A/N - Updates will be more random from now on, I start to feel slightly burned out and don't want it to get worse, the university started and is keeping me a bit busy.
o-0-o
As the ball was approaching, the hunt for possible dates also became more fierce as with each moment the number of free people dropped and finding one started to become a challenge. Atalanta smirked as she entered into the dorm as she had her own date secured and nothing would steal him from her. Wait, nothing, no someone with an oversized ego thought that she could do it. Atalanta's eyes narrowed as she looked at Ginny, that girl was an annoyance and didn't have too much common sense and logic inside of her little head.
She left the bag she was holding on her bed and walked to Ginny who was about to go hunting for dates, smelling of perfumes and trying to look as appealing as possible. Atalanta walked over to her and smiled kindly before gently touching her on the shoulder to get her attention. "We need to talk," she said, a kind, friendly smile still on her lips, not showing her true emotions and desires, just a well-crafted outer shell.
"About what?" Ginny asked uneasily, as if having a feeling of what was to happen.
"Harry," Atalanta smiled and placed her hand on Ginny's head. "You will stay away from him or I will gouge your eyes out, tie you up and stuff them into your pussy," Atalanta whispered as her fingers curled up a lock of auburn tresses between her fingers. "Besides, why would he want such a little and small girl, when he can have a woman like me," she kept on whispering as her hand moved down, towards Ginny's forehead and face, her long nails moving against the sensitive skin of Ginny's face, drawing circles around her eyes and stopping above her lips. "You are small, infertile and boring, while I'm a princess, a true woman that can think and can bear his children in the future," Atalanta whispered as she ran her fingers down Ginny's body, slipping them below her clothes and grazing her delicate flesh, while feeling out shapes and showing her competition that she needed to submit. "You have nothing he might desire or want, while I have everything and much more."
Atalanta let out a breath and kissed Ginny, forcing her tongue into the mouth of her enemy and showing who was in charge. "Remember, you stay away from him and don't even look at him or I will gouge out your eyes and turn you into my pet," she kissed Ginny once more, forcing her tongue inside before looking into her eyes. "Are we clear?"
For the whole talk Ginny was almost paralyzed, unable to move and a scared expression on her face, when Atalanta pulled away she regained some ability to move. However the only thing she did was to meekly sat down on her bed and nod. "I understand," she whispered.
"Good girl," Atalanta said with a smile, patting her lightly. "As long as you remember I will not murder you, one toe out of the line and you will wish you were dead."
With those words she walked away to consider what kind of a dress she should wear to the ball.
o-0-o
Harry walked out of the Transfiguration classroom, Atalanta and Ulf on his heels when he noticed Professor Lupin approach him. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the Head of his House. "Professor, how can I help you?"
Lupin gave him a small smile. "When removing personal belongings of our former DADA Professor we found a large stash of weapons and other artifacts that are obviously Asgardian in origin and Professor Dresden says that they are of great power. Would you mind helping us figure out to whom they belong."
Harry nodded and followed Lupin who guided him to a room that used to belong to Umbridge, most of it was reverted to the previous state with last few bits still remaining and suggesting who used to occupy it. However that was not what caught Harry's attention, it was drawn to three stashes of weapons, armor, trinkets and other artifacts that laid in a neat heat in the middle of the room.
"That would be mine," he said and extended his magical senses towards it. "Yup, mine and Ulf's," he said and shot a look at Atalanta. "How did you manage avoid losing all of your gear?"
She just smiled and shrugged. "I have my ways."
Harry gave her a dark look, but nodded and focused on Lupin. "Those things would be mine and Ulf's," he said with a sheepish smile. "They were supposed to be out of everybody's reach, but weren't so I will probably need to ask my uncle for some ward to keep them hidden."
Lupin nodded and let out a sigh. "I want to punish you for your foolishness in bringing them here, but I know that it would happen no matter the punishment," he said and smirked. "So instead you will be punished for not reporting the loss and since from your godfather I know that points will be ignored by you, no matter how many, I believe that sewage system has been getting clogged as of recently and Mr Filch needs help, a lot of it and you will help him." Lupin looked at Ulf and Atalanta. "That's also for the two of you, I spoke with Harry's uncle and he said that I can punish you as I see fit and it might burn some of your energy." He paused to let those words sink in and then gave them one last look. "But now take those things and scram."
o-0-o
Lucius Malfoy cursed under his breath, he was so close to Darkhold, he almost had it when some idiot spooked the guards of the castle and they called for help and almost immediately Wardens and aurors were all over the place. He was lucky that he wasn't connected to the attempt and only his agents were turned to minced meat. All and every one of them was dead and the last one died out of his injuries moments after reporting the failure of the operation.
"We need to wait," Lucius said looking at the ring. "We need to wait and see what the future will bring."
The ring moved on its own and he could almost hear a hiss of a snake echo across the room, a snake that was displeased with the current events and wanted to show it. His master was getting annoying and that was always a very, very bad thing and an unhealthy one. He looked at the ring and then looked at the notes he had on his desk.
"Eight more months, eight more months and you will have a new body," Lucius said and saw that the ring rattled on the desk, this time more happy and content.
o-0-o
"What clothes do you plan to wear for the ball?" Atalanta asked as they entered the Great Hall for a lunch and Harry looked at her. "It is a week away and I would like to know what should I choose to match color of yours."
"I was thinking about my usual outfit," he said as he sat down at the table. "You know which one," he added after a moment. "One that I wear for all the banquets and feasts thrown by my grandfather."
"It could work," she nodded before pausing for a moment to pile food onto her plate and start to devour it. "But I thought that you could use some change," she said between bites. "You have so many that you could seriously use some change."
"Care to enlighten me?" He asked before starting to devour food that he managed to pile onto the plate, along with a decent goblet of butterbeer to silence his headache.
"Maybe family colors?" she suggested. "You have every right to wear them, yet you avoid them."
The glare he gave her would turn her into stone if not for the fact that he definitely was not a gorgon.
"What? You always look good in red, gold and black," she said, avoiding his glare. "Also there are few events when you cannot avoid it."
"Mayhaps you have some reason," he said thoughtfully. "Though I'm not convinced about red, gold and black."
"Why is it that you hate our house colors?" Fred asked. "They are the best and even ickle firsties should know it."
