Chapter 38: Second Year Begins

Thanks for all the reviews.

So, remember how I said I went and visited my dad? Well, I found out, when I was there, that my dad's wife, who I just met (she's my dad's fifth, and final, wife), reads my stories. How cool is that? She doesn't have a username, so I can't call her out. But she likes my stories and I thought that was pretty cool.

I debated on putting Gandr elsewhere, but in the end, there was only one place to put him in my mind.

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The healer came the next Tuesday, and she was appalled that Tony had those shards of metal in his chest for so long. It was a miracle that the man was alive, let alone walking.

"How could you just walk around with this?" she said, after waving her wand over his body and examining the results. She made him lie down and was waving her wand more over the hole in his chest. The Arc Reactor was sitting there glowing away, and she was examining it further. The magic didn't interfere with the reactor at all. If anything, it absorbed it. No one was there to note that however, and the healer brushed the phenomenon aside.

"The Arc Reactor is an invention of mine," Tony said, proud that he had done what he had done and under the circumstances that he had done it under. Not many could say they had created something so futuristic while under the watchful eyes of terrorist. Sure, his life had been on balance, but still. "It's the future I tell you," he added, puffing out his chest in accomplishment. "One day everyone will have one of these powering their houses," he predicted.

"I'm not saying this isn't a miracle of science. It is. But you should have had these shards removed ages ago. It is just too risky to keep them there. I'm going to remove the reactor and keep your heart active," Healer Patrice said, taking the Arc out of its housing but keeping his heart beating with a spell. "Now, I'm going to take care of the shards, if that is okay with you?" she asked, not wanting them to stay there a moment longer.

"I think that's a marvelous idea," Pepper said, holding Tony's hand. She and Tony were the only ones in the room with the healer. The others wanted to be there, but the healer nixed the idea, stating that there would be too many people for her to work around. That and patient/healer confidentiality was a thing.

"Mr. Stark?" the healer said, needing his permission.

Tony was in a quandary. On one hand, he didn't want to give up the reactor. On the other hand, he really wanted those fragments out of his chest. "Can you keep the reactor in?" he asked, knowing that it was vital that it remained.

"What? Why?" Pepper asked, not understanding the need.

"I'll explain later," Tony said, squeezing her hand. "It's important, though," he added, giving her a pointed look.

"I can, but…" the healer said, looking closer at the chest and seeing that it wouldn't do any harm. "Why keep it in your chest?"

"Everything I have is designed around it," was all he said.

"I can, but I will secure it better," she said, thinking that if he was going to keep it there, she would make sure that it was put there firmly.

"Do that then," Tony said, relaxing for the first time since she came. He had been up in the air about the whole thing since Remus mentioned it a few days ago. Sure, he didn't want the shell fragments in his chest, but the Arc Reactor was now a part of his identity.

"I'm going to just vanish them and then close the holes," she said, waving her wand and doing just that. It was a simple enough procedure. The shards were banished, and the holes were closed, and he was as good as new in moments.

Tony and Pepper waited a few tense moments, like Tony would start to bleed out, like he would if he were on a muggle operating table. They breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened. Tony's color even got better than it had since Afghanistan. His heart was beating stronger and better. There was less strain on it.

The Arc Reactor was still sitting on the table next to them, and Tony was half tempted not to put it back.

"There you go," the healer said, doing another diagnostic spell. "You should feel better than you have since the attack. Your heart will no longer feel the strain," she added, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm going to settle this housing better into your chest. There is some scarring that needs to be dealt with. It will hurt less," she said, waving her wand securing it better by doing what she said she'd do. It was almost like it was fused into his chest now. "If you want it removed, you'd better have a magical do it," she said, placing the reactor back in the housing.

"Thanks, that does feel better," Tony said, squirming a bit and relaxing his shoulders from the strain being gone that he hadn't even known he was carrying.

"You can thank me by paying my bill," she joked back, putting all her potions that she hadn't needed in her bag. When she was told that there was a heart problem, she had feared the worst, but this turned out to be simple. "Nothing strenuous for a few days, and no alcohol," she instructed. It was standard instructions for someone who had any kind of surgery, which that was. "Your veins need to heal," she added, picking up her bag and heading to the door.

"I'll pay it," he joked back. "Don't worry, I won't drink a drop," he promised. He wasn't going to promise to take it easy though. He might have to do something in the labs. He wasn't planning anything, but shit happened.

"Thank you, Healer Patrice," Pepper said, showing her to the door and leading Tony into the living room.

Tony headed straight for the bar and got himself some juice.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" Ivy asked, going to him, and giving him a hug. Everyone had taken the day off of work and school for this visit. They were all seated, waiting to hear from them.

