he took this opportunity and let his hands roam her back, exploring glorious curves and lines she possessed.
As they kissed he felt as if he landed in paradise, all of his worries were washed away and he wanted to just keep doing it and nothing more. Nothing else mattered, not the things he was given to do, nor the worries that haunted him or his nightmares.
o-0-o
Oliver was eating his lunch in the Great Hall when above his head appeared a ball of light, looking up he saw a large eagle glide towards him, a small scroll attached to its leg. It gracefully landed in front of him and extended its leg.
"Who the hell has magical birds and sends letters to you?" Percy Weasley asked.
"Friend of mine," Oliver said, cutting the topic before it could even start.
He carefully removed the rolled the letter and the moment he did it the eagle took off and disappeared, not even helping itself to something from the table. However he didn't pay it any attention, instead focused on the letter.
Oliver,
Thanks for remembering about me, I'm certainly much better than you are at the moment and I'm sorry to hear that you were raided by SHIELD, from what I know they do it only when they have a valid reason.
I might be dating Atalanta, but you will see when I will be at Hogwarts, some of my friends might come with me, so it should be fun.
Harry
"Same Harry as Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived?" Asked one of first year students that leaned over Oliver's shoulder.
Oliver looked in his direction and first year student fell silent. "Is it your letter? No, so sod off and leave it alone."
He focused back on the letter and tried to learn more from it than what was written, he could tell that there was more to it than what was written. He was sure that Harry wasn't telling the whole truth, but he couldn't figure out what was hidden and where. He folded the piece of paper and threw into his bag, he could worry about it later, now he had more important things than that.
o-0-o
Birth of new children in the royal family was a time of celebrations for the whole realm as it meant that the royal house was stable and growing. However it didn't mean that everybody was calm, patient and didn't feel an ounce of nervousness, in fact there were few that were nervous about it, really nervous. One of them was Thor, who paced nervously in front of the doors leading into the Purple Chamber of the Citadel, room where most of royal family arrived onto this world.
Loki chuckled, watching Thor, yet even he was serious and his usual mischievous smirk was gone. "You know that this pacing won't get you anywhere?"
"It's not your wife who is giving birth," Thor said softly.
"So? She has the best Healers that are available and they have centuries of experience."
"I know." Thor nodded and sighed "It's just that I'm worried about her."
"Who isn't?" Loki asked as he glanced at the doors of the chamber "She is going to be fine, so you might as well stop wearing down the floor."
Thor sighed, looked at Loki and after a moment he slowly nodded and sat down on one of the sofas that were placed in the corridor.
"Much better." Loki said approvingly. "Hopefully the floor will survive few more centuries thanks to you being able to sit in one place," he added with a chuckle.
"Brother, do not test my patience," Thor quietly said.
Loki nodded, but before he could say a word doors leading into the chamber opened and through them stepped out one of healers, she seemed exhausted, yet happy. She looked in Thor's direction and nodded. "It is finally done, Your Highness. Your wife, Lady Jane gave birth to two healthy children, a boy and a girl. If you want you can see her and the children, although she is tired and she will need rest."
"Thank you," Thor said and smiled getting up and walking past healer, Loki followed him a few steps behind entered the room.
As he entered the room be could see Jane laying on the bed and few healers fussing over her, but they stopped the moment they saw him enter the room. However they didn't leave it, instead they retreated away from the bed giving him and Jane some privacy. In Jane's arms were two small bundles of cloth from which were visible small heads of his children, one of them had a small tuft of golden hair, while second had a mix of black and golden hair. "They look beautiful," he whispered looking at them.
"They are," she said with a tired smile. "Any idea of names for them?"
He looked at them and thought for a moment, trying to think of names that could fit them, they discussed ideas for names, yet they didn't agree on any. As he looked at their children he noticed that while one had eyes as blue as the sky itself, second had darker blue eyes with tints of green. "Erik and Cassandra?" He asked.
"I always wanted Midgard names for them," She said, looking at the children. "But I like them and they do not sound so bad."
"Thank you," he said, lightly smiled and looked at them "May I hold them?"
"Of course," she said.
