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Days later, Frigga entered the infirmary to find both her sons entranced by Harry as he weaved a story of some dangerous tournament that he had been forced to participate in. She did not even wonder where her youngest disappeared off to anymore. She doubted that Harry realized that Loki would check on him, even when he slept to insure he did not miss a moment in the man's company. Harry's entertaining stories, patient kindness, and instances of mischief have cemented his presence in the boys' lives. As little as they knew about the man, he had shown nothing but wary respect for her and her husband and affection for their boys.

Frigga took a moment to watch them. Thor sat on his heels, tense in anticipation of the dangers of the tale-a labyrinth filled with monsters and traps-while Loki dared to sit on the bed beside the man. Her youngest's eyes weren't wide like his brother's, but focused in a way she had not seen in some time. Harry waved an arm through the air to describe the size of something he called a blast-ended skrewt, grinning at the shocked gasps of his audience.

She did not worry for her sons here. Not anymore. As Harry healed, she was able to sense more from the man than she had in the first few days of his stay in her care. At first she had been unable to sense his intentions or even more than that he was some kind of magic wielder, so she had feared just who they brought into their company. A man that she did not see in her visions and Heimdall could not see at all, meant that the man came from beyond the scope of the nine realms. Beyond any of the known realms. Little good came from that darkness.

And yet he was kind. Harry took to dealing with the princes like a bird took wing. He teased them both without malice and subtly taught them lessons in humility, tactics, leadership, sacrifice, strength of friendship and family, and more just through his tales alone. Frigga could not comprehend how such a man could have kept alive in the darkness. The darkness was all consuming. It did not let such light shine. And Harry was definitely light itself since he seemed to respect but not fear the darkness.

So the queen did not worry over her sons with him anymore. That did not keep her from worrying over Harry.

Sitting at her loom the past several evenings, Frigga had tried to see where he came from, the beauty behind the stories he told. All she found were flashes of pain, darkness, fire, in quick succession, and then a blast of bright blue light filled with power. A light familiar and terrifying.

And finally a strange place of white light and mist. A large carriage like-thing loomed in the background, gleaming black and spewing white smoke from a pipe on its top. On a bench, Harry sat...waiting. He sat as easily there as he did on his bed in Asgard, calm and almost content, but still waiting. Frigga sensed he would always be waiting on that bench for something that will never happen. Her visions told her much, but she did not understand what these meant. Her knowledge was too limited for such glimpses into Harry's existence.

She understood that Harry had been in an intense battle, more than one. His wounds and nightmares attested to that. She understood that he had been changed by those battles, irreversibly, irreparably. She understood all that, but it still gave her no answers.

"Perhaps, just this once, I may advise you, my wife," Odin had said, when she spoke her concerns to him. "Things are as they are meant to be. Things will be as they are meant to be. There is no more we can do but wait and Harry's fate will reveal itself. I feel he will be with us for some time."

While her husband's words ran through her mind, she could only watch as Harry slowly began to recover. With luck his hand might even work once again as it did not seem to have lost any feeling. However, Frigga and her healers would need to cautiously work out the stiffness of scars and new skin before they could determine how much his hand would regain its movement and dexterity. His wounded spirit was another story but Frigga was willing to be patient. She would be there when Harry was willing to talk about his nightmares. Until then, Harry and her sons seemed content in each other's company.

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The princes were thrilled when Harry began exploring the palace in short spurts, resting often, but getting further each day. Soon, Harry being led by the two princes or eating in the main hall among the royal family was a common sight. The people of Asgard and its warriors found the young man to be a kind and sharp witted soul with a very insightful understanding of people. This came to light when, after a small feast, two warriors began an intoxicated argument that would have become a brawl had Harry not fearlessly marched up to the two and placed his still battered body between them. Odin watched, ready to intervene but curious as to what the much smaller man would do. With a few quietly spoken words, Harry had the two clasping forearms and peacefully parting ways. Once Harry returned to Odin's side, the king eyed him curiously. Harry caught his look and explained pointing towards a young maiden who was surrounded by a small group of men, "Fight over a girl, of course. Both like Arwin but neither have spoken to her. I pointed out that Arwin will be won by someone else if they kept bickering instead of paying her some attention. Seemed to clear the matter right up." Harry chuckled, seeming to remember something. "Best friend almost lost the love of his life that way."

Odin chuckled with him in amusement. He knew quite a few young men who could use the same advice. For the moment, Odin noted that this was the first time Harry had spoken of friends to himself or to Frigga. Harry had only spoken about them to his boys during his stories. It was progress. Not much, but it gave Odin hope that Harry was not as wounded in the soul as he had feared.

Author's note: Sorry if this is a little choppy. I had wanted it to feel like a montage but only had these two scenes worked out and could not get either one any longer for their own chapters. But I hope you enjoyed!

-Randompersonality