"I'm fine, we made a big to-do out of nothing," he said, hugging her back.

"I'm glad," Ivy said, going to a chair and sitting down.

"Was it as simple as we said it would be?" Sirius asked, chuckling a bit.

"Yes," was all Tony said, tapping his reactor.

"And everything worked out well?" Loki inquired, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes," again with the short answer.

"So, you're all cured?" Ivy asked, her eyes widened in anticipation.

"Yes, little bug, no more sharp objects near my heart," he said, tweaking her nose as he passed her to his sit in his chair.

"Yay," she said, clapping her hands in a childlike manner.

"Now that that's over, how goes the exchange program?" Tony asked, not wanting the attention on his heart. Sure, he liked being the center of attention, but not his failings. And he considered illness to be a failure. That and the whole Afghanistan thing was a complete failure from start to finish. Well, not the finish, but the rest was a complete clusterfuck.

"The Lovegoods are all for it. And, if we can't get her here on the exchange, they'll let her study with Ivy," Siriusly said, crossing her legs from her place next to Harry. "They know how it is to be teased at school. I guess Xeno was quite picked on for being different in Ravenclaw," she added, seeing how that would happen. She had never met anyone quite like Xeno Lovegood.

"That's great," Harry said, happy that his little friend would have at least one year of happiness. "I didn't know if I could protect her," he added, looking to Gandr.

"I might have. I am sure I would get into Ravenclaw," the World Snake said smugly.

"Nah, you're a snake. You'd be in Slytherin," Sirius disagreed. "It is their symbol after all," he added, looking at the boy like he was crazy.

"Yeah," everyone agreed nodding along. Everyone knew that snakes belonged in Slytherin.

"I still say Ravenclaw," Gandr argued. He looked to his father for support.

"I think you'll fit in either House," Loki said, personally thinking the boy was Hufflepuff.

"How do we plan on getting Gandr to Hogwarts? We don't exactly have a school to exchange with," Remus asked, looking to Sirius.

"I was going to suggest a fair swap with Luna and Gandr," he said with a shrug. He looked at Siriusly who was setting the whole thing up.

"It couldn't hurt. If not, we can just try to enroll him," Siriusly said, taking out her phone and calling Augusta. The woman had had time to talk to others by now. "Gussy," she said, using her nickname. Even though the two women were still at odd with one another on the raising of children, they were friendly on other issues. "Yeah, remember when we talked the other day about the Lovegood and Lokison exchange? Anything on that?"

There was silence.

"I hope it goes well," Ivy said to Gandr, who nodded. He wanted to get to Hogwarts and talk to that snake.

"Really? That's great! Okay. Well, I'll let him know. Okay. We'll be over there in a few days to get the parchments signed. Okay. See you then," Siri said, and hung up. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Well?" Tony asked, never one for patience. He leaned forward as if to get the answer sooner.

"It's all set. Luna will come here, and Gandr can go to Hogwarts. She talked it over with the Board and they are all for it. They are actually excited about it," Siriusly said, putting her phone in her purse turning to Gandr and Loki. "I had to drop Tony's name, which means they know about Ivy. Dumbledore's not happy, but there it is. You two need to come with us to England when we return on Thursday."

"We can do that," Loki said, seeing as to how he could magically travel anywhere in the world, it didn't hinder him in any way.

"I'm not sure I like you using my name," Tony said, tapping his thigh.

"It was the only way," she said, giving him an apologetic look.

"I guess," the billionaire said, sighing. It was par for the course. People dropped his name all the time. Still if it got them what they wanted. "Will they know that Gandr knows Ivy?"

"No, I'm telling them that he's a random homeschooled student," Siriusly stated, pulling up something on her phone and showing it to Loki and Tony. They started talking about Gandr's back story while the rest of the group broke up and did their own thing.

"I'll miss our cuddle time," Ivy said with a cute pout. She snuggled with him now as if to make up for the times she would miss later.

"I am sure that Luna will cuddle with you. That and she will love Frank," Gandr said, giving her a side hug. He kissed the top of her head and hugged her close.

"Let's have a party," Tony said, making everyone left in the room groan.

"Daddy, I think we're partied out," Ivy said, looking at him with doe-eyes. "Maybe just a night out to dinner?" she suggested, batting her eyes at him.

"Okay," he sighed, wondering why he was surrounded by party-poopers.

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A few days later, Loki and Gandr said goodbye to Malibu and hello to London. While Pandora and Luna did the opposite. Pandora wouldn't stay with Luna; she just took her there. She would be returning to her husband. He needed supervising more than her daughter did. That and Luna would be in a house with quite a few adults and Ivy.