He carefully picked up one of the bundles she was cradling in her arms, it felt so light, yet he knew that it was a sign of massive changes to their lives and a beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Now they had two infant children that needed attention and care, and on top of that they had also Harry who was growing up, but still was his son. However it was also a time of joy and an opportunity for celebrations.
o-0-o
Harry sat on the roof of the Institute, not caring about the wind nor snow, his gaze was focused on Storm. "How am I supposed to do it," he asked. "I understand the concept, but now how I can do it."
"Like this," she said thrusting her hand in a direction of the forest surrounding the Institute.
He followed it with his eyes and could see a gust of wind being created the moment she moved her hand, then it swelled and the wind that slammed into the forest was strong enough to shake off the snow from the trees.
"It is a hard thing," she said and he looked at her. "Normally you only control the amount of power you use, here you need to control the very exact direction, flow and the amount you use."
"Which is a tough thing to combine," he said with a sigh.
"It is," she agreed. "But the effect is even more rewarding and it has other uses, ones you might enjoy when you are with a certain friend of yours."
Harry felt a tint of red creep up his cheeks, he dismissed it and focused on the exercise, slowly forcing winds into obedience, when he felt that he had gathered enough of them, he did the same gesture as Storm did. Wind roared as he thrust his hand forward and a pillar of air slammed into the forests, shaking trees and throwing snow onto the ground.
"A bit over the top, but works," Storm commented. "It is your first try and you have time to master it."
He nodded and knowing that it meant that he was supposed to work, he started to once again focus on summoning winds and forcing them into obedience and submission, not an easy task in its own right and one that took quite a substantial chunk of his energy.
o-0-o
"Lucky bastard," Roberto muttered looking at Harry and Atalanta. "How did he get her attention is beyond me, but he did it."
"Who is she?" Rick asked. "She looks hot, yet there is something alien and predatory to her, something we don't have."
"Atalanta, daughter of Hercules and Otrera, thus a Princess of the Amazons," Bobby explained with a sigh. "I wish she was mine, not his."
"Jealous, are we?"
"No," Bobby said and sighed. "It's just that they make me realise how old I am and how lucky he is. He is the oldest son of Thor, has Warren as a cousin, is the youngest X-Men on active roster and now this."
"Some people are just lucky and some aren't."
"That's a lot of luck," Bobby said. "He is a nice person and all, but seriously, sometimes he could let other people have a moment to shine."
"That's a thing I can agree upon," Rick said and Bobby looked at him. "I'm with him on a team and he is the best in everything he does, not letting us have our moment of glory and fame. He is so fast and so strong that it is sometimes hard to imagine or comprehend."
"He was my roommate during last year and I know what you mean, I saw him easily bench press something like ten or so tonnes of weight." Rick's eyes widened a bit. "There are people who can do much more, like our common Russian friend, Colossus, but Harry's strength is one of his powers."
"How powerful he truly is?"
"Honestly?" Bobby asked and Rick nodded. "He is powerful enough that he was almost murdered and Weapon X kidnapped him, also he is good enough that Vice Principal decided to personally train his mutant powers. It happens, but not often and we usually train in groups, assuming that we can find enough people with similar enough powers."
"So that's how he is so awesome to watch when using his powers?"
Bobby's lips quirked up into a smile. "Well, she is shock and awe, so probably, also his father is another shock and awe person, so probably that's why he is so fancy with his powers."
"Fancy and deadly," Danielle added and they looked at her. "He can summon storms, winds and can channel electricity through his body, that in my book is deadly, you can get torn to shreds or electrocuted or both, depending on what his mood at the moment is."
"O-Okay," Rick stuttered. "That's deadly enough, even for me."
"Well, if you can control all of the elements as well as he does his powers you will be as deadly as he is, if not more," Bobby said. "We all started in the same place, with only basic control or even lack of it. You know Kitty?"
"Yes."
"When she started to learn her powers, she tended to lose any control when embarrassed or stressed, which usually ended with her falling through the floor and landing on whatever or whoever was below," Bobby said and glanced at Danielle. "How many times did she end up on me when I tried to sleep?"
"Ten times or so," Danielle said and frowned. "Maybe more, but ten times your shouts woke up most of the school. Out of curiosity what were you doing at that time?"
