Disclaimer: Don't own.
Chapter Seven
They were still at the fountain, just taking in the sun, when three men came running up, all calling jovially to the blond god. When they got closer, they all stopped suddenly, nearly tripping over each other. "Loki?" The shortest one, a man with a thick red beard and hair, was the first to speak.
Once again the wizard found himself at the wrong end of a handful of weapons. "You know, this is starting to be a recurring theme around here..." He grumbled.
He blinked, and Fenrir, who had been asleep and sunning himself just out of view, charged toward them with a snarl.
He saw the men with the cruel weapons pointing them at his packmate, and it would not be tolerated. He would rip the to pieces before they could cut his packmate's flesh!
The three men jumped back, either ignoring Thor's shouts about how he wasn't Loki, or just not hearing them, and made to charge forward to engage Fenrir in battle.
Sighing, Harry held out his hand to the combatants and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus !"
The three men and over sized wolf pup froze in place.
Stepping between the frozen figures, Harry turned to address Fenrir first. "Something tells me these guys are friends, so no eating them just yet. Unless they aren't friends... in which case, buffet, right?" He countered the curse on his companion, who sat on his haunches with his tongue lolled out, watching with avid eyes.
The wizard then turned to Thor. "So... these guys?"
Running his hand through blond hair, Thor poked the tall Asian looking one with a look of fascination. "The Warriors Three, my closest friends and brothers at arms. What did you do? I do not think Loki could do such a thing as ceasing all movement in others.."
Nodding quickly, Harry spoke to the still bound men. "My name is Harry Potter. Not Loki. Yes, that's Fenrir, but if you try to hurt him again after I counter the spell, he has permission to eat you, friend of Thor's or not. I can make it so that, if he does eat you, you stay whole and alive, unaffected by stomach acid and the like. Not as pleasant as it sounds, because then you have to exit in the classic way. Got it?"
There wasn't an answer, of course, but he didn't expect one. He withdrew the spell and stepped back, ready to act if he found it necessary.
"That was... interesting." The blond warrior was the first to speak, and Thor clapped him heartily on the shoulder. Harry winced, that sort of thing would most likely have sent him toppling to the floor. The man seemed greatly unaffected, though.
"Wolf-Tamer, this is Frandral," The blond. "Volstagg," The red haired one, "And Hogun." Who looked a bit like the old pictures Harry had seen of the Huns.
Harry raised his hand slightly in a sort of wave. "A pleasure to meet you." He said blandly. When none of the Warriors made a move to either attack or greet him, he shrugged and faced Fenrir. "Right, so no eating them. We'll get you one of those deer things when we get back to the castle." The wolf grunted and flopped heavily to the ground.
Hogun crossed his arms. "I had heard that one who looks like the lost one, but is not, was keeping the company of the wolf. I'll admit, I did not believe it." He lifted one eyebrow in Harry's direction. "The fact that you have control over magics and the wolf only makes you more suspicious."
Harry glanced at him over his shoulder. "You can ask Odin if you doubt my word, not to mention Thor's." Redirecting his attention to Fenrir, he said, "Alright, you big glutton. Let's head back to the castle, or whatever they call it. We've been scaring people away from this fountain for long enough, I think. We'll get you dinner, and then I'll find out if there's somewhere big enough for me to give you a bath."
With a groan, Fenrir heaved himself to his feet. He liked this new pack member. He played with him like father never did, and fed him so Fenrir did not have to hunt for himself. Though he consorted with the men with cruel weapons, he did not let them turn their weapons on Fenrir. The only thing that would make it better was if his packmate allowed him to eat the men...
Harry glanced back at Thor. "Don't think I've forgotten your question, just come looking for me later and I'll explain the body binding spell if you want."
A few weeks later, they were just about to settle in to sleep, when Harry paused, and Fenrir tilted his ear up as if listening to something.
"So you heard it to, huh? I wonder what the hubbub is about?" The human muttered. He was about to shrug it off when there was a knocking on the door. "Who is it?" He called, the lesson with the rune-induced hallucination not forgotten.
