On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads
Enigmaris
Chapter 55: A Royal Wedding
Summary:
Today is the day. Harry can hardly wait. His parents are getting married!
Notes:
This is it! The last chapter! I plan on writing a small epilogue. you know the whole 17 years later thing, just to wrap up some final plot points (*cough* *cough* shield brothers *cough* *cough*) that I've been neglecting until now, but the major story is finished! It ends as it began, with something obvious.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Today was the day!
Today!
Today of all days!
It was happening today, the first of July in the year 2014, according to the current earth calendar. Over two years since his dad had, under mind control invaded earth, and almost 6 months since the final battle.
What was it that was going to be happening on this glorious summer day?
Why Harry's parents were getting married.
Harry woke that morning in his bedroom. And yes it was his. He'd been living in it for the entire summer now, with visits to the Avengers and his friends on earth at least once a week if not more. Harry had spent the months from May to July living in the royal palace of Asgard. Sleeping in his own bed, wearing clothing made just for him, and practicing his magic and training with Tyr and the other trainees. He'd moved to Asgard after the school year had ended, just like Uncle Thor had promised him after his first visit. Thor had promised he could have it one day and now it was true.
It had been an idyllic summer. Made more so by Frigga's intense planning of his parents' wedding. After the funerals had been held and the dust had cleared from the final battle, Frigga had unleashed herself on the world. She was the goddess of marriage and there was finally a royal wedding to plan. Harry got the strange feeling that Frigga had had children with the intention of getting to plan their weddings. When she wasn't fussing over his mum and dad to ensure their wedding was perfect, she seemed to gain great enjoyment from shaming Thor for not having a partner to bring to dinner.
Thor dealt with it as well as one could expect.
Which was with a lot of pouting.
When he complained everyone told him he just needed to find a good wife and his mother would stop bothering him. Sirius was the one to point out that Loki was now the favorite child which both of his parents took great glee in.
Either way. The wedding.
According to his fussy grandmother it normally took decades to plan an aesir wedding. Weddings were an event that joined two families and when everyone in the family lived forever, weddings were a huge deal. The wedding itself could last for weeks as well depending. The ceremony itself was short but the entire event was something like a nation wide party. A royal wedding was going to be turned up to the max. Not only was every Asgardian invited and expected to come, but leaders and delegates from other realms too.
Somehow Frigga had managed to pull this wedding together without taking decades to do it. Normally the decades were taken up by the legal debate about the two interested parties. First both families had to be convinced it was a fruitful match, that the two potential lovers could work well together and could produce healthy heirs. Aesir had a limited population and they were far more careful about inbreeding than the purebloods had ever been. Thankfully, Harry was living proof that his parents could have healthy children and work well together. So that problem was taken care of.
Next both families had to decide on a bride price for the bride, one that was acceptable for both families. This step could take years on its own. Unfortunately, that step also required going to his mum's nearest living relative and head of house, his Uncle Vernon. Everyone decided that the bride price the royal family of Asgard would pay for his mum was not killing Vernon for abusing Harry. Odin had even traveled to Privet Drive to make that offer and by make, Harry had suspicions that Odin was more interested in threatening than offering.
Lily had already scared his relatives half to death by coming back to life and knocking on the front door in full witch gear talking loudly about visiting her Satan-Worshipping sister and brother-in-law where all of the neighbors could hear her. What his mother had said to his relatives was something Harry would never know and frankly he really didn't care anymore. He trusted that his mum had said what she'd needed to. Odin had returned to Asgard looking rather proud and told them all over dinner that Vernon had accepted the bride price of not being turned into paste and so the wedding could commence.
The final step of the wedding was ensuring everyone could make it. A royal wedding especially was going to be the host to thousands, and it would be rude if it was planned so that only some of the invitees could attend. Frigga had somehow managed to get a date together that wasn't so far into the future that all of the human friends they had would be dead before it happened could attend. Harry had a feeling Frigga also didn't want to wait decades to marry them, the months it took to plan had seemed to long for the ancient goddess. So here they were, nearly 6 months after the end of the war, and the wedding was on.
Harry woke up that morning with a smile on his face. He could taste the excitement in the air, every magic user in the city was sending out the same vibrant feeling into the atmosphere with their spells. It tingled and made Harry wiggle his toes as he got up to dress. Harry quickly washed up and made sure his hair was acceptably messy as there was still no spell in the nine realms that would make it behave completely. He dressed in the formal Aesir wear, putting every bit of fitted fabric on with care.
Harry knew he wouldn't see his parents until the wedding ceremony itself. Both of his parents had had to go away to be prepared for the ceremony. Only adults could be a part of the ceremonial preparations so Harry was sort of left on his own. He knew that yesterday his dad had left on a quest to retrieve a sword from his ancestor's grave and with him had gone all of his male friends to aid him in his quest.