"Norns, save me," Harry whispered at twins reaction.
"You are doomed to be in this house, so you need our colors," George said with a mischievous look at Fred.
"We can start on educating you straight away," Fred continued.
"Fine, fine, fine," Harry said and twins looked at him. "I will do what you want me to do, happy?"
"Yes," Atalanta said with a smile. "You always looked good in those colors and you weren't aware of that fact."
He rolled his eyes in agreement and looked at the twins. "How is it that you two have such horrid siblings as your younger twins?"
"We pretend not to know them," Fred said and he smiled. "Is it true that our brother needs to sleep on the floor?"
"Well, he might have his bed stolen by a pair of wolves," Harry said and chuckled. "They love a warm and a very soft place to sleep and if they couldn't find one on the floor, they chose one on a free bed.
Twins looked at him and let out a soft chuckle, one that made him look at them. "That's the best prank ever," they said in unison.
"We saw many, but this one-" Fred started
"Is the best one we have heard about-" George picked up.
"And it is done by our favorite, innocent friend-"
"Friend that is more of a brother than the annoying git," George finished, making Harry chuckle at their way of speaking. "So if you want to cause chaos or mischief ask us and we will gladly accommodate your needs or desires."
Harry only smirked at those words and had a feeling that twins would be sorry, very sorry for saying those words. Words that would spell doom onto some poor souls.
o-0-o
Wanda turned her head slightly when she felt a portal appear behind her, on her lips appeared a small smile when she saw who stepped out of it. It was her mentor and longtime friend, the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, Stephen Strange. "What did you plan this time?" she asked.
"The Tournament," he said and walked to her, stopping at the edge of a cliff. "I managed to get all the things organized, just need to get three people agree to the roles I've planned for them."
"Which three people?" she asked, her eyes a shining pair of rubies.
"Your godson, Illyana Rasputin and Atalanta."
She nodded and hummed quietly for a brief moment, carefully considering his words. "You want them to be the team from the Institute for the Tournament?"
"Indeed," he said with a nod and looked at her. "Wizards are getting annoying and someone needs to knock them down a peg or two."
"As if they already weren't," she said and he sent her a chiding look. "Stephen, I know that you avoid violence, but we both know that those things need to be broken and pieced back together or we will have a nightmare on our hands."
"Perhaps," he said and looked at her. "At Hogwarts they will have a ball. One at which Harry and Atalanta will be present, would you mind passing messages onto them?"
"A ball?" Wanda asked. "From what I remember they didn't have any balls at Hogwarts."
"They didn't have until this year," Strange said and she looked at him. "Albus decided that changes need to be made and that's how they have balls. Though, I suspect he feels tensions inside of the castle and wants them safely channeled into something less destructive."
"It makes some sense," she said and looked at her mentor. "When exactly?"
"Equinox," Strange smiled. "The day when night and day are of the same length, very powerful time when it comes to magic and rituals."
She rolled her eyes and looked at him. "I know. What about my fame inside of their little community? Fame that makes them ready to pounce onto me when they even think I'm nearby?"
"Guest rights," he simply said. "Everybody can claim them and you should be able to pull it off, even if they will question them."
She smirked and nodded. "I think that I can do it," she said and an even wider smile appeared on her lips. "Also I need to see my godson, it was too long since our last meeting."
Strange smiled and opened a portal. "I will leave you to find yourself a good dress. Other duties call and there is a war to win."
She nodded and watched him disappear before opening a portal for herself and stepping through it.
o-0-o
I walked into the classroom and looked around, every single student was in place and watching me intently as if I was some kind of a prophet or a saint. The latter might be true for some of them after the incident with Lockhart being fired. I stopped in front of the class and looked at the students.
"Guest rights," I said, reaching for a piece of chalk and scribbling those two words on the blackboard. "What can you tell me about them?"
There was a moment of silence before some people raised their hands, unsure of their decision to do so. I waited for few moments before looking at one that should be more than capable of answering this question. "Mr Potter."
"They protect guests from ill intents of their host and ensure that nothing bad happens to them," he said and paused for a moment. "They are also a base for the Accords and usually they are claimed by guests of various summits before the start of negotiations."
"Very good," I said and nodded in appreciation, not many knew those few very important details. "It is a good idea to ask for guest rights when meeting someone you don't know. It protects you from their ill will and ensures that you come out of it alive."
I waited for a second to let them catch up on their note taking, a habit that I picked up after teaching Molly how to use magic, one that was becoming more and more useful with each day. I almost forgot how much fun it was too teach and how annoying at the same time, especially with teens. Beings that had an attention span of a monkey on a sugar high.
"What are the ways to break those rights and allow your host to attack you?" I suddenly asked and everybody looked at me, excluding one bushy haired girl, whose hand was high in the air. She was one of few that managed to annoy me, she knew a lot, but was unable to think logically or on her own. "Ms Granger."
"By attacking our host or by insulting them," she said.
"By the book examples, but nonetheless correct," I said and I could see her be ready to shout in protest. "The truth is that what you need to look for is anything that can cause damage to your host in whatever way, whether it is emotional, mental, physical. Once it's done, it's over and the guest rights are null."
I saw her frown, as if not understanding what I said. "What's the question you have, Miss Granger?"
"Professor, what's the point of breaking them?"
"An excellent question," I said and looked around, searching for a person that could answer it. My eyes lingered on Harry's friend and then switched to his companion. "Ms Lovegood?"
"When we want to attack someone or when we feel insulted by our host's guests," she said and I nodded.
"Very good," I said and scribbled two more words on the blackboard. 'Unseelie Accords' "What can you tell me about them?"
Potter or Thorson already had his hand high in the air and I nodded to him. "It's a supernatural equivalent of Geneva Convention or Vienna Convention, it defines what's allowed to be done and what's not while preventing unnecessary conflicts and wars. It was originally created by Mab and almost every major realm and group is a signatory of it."
"Indeed," I said and let my gaze ran over the class, so many innocent people, unaware of how cruel the world really was and how dangerous it was to them. "You need to know it as it's the most important document. One that can save your life in times when you make a mistake and provoke a wrong being or group. However there is one being with which you shouldn't play this game, Mab, she is one behind them and last that attempted to deceive her barely survived her wrath. And that was only because he is more or less immortal."
