On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads
Enigmaris
Chapter 16: Harry Potter's Perfectly Wonderful Day
Summary:
Harry wakes up finally recovered from his magical exhaustion and attempts to explore the royal city of Asgard.
Notes:
Ya'll this chapter was a struggle to write. I dunno, I think my brain just wanted to complain. But I got it done and hopefully next week will be easier.
Thanks for the great comments though! I'm glad you all enjoyed Harry's manipulations lol.
Chapter Text
Harry actually slept well in Asgard. He'd been mostly bluffing about believing that sleeping on a different planet, far away from Voldemort, would help him sleep. But oddly enough, it had. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately after Odin had shown him where his guest room was. He'd managed to wish his dad and Sirius a goodnight and get into some strange pajamas before face planting into the most comfortable bed in the universe.
His guest room was more accurately described as a suite. It had a large bedroom, complete with a lovely deck he could stand on and look over the entire city. There was also a walk-in closet, an ostentatious bathroom, and a sitting room. Harry had taken all of that knowledge in absently before falling asleep. Now upon waking up several hours later Harry had the mental capacity to actually appreciate the room Odin had given him.
He got up feeling very refreshed. The exhaustion that had dogged him since his fight with Amora had finally ceased. Probably due to both being seen by Asgard's healers and the uninterrupted night's sleep. It was good to finally feel rested. The first thing Harry noticed upon waking was the set of clean clothing folded at the foot of the bed. There was a roll of parchment right at the top. Harry sat up, rubbing at his eyes a little before picking up the parchment and unrolling it.
Pup!
I managed to convince your dad to let you sleep in by reminding him about your scar and how we need to research ways to block your connection to the Dark Pastry. Who knows how long he's going to be in the library looking through books now? Doesn't matter, should be worth it if we find something to help. Odin and Frigga both seemed really keen to keep us here too so there's that.
(What did you do to Odin anyway? One minute he's spitting venom and the next he's a docile as a puppy!)
Anyway, we'll be in the library when you wake up. Odin declared you and me honored guests which means we can do whatever we want! Feel free to join us for our research party if you'd like. If not, well then do what people like us do best!
Sow Chaos. Cause Trouble. Practice Mischief and Craft Pranks!
-Solemnly up to no good,
Sirius
Below Sirius' scrawl was a second note. This one was slightly more legible.
Starlight,
Please do not cause chaos if you can manage it. Normally I'd be all for it but we need to be able to leave easily once I find the books we need. I love you, starlight and I don't want to have to pull you out of the arms of the royal guard anytime soon. Save the mischief for earth yes?
Once you're dressed go to the feasting hall and eat up. If you want you can come to the library but if you'd like to explore I won't stop you. Asgard is very safe from danger, safer than New York. There shouldn't be any problem with you having fun. Frigga pointed out that since we probably won't be coming back you might like to do some site-seeing before we go.
I put some money in your clothes if you want to buy anything. (Perhaps some souvenirs for Ron and Hermione?) The small bronze coins (Liras) are basically a single pound note. The silver coins (Helcs) are worth 20 of the bronze ones and the gold coins (Gull) are worth 50 of the silver ones. You shouldn't be spending the gull much. Most good quality trinkets cost 10-20 helcs. If they're asking for gull they're likely overcharging you.
Don't worry about money too much. I'm a prince, we have more than enough.
I love you, don't forget to eat!
-Your dad.
P.S. Your armor and sword are at the royal smithy getting repaired and sharpened. I gave the smith your measurements to get things properly fitted but we might need to stop by there before we leave to do one last fitting, that creature only got you because the chest plate was slightly too big.
P.P.S Don't ask how I know your measurements.
Harry rolled his eyes but smiled at the warmth his dad's words caused in him. He carefully dressed in the strange Asgardian clothing, glad that he sort of knew how to put it on thanks to Frigga's mothering the day before. Once he was dressed he put the note into one of the pockets. He found the money pocket and tried to pull out the money to see how much his dad had given him. However, he found that with each handful he pulled out there was one more just sitting inside.
Enchanted money pocket.
Nice.
Harry left the guest room after finding his boots and putting them on. He got lost in the palace for a good ten minutes before his nose smelt food and he found the feasting hall. It reminded him a lot of the Great Hall back in Hogwarts. It was a huge cavernous room filled with long tables that were nearly bowed down with plates of food. There were hundreds of Asgardians sitting around, yelling and laughing and eating in the morning light.