"Nothing," Bobby said with a blush. "Just tried to sleep and she woke me up."
"Than why do you blush?" Rick asked. "I can think of two things you could have been doing at that time that make you blush at the moment. Don't you agree Danna?" He asked with a glance at Danielle.
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I just can't guess which one of the two he was doing at the time."
"He could also do both, which is probably what was happening when she crashed through the floor."
Bobby sighed and looked at them. "Since when my personal life was the number one topic?" He asked and they focused on him. "I like when you pay some attention to me, but there are some lines not to be crossed and you just crossed one of them."
"Sorry," Rick said. "It's just you started it and we didn't know that you won't like it."
"No problem," Bobby said with a shrug. "Just don't do it again, we all have secrets and I'm not willing to talk about mine."
"Seems fair," Danielle said.
"Thank you," he said. "So what do you think about the Institute?" He asked, looking at Rick.
"It is a nice place and one where I actually want to stay, place where I feel that I belong to," Rick said. "I was on the run for something like four months, but now I have a home and I can be whoever I want to be."
"Well, it is one of the goals of the Institute," Bobby said. "But not the main one."
"So what is the main one?"
"How to use our powers and how to control them," Danielle said. "Which reminds me that we have training in ten minutes and Wolverine doesn't like people that are late."
Rick paled and Bobby laughed at it, Wolverine was a protector, self-defense teacher and one of team leaders, but was also dead serious. He watched as Danielle and Rick disappeared and reached out for the book he wanted to finish.
o-0-o
Harry sat on his bed, reading a book, Atalanta cuddled to his side when he saw Huginn appear in the room. He ignored the bird until he finished the chapter he was reading, then lightly nudged Atalanta to get her attention and focused on Huginn. "What news do you bring from home?"
"News that you will like," Huginn said and landed on Harry's arm. "Your grandfather sent me here, though message is coming from your father and his wife, Lady Jane, to be exact there are two messages, but one is far more important than the other is."
"Cut the chase and tell what do they want," Harry cut in. "I know that you like your games, but I don't have patience for them, so be a good bird and tell us what's the matter. Start from the less important one."
Huginn nodded and calmed. "Your rooms are being renovated and expanded, your grandfather decided that it would be prudent as your relationships are becoming a public knowledge, so he decided to allow you to officially share your rooms with any of your lovers and as such they are being renovated."
"It should be interesting," Atalanta said and Harry looked at her. "The final effect and how it will look, not to mention that it is interesting how the hell they learned about us."
"They aren't blind," he said with a sigh. "Grandfather even if has one eye, has various spies, agents and dozen of information sources and knows when someone is lying to him. Also you aren't going to survive on the throne if you are blind, so he probably saw us a couple of times and figured out what is going on."
"It's water under the bridge," she said and smirked. "It's not like it's far from truth, anyways let's see what our feathery friend has to say."
Harry nodded and looked at Huginn. "So what's the second part of the message you were asked to pass?"
"Your mother has given birth to long expected children of your father," Huginn said. "A boy and a girl, oh and he said that you are allowed to return to Asgard now and before all of the formal celebrations start."
Harry felt something appear in his mind, a feeling he couldn't quite place, yet it hurt him, hurt him on a level he never thought was real. "Which will be in how long?" he asked. "I always forgot when this whole circus is supposed to start."
"In two weeks or so," Huginn said. "Normally they start sooner, but all of the nobles need to be invited and messages to various groups need to be delivered so that they can be present or send envoys. Also your mother needs some rest before the start of celebrations."
"Would they mind if we traveled to Asgard?" Atalanta asked Harry, her head resting on his shoulder.
"If they know ahead of time, than no," he said after a moment. "They want to know where students are as it happened in the past that they were kidnapped, but if we tell them, they won't mind it."
"Than we should do it," she said and he looked at her. "They are your siblings," she whispered. "Even if they have a different mother, they are still family and you should see them."
Harry sighed and looked at her. "I know," he said and once again sighed. "It's just that I fear that I will be replaced in father's heart by them."