They nodded and on my lips appeared a small smile, it seemed that teaching them could bear some fruits. Older years required beating them over the head with my staff and knowledge I tried to pass onto them before they were willing to listen, but those seemed to have some desire to learn.
o-0-o
The day of the Ball was here and before it even began everybody at Hogwarts was excited and unable to focus on anything that required higher functions of their brains. When the classes ended earlier than usually everybody rushed to their dorms to prune their plumages and dress appropriately. Harry charged into the dormitory, following the wild stream of other boys, ones that seemed to push each other out of each other's path to be there as fast as possible and before everybody else which resulted in a somewhat comical sight.
When inside he wrenched open his trunk and pulled out of it a small bundle wrapped with a thin silk cord, with this in hand and grabbing few more things he made his way to the bathhouse to get cleaned and dressed. On Asgard he had much, much more time, comfort and privacy than here, but it wasn't that bad.
Once he showered and dressed he stepped out of the bathhouse in black leather riding pants, golden silk shirt and a dark red jerkin. To top it off he had comfortable leather boots, simple belt with a simple silver buckle shaped to resemble a snarling head of a wolf, a saxe knife in a ceremonial scabbard and his hair tied into a low ponytail. It wasn't the most obnoxiously rich thing he could have used, but he wanted comfort than shining like some kind of a star, besides, it wasn't Asgard where he was expected to draw attention.
"Why do you look like some filthy Muggle?" Ron asked with a snarl.
"Because that's how we dress at home, on Asgard for more official parties," Harry said and swept his eyes over Ron who was dressed in some maroon monstrosity with a lot of fine lace. "And it certainly is better than the thing you call your robe. It looks worse than what the most humble servant would wear, heck even slaves and prisoners have better clothes."
Ron scowled and when everybody merrily chuckled, Ron's scowl deepened. "It's not like everybody is born royalty," he said, spit flying everywhere.
"So?" Ulf asked, joining them, his clothes a mix of green and earth brown.
"Not everybody has money to buy the best thing."
"But everybody has enough survival instinct not to look like a clown," he said, not even looking at Ron, instead focusing on Harry. "It seems that she managed to convince you to change colors."
"I didn't have too many choices," Harry said with a small smile. "I would choose something else and the night would be less enjoyable."
"Right," Ulf said and Harry arched an eyebrow in question. "She's an Amazon, so you need to behave or she will make your life a bloody hell."
Harry shuddered at those words, making Ulf and other boys loudly laugh. Even Ron, subdued by previous comments joined them. Harry gave the room and his outfit one last look before walking out of the dormitory and to the common room where Atalanta was waiting. As he looked at her, he had troubles recognizing her.
Normally she wore simple outfits that were practical and allowed her to run, jump and climb easily, so skirts were out of question, dresses even more. Yet here she wore a dress in a beautiful shade of dark blue, it was modestly cut, showing just enough to make everybody salivating for more, but not enough to be seen as revealing and improper. Around hips she had a wide belt in matching shade of blue with several strings of pearls and sapphires wrapping it. To top it off she had a pair of bracelets made out of white gold, with sapphires and pieces of amber, a matching necklace and her hair were flowing down her back with several long wires of gold shining between her black as night locks.
"You look like a goddess," he said, taking her hand and leaving a kiss on top of it. "I'm positively impressed with you."
"Sometimes I need to shine," she said with a chuckle as she left a peck on his cheek. "We should go to the Great Hall."
"First I want to see what Luna has," he whispered as they made their way to the main common room. "Ulf looks decent, so I'm curious what his date has."
Atalanta nodded and they stopped in the common room, just in time to see Luna emerge from the common room belonging to Ravenclaw. She had a dress in a light shade of blue with silver eagles moving across it and it was flowing in her wake.
"She looks good," Harry whispered to Atalanta. "And it seems that Ulf knew whom he should pick."
"Even if he is arrogant, he can think for himself," she said as they watched Ulf greet his date and kiss her chastely. "And she also looks to be a good match for him."
"She's not only good-looking, but also intelligent," Harry added and Atalanta nodded. "So it might be something longer, something that will make Asgard more lively."
"And will certainly make this place easier to survive," Atalanta said and he looked at her. "Lack of that bumbling idiot, Lockhart, helps as Lupin is nicer, but still it is stiff and boring."
Harry nodded in agreement and they followed Ulf and Luna to the Great Hall, inside of which was completely changed. Gone were house tables, in their place there were several dozens of smaller, round tables with seats for eight people, around them were seats that seemed to be made out of silver and glow with their own internal light and high above each table was placed a glowing ball of light. All of those things were arranged in such a way that they left a large, open space in the middle of the room for people to dance on. Inside there were already several pairs, some of them standing on their own, some in small groups and talking with each other.
"Not too shabby," he said as he walked in, Atalanta's fingers wrapping around his own. "Seems like a set up for a very good ball and I'm curious where it will go."
She only smiled as they walked across the room and walked to one of groups that gathered inside of the hall, he could see several pairs focused around boy with sandy hair and a tall witch with chocolate hair. Looking at their clothes Harry could tell that they were from richer and more refined part of the society than Weasley could even hope to be. When they noticed Harry's arrival they stopped talking with their courtiers and looked in Harry's direction.
"It seems that you know where to look for company," one with sandy hair said, extending his hand. "I'm Draco Malfoy and this is lovely Daphne Greengrass."
Harry took the hand and shook is lightly. "Harald Thorson and Atalanta Heracleia," Harry said, repeating the introduction and then looked around, noticing how other students moved to accommodated him and his date.
"I didn't believe the rumors that you were a son of Thor," Draco said and Harry looked at him. "There were rumors flying all around the school, but you telling it is something else than hearing about you being at school."
"I never tried to hide my personal data," Harry said and shrugged. "I just use a lot of names so that I can have a bit of privacy, away from all of the media circus."
Draco nodded at those words and was silent for a long moment. "I can see some merits in using several names, especially when you don't want to be recognized."
"Precisely," Harry said and the conversation drifted to more pleasant topics, killing their time and allowing them to enjoy each other's company and forget about all of the worries of the world.