Harry spotted some Asgardian boys that looked to be his age. They were wearing simple white tunics and golden trousers. If they hadn't been eating like animals Harry would have called them almost angelically dressed. When he got close enough, he spotted the myriad of weapons the boys all had on their persons and he rethought the angelic thing. One of the boys, a dark skinned teen with golden brown eyes, looked up as Harry got close.
"Hey!" He shouted. "What are you doing here?"
"I erm…got lost?" Harry stuttered.
"Hemrod?" One of the boys asked. "Do you think he's a new recruit?"
"He must be, too young to be an apprentice and too skinny to be finished with training." The boy decided. Hemrod stood up and held out a hand for Harry to shake. "I'm Hemrod Aegerson, you're a new warrior trainee right? Don't worry about getting lost, Tyr isn't going to get after you on the first day."
"I'm not…"
"Seriously. I'll vouch for you. What's your name?"
"Haraldr." Harry said as the larger boy tugged Harry into the seat.
"Well Haraldr. It's good to meet you." Hemrod said. "This is Afkarr, he's training to be an archer. There's also Heimir with the axe and his brother Herdic who's training with a staff."
Hemrod continued introducing the other boys he was sitting by with their names and then what weapon they were using. Harry couldn't get a word in edgewise to explain that he wasn't a new trainee and that he had been just looking for a place to sit.
"So what weapon do you use?" One of the boys asked when Hemrod finished.
"Uhm…a sword." Harry said. "I'm really new so it's not like I've had much practice yet though."
"A sword huh? We all learn to use them of course but only some people specialize in it." Hemrod said. "Baldur's the only one in our group who does."
"Ugh. Baldur. You best be careful Haraldr. Baldur doesn't like someone stepping on his turf."
"Is he really that bad?" Harry asked.
"He's only the top trainee in our group, he wins every fight he gets into and he won't shut up about it."
"Sounds annoying."
"You've got no idea. He's not going to be nice to you at all since you're so scrawny."
"Hey." Harry said.
"Don't be like that." Hemrod said slapping him on the back far harder than necessary. "Surely you know you're small."
"Well yeah but that's not a bad thing." Harry told them. "Just means I'm quicker than most people."
"That's the spirit!" Afkarr said.
"Come on everyone, let's finish eating. We're supposed to be at the training yards in thirty minutes!"
So, Harry found himself scarfing down food surrounded by a bunch of warriors in training. It was similar to how it felt to eat with his quidditch team. They were nice boys and besides the occasional joke about his stature they were pretty welcoming. Harry planned on sneaking away when the boys all got up but Hemrod grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the training yards. The entire walk over he told him about what training was like and what to do to avoid getting Tyr upset with you.
Which would be useful information if Harry had any idea who Tyr was.
When they got to the training yard Hemrod pulled Harry right up to an older man who was missing his left hand. Hemrod explained for Harry in a very Hermione-esque way who Harry was and how he'd gotten lost which is why he hadn't reported to Tyr himself before breakfast. Tyr listened to the fast paced monologue with a look of practiced patience in his eyes.
"Yes, yes boy I see." Tyr said cutting across Hemrod asking Tyr to understand that Haraldr hadn't meant any disrespect. "Haraldr is it? I'll cut you some slack but you best be here on time tomorrow, in uniform and with your weapon. Got it?"
"Uhm…yes sir." Harry said, having no intention of ever coming back to this place again. Wasn't he supposed to be getting souvenirs?
"Good. Now go sit down, the lesson's starting soon and then after you'll be doing practicals."
Harry had no idea what practicals were and he found that he definitely didn't want to know. Hemrod dragged him over to the benches anyway. Tyr moved to the front of the benches so that all the young warriors in training were facing him. In the hand that wasn't missing, the man held a broad sword. Probably the hugest sword Harry had ever seen in his life. He started talking and demonstrating certain holds and sets of movements. He explained in intricate detail how to disarm your opponent if they were wielding an axe or a sword or a spear and so on.
Harry, despite not actually wanting to be there, found the lesson very informative. It clarified in many ways the few things his dad had attempted to explain back in that fog world. Harry paid close attention to how Tyr stood and held his weapon. It reminded him of how Remus and Sirius held their wands and moved during a duel. He had a fair amount of practice getting a stance on the ground that was good enough to keep you from getting knocked over from a spell. Still he thought the way Tyr was standing was a bit steadier than Harry had figured out how to do on his own.
His mind went back to the DA and he realized that some of what Tyr was sharing he could share with his friends. With that in mind he paid even closer attention. He had the insane urge to take notes. Hermione would be pleased no doubt while Ron would be in despair. Or maybe not. Ron might like the idea of sword fighting too. There was a lot to the hour long lecture but Harry did his best to commit all of it to memory.
