THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Chapter 8:
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners.
AN: This story was inspired by Prince Haraldr by Lady Marauders4. I got frustrated by its lack of progress and decided to write my own. They are very different, in fact you'll find almost nothing similar between the two.
Silent and invisible, Harry went through the open door. Fluffy was at one end of the room snoring lightly as a harp played quietly from in front of it. The trap door was open as well and from it, Harry heard a thud of a door closing. Channeling a bit of magic through his eyes, Harry looked down the hole and he could see devil's snare trying to gather together after Quirrell had no doubt burned some of it.
Seeing a spot that had not yet been covered by the plant, Harry jumped into the hole, bending his legs just as he was about to reach the floor. He landed perfectly in a crouch and took a few seconds to revel in his success as he expected to land without falling over. He was still enjoying his perfect landing when he felt the devil's snare wrap around his legs.
"Bloody plants." He grumbled as he drew his wand. "Lumos."
A large ball of bright light appeared at the tip of his wand and the plant swiftly crawled away from him. Harry went towards a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. All he could hear apart from his light footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. He remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If he met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon, maybe it would be as receptive of him as Norberta had been. Then again, with the cloak on, slipping past it won't be a problem.
He reached the end of the passageway and saw before him a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above him. On the floor, there seemed to be nemerous keys with tiny wings. Quirrell had probably just dispelled whatever enchantments had been placed on them. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door and just on the ground before it lay another key though this one was different. It was slightly larger than the rest, silver with bright blue wings and had a bent wing.
Wondering why they hadn't made them all the same if they didn't want anyone to go through the door, Harry picked up the key and placed it in the lock. Sure enough, he heard the lock click and just shook his head. Was this honestly supposed to stop people from stealing the Stone? There were even brooms at the side to help the person pursue the key! What was Dumbledore thinking! Shaking his head, Harry went through the door just as the wings on the keys started fluttering again.
Just as he entered the room, he heard the door on the other end being closed and the room was plunged in darkness. He stepped forward but whatever enchantments were supposed to light up the room didn't seem to find him from under cloak. Channeling magic into his eyes once again, Harry picked his way through the rabble of what appeared to have been giant chess pieces until he reached the door on the other side.
He pulled it open only for a familiar stench to hit him. Eyes watering, he saw, flat on the floor in front of him, a troll even larger than the one he had fought on Halloween, out cold with a bloody lump on its head. He was glad he wouldn't have to fight it again as while he now had ways to deal with it more easily, he didn't have time to waste. From looking at the traps, he assumed the first was from Professor Sprout, the charmed keys by Flitwick, the transfigured chess pieces by McGonagall and the troll by Quirrell.
Which left Snape with Potions, Runes and Arithmacy from Professor Vector and finally Dumbledore himself. Bracing himself, Harry pulled open the next door - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.
"Snape's," Harry muttered under his breath. "What do we have to do?"
He stepped into the room and went over the table and a piece of paper with some kind of poem on it. He looked at the other side of the room but the doorway was unblocked. He curiously walked towards it, half expecting some kind of trap to spring up and catch him but nothing happened even as he walked through the doorway. It couldn't have been that easy was it? Maybe it had something to do with the cloak, and just like in the chess room, he needed to be seen before whatever enchantments were there activated.
He emerged into the last chamber and sure enough, Quirrell was there. He was staring intently at his reflection in a mirror, or more specifically the Mirror of Erised. He kept tapping on its surface and frame with his wand but it didn't seem to be working.
"Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this. . . but he's in London. . . I'll be far away by the time he gets back. . . " He murmured to himself. "Though I can't seem to think of any way he could have hidden the Stone in a mirror of all things."
"What do you see?" A cold voice asked. It seemed to be coming from Quirrell himself, or rather the back of Quirrell's head.
"I see the Stone. . . I'm presenting it to you. . . but where is it?" Quirrell said and Harry knew exactly who he was talking to. "I don't understand. . . is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it? Help me, Master!"
"That's the Mirror of Erised you fool." The voice said.
"I have never heard of it." Quirrell replied. "How does it work?"
The voice was quiet for a moment. "Let me take over."
"Master, you are not strong enough!"
"I have strength enough. . . for this." The voice argued. Harry waited with baited breath to see what would happen but the the voice spoke again, this time coming from the front. "Well... this could be tricky."
"Can you get the Stone, master?"