With each second the amount of pairs inside of the Great Hall increased, first it was a trickle composed of those that didn't care about their looks or had the least amount of works to do to make themselves presentable. However moments before the ball, the trickle was turned into a wide, quickly flowing river as many were entering, some with dates, some in groups and several on their own. His eyebrow formed a nearly perfect arch when he saw Hermione walk hand in hand with a tall, black boy from Ravenclaw, it was a thing he didn't like expect to find. However the thing that didn't surprise him was that Ron and Ginny arrived to the ball alone and without any dates in clothes that were two ages out of use.
"People change," Atalanta said with a knowing smile and he looked at her. "Harry, even if you are sometimes as thick as a rock, mind is a fluid matter, one that can change and bend on its own or after some outside influence."
"I suppose," he said and at the same time a bell was struck and a soft tone passed across the whole hall, gathering their attention and pointing in the direction of the stage where a small orchestra was tuning their instruments.
At the front of the stage stood Professor Dumbledore in his silver and gold robe and a pointy hat on his head. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome, to the first equinox ball of Hogwarts, one where we celebrate change of seasons and shift in magic."
"So that's the official reason for it," Harry whispered to Atalanta.
"Hush," she chided. "We'll talk later, now listen."
"You have time to celebrate until an hour after midnight," Dumbledore said and there was some whooping heard. "After which I expect all of you to be in bed and asleep." At those words there was a far smaller amount of happiness visible. "I want this day to be an enjoyable one for everybody inside of the school." He clapped his hands twice. "Let's begin!"
The orchestra started to play an enjoyable music, one that sent shivers all over their bodies as unseen energy started to enter them. Harry looked at Atalanta, whose eyes were slightly widened and her usual mask was cracking, a sight which was almost impossible to spot. He managed to see her like that just three times, the moment when they first kissed, his fourteenth birthday and a night when they made love for the first time. He placed his hand on hers and looked into her eyes. "Shall we dance?" he asked in a whisper.
She smiled and their fingers intertwined on their own. "We shall," she whispered back.
He smiled and firmly, yet gently grasping her hand both of them moved towards the dancing floor where there were already several dancing. As he stepped onto it his body started to move on its own, remembering moves drilled into the muscles all those years ago and now using them to guide him across the floor.
It was one of few things that were meticulously drilled into him during his whole education, dancing was important, especially during summits and balls that accompanied them and since he was a son of Thor, he was supposed to be either flawless or as close to it as possible.
o-0-o
Wanda stepped out of a portal right outside of Hogwarts and with a wave of her hand closed it, just to conjure a simple mirror with another. She quickly scanned her clothes, a long sleeveless gown, with slits up the sides of her thighs, made out of red silk and covered in rich embroidery forming swirling, fiery patterns, a pair of red gold bracelets with rubies on her wrists, a necklace with an eye in the middle and a pair of triangular earrings with seven small rubies. She made small corrections to it and with the last wave of her hand she vanished away the mirror and walked towards Hogwarts, her heels clicking on the cold, stone steps leading into the Entrance Hall and further into the Great Hall.
As she walked she let her eyes roam across the structures around her, structures so familiar, yet so strange to her. Ones where two of her best friends studied and where she had been staying to sleep during the final parts of the war. At those memories her eyes darkened, dozens of good friends died and even more was injured so badly that since then they were forced to stay inside of St Mungo or any other hospital.
She entered the Entrance Hall and waited for a moment, listening to the noises coming from the inside of the Great Hall, she could only hear laughter, talks and music. Waiting one more minute she summoned two, thin scrolls her mentor wrote for those she was about to meet and she walked in. As she entered the Great Hall it took her a moment to find those she needed to find, but when she looked in the right direction it was obvious where they were.
Two mops of long, black hair moving through the crowd were impossible to be anything else than her godson and his date and girlfriend. On her lips appeared a small smile when she remembered James Potter and Lily, in dance they were similar, two beings that were solely focused on each other and the moment with everything else being pushed onto the sidelines.
She was about to move towards them when a form of a resident dungeon bat appeared to her side and when she looked in his direction she was a bit surprised to find Snape all of people being a teacher. "How can I help you, Miss Maximoff?" He asked, with the sweetest smile he could manage, which still resembled a nasty and highly unpleasant scowl.
She tried not to summon a vase of lemon juice and smash it onto his head, but she managed to control her instinct and she didn't do it. "I need to deliver two scrolls from my mentor to two of school's students," she said and showed Snape two scrolls. "I can find them on my own, so you don't need to help me on my way there."
She saw him scowl even more, but she ignored it and gliding along the walls of the hall and trying to steer clear of any students that could stumble upon her she somehow was able to make her way onto the other end of the hall. Stopping for a moment she smiled when she saw Harry and Atalanta sit at one of the tables and eat while talking with some of their friends. She let them finish her meal before she approached them, she stopped behind Harry and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Harry," she softly said. "We need to talk."
He turned and when his face landed on her, on his lips appeared a wide smile. "Wanda!" he exclaimed and got up, before hugging her and making her smile. "About what and why didn't you drop by during past two years?"
"I wish I could," she said and looked at him, he was already taller than she was, much taller. She chuckled when she realized he needed to look down at her so that he could look onto her face, when they last met she wasn't that small compared to him. "I wish I could, alas I was busy and I'm finally seeing you so be more happy."
"I'm happy," Harry said and shuffled his feet. "It's just that I missed you, Wanda."
"Well," she said as she freed herself from the hug. "Perhaps we might have an opportunity to see each other more often."
He smiled and she waved her hand, conjuring a chair for herself, so that she could sit with them at the table. The rest of its occupants looked at Harry, then at her and later at Harry before nodding and not caring about her.
"So why are you here?" Harry asked as he picked up his glass and took a sip of something that looked suspiciously like elven wine.
"Because of an event that's supposed to happen in almost twelve months," she said and she could see people around the table exchange looks, as if they knew something was going on. "My mentor asked me to talk with you and your lover about it."
"An event that is supposed to take place in twelve months and is organized by the Sorcerer Supreme of Midgard," Harry said and she could see gears slowly turn in his head. "I think that I know what you're talking about, so could you enlighten me what do you want from me?"
"A thing that you should enjoy," she said and he looked at her. "Those two scrolls," she said, showing a pair of scrolls. "Are for you and your date."
