Notes: I'm really sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I generally don't apologize for late chapters, because I'm pretty sure you all are busy and aren't exactly waiting by the phone, as it were, but I've been posting at least one chapter a week on this thing and now it's been nearly two. So I apologize for suddenly changing the posting schedule, and this chapter is a bit short to make sure it gets posted quickly. Thanks to everyone still out there for your patience!

As it happens, I was on a trip to London (England) with a lifelong friend, and I ended up not taking a laptop with me. And, to be honest, I was pretty distracted! (There may at some point be a one-shot involving Loki and Thor walking around London with their guidebooks, agreeing that Buckingham Palace is delightfully cosy and awestruck that twelfth-century mortals built Westminster Abbey without resorting to magic. I'm just saying.)

With reference to this story- in case anyone is perplexed about Thor being the one who whipped out "not my brother" instead of Loki- this story is a Housemates AU. Also Thor is, by definition, pre-redemption-arc. I'm pretty sure Housemates!Thor, if he'd found out Loki was adopted when they were kids, would have used it as a weapon. Like, the first time he met kids who disliked his little brother, he'd have immediately gone, "He's adopted!" to distance himself and avoid embarrassment. Unlike post-redemption canon!Th-

Oh.

Ahem. Anyway, as for Loki, Sprout's right: there's almost no chance of him going Dark in this universe, because even without his family his new friends and mentors would be protective factors. But- Housemates!Loki, as a disturbed adult, only gave up on his family after "no, Loki" made him think he'd been disowned first. And even at that he kept thinking of Thor as "brother"- he still hadn't given up hope altogether, even when he thought he had.

Hogwarts!Loki, as a younger version of Housemates!Loki, still wants to be loved and accepted by his family- his whole family. The last thing he's likely to do is proclaim himself not a member of that family, even indirectly by denying Thor. At this stage in the story, Loki's the one who's interested in reconciliation. We'll eventually find out what Thor thinks.

Stopping before the author note ends up longer than the chapter itself.

Warnings: There's some whump in this one, although not precisely physical whump. And if it feels a little rushed, that's because it is, a little. I promise a better effort in the next one!

Also, to the reviewer who expressed the hope that Loki is going to turn evil and join Voldemort- I'm pretty sure someone else has written that story for you, but this isn't it. Sorry!

Chapter Twenty

"Come on, Loki, you can't possibly think they told him," Mitchell protested. "Why would they do that?"

"Maybe they thought it would make him be nicer to the poor little orphan," Loki spat, wrapping his arms defensively around himself. The four friends hadn't gone to lunch in the Great Hall. Instead, they were sitting at a table in a deserted corner of the library, books open before them as props, whispering together.

Annie moved a little closer to him in her chair. Loki flinched, but didn't move away. "Loki," she said, "I know I only met your parents one time, but… you told us they were trying to, to make things better between you. Why would they do a thing like that to you?"

"Anyway, you found out by accident," George spoke up. "Maybe he did, too. Maybe he overheard them talking. I mean, if they were trying to fix things with you, they probably talked about you a lot, when they thought they were alone."

Loki felt his mouth drop open a little in surprise. It had never occurred to him that anyone would talk, or think, about him when he wasn't there in front of them. And yet, of course, if his parents hadn't done exactly that, he wouldn't have overheard any of those important conversations in the first place.

"Maybe…" he said slowly. And then he remembered something. "The door- it might have been open a little, when I was talking to you that time. I think I looked at it and noticed that, but I thought we were talking too quietly for anyone to hear us, anyway."

"Okay, so maybe that's how he found out," Mitchell said.

"If he did, maybe he was upset that you talked to us and not to him," Annie suggested suddenly. "I mean, he's your brother. We're just… you've only known us for a little while."

Loki scowled, and Mitchell said quickly, "I know it's not fair of him, but it's natural, don't you think?"

Loki, speaking very slowly and clearly as if Mitchell didn't speak English, said, "It might be, if he liked me and wanted us to be… to be important to each other. But he doesn't. So why should he care?"

Mitchell wriggled uncomfortably. "I don't know."

There was an awkward silence, the others waiting for Loki to speak again. Finally, he muttered,

"At least he didn't hear the part about my… my real parents."

George leaned forward, his expression suddenly urgent. "Don't call them that, okay?" Loki turned to look at him, and George flushed but held firm. "Every time you say 'my real parents,' you have a look on your face like you're reminding yourself why nobody can ever like you or be friends with you. Why you deserve for Thor to be mean to you. Stop it."