Some of the other warriors in training were not as eager. 15 minutes into the lecture they all started to get twitchy. Some of them started elbowing and whispering to each other. Others started drawing doodles in the dirt with their feet. Tyr had the same sharp eyes as Professor Snape and suddenly Harry knew why Hemrod had tried to calm Harry down over upsetting the man. No doubt Tyr knew who was messing about and would punish them all appropriately for the noise.
Harry knew how to deal with Snapes so he sat perfectly still and attentive. He didn't even twiddle his thumbs.
Sure, enough when the lecture ended Tyr called up warriors one by one to test out the moves he'd demonstrated. He stood in the center of the fighting ring, designated by white paint on the dirt. The trainees who'd been messing about always ended up flat on their back with at least three new bruises forming on their body. Slowly Tyr worked his way down to the warriors who'd at least acted like they'd been paying attention. These warriors still ended up flat on their back but at least they didn't accrue black eyes. Harry watched Tyr's movements, analyzing them like he'd analyzed quidditch strategies.
Despite lacking a hand on his right side, Tyr was by no means weak. In fact he had trained to the point that his right side was his best defended side. He wielded a broad sword with one hand and managed to defend his right side, sometimes at the cost of his left. But no one ever went for the left side. All of the younger warriors went straight for the side missing the hand, working under the assumption that a lack of a limb meant weakness.
Harry knew better than that. He'd met Mad-Eye Moody after all.
Tyr was probably really good. Harry got the feeling he was holding back so that the trainees could have a chance at actually succeeding. That combined with the fact that Tyr would expect a brand new recruit to go for his right side helped hatch a plan in Harry's head. He couldn't get injured doing this, his dad would freak out. Harry didn't need a freaked out dad. A freaked out dad wouldn't be calm enough to work out his issues with Odin and certainly wouldn't be calm enough to not attack Tyr on sight.
"Baldur!" Tyr called. "You're next!"
The largest of the teens stood up. He had long flowing blonde hair and muscles the thickness of Harry's head. He reminded Harry of Thor, a shorter teen version of Thor. The only thing that was unlike Thor was the very arrogant look on his face. Thor had never looked so boastful in all the time Harry had known the man. Granted that had been less than a week by this point but his opinion still stood. Baldur had Thor's body with Draco Malfoy's face.
Baldur walked up to the center of the circle where Tyr was waiting for him. He unsheathed his giant sword from his hip and took his stance. Tyr counted down from three and on the word one, Baldur sprung forward. Baldur, like all of the other warriors before him, went to the right but he went slightly lower, just as Tyr had instructed. Tyr seemed to expect Baldur's speed and parried. Soon the two of them were swinging back and forth, swords clanging against each other, the blades glinting in the sun.
Harry had to admit that Baldur was good, not great. But good. Without magic Harry would certainly have a really hard time defeating him, if only because the guy was huge. Harry'd probably ask Thor to borrow his hammer if he had to fight Baldur without any magic.
Who cared if that would be slightly cheating?
Harry was broken out of his thoughts by Baldur being sent tumbling to the ground, his sword flying out of his hand and landing on the dirt a few meters away.
"Good job, Baldur. Another century or two of practice and you might actually be close to winning." Tyr said in a way that made it clear he was genuinely complimenting the guy. Tyr stabbed the tip of his broad sword into the dirt and then held out his hand to help Baldur up off the ground. Something he hadn't done with any other student.
"Yeah whatever." Baldur said getting up without Tyr's help and stomping over to his own sword. Tyr frowned at the disrespect and then looked over at Harry.
"Haraldr? Do you think you can do better than Baldur?"
"I…I'll try." Harry said standing up.
Baldur froze mid-step before turning to look at Harry. The guy had a murderous look on his face until he saw Harry and then it turned into a very condescending one.
"Here." Hemrod said holding out his sword. "You can borrow mine until you get your own."
"Thanks." Harry said.
"Come out here Haraldr and test your strength."
"Right yeah. I mean yes sir." Harry said taking the sword from Hemrod and stepping around the other trainees. He moved slowly giving himself time to go over the plan in his head one last time. Wordlessly he cast a sticking spell on the sword handle to make sure that Tyr couldn't send his borrowed sword flying and then readjusted his grip, so it was just like his dad had shown him. "So, I just…try to disarm you?"
"You should attempt not to get your spine broken, you runt." Baldur muttered as he walked away from the ring.
"Yes." Tyr said pretending he hadn't heard Baldur's words. "The point is to attempt to disarm me in anyway you can but preferably with the techniques I just demonstrated."