"Of course... I can. Dumbledore's arrogance will be his undoing." Voldemort chuckled. "He has always underestimated me... and this just shows... how much... he seems to forget that no one is more... accomplished in the mind arts than I am."
"So you can get it, master?" Quirrell asked from the back, excitment creeping into his voice.
"Get it?...I already have it!"
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. Even from where he was standing, Harry could feel the power rolling off the Stone. Harry walked forward towards the man, shrugging off the cloak in the process. The rage he had felt at Voldemort in the forest back again with a vengeance.
"Now we just have to get out of here before that fool... Potter_ how good to-ugh"
The man had been turning while speaking and was surprised to see Harry. His surprise did last long as Harry punched him hard on his jaw making him stumble back. He was sure it broke from the power behind the punch. Stumbling back gave Harry enough space to kick the man square in the chest sending him flying back and right into the mirror behind him. It shattered as Quirrell flew through it while the Stone and the man's wand fell.
"You killed my parents, you bastard!" Harry shouted as he got on top of the man, ready to strangle him to death.
However, when his hands came into contact with Quirrell's neck, a sharp pain went through his scar. He would have screamed if he wasn't filled with rage, however he held on even as Quirrell's neck started blistering like it was being burned. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off - the pain in Harry's head was building - he couldn't see - he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!
Harry didn't know how long it went but then Quirrell stopped screaming and Harry realized his hands were holding nothing but ash. He stumbled away from the pile of robes and ash and wiped his face, only for his hand to come away with blood, his scar was bleeding.
"This is not over, Potter. We shall meet once again!" Harry looked up to see a dark shadow with Voldemort's face fly through the ceiling just as all pain from his scar stopped.
He used his shirt to wipe the blood from his face before stumbling to where the Stone had fallen when he kicked Quirrell. "Mippy!"
The house elf appeared a second later. "Master Harry Potter?"
"I need to keep this Stone safe for me, somewhere that no one apart from you could find it." Harry said, giving the Stone to Mippy. "Can you do that for me?"
"Mippy will not let you down, Master Harry Potter!"
"I know you won't, Mippy." Harry nodded. "Now go, before someone finds you here."
The house elf disappeared and Harry stumbled over to where he had dropped the Invisibility cloak. His sharp ears could pick out approaching footsteps and he did not wish to be found here either. He threw one last glance at what used to be Quirrell before putting on the cloak and leaving the room. He had just passed through the empty doorway to the Potions room when Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall came rushing in, wands drawn. Harry just stepped to the side as the three professors rushed by him.
The last thing he heard as he entered the room with the troll was McGonagall saying "Oh, no, we are too late."
He practically ran through the others rooms whose doors had thankfully been left open by the teachers as they rushed to the last room. Troll was still unconscious while the chess pieces had been swept to the side, the flying keys were lying in the ground and the devil's snare had been burned completely. When he reached the room, which had been housing the devil's snare, Harry jumped with as much strength as he could master towards the hole in the ceiling and barely managed to hold onto the edge of the hole.
He grunted as he pulled himself up through the trapdoor. Fluffy was awake and was watching the hole in confusion as he couldn't see or smell anyone and yet he had clearly heard Harry climb through. Thanking his father for leaving for him the cloak once again, Harry sprinted through the hallways and secret passageways to Gryffindor tower. He wished that he knew the names of the rest of the elves apart from Mippy so one could take him to the dorms but none came to mind.
And so he ran, he reached the portrait of the fat lady and was wondering how to sneak in when the eldest Weasley, the prefect of all people walked out. Wondering where he was going so late after curfew, Harry slipped in before the portrait closed completely. He rushed to the dorms before climbing into his bed. He removed his dirty clothes, wiped the blood from his scar and noisily got out.
"Harry?" Neville asked sleepily. "Where have you been, McGonagall was looking for you."
"I was here the entire time, though I can't seem to sleep." Harry said, feigning a yawn.
"But that's impossible, I personally came here looking for you."
"I don't know what to tell you." Harry shrugged. "I'm going to take a shower, maybe that's what I need to get some sleep. Why was she looking for me anyway?"
"Well, she told me to tell you to go see her tomorrow after lunch."
"Right, got it." Harry smiled and left.
While in the shower, Harry thought about what just happened. He had killed someone, a human being, and yet he felt...nothing. After the changes he had gone through during the school year, Harry had assumed that he would feel something, maybe relief that Voldemort won't be coming back any time soon, or guilt at killing a person, but that wasn't the case. To him it felt like business as usual, as if had just taken a late night stroll through the corridors of Hogwarts and now it was time to go to sleep.