Loki looked down at his books, blinking hard. "Well, what am I supposed to call them?"

"Birth parents," Annie said. "Or biological parents. Or- do you actually know their names?"

"Campbell-Hardwicke," Loki whispered. "Felix and Catriona Campbell-Hardwicke. Professor Fury told me about them, that day he caught us in the library."

Annie winced a little at the memory, but all she said was, "Okay, then we'll call them Felix and Catriona. If we need to talk about them at all, I mean. Which we probably won't, because George is right, they're not your real parents."

"I wonder if they ever miss you, though," Mitchell said suddenly. The others stared at him, and he said uncomfortably, "Well, I mean- even Death Eaters were probably fond of their kids."

Loki shook his head. "Not these ones. Professor Fury told me… They're horrible people. They like being cruel. They… They probably just thought it was their job to have a lot of kids and raise them to believe everything Voldemort said. If their side had won- " Loki broke off suddenly.

"What?" Annie asked.

"I just… I was going to say I'd probably have a lot of little brothers and sisters and we'd all be hateful, cruel people. And then I sort of wondered, what if I wasn't their only- ?"

George shuddered. "Don't even think about that. Don't."

"We were talking about Thor," Mitchell added. "About how lucky it was that he didn't hear you mention… Felix and Catriona." He hurried over the names as if even saying them was bad luck. "And what you were going to do about, about what Thor's saying."

"What can I do?" Loki demanded. "He already hates me, if I tell on him it'll only make things worse."

"Honestly, Loki, how much worse do you think things are likely to get?" Mitchell demanded.

"And the prefects are bound to get wind of it soon, if they haven't already," George added. "You might as well tell Professor Sprout yourself. Or your parents."

"But they don't know I know!" Loki hissed. "I can't… if I tell them I know, they'll know I was spying, and if I pretend I don't know, they'll be even angrier at Thor."

Mitchell shrugged. "That's his problem," he said grimly.

Loki clasped his hands tightly and tried to think. He had no doubt his father would be furious, if he knew what Thor had said. There was no satisfaction in the idea: when Dad was angry he was terrifying, and Loki didn't like to even imagine it. He didn't want to turn that loose on Thor, or have to be there when it happened. And, too, Thor would be horribly angry with him afterward. Loki didn't know what Thor might do to get even with him, but it wouldn't be pretty. He knew that full well.

On the other hand, though… the idea of telling his mother, being comforted by her and told this wasn't his fault, not this time… that was hard to resist. Loki remembered leaning against his mother, feeling her arms around him, and he imagined her warm quiet voice telling him that he didn't deserve this. He felt hollow inside with longing for that to be happening.

If he told on Thor, everything would get ugly and complicated and he might never be friends with his brother again (if he ever had been to begin with.) But he was beginning to realize that he had changed since Christmas. Once, he had thought his parents didn't care very much about him, thought all they wanted was for him to be quiet and cause no trouble and let them get on with thinking about things they really cared about. Now, he was beginning to realize that one of the things they really cared about was Loki. He was beginning to realize they did love him, and he didn't have to go around feeling all hollowed out and painfully empty all the time, wishing.

And for some reason, knowing that made it even harder for Loki to put up with being treated badly by Thor. It didn't make sense, Loki knew- it seemed that knowing someone loved him should have made it easier to accept that some people didn't, but Loki suddenly found himself rebelling against the idea of ever being made to feel that way ever again. He remembered, with a sudden sickening jolt, the way he had felt that night before he came to Hogwarts, when he had run weeping up the stairs and hidden away in his room, sure as sure that he would be as alone at school as he always was at home.

He looked around the table at his friends. At these kids who had accepted him into their gang- a gang that existed without needing to make anyone else into outsiders. Even if Thor never made up with him, Loki wasn't alone. He missed Thor and wished things could be better between them, but he realized didn't need his brother the way he once thought he did.

And he didn't deserve to be punished for things he didn't understand, and maybe hadn't even done. Thor didn't like him, and Thor didn't want him, but Thor couldn't just act like this and expect Loki to put up with it as if he was a criminal himself, instead of just the son of criminals.

He couldn't just be quiet and helplessly wish for things to change. He couldn't. And he didn't have to: it wasn't right for Thor to be like this. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, and Loki didn't have to accept it. He didn't.

"I'm going to talk to Professor Sprout," he decided, and was aware of the others relaxing a little, as if they'd been willing him to say those words. He glanced around and smiled a little. Then his stomach clenched as he thought about what he was about to put into motion. His hands clasped around each other, holding on tight.

