Chapter Four
Headmaster McGonagall burst into Loki's office with her wand at the ready. Hagrid was with her, similarly armed. Loki was curled into a ball, shuddering in the center of the chalk circle on the floor. A translucent black bubble was pulsing around him, throbbing against some invisible barrier that prevented it from breaking beyond the chalk. They could hear Loki's labored, hoarse breathing, sounding as if he had blown his voice out.
"PROFESSOR LOKI!!" McGonagall bellowed, leveling her wand at the dark-enshrouded man's quivering form.
Loki rested his forearms and knees on the floor. He started to rise from the floor, and drew his head back.
Then he sharply threw it forward, making a loud cracking sound when he smashed it against the wooden floorboards. He clutched at his face and slid back down. A hand came back into view with blood oozing along the palm. Loki threw the blood upward, raining it down inside the circle.
As the blood pitter-pattered on the floor, the black bubble drew into his body. Still shaking, Loki rose to his feet. The bloody crack in his forehead melted back together before McGonagall and Hagrid's eyes.
Loki wiped the remaining blood from his face, but remained inside the circle.
"Is it your curse?" McGonagall asked, only now lowering her wand. Hagrid did the same afterward.
Loki nodded.
"The one I told you about. Here about class, I take it?"
"Of course. I brought Professor Hagrid, being head of Gryffindor House, to consult with you on the appropriate action."
"Here to represent the injured party?" Loki quipped with hint of defiant sarcasm.
"Why would I be representin' you?" Hagrid responded with equal tone.
"Wha?" Loki said, now confused. "I lost it on Ron."
"Reports from the students tell us that Mr. Weasley attacked YOU while your back was turned, and that you responded with only a single blow. The stories say you showed remarkable restraint. Professor Hagrid and I are here to hear your testimony, and your suggestion as to what action should be taken with Mr. Weasley."
"Oh!" Loki said, now stepping out from the circle. "That's surprising. Well, don't expel him."
"Are you certain, Professor Loki?" McGonagall asked. Loki nodded with absolute certainty.
"I told you a lot of things in my interview, Minerva. Don't know how much you know, Rubeus, so I'll fill you in a bit. My son has had some contact with ol' Moldy…"
"'Oo?" Hagrid asked.
"Voldemort. It's my pet name for the fucker. Voldy's been extremely active in the past few months. The event with the EMPs scared him out of sight for a while, but now without the threat of facing technological opposition, he's getting his nerve back. My son faced some Death Eaters and Moldy himself…"
"Yer son? He must be a youngin'!" Hagrid protested.
Loki remained unaffected.
"I'm far older than I look. Based on what my son encountered, he calculated Moldywart would be making some serious power plays to overtake his warlord competition in the Isles, which would include massive recruitment to the Death Eaters. Given how lost mankind is right now, many would be susceptible to that enticement. So people on a mass scale needed to be prepared to handle the world as is. That's why I came here. That's why I'm teaching what I'm teaching. There's no knowing when they'll need to use what they're being taught, so they need the good stuff right away. And teaching someone fast means you need to light a fire under their ass and keep it burning. Hogwarts has never been safe; even less so now. And I foresee something real nasty going down in the near future here. Everyone needs to be ready."
"What is that?" Hagrid asked, growing nervous.
"I'm not entirely sure. I see a lot of darkness growing within these walls. But then again, that could just be me."
He shrugged in a show of forced humor.
"What exactly ARE ye, Loki?"
Loki locked dull blue eyes on the half-giant's pupils.
"A very dark thing. The only other one of my kind I ever met called us Rahum. The details are too much right now, but to put it simply: I'm the thing Voldemort wishes he was. I'm in touch with the darkest of the dark forces, and I'm extremely hard to kill. I'd wager you've heard your share of rumors about me. I am rather famous. Guaranteed, Voldemort knows who I am, and he's probably itching to meet me. I have something he wants very much."
"Whit's that? Did ye know about this, Headmaster?" Hagrid persistently pressed. McGonagall nodded.
"I know some things, Professor Hagrid. Professor Loki has seen to tell me what we agreed was necessary to know."
"But if 'e's 'ere, then You-Know-Who could find out!"