Harry smiled, took the scroll and his eyes quickly scanned its content. "I really like it," he said with a grin. "I really, really like it," he said and looked at Atalanta. "What do you think about it?"
"Well, it gives us an opportunity to shine," she said and looked at the scroll. "Also it gives us a chance to meet with Illyana and our friends from across the ocean."
"I think that you know what's my answer," he said and Wanda nodded. "I will gladly take part in it and even more gladly I will show off."
She smiled. "I will pass a message onto my mentor and he might show up in person to talk about details with you," she said and looked at him. "I wouldn't mind talking with you some more, but I didn't introduce myself to your Headmaster and extending it by much is risky."
"Go and amuse him," Harry said and at the same moment he stood up with Atalanta and together they glided onto the dance floor.
Wanda smiled looking at them and then got up and looked around, in an attempt to find the old goat.
o-0-o
Albus Dumbledore was a wizard that saw two conflicts that ripped the world apart, dueled Grindelwald and members of the Senior Council. However there were forces that even he respected and when he felt a massive source of energy approach him he diverted his attention from the pleasant talk with Horace and looked around for the person that had this amount of power. When his eyes landed on a person with auburn hair and scarlet eyes walking towards him, his eyes widened.
"Wanda," he said, getting up and walking to her.
"Albus," she replied with a cool note to her tone. "I'm here on official business, nothing else. So you have no reason to worry about, I won't turn anything into a poor goat or duck, nor summon a meteor to smash something."
"If I may ask, what kind of an official business it is?" He asked, his eyes trying to connect with hers.
"Delivering messages on behalf of Stephen," she said and Dumbledore arched an eyebrow. "About a project that is to happen in eleven months."
"Perhaps you will join us?" He suggested and she looked at him.
"Well, I delivered them, so I might as well enjoy the night," she said and walked to a free spot to the side of Remus Lupin, which made Dumbledore arch an eyebrow, they weren't the two most friendly people.
o-0-o
Ulf smiled as he looked at Luna, she looked beautiful in that dress of hers and not only was she beautiful, more importantly she had a mind to match her beauty. "I need to show you the beauty of Asgard," he whispered as they walked along the edges of the Great Hall. "You should enjoy it and not many can see it."
"I know," she said with a far away smile. "Maybe you will be one that will show Asgard to me."
"Perhaps I could be," he said, their hands locking with each other on their own. "We will return with Harry for Yule Break to it, so if you want you could come with me. Though I think there's more to the reason you want to come with me," Ulf said with a smile and she blushed.
"Perhaps," she said, her cheeks a bit red. "My family stayed true to what our ancestors knew and believed, so I know all the stories about your home."
"It's much better than it is in those stories," Ulf said with a smile and stopped Luna so that he could look into her eyes. "I think that we both know what I mean."
She blushed and looked at him, her cheeks covered in redness. "Yes, I think that I know what you mean."
"Good," he said and placed his hands on her shoulders, for the first time realizing how small she was. "I know that I'm not someone special, but I want to be with you," Ulf said and looked at her. "You caught my attention and I cannot think about anything else than you."
"Ulf...," Luna whispered, looking into her eyes he could see a whirlwind of emotions move inside of them. "I don't know what to say."
He smiled and said, "Do what your heart is saying."
She smiled and reached to place her hands on his shoulders. "I think that I will give you a try," she whispered and he smiled before leaning closer to her, she leaned towards him and their lips met.
When he kissed her he felt as if he landed in heaven and he focused on the feeling, it felt awesome and his mind was unable to function for a moment. As their lips parted he could see a glint of happiness shine in her eyes.
"Shall we dance?" He asked looking at her.
She only smiled and grasped his hand before dragging towards the dance floor, he let her do it and went with the flow. He could tell that she had a strong will and had a feeling that if he said no she would just drag him along, no matter the fact that he was extremely heavy and normally wouldn't be easily moved.
o-0-o
"Seems like Ulf found someone whom he likes," Atalanta said as she and Harry gracefully moved through the dance floor. "A thing I didn't expect to happen."
Harry followed her gaze and on his lips appeared a smile when he saw Luna accompany Ulf. "He was a bit of a lone wolf," Harry said and looked at Atalanta. "But he is changing."
"She has an impact on him," Atalanta said and then her eyes widened for a moment. "I should have seen it sooner, she is a seer."
"A real seer, like grandfather?" Harry asked, eyeing Luna.
"Yes," Atalanta said and made them avoid a collision with one of other dancing pairs. "Those things she sees, grandmother mentioned it and she said that they are a sign of a seer."
"Well, she's a Vanir by blood. They had those things run in their blood for ages," Harry said and Atalanta nodded in agreement. "Perhaps Luna could join us for Yule break on Asgard and I think that grandmother could find some time to talk with her."
"Or your cousin, Freyra, could do it," Atalanta pointed out. "She also has this gift, even if she doesn't show it, she has it."
"She is Vanir," Harry said with a look at his girlfriend. "It's obvious she has it."
"You forgot about her, so I pointed it out."
"It's not like I can keep tract of hundreds of cousins," he said with a huff."
Atalanta only smiled and dragged him into an even faster dance as the orchestra started to play more lively and faster tune. Making the ball go faster than before and making the time pass far more quickly for everybody participant, before Harry realized almost the whole event passed and they were walking back to the dormitories.
"It was awesome," he said, his hand wrapped around her waist. "And I'm so tired," he said with a massive yawn.
"It was awesome," she agreed and looked at him in amusement. "As tired as after that night?" she asked teasingly and it made him blush.
"Yeah," he said with a yawn as they stumbled into their common room. "Night, At," he said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Night, Harry," she said in reply before disappearing towards girls' dormitory.
For a moment he stood in the common room, watching the doors to girls' dormitory before yawning and making his way to his own dormitory to catch on his sleep. Even if the ball was relatively short, at least by Asgard standards it still managed to get him tired and in need of several hours long sleep.
o-0-o
Nicholas Fury was a person that saw many things, including political scandals that managed to topple governments and surprising him was not an easy feat, but even on his lips appeared a smile of satisfaction as he looked at the front page article from Daily Bugle. Blood was in the water and if those were first reactions to the whole list of juicy bits he released, he wondered what would come next.