And quite honestly, he didn't know what to make of that. Harry liked to think he was a little different from who he had been when he joined Hogwarts. He cared about no one else back then for one and yet right now he knew he cared for Tracey and even to a certain extent for the others in their little study group. Maybe that was as far as he had changed, Quirrell certainly didn't mean anything to him and his death shouldn't have any effect on Harry. If it had, then he would have been very concerned.
The next day, Harry slept in as for once, his night wasn't filled with nightmares as it had been ever since his fight with Voldemort in the forest. Even when Neville woke him up as usual, he simply told the other boy to go ahead. When he did wake up, it was almost lunch time and he was famished, after a quick shower, he went to the kitchen and ate so much food that he left the house elves very impressed. He waited for another hour, simply seated in the kitchens and listening to the house elves work and tell him stories.
After checking his watch to see that it was past lunch, Harry left and went to McGonagall's office. He found the professor working furiously at pieces if parchment but when she saw him, she looked at him with a frown.
"Is there something you need, Mr. Potter?"
"Well, Neville said that you wanted to see me?" Harry asked with a frown of his own.
"What- oh right, I'm sorry, it's just that a lot has happened since then, I had completely forgotten about it." She sighed, rubbing her temples.
"I could come back another time." Harry offered but she shook her head.
"No, it's alright, it will just take a minute." She pulled out a drawer from her desk and brought out a stone basin which she brought to a spare table.
She conjured a comfortable chair and asked Harry to sit and then placed the tip of her wand on her temple. When she pulled it away, some silvery substance came away, stretching from temple to wand like a thick gossamer strand, which broke as she pulled the wand away from it and fell gracefully into the Pensieve, where it swirled silvery-white, neither gas nor liquid. She then told him what to do to view the memories before going back to her work.
With his heart beating loudly in his ears, Harry put his face in the Pensieve and immediately felt like he was falling forward. It was a weird sensation but it swiftly came to a stop when his feet touched the ground. It took him a few moments to but he reoriented himself and found himself in the great hall. In front of him was a group of first years that were waiting for sorting. Harry immediately saw his father, he was taller than everyone else even if not by much and was snickering to himself.
And then they called his name. From there, Harry watched his father grow from a little boy to one of the most powerful and skilled wizards of his age. Together with his three friends, the Marauders were loved, hated, feared and loved once again, he watched him grow from a reckless and irresponsible boy to a reckless but responsible young man who won the heart of the girl of his dreams and ended up marrying her. He saw James playing quidditch and saw him being punished for his pranks, and then he saw him the day his son was born.
Harry had never felt more loved than he did at that moment. He saw Lily holding her baby and smiling down at it like it was the most perfect thing in the world, and then James who was watching his wife and son like they meant everything to him. At that moment, it was clear that James would gladly lay down his life for his wife and son. Watching his father fight, there were certain things that set him apart from other people. Things that showed that he was more than just an ordinary wizard.
They were subtle, almost unnoticeable but they were there. Harry was probably only able to see them because he was searching for them in particular and knew where to look. And it went much further than just his height, he was quite fast, one would need to be in order to effectively use transfiguration in a fight but James was just too good at it. And in those few instances when the fight became physical, speed and above average strength always made sure that they ended in James' favor.
However, all that aside, Harry felt closer to his father. He felt like he knew him, now he was more than just a face he could imagine, in his mind he felt real. When he emerged from the Pensieve, tears were freely streaming down his face. McGonagall was sipping tea from across him.
"Thank you, Professor." He told her with a big smile. "This is probably the biggest gift anyone could ever give me."
"Wait until you see Lily." McGonagall smiled. "I tried to keep as much of her out as I could without leaving out the important parts."
"So, can I see her?"
"I'm afraid we don't have time, it's already a couple of minutes past dinner time. That will have to wait until tomorrow." Harry checked his watch and his eyes widened at how late it was, he hadn't realized he had been in the Pensieve for that long. "However, if you wish I can ask a house elf to bring us dinner and we can talk about what you just saw."
Harry agreed with a smile and by the time he came back to the tower, he was feeling so happy that he slept with a smile on his face.
The next day, Neville woke for the second time to find Harry already awake. They went together for breakfast with the school brimming with energy. Today was the day which determined who won the house cup, if Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw, then it was a sure win for them. Usually, the house that took the quidditch cup was most likely to win and with Gryffindor only behind by fifty points, then there was a chance that the lions could take the House cup over Slytherin for the first time in seven years.