"He will. I have no doubt." Loki interjected. "Yet, consider the students are in danger inside and outside these walls. It's the state of the world. Voldemort could go after them at any time, any place, or some other warlord could. Better they be among allies then alone, even if I'm around to make things interesting by Chinese definition."
"Then Mister Weasley?..." McGonagall asked.
"Remains. If he can control that temper, he can find he's stronger than he knows. He's worth keeping. He's a fierce protector. Just the kind of person the world needs."
"Then whit are ye suggestin'? Ron 'as to suffer some form o' consequence."
Loki smiled devilishly.
"Detention. With me. A long one. I can guarantee this conflict between him and I will be at an end."
McGonagall and Hagrid looked at each, discerning each other's approval. They nodded.
"If you feel that is appropriate, Professor Loki, then Ron Weasley shall serve detention with you this Friday."
"Excellent, Minerva. I'll take him the D.A.D.A. classroom."
Elsewhere, Ron was shuddering in the Gryffindor dormitory with Hermione by his side. All the other Gryffindor boys had left. Word of Ron's attack on Loki had spread as fast as a light particle on liquid speed, and the students were distancing themselves from him as quickly as they could for fear what would befall Ron, and whomever happened to be in the blast radius. Hermione held him; not about to leave Ron alone to befall whatever was coming.
"Expulsion would be a mercy." Ron squeaked. "He's going to rip out my soul and feed it to a demon."
Hermione said nothing. She couldn't be sure if any encouragement she could give would be meant. So they contented to sit on Ron's bed for nearly an hour, comforting each other with their presence, until a knock sounded at the dormitory door.
Ron began shaking all over again as Hermione gave him a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder and rose to answer the door.
She flushed when she saw McGonagall and Hagrid standing behind it. They were looking grim.
"Ms. Granger, would you leave, please?" McGonagall said with a tone that would have unnerved a rock.
With a quick glance back at Ron, Hermione slinked out of the room. Hagrid closed the door, leaving the three of them alone.
Ron tried to regain his composure, but the pounding of his heart was echoing so loudly he could barely hear anything else.
"Mister Weasley, a decision has been on your action earlier today."
Ron nearly choked, waiting to hear the words that would send him away from Hogwarts forever. He had failed Harry…he'd promised to finish for the good of himself and others…
"Professor Loki has discouraged your expulsion."
Ron nearly choked again, this time from ambivalence. He was relieved, and also terrified at what Loki had decided to do to him.
"Professor Loki has requested you serve detention with him this Friday."
Ron gasped. This was worse than expulsion.
"I want you to know, Mister Weasley, how very fortunate you are. I cannot think of a time when a student who attacked a professor has been given so lenient a punishment. Especially since the state of the world today so strongly demands that the Hogwarts family holds together for the sake of everyone in it. I will be deducting two hundred points from Gryffindor for this action."
Hagrid visibly winced.
"Do you have anything to add, Professor Hagrid?"
Hagrid sighed.
"Ron, Hogwarts is a different place. We 'ave a lot of Muggles 'ere now. A lot of 'em are already afraid of magic. We 'ave a responsibility to educate 'em that magic ain't so bad. Word flyin' around about students and professors fightin' in class is going to scare a load of 'em off. Then they'll be nearly naked out there in the barren world with those Death Eaters pillagin' and plunderin'. For that same reason, Professor Loki chose to keep you 'ere. Ye should be grateful, Ron."
Ron only made an incoherent grunt. He had too much hate and fear of Loki to feel gratitude toward him.
"I was initially going to write your family about this incident, but given Professor Loki's reputation, I cannot be certain of how your parents would respond to this situation. Therefore, it shall not leave Hogwarts' walls. That is all."
With that, McGonagall turned to leave, with Hagrid following.
Hermione, who had been hiding under a couch in the common room, crawled out after the professors left and rejoined Ron.
"What happened?"
"I'm not being expelled."
"That's-"
"I have detention with Loki."
"-extremely dangerous. But he didn't kill you outright in class."
"He's a Ravenclaw. He's smarter than that."
"I don't think he will kill you."
"Why? Because he smiled at you? Complimented you?"
"He was being encouraging."
"I don't want to hear any more. I've got two days before I have to see him again. I'm not going to hear another word about him until then."
"Fine." Hermione said flatly. "Just remember, even though he's got a dark side, you're the one that brought it out of him."
Ron was left alone the rest of the night.