Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Avengers.

Chapter Two

Harry walked calmly through the bushes and low hanging leaves of the forest, as aware of the woman called Sif walking behind him and the man called Thor walking in front of him as he was of the giant wolf thing trotting merrily beside him.

The two Asgardians had taken quite a while to calm down enough to answer his questions, and demand he follow them. As he had been heading for whatever type of settlement these people had in the first place, he had no problem with that. Though they seemed quite put out when the wolf they called Fenrir seemed adamant in following him. His ease with the large animal seemed to spark more comparisons with this 'one who was lost', whoever that was.

The woman stationed herself at the back, probably to stop him if he were to try to run off, while the man led the way to the place he called Asgard.

And Harry was starting to get a sinking feeling that he knew exactly where he was.

Magic runes were derived from all sorts of ancient languages, and he had spent hours upon hours researching with Hermione, hoping that the power infused writings would somehow help him defeat the Dark Lord that was breathing down his neck.

Of course, after all of that work, what killed the monster had been one of the first spells he had learned in third year. Go figure.

Pulling his mind back from where it had wandered, Harry reminded himself what had started the train of thought. Ancient runes. Specifically the ones with roots in Elder Futhark, and the legends of the gods that they represented. It had really fascinated Harry at the time, the stories of gods and goddesses who spent most of their time fighting.

"So that's Thor, and she's Sif..." He glanced at the happy wolf, "And you're Fenrir... And we're all talking in Old Norse." Connecting dots that had been gathering since he got here wasn't difficult, the wizard only sighed in a put upon manner. "So I've been waylaid by the Norse god of Thunder, and goddess of Earth, and you're probably the son of Loki. All within an hour of being in this realm, or on this planet, or whatever. This could either be really entertaining, or really bad." The wolf huffed as if in amusement. "Great, glad you're enjoying this." He muttered just as they reached the apex of whatever peak they had been climbing.

"Behold, wolf-tamer, the city of Asgard!" Thor cried jovially. It hadn't taken him long to start calling Harry that. And while he seemed to accept it, and maybe even found it kind of funny, the woman only scowled deeper at him, and her eyes promised pain should he even step a toe out of line.

Moving forward to take in the view, the wizard's eyes widened. It was really a lot more modern than he had been expecting, and he hummed appreciatively while the god beside him welled with pride.

Harry's eyes were inevitably drawn to the broken rainbow bridge, and he eyed it curiously, and with a bit of melancholy. It had probably been a sight to behold when it was whole. While he admired the view, Sif had drawn Thor back to whisper at him. Of course, Harry could hear every word after putting a listening charm on the hulking god.

"-do we know he's not Loki in disguise?" Sif hissed.

He could almost feel Thor's look of injured pride. "Do you not think I would know my own brother, no matter his form?"

The goddess sighed. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Thor shook his head slightly. "No, that is assuredly not Loki. Loki would not be so obvious in both a disguise that looks like him anyway, nor would he allow Fenrir to attach himself to him and give away the ruse, should he take one up for whatever reason. No, this little creature actually gives off the feeling of a human, from Midgard." He said the last wistfully, and Harry wondered what the god was missing.

Frowning, Sif replied, "It matters not. Heimdall will be able to clear it up. He did send us to find the man, after all."

They seemed to come to the decision to continue, and Harry withdrew his magic from the listening spell, allowing it to collapse while his mind worked.

Heimdall was another name to add to the list of ones he recognized. Hermione had called him "Heimdall of the all-seeing eye". And he apparently knew something about Harry. Which was great, really, maybe he could shed some light on the circumstances here.

Thor began to run at a pace Harry could not keep, and without waiting for Sif to either seize the opportunity to skewer him with her sword, like she obviously wanted to, Harry and Fenrir looked at each other, and the large animal offered its back with a happy huff. Taking the chance without pause, Harry clambered on, and gripped rough fur while the animal lurched forward.

The god and wolf seemed to turn it into a good natured race, and Harry clung for dear life. At that clip, it didn't take long to reach the odd, broken, dome like building that sat at the foot of the once great bridge, and the man who stood there. Thor, his color high from slight exertion and his spirits higher than they had been since his fight with his brother, trotted forward to meet the dark man with entrancing eyes. Harry slid from Fenrir's broad back and walked forward as well.

"We have brought you the man you have requested, Heimdall!" Thor proclaimed.

Harry met the man's eyes fearlessly, and watched in awe as story after story unfolded at the same time. Fascinating!

"Wizard. World traveler. Master of Death." The god's words brought him back with a lurch. Ignoring the younger man's sudden discomfort, the god continued. "Long have I watched your journey across time and space. I have dreamed of your coming to this planet."

Harry blinked in confusion. "Er... okay? That's actually a bit creepy."

Thor laughed uproariously, as if Harry had said a particularly amusing joke. Ignoring the thunder god, Sif, who had just arrived, explained, "Dreams on Asgard are often prophetic."

Burying his head in his hands and bemoaning, "Not another prophecy," he too, was ignored by the woman while she asked Heimdall her question.

"So he is not Loki in disguise, then?"

The dark skinned god shook his head with a smile. "No, sister, this is not the mischief causer."

She crossed her arms. "Then why has Loki's... creature taken such a liking to him?" She demanded, motioning to Fenrir, who was nosing Harry in commiseration, though he had no idea why the human was so upset.

"I do not claim to know the ways of wolves, though I imagine it is probably a great deal in part because his magic smells so much like the lost one's." Heimdall answered.

Sif shifted uneasily. "He is a sorcerer?" She asked. Her disquiet was understandable. The only magic wielder she knew used his gift to cause panic and mayhem, and had almost killed his own brother.

Heimdall placed his hand on his sister's arm. "Worry not, sister, he is not like Loki in the slightest."

Thor, having composed himself, joined the conversation. "You also called him world traveler, and Master of Death..." He pointed out, his tone questioning.

Heimdall shook his head, eying the being who had his face buried in the coarse fur of the docile seeming wolf. "Ask him at a later date. Those are not my secrets to share."

Thor drew himself up, every inch the young heir to the throne. "What if these secrets pose a threat to the kingdom? To the Asgardian citizens? And why did you want us to bring him in the first place?"

Heimdall's golden eyes looked far beyond them, into time itself as scene after scene played themselves out for him. "Because, with the right circumstances, he could prevent Ragnarök."

I am just overwhelmed by the amount of support and reviews y'all left for me! I woke up this morning to 250 emails! I can't say how much I love all of you! To answer a few questions that won't give any spoilers, no, Harry is not actually related to Loki. Like Heimdall said, it's his magic that Fenrir is identifying with. The universe jumping is not a new idea, though cyswaphyre is one of my favorite authors and pulls it off admirably. Um... I think that's all... See y'all soon!

Lionna