But that wasn't the reason Harry wanted to watch the game, he cared less about who won the house cup because in no way does it personally affect him. The reason for his sudden interest in quidditch was his father. He had seen how happy James had been while flying, he was like a different person up there. Harry had never had interest in the game, as a matter of fact he hadn't been anywhere near a broom since their first flying lesson. But after last night, he was feeling a little bit closer to his father, and maybe quidditch was what he needed to get even closer, to understand him.
"What is with the sudden interest in Quidditch?" Neville asked as the two walked with the rest of the first years towards the quidditch pitch.
"It's the last game and it will determine who wins the house cup." Harry deadpanned. "I think it would be strange if I wasn't interested."
"Not with you, it wouldn't." Neville shook his head.
The game started not much later after that. And Harry actually found himself enjoying it, he was mostly watching the chasers as they certainly made the game lively. The three Gryffindor chasers had been named the Scarlet demons. Knowing that their Seeker was weak, the three girls knew that the only way to win was by scoring as many times as possible, a strategy they apparently adopted when Katie Bell joined the team this year. The strategy had worked wonders agaisnt Hufflepuff and almost worked on Slytherin as well as the snakes won by only ten points.
And so the moment the game started, they started scoring. It was like the three were everywhere, zooming from one end of the pitch to the other within seconds. They scored so many times that the Ravenclaw Seeker was forced to catch the snitch the moment it appeared to save her house from humiliation. And when she did, Harry found himself cheering along with everyone else, wondering how he had never been interested in the game. His father had been a chaser, though he had initially played as Seeker before his friend, Black, one of the chasers was kicked off the team in their fourth year.
The game, it turned out was quite fun. Maybe he would give it a chance next year, he was so used to ignoring anything he considered irrelevant, but perhaps it was time to change that, atleast in the case of things that were likely to give him the information he was looking for about his parents.
And speaking of which, while the celebrations were on going that afternoon, Harry went to see McGonagall again. She wasn't in her office but she had left him a note and the Pensieve, though she was back by the timehe was done. And just like with James, Harry watched Lily Evans grow, she actually reminded him a bit of Hermione though unlike the bushy-haired girl, Lily had no trouble making friends. She was actually alot like Tracey now that Harry thought about it, carefree and friendly to almost anyone that wasn't James or Black.
She was very skilled with her wand and as Harry watched her grow from a young girl to an adult woman, he could see why many people liked her. She was perfect, almost too perfect to be normal. Lily didn't seem to have any flaws, everyone loved her, they trusted her without any particular reason, even those who should have hated her like the Slytherins. There was just something about her that seemed to appeal to everyone in her presence giving Harry more reason to believe that his parents weren't just normal humans.
It was two days after Gryffindor's victory over Ravenclaw and tonight was to be the end-of-the-year feast after which the students would be breaking off for the summer holidays. Harry couldn't think of a better time to have his talk with the headmaster and that was why he had woken up early once again, eaten breakfast in the great hall and headed to the headmaster's office. The gargoyle let him through without waiting for a password and Dumbledore called him to come in.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come." The man said with a large smile. "Please, have a seat. Lemon drop?"
"No, thank you." Harry shook his head as he sat down. "You were expecting me?"
"No, but I was hoping to see you, after all you have something that belongs to me."
For a moment, Harry considered denying but that was the reason he was here anyway. "How did you know?"
"While I may not know everything that goes on in the castle like everyone seems to think, I do know a fair bit." The headmaster said, his eyes twinkling. "Also, as much loyalty as the house elves may have for you, their allegiance is to Hogwarts and as headmaster, they would be compelled to answer any direct questions I ask."
Harry groaned and rubbed his temples, maybe he hadn't though of this as much as he had initially thought. He shouldn't be surprised, how had an eleven-year-old expected to outsmart someone with over a hundred years of experience.
"I know that you knew about the Stone, and that you had been protecting it through the house elves. I know that the day Quirinus went after the Stone you were informed and went after him." Dumbledore said and with every word he said Harry felt more of a fool. "And I also know that neither Quirrell nor Voldemort walked out of there with it, or at all for that matter. What I do not know is what you did with it."
"Really?" Harry asked skeptically.
"Like I said, the house elves are fiercely loyal to you, no matter how I phrase my questions, they keep finding ways around them." The headmaster shook his head. "Now that you're here though, I assume that you will be telling me?"