"Okay." Harry said shifting his stance into nearly the same position he used in DA meetings. "I'll do my best."
Tyr gave him a look that might have been encouraging at the beginning of the lesson but really only looked menacing after Harry had seen him down 25 Asgardian teens like it was nothing. Harry swallowed and lifted up his sword as Tyr counted down from three. Unlike Baldur Harry didn't immediately jump into action when Tyr finished counting. Instead he began to walk in a slight circle to the left. Tyr lifted up an eyebrow surprised at what looked like hesitation from Harry.
Tyr seemed to shrug without actually doing so and he made the first swing. He swung at Harry's midsection and Harry with all of the strength his quidditch trained legs could muster jumped up into the air. He managed to clear the broad sword and fall right back down onto the flat part of the blade. His boots skidded down the length of the blade as Tyr let the sword dip under the weight of his body. Tyr's eyes widened as Harry made a slight shocked noise at having landed on the sword instead of on the other side of it.
Recovering quickly Harry sprung off of the still swinging blade and into the air to Tyr's left. Using his elbow, he reached out and hit the man in the side as he turned to face him. Tyr fell back a bit but still swung at Harry, who dropped like a stone to the ground and rolled out of the way. This fight wasn't like the fight with the zombie creatures. Tyr wasn't out to kill him, and Harry wasn't afraid for his life. This was similar to Remus teaching him dueling spells. Harry felt calm and level-headed as he ducked and weaved around Tyr's huge sword.
The trainees watched the fight in silence at first but quickly started cheering and shouting when it became clear that Harry was lasting longer than any of them had. Harry stuck to Tyr's left, moving into weak spots and staying there until Tyr fixed that weak spot. Harry moved to yet another, a systematic approach to not getting the snot beaten out of him.
Harry had been right about Tyr outclassing him in pretty much every way when it came to hand to hand combat. Not that that meant he was going to give up. That wasn't his style when he was dealing with Dudley and his gang and it wouldn't be his style in Asgard. Tyr managed to get Harry into position within a few minutes and used his own sword to attempt to disarm Harry. His sticking charm held even as his hand spasmed in it's grip from the forced extension of his arm.
Harry was leaning back from the force of Tyr's sword, his back nearly parallel with the ground and his knees bent very uncomfortably. Harry used Tyr's momentary shock to drop down and sweep out Tyr's legs out from under him, from the left to the right. Tyr stumbled back as Harry jumped up and used the same move that Tyr had done sending Tyr's huge broad sword tumbling to the ground. Not very far, only mere inches from Tyr's hands since it was so bloody huge but still, it was on the ground.
The entire training yard was silent.
"I…" Harry said. "I don't think I did that right did I? My form was off right?"
Luck. Harry knew that it was luck that had let him win. A combination of Tyr underestimating him, his spell, and sheer dumb luck. Harry cursed himself for talking about his form being off even though he'd won. Tyr blinked a few times before straightening up and speaking.
"You'll need to practice if you don't want to get your wrist broken." He said. "But your form was essentially correct for a first try."
"Oh." Harry said. "That's…good right?"
"Good?" Hemrod shouted. "That was brilliant!"
The other trainees started cheering as Tyr picked up his sword and Harry stepped back to give the man room. When the trainees quieted down Tyr looked Harry up and down.
"You've got combat experience."
"Uhm…yeah a little. Not much with a sword, not used to using something this heavy." Tyr glanced at his thin arms with something like half-suppressed amusement sparkling in his eyes.
"You should have said you had experience in fighting. I would've given you an actual challenge."
"That wasn't the challenge?" Harry asked stupidly.
Which is how Harry found himself flat on his back within three seconds with Tyr grinning down at him. Harry grinned right back and took the hand Tyr offered him and also weathered the heavy handed pat on the back.
Training continued with everyone trying out the disarming technique on other trainees with some actual success. Harry gave Hemrod's sword back to him and they switched off back and forth whenever one of them was called up. All of the other trainees were giving Harry very awed looks. Like the ones Colin used to give him when he was younger and desperate to take pictures of Harry. Except this was different because these people had no idea who he was and were only awed because of something he'd actually done.
It was rather nice all things considered.
Training ended after four hours and Harry felt very sore and hungry. Thankfully all of the other trainees felt the same as they all led him back to the feasting hall where they had a very filling late lunch. Hemrod and the other boys were gushing about how great Harry was and why hadn't he told them he already had fighting experience? Harry did his best to stutter through an answer that didn't have to do with him being a demi-god and child of prophesy.