Atalanta looked at him and the next thing he felt was a stinging sensation on his cheek. "Are you a fool?" she asked with a snarl as she lowered her hand.
"For what that was?" He asked, rubbing his pained cheek. "It hurts."
"And is supposed to," she said, a snarl of disgust on her face. "You are a fool, a giant one at times, especially when it comes to emotions or feelings."
"What?"
"He is your father," she said, her gaze focused on Harry's face. "He showed that loved you multiple times and your stepmother also loves you, so why should they stop loving you? Because they have children on their own?"
"Y-yes," he said quietly.
Atalanta sighed and he looked at her. "Think about it for a moment, until now you were the sole child, now there are two more children. Answer this simple question for me, can they afford you the same kind of attention they did in the past?"
He was silent for a long moment before he gave his answer. "No, they won't be able to," he finally said.
"Does it mean that they won't love you as strongly as they do now?"
He looked at her, unsure of his answer. "No, I guess it doesn't mean it."
"Good boy," she smiled. "So what do you think about showing on Asgard?"
"If you are coming with me, why not."
"Of course I will come," she said and leaning to leave a peck on his forehead, she whispered. "Laura also should come with us."
"Indeed," he agreed with a smile. "She is as much a part of this as you and I are."
Atalanta nodded and looked at Huginn. "Can you find the Principal and tell him that we will be leaving with Laura for few days?"
Huginn only nodded and disappeared out of the room.
"Let's find Laura and get to Asgard," Harry said rolling off the bed.
o-0-o
Dumbledore was sorting through his paperwork when he felt a portal open in his office, right in the middle and in front of his desk. When he looked up, he saw Loki walk through the portal, expression of serene happiness and joy visible on his face. "How may I help you, Your Highness?" Dumbledore asked.
"By simply being an open-minded person," Loki said with a smile. "I wanted to ask you how the school is working with other changes I have suggested implemented? Better or worse?"
"Students certainly like them, especially the fact that Cuthbert Binns is no longer teaching history, but instead is one of the ghosts of the castle. One common room had some troubles with working, but now they seemed to be able to bury their differences and live with each other."
"It is certainly good," Loki nodded. "What about our dear Madam Umbridge? I have spoken with her and she promised not to get into the way, she promised just to watch and not do a single thing."
"She is certainly trying not to be seen, she watches how classes are conducted and makes notes, some she keeps for herself and some she passes onto me. Also she asks students questions and roams around the school."
"So she behaves and knows where are the borders," Loki mused. "Which considering what I designed as the next step is important."
"If I may know, what do you plan to do?"
"Actually I want you to know what I plan to introduce, after all you are Headmaster of the school and your input is appreciated," Loki said and conjured for himself a comfortable armchair. He sat down and looked at Dumbledore. "I could have forced all of those changes during our talk at the Academy, but I'm a patient person that can take their time and watch as their project develops."
"Indeed you are, you are also a sly and a dangerous one," Dumbledore pointed out. "Your brother prefers to be seen, while you work in the shadows, unseen and unheard of, yet effective."
Loki nodded in agreement. "And that's why I come to you, I could have force them on my own, but I think we both know that you won't mind more influence and good image as a wizard that took brave decisions and modernized Hogwarts."
"I'm all ears," Dumbledore said and corrected his robe. "Even if I opposed those things you forced during that stay on Asgard last year, I can see their good sides and the positive impact they have on school as a whole."
Loki smiled faintly. "It was their target, to make the school run as smoothly as possible and provide the very best education possible," he said. "Those improvements introduced during last year were merely the first step, one designed to prepare your students for even bigger changes, so that they are able to accept them."
"I knew that there was something more to your plan, you are one that has dozens of plans ready and thinks ten steps ahead."
"Someone needs to keep us ahead of our enemies," Loki pointed out and added. "Changes that I want to introduce will make Hogwarts shine in its knowledge and glory, as well as unify its students."
Dumbledore looked at him, keenly focused on each word.
"There are two things that will affect the curriculum and help them even more when it comes to magic and creation of spells. Not to mention it will help them in general with studying and academic performance as well as international cooperation, which will be very important considering the event to come, even if insane, it has some merits," Loki said and paused for a moment. "I'm talking about making Latin and Ancient Greek two compulsory subjects, as we both know that research without them can be tedious and not bearing too many fruits, not to mention that they are two main languages of international relations."