"Yes." Harry nodded. "I have the Stone, but if I am to return it, I need you to do for me a few things."
"I'm listening."
"First, I'd like you to tell me the name of Mary McDonald." Harry said clearly taking the headmaster by surprise. "After my parents' death, you helped her start a new life in the states. You're the only person who knows her new identity."
He had managed to coax a little bit of information from McGonagall after watching Lily's memories, the rest was just pure speculation.
"You know I can't do that."
"You will have to, otherwise I'll find someone else who can tell me."
"I thought you said I was the only one who knew?" Dumbledore asked with clear amusement.
"I said the only 'person', there are others who would be interested in the Stone and wouldn't mind telling me what I want." There was little question of who Harry was talking about and Albus knew enough about Harry to know that he wouldn't hesitate to go through with it.
Dumbledore looked at Harry for a moment before he pulled open the top drawer in his desk and got out a piece of paper which he handed to Harry. Written on the paper with a pen was a phone number and an address in a neat handwriting. Harry stared at the paper in surprise. "You knew that I was going to ask for this?"
"I suspected." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "I know you seek answers about your parents, answers I have been seeking as well for a very long time but could never get. I believe she will be more willing to talk if it's you who is asking."
Harry stared some more. "Are you spying on me?"
"Yes." The headmaster replied without any hint of shame. "Though I have to admit that I haven't had as much success as I had hoped. But I do know that you seek answers and she is one of the avenues in which you're most likely to find them."
"So you know what else I'm going to ask?"
"A meeting with your father's friend." Dumbledore stated with a grin and Harry sighed. "You may be a very smart child, Harry but you're still just that, a child. And if there's anything I understand, it is the workings of a child's mind. I must however give you an outstanding for effort and if Gryffindor wasn't already in the lead, I would have awarded you a hundred points."
"So all that planning was for nothing." Harry sighed. "Turns out it wasn't neccessary after all."
"I wouldn't say that." Dumbledore shook his head. "Had you not taken the initiative, I would never have considered sharing with you this. But now I know you're more than just another eleven-year-old and I can trust you to do what is required."
"So you will help me?"
"Indeed." Dumbledore nodded. "Though getting a meeting with Remus will be a bit tricky_"
"No, not Lupin." Harry interrupted him. "It is Black I want to meet."
"Well, that I did not expect." Dumbledore said. "You're of course aware that Black is in Azkaban, right?"
"Yes but you're the Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump, arranging a meeting with a single prisoner shouldn't be too hard." Harry continued. "Preferably before the end of the summer holidays."
"Harry my boy, what you're asking-"
"Is all you need to do to get the Stone back." Harry finished as he stood up. "I'll personally give it to you the day of the meeting."
"But Flamel-"
"Must have considered that fact the Stone may be stolen, I'm sure he had a backup plan for that." Harry had paused at the door. "Headmaster, Sirius Black was as close to my father as a brother would. If anyone knows something James wouldn't have wanted others to know, it is Black."
And with that, he left. Albus stared at the closed door for a moment before looked at his old friend. "Well, Fawkes, it seems you'll be delivering that letter after all."
The Phoenix nodded and disappeared in a flash of fire. Harry Potter was full of surprises, but there was little he could do that would surprise Dumbledore. Albus had considered that Harry may ask to meet Black but he had thought it highly improbable. He had thought that Harry wouldn't want anything to do with the man who betrayed his parents simply out of spite or hatred. However the boy had proven him wrong, he was willing to break bread with the enemy if it furthered his goals.
He wondered how far the boy was willing to go in his pursuit for answers and when Albus will need to step in. For now, he will let him be and simply be a spectator until he was needed.
Throughout the entire journey to London, Harry was thinking of his conversation with Dumbledore. Was he really that predictable? One of the reasons for his staying in the shadows was the anonymity it gave him, the freedom to do anything he wanted without anyone paying him any mind. He thought he had achieved that at Hogwarts but apparently he was wrong. The headmaster had not only managed to keep an eye on him but had practically been leading him by the nose, knowing exactly what he would do next and preparing for it.
It was humbling to say the least, but also not comforting at all. All that effort he had put in and yet Dumbledore had seen right through it. It scared Harry actually, he had tried to put up a brave face but he had felt naked in front of the headmaster. Just how much did the old man know about him? Was he aware about his other abilities, did he plan on using them for his own purposes? Had he orchestrated his confrontation with Voldemort on the third floor corridor?