The boys seemed to buy it even if Baldur was glaring at him very fiercely.
"Uhm…Hemrod?" Harry asked. "Since I'm new here, my dad suggested I go explore the city. Maybe buy some souvenirs? Would you mind showing me around?"
"You're from one of the colonies right? That's must have been where you got your experience from, fighting bandits and pirates." Harry didn't deny it and Hemrod wouldn't have heard him even if he had. "Course me and the others'll show you around. We'll take you to the best spots!"
And that was what they did. All of the trainees, except Baldur, took Harry out of the palace and into the city proper. So this is what being popular was like. Not popular because of a thing that happened to you when you were a baby, but just the normal sort of popular. The sort of popular that came with quidditch wins and funny stories. Harry decided he really liked it and threw himself fully into the persona he'd accidentally created.
He, with the money his dad had gifted him, found a bunch of gifts for each of his friends. The other trainees had excellent suggestions when he told them about his friends and what they liked. He also bought a bunch of sweets, enough for everyone, whenever they passed something that smelled delicious. They all wanted to know about his colony and so without telling them any names he talked about Hogwarts and his friends.
He even told them about quidditch.
The trainees were absolutely fascinated by quidditch, especially the bludgers. Harry described the game in great detail and then when asked started telling stories about the games he'd played back home. By the time they got back to the castle all of the trainees were practically squealing with excitement about the idea of a game you played 50 feet in the air with balls enchanted to try and throw you to the ground.
He managed to free himself from the others when they got back to the palace saying he had to go find his dad to tell him about his first day of training. So Harry, carrying a leather bag filled with asgardian trinkets, made his way through the palace until he found the door to the library. (He might have cheated with a spell or two.)
The entire walk Harry felt buoyant. He had had an absolutely perfect day. He'd gotten to sleep in after a night free of terrors and visions. He'd been free to wander around and had ended up learning some new sword tricks and making some great new friends who were mad about quidditch. He'd tried new Asgardian foods in the city and gotten to buy a bunch of fun things for his friends. No one had attacked him or treated him poorly. Even the merchants they visited treated him and the loud trainees with amusement instead of disdain. He'd been safe and happy for the whole day. The weather had even cooperated giving him a bright blue sky and warm sunlight.
Harry felt happy and bubbly and…he didn't know if he had ever felt like this before in his whole life. Even good days at Hogwarts had always been tainted by something or other. Draco Malfoy or Voldemort or whoever the Defense Teacher was that year. A constant sense of foreboding had filled Harry ever since Hagrid had told him about his parents' murder. Even before that Harry knew to always keep an eye out for trouble.
But in Asgard it was different. Things were safe, there was no danger lurking around the corner. Just friendly trainees and talented teachers and delicious food and warm weather. Harry wondered if he was glowing, he felt so happy he must've been. When Harry got to the library he pushed open the door already bubbling to tell his dad and Sirius all about how amazing the day had been. The door swung open quietly to reveal Sirius and his dad hunched over books. Sirius still looked a bit haggard and his dad looked stressed as he read from four books at once.
Harry's perfect day shattered around him as he looked at his dad and godfather. He remembered the war and the prophecy. With perfect clarity he recalled what he had left and what he would be returning too. Something cracked in his chest. He could go up and tell his dad how wonderful the day had been, he could beg to stay a few more days, or weeks, or the rest of the summer. Maybe even stay for the rest of the year. His dad would let him too, his dad would probably be happy because Harry was happy.
And Harry knew without a doubt he would be happy here. Happy and safe and…at peace.
But he couldn't.
Not when Ron, Hermione and Remus and everyone else was still there on earth. Not when Voldemort still haunted the world. Harry couldn't and wouldn't leave anyone else to die or suffer. Not even if it meant never coming back here, never being truly safe again, never knowing this simple happiness.
"Starlight?" His dad asked looking up from his book. "We wondered when you'd show up. Did you have a good day?"
Harry blinked, once, twice and then a third time.
"It was fine." Harry said shrugging. "A little boring. When are we going back home?"
"After dinner with Odin." Sirius said looking at Harry. "Was the city really that bad? It looked pretty neat."
"I found some cool stuff but honestly it's not worth the time." Harry lied.
"Hmm." His dad said. "I'm sorry I couldn't take you out and show you some of the more interesting sites, Starlight."
"It's whatever." Harry said. "What books are you looking at?"
Harry walked over to his dad and listened as he started talking about dark magic and painful spells that could have caused his connection to Voldemort. Harry did his best to forget what he'd done that day. That life, the life of a carefree kid, wasn't his life.
And that was fine.
Just fine.