However there was one he was sure of, even without reading the article, he had poked hornets' nest as guessing by the amount of arrests, suicides and disappearances all of the people that were even connected with the Weapon X project were eliminated one by one. He turned around and he didn't even need to look far to see the effects of his work as police helicopters and columns of vehicles were visible from his office.
Turning back to his desk he looked at the newspaper and focused on the article.
Project Weapon X – bloody and dirty secrets of the Cold War
By Peter Parker
We all remember reports from all over the country and Europe of massive unannounced military exercises past September, according to official statements they were routine exercises designed to test reaction of NATO structures to sudden increase in tensions in Eastern Europe. However all of this was a lie, a lie created to hide an even bigger and more dangerous event that happened right under our noses.
The event about which we weren't aware was revealed just yesterday by SHIELD, or Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, an agency that specializes in terrorist attacks and organized crime, as well as intelligence gathering. Documents they released show over five years of work and twelve months of careful investigation carried out in more than a dozen of countries and with support from local authorities. Everything is focused around two projects from the times of the Cold War, US Weapon X and Soviet Red Room. Their goals was to create the best soldiers possible, no matter the cost or ethical reasons. Many thought that they were gone, yet they were wrong as according to evidence gathered by SHIELD they weren't gone, they just hid really well and still carried out their vile experiments on mutants they could catch, usually teenagers and children.
Yes, they carried out experiments on children and teenagers that were mutants without their consent and with no consideration for their health. Exact death toll is unknown, but according to data released it must be in hundreds, if not thousands. Photos of their freed captives bring back photos from freshly liberated concentration camps from World War Two. They were starved, scared of everything and in need of immediate medical aid.
Even if all of this is shocking, it's not as shocking and terrifying as the amount of support the program received from multinational corporations, influential politicians and bureaucrats who funneled funds and resources to further its goals. Whole list of people, though it is doubtful if they should be treated as humans, will be at the bottom of this article where you also find information of a place where you can find published version of the report. They didn't have any qualms to fund research where children were being culled because of an experiment that didn't go as planned or because they weren't willing to cooperate.
All of this sounds like a story too far-fetched to be true and you may have doubts about it, but all of this is written based on material released by agencies that took part in dismantling the group and its vile activities.
More in depth article will be released once we have time to properly read and analyze public part of the report, it is over fifteen hundred pages thick and that's the main part as there are three public appendices, each three hundred pages long. That's over twenty-four hundred pages of data, data that is so shocking and new that we need to analyze and verify it, nevertheless we will keep you apprised.
Fury folded the paper and looked on his lips appeared a thin smile, this would start an earthquake, he would just need to make sure to steer it in the right direction and confirm that proper targets end up dead or imprisoned. It was even more beautiful as he didn't need to do any work, he just needed to watch and enjoy the tidal wave that would wash away any people he wanted were gone.
o-0-o
Bobby stood on one of the balconies of the Xavier's Institute and let his eyes roam over the grass in front of it and a form of a new building being constructed in the distance. As he looked at it he had troubles believing how badly it had changed since the time he first arrived here, then it was smaller and less grand, now there were hundreds of mutants living inside and with each year the amount of them was steadily increasing. Yet looking at it he could tell that he was missing something or someone.
"You miss him?" someone asked from behind.
When he turned around he came face to face with Rahne, her wolfish keen eyes looking at him. "No... yes," he said with a sigh. "Even if he was an annoying person at times, I came to like him and he was funny, a person with whom you wanted to spend time."
"Yeah. We trained with him and we wanted to spend time with him. There's a small amount of hope that he will come back."
"Oh?"
"I might have overhead Professor talking with Doctor Strange about a magical event taking place here and according to them Harry might be eligible to take part in it," she admitted after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"That would be cool," Bobby said and glanced at her. "Any idea when it will happen?"
"No," Rahne said, shaking her head. "I didn't catch this bit."
"At least we know he might come back," Bobby said.
She nodded and stopped to his side. "Do you have any ways of contacting him?"
"If he has Internet connection, I should have," Bobby said and looked at her. "Try pestering Jean, he should have some way of contacting Harry."
"I will try," she said before walking away and leaving him alone.
Bobby looked at the sky and watched it, his thoughts running on their own and wondering what Harry was doing.
o-0-o
On the day after the Ball when Harry entered into the Great Hall he was a bit surprised when he found just a couple of people inside of it, even if it was a very late hour for him, that is nine in the morning. Hour when he usually was awake, done with his workout or part of it and past breakfast. He yawned as he made his way to the table and when he looked around he was a bit surprised by what was in the menu, plenty of sweet and full of energy things that should keep them going for few hours.
Looking around he was a bit surprised as he saw that many people didn't even care about the fact that there were house tables and sat where they wanted. It seemed that the ball and the fact that people chose for dates people from not their own house created a very interesting situation and it seemed that the stiff and restricted atmosphere of Hogwarts started to crack and break.
"You certainly know how to party," Oliver said with a wide grin.
"Advantage of living on Asgard," Harry smiled back. "We party for most of the year and it tends to get loud, very loud."
"How loud?"
"In some cases we go back to sleep when sun is getting back onto the sky," Harry said and paused to pile food onto his plate. "Most isn't that loud, but I think that you can imagine what's happening."
"Yeah," Oliver said and was forced to duck when a bird flew over him and stopped on Harry's shoulder, a scroll in its claws. "What's that?"
"A message for me," Harry said and reached to the bird, untied the scroll and the bird was gone. "Equinoxes and solstices are important on Asgard and most of reports and important messages are delivered around those dates."
"So what's it this time?" Oliver asked and quickly added. "If you don't mind talking about it."
"Ledger about what I own and from what I get my money on Asgard," Harry said and placed the scroll to the side of his plate. "Nothing too exciting, but that's a basic version, for a true version i will need to get to Asgard."
"I know that you are a prince, so why do you have your own titles?" Oliver quietly asked.
"As a security measure and because there are several titles too important to be trusted to anybody outside of the family," Harry said and saw Oliver slowly nod in understanding. "So we keep them inside of the family and make sure that someone oversees them, there is also an added bonus of a nice place to rest and have fun."
"So basically ensuring that it doesn't get lost?"