Thor would never forgive him.

And then, for the first time, Loki wondered whether he would ever forgive Thor.

~oOo~

Professor Sprout was teaching all afternoon, first the seventh-years preparing for their NEWTs, and then Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, who always had Herbology together right up to fifth year. Loki had looked at the master timetable and realized Professor Sprout's last class of the day was with fourth year, which meant she was teaching Thor in that session.

And that meant Loki was going to have to be very careful how he approached the professor, to make sure he didn't miss her at the greenhouses, but didn't see his brother, or get seen by him.

Maybe, he thought with longing, maybe she knew already. Maybe she was already talking to Thor about the meeting they had to have, was already planning to send someone to fetch Loki. Maybe he didn't have to do this himself after all.

But he didn't know, and so he had to act. Had to.

Annie, George, and Mitchell offered to come with him, but Loki refused. It wasn't that he didn't want them, it was just that this was something he had to do alone. He couldn't quite explain it to himself, but the feeling was powerful. He had to do this himself. It might be the thing that ended everything between himself and his brother, or- hope refusing to give up entirely- helped them mend things, and Loki had to do it by himself.

"I'll meet you back in the common room later," he promised his friends as they separated.

Annie fidgeted, then asked, "What do you want us to do, if anyone asks us whether you're really adopted?"

Loki chewed his lip, then made a decision. "Tell them the truth. I'll see you later." His friends nodded, and made for the common room.

He knew he had to act alone, but as he trotted down an empty, echoing corridor in the castle, Loki wished he had made a different decision. At this time of year it still got dark very early, and the sun was nearly ready to set as he went looking for his teacher. Outside the castle, shadows would be growing long, and inside the newly-lit lamps created the same effect. Loki wasn't looking forward to scurrying across the lawn in the near-dark, but he had no choice. And besides, it would make hiding from Thor a whole lot easier.

Loki tried not to think about shadows, and the things that might be hiding in them.

He was passing the staircase where he and his friends had sat while Mitchell showed them the letter from his dad, when he heard a sound. Footsteps coming up the stairs, moving softly and quietly, on their way up from the dungeons.

There was no reason for Loki to hide: he had every right to be here, he was doing nothing wrong in walking down this corridor.

There was no reason for Loki to be afraid, either: whoever was coming up those stairs was surely just a student or teacher, someone who also had every right to be down there, near the Potions classroom and Professor Slughorn's store room. The dungeons weren't used to imprison people anymore, they were just rooms- classrooms, and the Slytherin common room and dormitories, their entrances hidden like all the others. Nobody was imprisoned there anymore, so no one was escaping from them-

Loki had hesitated a heartbeat too long, and now it was too late to find a place to hide. He froze, like a mouse who thinks he sees the shadow of an owl.

A moment later, Sif and Volstagg appeared at the top of the stairs, with another Gryffindor Loki vaguely recognized as another member of their house Quidditch team.

Loki exhaled, reassured in spite of himself. He didn't like Thor's friends, and he would have preferred to be facing members of any other house at all in the lengthening shadows, but it was still a bit of a relief to see someone he knew coming up those stairs. A person could imagine all sorts of things, alone in this darkening corridor…

Still, he was puzzled, and his face must have showed it. He supposed there must be a reason for these three to be coming up from the dungeons, but he couldn't think of one.

"What are you- ?" he began.

The third Gryffindor, without breaking stride, pointed her wand at him. "Petrificus totalis!"

Loki found himself frozen, rigid, unable to move his arms or legs or to speak. He wavered for a moment, then collapsed backward like a tree falling, slamming painfully onto the marble floor. The back of his head struck, and stars flashed before his eyes. He couldn't move his head, couldn't turn to see his tormentors. But he could hear them.

"Let's get out of here," urged the Gryffindor Loki didn't know.

"And leave the brat for someone to find?" Sif snapped. She was standing right next to him, prodded him with her toe as if he was garbage.

"We have to get rid of him," said Volstagg, coldly, as if he had never greeted Loki in an almost-friendly way, told him about extra flying practice for Clint, wished him a good evening. Loki tried frantically to move, to say something, as he heard the older boy's big feet come closer.

"We're not going to- here, help me," said the third Gryffindor, and suddenly there were hands on Loki, picking him up. "That door, quick."

A moment later and Loki had been bundled inside an empty classroom, dumped on the floor like an unwanted broom.

The door closed, and there was the sound of the three Gryffindors running away down the corridor.

And Loki was left alone in the dark.