Thor's voice answered from the other side. "Wolf-Tamer! Something has happened, and Heimdall calls for us both!"
"All right. I'll be out in a bit." Harry answered. He shrugged back into the tunic and breeches he had worn that day. A glint caught his eye, and he found himself looking at the armor that Odin had gifted him with a few days ago. "Can't hurt to wear it, right?" He asked his companion, who wuffed softly in answer. Harry put the breastplate and shoulder guards on as well. They were light enough even for him to move freely, but made of a metal not found commonly on Earth. Harry had requisitioned some to make a protection suit for Fenrir as well, and he stuck the shrunken bundle in his pocket.
The wolf looked at him curiously.
"Well, I have a feeling about this, and my feelings are rarely wrong. I don't think we'll be coming back here any time soon. But if we do, and I am wrong, it would be far better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it, right? I can always unpack it later." Harry asked. He threw open the door and both wolf and wizard walked out to meet an anxious faced Thor.
"What's going on?" Harry asked as they rushed towards the Bifrost. He was once again on Fenrir's back as the wolf ran, keeping pace with Thor.
The god shrugged. "I do not know, but rarely does Heimdall summon others. He only does so when there is cause for it. Father is already there. I believe it has something to do with the lost one."
"Right then. Fenrir, we may or may not be seeing your daddy." The wizard said. He jumped nimbly off the wolf's back when they reached the other two gods. "Odin. Heimdall." He greeted shortly. The men nodded.
"Space-Walker. Thor. I have found Loki." Heimdall told them, not one to waste time with pleasantries.
"Where?" Thor asked, and his tone fluctuated between relief and sadness.
"On Midgard." Odin was the one to answer.
Harry hummed thoughtfully. "How did he get there? Wasn't he floating around in space somewhere?"
Odin looked out into space, as if he could see his adoptive son on the other planet like Heimdall could. "My son has... come to an agreement. With the Chitauri."
Harry glanced over at Thor to see if that held any more meaning to him as it did to Harry. Nope, just as blank and confused. "The Chitauri?" He prompted.
"A race of blood thirsty shape shifters. They have been exiled to the farthest reaches of space, where not even I could see. Apparently that was a mistake. They have made an accord with a vicious, power seeking being. The being, called Thanos, discovered that the Tesseract was on Midgard, and made a deal with the lost one. He was to bring him the Tesseract, and they would give him enough forces to take over Midgard." Heimdall sighed. "He has already obtained the cosmic cube. Now he looks for a way to use it to open a portal between the worlds to allow the army to reach Midgard."
Harry looked over at the rainbow bridge, cursing in his mind. Even an over powered reparo would not fix it, and as far as he knew, it was the only way to go to Earth from here. The magics that created it interfered with his own. "So what are we going to do? I assume you have an idea, else I wouldn't be here. Thor and Odin, I can see because they're related to him, but me? I've never even met Loki."
"It is your ability that we are interested in, young world-traveler. I believe I can effect it enough that it would send both you and Thor to Midgard, instead of across space and time as you are used to." Heimdall said cautiously.
Harry tilted his head. "Are you sure? Because if this messes up somehow, and Thor and I end up doing what I normally do, then there would be no way at all to get him back." He turned to Thor and Odin. "Do you want to risk your heir like that?"
Thor drew himself up. "I am a grown man, and can make decisions for myself. I would trust Heimdall with my life, and if he says it is possible, then I have little reason to doubt him."
Odin shifted uncomfortably. He was not aware of the risks before, but it was too late to rescind the idea. Though his son had changed a lot in his time on Midgard, his stubbornness had not waned.
He met Harry's eyes. "I hope that, should that happen, you will keep my son safe, and do everything in your power to bring him back to me one day."
Harry heaved a deep breath. "Okay, then." He turned to the dark skinned god. "Just tell me what I have to do."
And that's chapter seven! As you can see, Nature Laughs takes place somewhere in between the first and second part of this one. So we're getting close to setting off to Midgard, where we'll be joining up with the Avengers! Y'all excited? I sure am! See you tomorrow with the promised early post.
Lionna