"Pretty much yes," Harry said and paused. "Other reason is that since as a king there is a lot to govern I'm supposed to get decent in governing on the smaller scale. So that when I ascend to the throne I know the ropes and know how to do it efficiently."
"Sounds fun," Oliver said and looked at the scroll. "May I see it?"
"It's fun," Harry said and smiled. "Sure, just don't get too badly surprised by some things and remember that Asgard is different."
"I will," Oliver said before taking the scroll and looking at it. "Slaves?" He asked quietly after a moment.
"Yes," Harry said and paused for a moment. "The hardest punishment possible, usually used when someone pisses off my grandfather and he doesn't think that death sentence is a good enough punishment."
"I can see some logic to it," Oliver said and paused. "God's, we use demons to guard prisoners in our most secure prison."
"Demons?" Harry asked finishing his breakfast and looking at the empty plate. "There are dozens of them and Dresden could name you a fair share of them."
"Dementors. They can suck out your soul and turn you into a husk of what you were."
Harry shuddered at those words and he felt a bit uneasy, one thing was condemning someone to a lifetime of servitude and stripping him of his freedom and another was a destruction of a soul. Out of the two being a slave seemed like a life in paradise compared to being in the presence of soul sucking beasts.
"Forget about it," Oliver said and Harry looked at him. "Don't think about it and you will feel better."
"I know," Harry said with a sigh and got up from the table. "A game of chess?"
"Sure," Oliver said as the two of them walked out of the hall and towards the common room.
o-0-o
Potions were quickly becoming one of Harry's favorite subjects, he loved it and it was a lot more interesting and subtle than what he was taught on Asgard. On Asgard you basically needed a liquid base and later add ingredients, after which you could go on a hunt and return several hours later and nothing would happen, or at least nothing terribly bad. Those potions at Hogwarts needed careful babysitting and were far more sensitive to changes in everything affecting them.
Professor Slughorn came into the room and on Harry's face appeared a look of surprise when he heard that they would not need any cauldrons or ingredients. "This class is purely academical and you better remember it for your whole life," Slughorn said, his expression serious and none of his usual light-heartedness visible. "Love potions and love elixirs, are the topic. The main message is, you don't use them. They don't give true love, they just bind that person to you and if it is discovered you need to pray to be just sentenced to Azkaban as they are punished as severely as any Unforgivables.
"If you think that something is spiked with them, don't even touch it, just leave it alone and you will be fine. However there are two things that are extremely similar to them and are beneficial calming draughts and potency potions, the difference comes from two ingredients added in different order and different brewing time," Slughorn said and twirled his wand, making words appear on blackboards behind him. "Those are notes for you to take and once we are done I will show you how any love potion looks in its raw form and what are the most common and popular ways of concealing them."
They dutifully written down the notes, even Hermione was subdued and unable to form any questions, the topic hitting her hard, very hard. Once they wrote everything down Slughorn walked to one of the cabinets at the back of the classroom, whispered several long chains of incantations and slowly opened wooden door before pulling out several small flasks. Harry could see in them liquids in various shades of pink and gold.
The rest of the class passed by as Slughorn showed them how they could be mixed with various other liquids to hide them from the designed target. Harry leaving the room could feel that everybody was as shaken and shocked as he was, however when his eyes landed on Ginny he had bad feelings about her.
"Easy," Atalanta said, slipping into a position to his side. "She will stay away from you."
"Are you sure?" He asked, looking at his lover. "She seemed pretty determined to get to me."
Atalanta just smirked and looked into his eyes. "She and I had a talk about you and she happily agreed to stay away from you."
Harry could tell that there was more to it, but he decided not to ask about it and ignored it, hoping that nothing bad would spill out of it and that he would be fine and whole.
o-0-o
Ulf sat in the common room and looked at Luna, she seemed stranger than usually. He frowned at her weird expression, one that he didn't see before, but could tell it was nothing good. "What's wrong, Luna," he asked, looking at her in concern.
"Nothing," she whispered and he could tell that she was lying. "I'm fine, Ulf."
He let out a sigh of annoyance and looked into her eyes. "I know when people try to lie to me," he said and brought her closer to him, moving on the sofa so that she could sit to his side.
"It's nothing," she said and his eyes narrowed. "You don't need to bother with it."
"I'm your boyfriend," he said and she looked at him. "So that's my business and I can tell that you are hiding something from me."
She was silent for a long moment before she let out a sigh. "Fine," she said and he could see that she wasn't comfortable with it. "Someone took my things," she said.
His eyes flashed dangerously and his throat escaped a short growl that made her look at him in fear. "Do you know that someone?" He asked after he managed to calm himself.
"I think that I know," Luna said and on Ulf's lips appeared a smile that would make his namesake proud.
"I might convince him to give you back your things," Ulf said and looked at her. "Mind pointing me in the right direction?"
"It will be better if I come with you," she said and he nodded.
Together they walked across the common room and toward the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, Luna stopped him from opening the door and instead pulled on a ring set in a head of an eagle that was in the middle of the door. Somehow the ring was able to speak and it said, "Answer the riddle and you can enter, Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters."
Luna was silent for a moment before on her lips appeared a smile. "Wind, the answer is wind," she said.
"Very good," the eagle said and the lock clicked and the door opened on its own.
Luna entered inside and Ulf followed her half a step behind, his eyes looking for troubles and dangers, they swept over the room and quickly discovered that it was nearly the same to the one occupied by Gryffindor. The only difference was in colors, blue and silver instead of red and gold. He only spotted a single person, boy that was maybe seventeen, but he was easily confused by Midgardian humans, estimating their age at at first glance was a challenge.
"Him?" Ulf asked.
"Yes, him," Luna nodded and on Ulf's lips appeared a smile, he itched to get violent and release it in something else than training.
He walked forward and stopped in front of that boy who was too focused on reading to notice a hulking Æsir standing over him. "We need to talk," Ulf said and the boy diverted his eyes from the book.
"I have no reason to talk to you," the boy said and then his eyes noticed Luna. "Loony also doesn't have any reason to be here."
Ulf smirked at those words, grabbed the boy by his shirt before lifting him into the air and dragging over the table. "No reason?" he asked, their eyes centimeters apart. "Do you know why I'm here or should I enlighten you?"