However, Loki was going to stay in London for a while. He wanted to get to know Siriusly a bit more. He was fascinated with Sirius' dimensional twin. While he could change gender, it did not change his personality. Siriusly was a completely different person than Sirius, but very similar.

Getting ready for Hogwarts was easy, the trip to Diagon Alley was uneventful as no one knew Gandr or Loki. It was a good thing that Loki had disguised himself when he had gone after Fenrir Greyback. He was wary for a few moments, his experience of New York still fresh in his mind. But no one recognized him.

They didn't like that they had to buy all of the books from the fop that was going to teach them, but they did and then promptly returned them, after thumbing through them, and bought the regular textbooks. Harry and Neville did the same. It would be self-study for them this year. That was okay, they were years ahead of the curriculum anyway.

"Who is that guy anyway?" Gandr asked as they left the store from returning their books. Said fop was still signing books and he was making a spectacle of himself.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Neville said, looking at his gran. "Gran hates him," he said under his breath. "She says he's a fraud, and she has no idea how he got hired on. She thinks he bribed some of the Board members," he added. He cut her another look, not wanting her to know he was gossiping about her business to his friends. She was peculiar about stuff like that.

"I think she's right. None of those things could have been done by the same man. I'll bet he's taking credit for other people's work," Gandr stated, leading them to the Leaky Cauldron where the adults were waiting for them.

"You're probably right," Harry agreed. "I think I'll let Star eat him," he said, half joking.

"Maybe not," Neville said, not sure if his friend was joking or not.

"Don't worry, Neville," his friend said, clapping him on the back, "I and Gandr will teach you all we know about what needs to be learned," he told him, hoping to get that concerned look off his face. He dropped the whole Star issue for now. She'd eat him if she felt he was a threat.

"Thanks, Harry," Neville said, going into the pub and going to the table where Siriusly and Loki were waiting. He held a chair for his gran, who was the only adult who accompanied them.

"Did they let you return them?" Siriusly asked, waving down a waitress.

"Yes," Harry said, smirking at Augusta.

"I made my displeasure known," Madam Longbottom sniffed, putting her nose in the air.

"I'm sure you did," Loki said, an approving smile on his face. Sometimes old battleaxes had their purposes.

"Is there anyway to get him fired?" Siri asked, hoping to get the man out of the castle before he messed up the children's education.

"Not until he makes a grievous mistake," Augusta sighed. They ordered the lunch special and discussed more about how to get Lockhart out of the school. Harry, Gandr and Neville said they would report any error the man would make. When they were finished with lunch, they all went their separate ways. Loki and Gandr decided to tour London. Siri and Harry went home, as did the Longbottoms.

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Gandr, Harry, and Neville were sitting on the train in a compartment with Star taking up space next to Harry. They were talking about the party when they were joined by Ron. He was accompanied by his sister. She was a small thing with red hair, just like her brother's.

"Hey, who's the new kid?" the redheaded boy asked, escorting his little sister to a seat, then introduced her, "This is Ginny." He put their trunks on the overhead rack and sat next to Ginny, who was sitting next to the window, away from everyone.

"This is Gandr. He's an exchange student," Harry said, not saying they knew him. "Hi, I'm Harry and this is Neville," he told Ginny, who nodded shyly.

Ginny looked at Gandr like he was a Quidditch star. He was a fine specimen of a human, for all he was not one.

Gandr was uncomfortable around the admiration. "Hello," he said, shifting in his seat a bit. He was used to girls staring at him. They had done it in the school he and Ivy had attended, but he had never had to share a compartment with one.

"Why did you come here?" Ron asked, peering at him like he was a strange kid for doing something so bizarre.

"I heard that Hogwarts was a great place to learn, so I decided to check it out," the World Snake said, looking at him as if it were obvious.

"Well, it is the greatest school in the world," Ron boosted, puffing out his chest as if it was his triumph. "Where did you go to school before? You're too old to be a first year," he pointed out. He was a tall kid, and Gandr was taller than him.

"I was homeschooled," Gandr said, waving it off as something insignificant. The fact that he was far advanced was not something he wanted advertised.

"Oh, well, you'll have a lot of catching up to do," the redhead said, laughing at the other boy's predicament. In his way of thinking, Gandr was taught the same way he was at home. His mum had taught him only what he needed to know and nothing else. He had had a lot to learn when he got to Hogwarts that first year.

"I guess," Gandr said, glancing at Harry as if to say, 'is this kid for real?'.

Harry just rolled his eyes. "Ron, what did you do for your summer?" he asked, hoping to change the topic. It worked. Ron went into a detailed discussion on his summer, including his Quidditch achievements and gnome punishments. Ginny chimed in now and then, but otherwise stayed silent.