"Indeed, everything you said is true," Dumbledore nodded. "However my question is a bit different, how are you going to squeeze it into the whole timetable which is already stretched."
Loki loudly snorted. "Stretched? It's not like they cannot get one more hour per day," he said and added after a moment. "At the Academy they were able to survive its timetable, which also has a lot of physical activities and they are alive, so don't coddle them and think clearly."
"They are children and there is no need to overwork them," Dumbledore protested
"Children?" Loki asked incredulously. "They are fourteen when they start education, on Asgard in a year they would be considered adults and be eligible for military service and be granted all of the rights that come with adulthood. So wake up and understand that they are ready for it, in Muggle schools they study for longer and somehow are fine."
Dumbledore nodded. "I see your point, yet they are children."
"And ready for more work if they want to get proper education," Loki finished. "I'm discussing it with you, so that you are aware of what's to come and this is just one of things I plan to introduce, so accept it."
"Fine," Dumbledore finally said. "Perhaps some more work won't be a bad thing for them."
"Thank you," Loki said with a light bow of his head. "Second thing I plan on introducing is a nicer, more practical and friendly library as this one was last renovated I think in fifteenth century or so."
"Actually it was a thing I wanted to do, but the Board of Governors was never willing to give funds for it."
"Now it will be done, also change those bulky robes for something lighter as you live in a castle and heating shouldn't be a problem. They look good, but aren't that practical and perhaps for everybody's sake move Snape and Potions to some other part of the castle than dungeons where it is wet, nasty and uncomfortable for everybody other than that dungeon bat."
"Robes are a part of the tradition of the school, but perhaps a new material or new cut won't go amiss," Dumbledore mused. "I would need to speak with robe designers, but I think that they would be able to create something new."
"Perfect," Loki smiled. "Also get a proper Healer or two and introduce yearly checkups for all of the students as prevention is cheaper than reaction and it never hurts to keep an eye on the health of your students. At the Academy there is a small group of Healers all the time, ready to heal them, but also advise on their training, development of magic and what they should eat, as well as they do a check-up at the beginning and at the end of each year, with results kept in the Academy, but also given to the students."
"It seems to be running quite smoothly with just Poppy," Dumbledore said, musing quietly. "So I don't see any dire need to add more."
Loki sighed and Dumbledore looked at him. "The world is getting darker and darker with each passing moment, there is a slim chance that they will make a move against Hogwarts and if they make a move, you will want to have as many as you can. Besides, she is being overworked and if you hire additional let's say two actual Healers, she will have time to get a proper Healer's training and actually be able to catch some breath. I'm just suggesting things and it is your choice as the Headmaster of the school to decide if you accept them or not.
Dumbledore was silent for a long moment, thinking about what Loki said. "I will consider it and probably implement," he finally said. "Your Highness, may I know what else do you plan to introduce?"
"The last thing I want to introduce is a small surprise that will be revealed in September as it requires some thinking from me about how to carry it out."
"Do you have any other wishes or demands?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, as I doubt your students would survive more changes in one package, they need to get used to some before next package comes."
"How many such packages do you have planned?"
"Enough," Loki smirked and disappeared.
Dumbledore watched the spot that was occupied by Loki, he had a bad feeling about all of those changes that were going to happen to Hogwarts, he knew that some were needed, however he wasn't sure that they needed to be introduced so brutally.
o-0-o
Harry felt a bit of trepidation as he entered into the private rooms of his father in the Citadel, Atalanta and Laura was slightly behind him, keeping him company and providing some sort of comfort. They quickly passed through the outer, more official parts and into the parts where only selected few had access to.
"Is it wise for us to accompany you?" Laura asked him, concern mixing with fear in her voice. "I mean, it is your family, not ours."
"You are my lover," he whispered looking at her. "So you can be here and nothing will happen to you."
"He is right," Atalanta said and smiled reassuringly. "You will be fine and nothing ill will happen to you, as he said, you are his and mine lover, nothing will happen to you inside of those walls."