"I don't know and release me!"
Ulf rolled his eyes at this. "Save yourself and don't lie," he said and jabbed his finger backwards, indicating Luna. "She said she lost her things because of you, if you don't want to see what an Æsir can do to a human I suggest that her things return to her."
The boy gulped, looked at Ulf and nodded. "She will get them back by the end of the day," he whispered.
"Good," Ulf smiled, released him and walked to Luna. "Problem solved," he said and smiled reassuringly. "If you have any troubles, tell me and I will happily straighten them out."
"Thank you, Ulf," she said.
He just smiled and with him placing his hand on her side the two of them walked out of the room.
o-0-o
Time at Hogwarts seemed to flow on its own and before Harry realized it was October, the trees were barren of any leaves and everywhere was plenty of snow, making it look as if it was covered in a layer of white powder. It also reminded him that winters on Midgard were far, far harsher than those on Asgard
Harry diverted attention from the map laying on his lap and looked at Atalanta who was cradling a large mug of hot chocolate and didn't seem too happy about the weather. "What's wrong?" He asked with a grin. "The weather is quite nice and it isn't the middle of the winter, heck even autumn didn't truly start."
"Harry," she quietly said, dangerous tone to her voice. "I don't like cold weather and it's colder than at the Institute."
"It's not cold," he said and her eyes narrowed dangerously, forming two narrow slits that promised pain and suffering. "You will murder me if I keep dragging the topic?"
"No," she said and smirked. "Not murder, just make your life a very unpleasant experience."
"Are you always that nasty?" Susan asked, one of few girls that weren't scared by Atalanta and didn't do anything stupid, aka flirt with Harry. "As you seem to be willing to murder him."
"Territorial, yes, nasty, no," Atalanta said and looked at Harry. "He just tends to be an annoying one."
"Annoying?" Harry scoffed.
"Yes, love," she said before kissing him on the cheek and wrapping herself in a warm, woolen blanket. "Now, be a good boy and return to doing what you were doing."
He nodded and looked at the map, tapping it with his wand his brows furrowed when he saw four lines of runes appear. 'At the beginning of time there was a giant and from him everything was born, what was the name of the being.' He frowned, he knew the name from the myths he read and stories told by his grandfather. He pressed his wand against the parchment and used it to draw a single rune. For a moment nothing happened, but then dozens of new lines appeared, showing things and places he didn't expect to find, secret passages and short-cuts scattered across the castle. As his eyes roamed over those lines his attention was drawn to girls lavatory on the second floor as there were gray outlines of another structure somewhat connected to it.
o-0-o
31st October wasn't the best day in Harry's life as it was a day when his mother died to protect him from Voldemort. However as he woke up on that day in Hogwarts all of those thoughts were swiftly banished. Through the air was spreading a smell of baked pumpkin and many other sweets making him eager to see what the day would bring.
Every other activity passed in a blur and before he even realized he was sitting at the Gryffindor's table in the Great Hall, which decor was completely changed and waited for the food to appear on the table. When it happened his mouth almost dropped, the whole table was covered in even more dishes than he saw on most of the feasts on Asgard.
"Impressed?" Susan asked with a chuckle at his expression.
"Yeah," he said before starting to pile food onto his plate. "We usually don't have so many dishes, at least not at the same time. At major ones we have plenty, but for normal it is a more drawn out thing."
"Well, this feast is a traditional one at Hogwarts," Percy Weasley said. "It has been for a really long time now."
Harry just nodded and focused on eating, enjoying the food that was much more different than one he was used to at home, while it wasn't much better it was still really good and made him want to eat more. Throughout most of the feast nobody talked much, focusing mostly on stuffing themselves full with food and drinks.
However that was the end of normal and good events for the day, when they were walking to their dormitories, half asleep from the food they eaten something unnerving happened as the whole group in front of him stopped and didn't want to move. Instead voices became louder and louder as they talked about something with some excitement and fear. He looked at Ulf and Atalanta and without any words said they started to push through the crowd, emerging at the front of it they saw the reason of the event. A black cat that was named Mrs Norris and belonged to the caretaker was hanged by its tail from one of torch brackets. However that was not the scary part.
The scary part were words written in something that looked like blood, 'THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.' As Harry looked at it he could tell that peace and calm that he came to love about Hogwarts were officially gone.
"You did it Potter! Admit it!" Ron's shout broke the silence.
Harry's head flew in the direction of the voice and his eyes flashed dangerously. "I was in the Great Hall with you, how could I be in two places at the same time?"
"You are a freakish thing, you could be in two places!"
Harry was about to reach and grab Ulf to prevent him from charging at Ron when a silent form of Professor Dumbledore, flanked by Professors Dresden and Lupin appeared. They stopped in front of the damned cat and for a moment simply looked at it.
"That's not magic," Dresden said and looked at the students. "Go back to your dorms, there is nothing to see for you."
They wanted to protest when Professor Dumbledore looked at them and somehow most of protests died out before they started. With some reluctance they made their way to their dormitories and without much noise, as if suppressed by the atmosphere, they dressed into their sleeping clothes and went to sleep.
Days and weeks between that event and the time when Yule Break was supposed to start were one of the worst in Harry's lifetime. Nobody knew what was the reason for the event and rumors and gossips were spreading like a wildfire across the whole school, fueling those fears and uncertainties. The fact that Ron seemed convinced about the fact that he was guilty didn't improve Harry's mood and when the time for travel to Asgard came he was happy to be able to get home and away from it.
o-0-o
A/N - My supply of chapters to publish is running dry and as said at the beginning, it will be random when I publish it and a note for those demanding that I update, those reviews will end in a trash can in case of guest ones and rest will be reported.
But going back to the chapter, it is quite obvious where some things are heading and how plots are being shaped, Harry is getting a little fed up with Hogwarts and people inside of it, so some outbursts of his temper might happen sooner or later.
Vienna Convention is all about diplomacy and its rules. Geneva Convention is about warfare, but one, very important thing - only soldiers and civilians are protected by its rules, say you have Weapon X goon, you can hang him on a lamppost and nobody will cause problems. Why? He is not a soldier, he is not a civilian and it means that he either a bandit, a pirate, a mercenary or some other unsavoury individual.