The rest of the train ride was filled with Ron's summer antics and the others just sat and vaguely listened. They mostly ignored it as they contemplated what they were going to do for the year. Soon enough the train pulled into the station, and they disembarked. They went to the carriages, bar Ginny, who went to Hagrid, and made their way to the castle. Gandr was met at the doors by Flitwick and led to the antechamber to wait for the first years. The sorting was uneventful, with Ginny joining her brother in Gryffindor and Gandr going into Slytherin.

"Your friend went into Slytherin," Ernie McMillian said with a great deal of misgiving.

"Yeah, and?" Harry said, not seeing the problem. Sure, he knew Slytherin had a bad rep, but did it go that far?

"Well," McMillian started, not quite sure how to put it. "Not many people in Slytherin can be trusted," he said, trying not to offend. Harry was a good bloke, and he didn't want to alienate him. "Not all of them are bad, but most of the Death Eaters were Slytherin," he stated in a low voice.

"What's a Death Eater?" Harry asked, not quite sure what they were. He leaned forward to keep the conversation between him and Ernie and Neville.

"Followers of You-Know-Who," Neville said, joining the conversation. "We know why Gandr is in Slytherin, and it's not because he's a bad person," he told Ernie. He gave Harry a wink and nod.

"Yeah," Harry said, chuckling and looking at the House of the Snakes. He thought it funnier than Neville because of the family discussion that had been had. He couldn't wait to call home and tell them. "They'd better not give him any trouble," he said, chuckling again. One foot out of line and those snakes were going to be surprised at the viper in their midst.

"Why?" Ernie asked, not seeing how a second year could fend for himself. Sure, he was tall and healthy, but he was still just a kid.

"Let's just say, he can take care of himself," Harry said, winking at Gandr, who raised his glass in his general direction.

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"Do you know Harry Potter?" Parkinson asked Lokison. She decided to open the conversation with something they all wanted to know. She was a nosey-parker, and the House gossip. If there was something you needed to know, she was the girl who got the scoop.

"I met him on the train," Gandr went with the lie they told Ron. "He seems like a nice enough fellow," he stated, with his American accent. While his accent was Asgardian, he had lived with Ivy long enough to pull off the Californian accent well enough to fool a bunch of Brits.

"You're a Yank?" someone exclaimed, Nott, maybe. He wasn't sure who was who yet.

"I am a Californian," Gandr said, lying through his teeth. "I had nothing to do with that war," he added, confusing them all the more.

"Why are you here?" Pansy asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought of an American soiling the halls of Hogwarts. She was a blood supremacist to the supreme. If this boy was a mudblood as well as a Yank, then that was twice as bad. "Are your parents magical?"

"To learn how the other half lives," Lokison said, lifting his glass and toasting the air. "I'll have you know, my family are royalty, and can trace magic back thousands of years."

"You could read a book on that," she countered, sniffing indignantly. "I have never heard of your last name before," she said narrowing her eyes at him. "There is no royalty in America," she accused him of lying.

"It's not quite the same as learning it firsthand. And you will not learn of my family in this country. And I never said that is where we were from," Gandr said, taking a drink and starting on his food, effectively ending the conversation. He could care less about what these children thought of him. He pulled out his phone and called Ivy. He put her on voice only, not wanting the others to know he knew her.

The table looked at him and many took out their own phones. Even if they were a muggle invention, no one could say they weren't convenient. Even their parents were on board with using them, which is who most of them were calling now. As long as the phones were put away during the speeches they were allowed during meals.

"Hi," Gandr said when she picked up. "It's me. I got into Slytherin. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Who won the bet? Really? Everyone thought I'd go here? So, no one won? That's funny as hell. I guess it was a given. I'll call you later tonight and let you know how the common room looks. We can vidchat, but I don't want you on screen. Yeah, about that. I'll go looking tomorrow night. I'm too tired tonight. It was a long train ride. Yeah. Okay. I'll call you later. Love you too. Goodnight." He hung up and put the phone away and finished his meal.

"Who was that?" Pansy asked as if it was her business.

"None of your affair," Gandr said, looking at her as if she were a bug. He was getting tired of her pushiness.

"Don't talk to her that way, peon," Malfoy said, pointing his fork at him. It was the first time the boy spoke, but he had been glaring at him for the whole meal.

"I'll speak to anyone anyway I please," Gandr stated, looking down his nose at Draco. He was making no friends in Slytherin so far. However, there were four people his age who were watching his exchange closely. They were using their neutral masks.

The upper years were watching the interaction of the second years with great interest. They knew that Malfoy fancied himself the Prince of Slytherin, and with the money he threw around and his daddy's name, he might as well be. However, this new kid was going to be someone to watch.