Because after that conversation and what little Dumbledore had revealed, Harry was convinced that the headmaster had known exactly what was going on. And yet he had done nothing, knowing exactly what decisions Harry was going to make. He had sat by as Harry plotted until he ended up once again having to fight Voldemort while he, Dumbledore, was preparing for what would come after the fight. Harry thought he was being smart and yet it had only been because Dumbledore let him think so.
And he had the gall to call Harry a child. He may be eleven-years-old but he was most certainly not a child. But after what had just happened, he may as well just be one. He had shed that a long time ago. His relatives would never have called him a child, because they knew a little of what he was capable of. And yet Dumbledore, even knowing most of the things he could do called him a child. It just showed how much Harry compared to the other man. Be it in terms of power or in anything that really matters.
Harry did not like being under someone else. It meant that the person had power over you, they could make you do whatever they wanted and you would be in no position to refuse, just like Dumbledore had done. Harry knew what to do to avoid that from happening again, he will not give Dumbledore the chance to excercise his power over him again. He needed to be out of Dumbledore's reach, and that meant leaving Hogwarts, and if possible, leaving England as well.
Once he did that, he would make sure to grow as powerful as possible such if he were to ever cross paths with the headmaster again, it would either be at even footing, or with Harry above him. Now all he needed to do was plan carefully, and by the end of summer, his plan will be ready.
Meanwhile
Far away from the Hogwarts Express
Asgard
"Ragnarok is upon us." Frigga said, watching her husband from across the dinner table. "I'm not sure if Asgard will be able to stand once its finished."
"Asgard will be ready when Ragnarok comes." Odin answered simply.
Frigga stared at her husband for a moment. "You're not still holding out hope on Midgard, are you?"
"I know you have felt it too." Odin said. "There's potential on Midgard."
"And do you really expect a human boy to be of much use in a fight even in ten years time?"
"It took three of us to beat Ragnarok the last time, that is what will be needed this time as well." Odin answered. "He won't have to fight, all he has to do is be on Asgard at the time."
"Just like Loki, you mean?" Frigga glared. "They're simply a means to an end for you!"
"You know I only do what I believe is necessary for my people's survival."
"We both know the boy doesn't have to be involved." Frigga argued. "You want three Asgardians with royal blood, you have three children_"
"I will not talk about this anymore." Odin stood up and stalked out of the dinning room, leaving his wife to stare at him sadly.
Her husband was probably the most stubborn person in all the nine realms and that may just be his undoing. She didn't know the full extent to his plans which were being hidden even from her foresight but what little she knew pointed to Loki, and the human boy being expendable. They were needed to end Ragnarok, but they were to die in the process, Frigga couldn't allow that to happen. Perhaps it was time she did a couple of manipulations of her own behind her husband's back.
She sent out a mental message before heading to her quarters. When she arrived, Loki was already waiting for her.
"You called for me, mother?"
Frigga waved her hands around the room and put up her most powerful privacy spells that not even Heimdall could see through. Loki whistled in appreciation.
"Sit, son, we need to talk." She said gesturing for Loki to sit which he did without question. "I have a very important mission for you. One that requires the highest amount of discretion."
"And naturally you thought of me." Loki smirked. "My brother wouldn't know subtlety unless he was putting it in his mouth as food."
Frigga smiled as well, Thor was alot of things but subtle wasn't one of them. However, it was more than just for subtlety that she needed Loki on this particular mission.
"Do you remember your latest adventure to Midgard?" Frigga continued and Loki's smirk dropped. "Well, it bore fruit."
"How do you know about that?"
"It doesn't matter how I know." Frigga shook her head. "What matters is that there's a boy in England that you need to find."
"And what do I have to do with this boy?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not kill him for starters." She smirked, having already known the direction of Loki's thoughts. "The rest I'm sure you can figure out for yourself."
Loki was silent for a moment. "And why exactly are you keeping this from Father?"
"Do you honestly want to explain to your father how one of Idunn's apples went missing?"
"Fine." Loki sighed. "Tell me all that I need to know."
Frigga smiled and sat down in front of her son.
AN: First of all, Loki is not Harry's father. His parents are Lily and James Potter not so normal witch and wizard but still humans. Secondly, we are going to be diverting from canon from this point onwards.
And lastly, I'll be taking material from both the MCU and the comics, if you find something that is supposed to be canon but isn't in the MCU then you know that I got it from the comics. Have fun.