He could see Laura relax a bit, Atalanta's words soothing her worries, he nodded in thanks to Atalanta who only smiled and all of them entered the most private part of Thor's chambers. They could see there Jane sitting in one of comfortable armchairs and cradling two bundles of clothes in her arms. She looked up and smiled when she saw them approach. "Come closer," she said warmly. "I won't bite you."
He glanced at Atalanta who just smiled and walked forward, sitting down on the floor close to Jane. "Come on, don't be a pansy," Atalanta said, some amusement in her voice.
He laughed at her words and walked to the two of them, Laura following him, he sat down on the floor and close to Atalanta and Jane, who smiled at him. "Do you want to see your siblings?" she asked.
"May I?"
"You can," she said with a smile. "After all you are their older brother."
He only nodded and gently got up and moved closer to Jane, who smiled and gently moved bundles in her arms so that he could have a better view. His younger siblings looked so innocent and weak, completely dependant on other people, yet there was something strangely reassuring and warmth in them. "They look beautiful," he finally said.
Jane smiled and looked at him. "Do you want to hold one of them for a moment?"
Harry's eyes widened in surprise and he looked at his stepmother. "May I?"
"Of course, you can," she said. "As I said, you are their older brother, not some random person."
He smiled and gently took one of the bundles from Jane's hands, he looked at the face of the child, which was sleeping soundly, not caring about everything happening around them. "He looks kind of cute," Harry finally said.
"Give him a couple of years to grow and you will be trying to find an excuse to be away from him," Jane said with a chuckle and Harry looked at her as if she was crazy. "You will see what I mean."
He smiled and gently held his baby brother in hands, when he was forced to live with the Dursley's he hated the term family and anything associated with it. Here and now, his outlook was a different one, he came to appreciate and love it, help and support on which he could lean, as well as kindness and generosity that awaited him each time he returned home.
o-0-o
It took Harry, Atalanta and Laura over two weeks before they were able to return back to the Institute as they spent over a week before celebrations spending time with each other and discussing ideas for his rooms with the architect responsible for the redesign as well as being with his family. After that came celebrations worthy of celebrating birth of a member of the royal family and since there were two children, they were even louder and larger, resulting in few accidents when he got a bit drunk with his friends and things got slightly wild.
However now it was just the past as he wondered where Atalanta was walking with him, it took him a moment before he recognized it, but he knew that it was the corridor where Jean-Paul had his room. She stopped in front of Jean's door, gently knocked and opened it, not waiting for any invitation, with second hand dragging him inside.
"We need to speak," she said with finality, looking at Jean who was laying on his bed and Harry, as she closed the door behind.
"About what?" Jean asked.
"Something we should have done long ago," she said with a very sweet smile, making Harry and Jean gulp in fear and terror. "If you are cooperative, we will be done soon, if not, we will see and some might not leave this room whole." At those words their gulpes became even larger and some color disappeared from their faces. Mainly I think there is a need to have a small, pleasant chat about how relationships on Asgard look, especially in regard to you and Harry. To be continued...
o-0-o
A/N:
Fury arming X-Men - he wants them have teeth that can bite and if need be can handle problems some of the Avengers cannot, also it doesn't cost him that much to give them those things. Besides, with Stark and Worthington splashing cash he needs to get a fancier bribe for them to appease them.
HarryxLauraxAtalanta - While Harry and Laura are dense, Atalanta can read them at any time of a day and thus knows when to poke them in the right direction to get what she wants.
Harry's chambers - Odin is playing the old and tested game of getting what he wants through subtler than normal means, he could be less subtle, but he has reasons to be delicate and surprisingly soft. Also not seeing that something is happening between Harry and few people would require being an idiot and Odin is far from that.
Harry's reaction to birth of his siblings - he has reasons to fear, he is the first son of Thor, but some could claim that he is a bastard and thus he isn't eligible to get the throne and his siblings should get it…
Reviews:
WhiteElfElder - Let's just say that they have plenty of options, which can be used though explosives are a crude option. They could even use Bifrost as a drill, that's what Loki did at the end of Thor and simply annihilate the part of the countryside with the mansion.