Sure on paper it didn't sound dangerous but the graves of aesir were notoriously protected and booby-trapped. Bor himself had been buried deep in the mountains of Asgard, his grave protected by guardians of metal and stone, a fair number of trolls, and some nasty enchantments. His dad had to get through all of that and retrieve one of the many weapons Bor had had buried with him to present to his mum at the altar. This was how his dad would prove himself worthy of her hand. His dad was allowed to bring friends along to support him, but that was mostly so that he didn't die. His dad had to do all the hard work himself or it didn't count. Thor and Sirius had both pulled Harry aside and told him not to worry about it, they'd keep his dad in one piece.
His mum was similarly tied up although Harry knew far less about what she was being expected to do. All he was allowed to know was that his mum had to go through a series of rituals while attended by her female friends, these rituals would test her strength and honor in order to prove that she was worthy and able to marry his dad. Harry also knew these rituals would end with some sort of magical bath, but that was all he'd been allowed to know. The rituals went all the way back to the time of the Valkyrie in fact and were considered intensely sacred. Harry would only know about them if he decided to become a woman himself and then marry someone else as a woman.
Which he had no intention of doing.
Either way Harry had duties of his own to fulfill. He was a prince after all. And princes were meant to do princely things during big events. He'd gotten his first taste of that during the funeral feasts held after the Final Battle, as the god of death and the winner of the war, he'd been expected to be a large part of those feasts. His dad had helped him through each and every step of the ceremonies and feasts. After that his grandfather had started training him and Harry felt very confident in what he was expected to do today.
So, after a hardy breakfast with the other trainees where they all made fun of him for wearing such fancy clothes, Harry got on his broom and flew over to the Bifrost. He met up with Heimdall there who was also in very fancy golden armor, fancier than his normal set, just for the occasion.
"Hello Hiemdall!" Harry greeted.
"Prince Haraldr." He said a smile in his eyes. "Are you ready to begin?"
"I am." He said, putting his boom in an unseen corner and standing right where Hiemdall suggested he do so.
"First we will bring in the human attendants, they have all gathered as planned at Avengers Tower, I will send a message alerting them to gather on the roof, and once they have, I will open the Bifrost for them."
"Sounds great. I'm ready to welcome them."
As a prince of Asgard, it was Harry's royal duty to welcome the visiting delegates from other realms to Asgard and to the wedding itself. This had been left for him to do because every other member of the royal family was busy making sure that his mum and dad were ready to be married in front of the entire universe and the norns themselves. Harry didn't mind this, it was something he could do to help things run smoothly. Especially with some of the guests that were coming.
The Bifrost turned on quickly enough and soon there were plenty of humans falling through the entry way and into the golden dome of the Bifrost.
"Mate!" Ron yelled happily in greeting. Harry pulled Ron into a hug and then hugged Hermione and soon he was hugging all the rest of them. He'd gotten quite good at hugs over the past year.
Hermione had come with her parents, the two of them only slightly ill from the magical travel. The pair of dentists looked more excited than anything. Ron had brought his family as well, Fred and George were decked out quite spectacularly in offensively bright orange robes. Their god was getting married after all. Harry warned them not to pull pranks until after the ceremony and they swore on their honor they'd get it right. He hugged Mr. and Mrs. Weasley happily, the Weasley Matriarch was already sniffly and the wedding hadn't even started. Luna had been invited along with her dad, so too had Draco and his mum. Both Malfoy's were dressed in their finest attire.
Neville was there too and he brought with him his gran and dad, his mum was already in Asgard, acting as Harry's mum's maid of honor. Idunn had been kind enough to heal the two of them before going back to Asgard. She had in fact gone to St. Mungo's and healed every single patient inside before going back to Asgard. She'd claimed it was because she had excess magic she wanted to purge but Harry could tell she'd just wanted to help.
The Longbottom family was now just as whole as Harry's own. Both of Nev's parents had some remaining weakness from the cruciatus, things that couldn't be truly healed because they'd been left so long. So Frank Longbottom tended to forget things unless you wrote it down for him and Alice couldn't feel anything in her fingers or toes. Still it was miraculous. Neville had become an entirely different boy, although still a slightly clumsy one, with the full return of his parents. His grandmother stopped being completely terrifying. Harry had even spent a few weekends at Longbottom Manor when his mum wanted to visit Alice.
"Alright." Harry said. "The Avengers are with my parents and so is Mrs. Longbottom and Sirius and Remus. They'll meet up with you at the beginning of the ceremony. For now there's a ship right outside, it'll take you to the royal courtyard. There's food and that's where the ceremony will be so feel free to eat and explore."
"Aren't you coming with?" Fred asked.
"Come on Harrikins, you can't miss the biggest party of the millennium!" George added.
"I'll be there once all of the guests have been welcomed." Harry said, affecting a very Percy-like tone. "Some of us have jobs to do."
Percy rolled his eyes while George and Fred started giggling. Mrs. Weasley told them to behave themselves.
"Alright dearie." She said. "We'll be waiting for you."
He waved them away a smile on his face as all of his human friends got into one of the floating golden ships that was parked right outside the Bifrost. Once Hermione had helped her dad jump aboard the ship, it lifted gently into the air and took them away.
"Now. Who is next?"
"The goblins."
Harry wiggled happily and waited as Heimdall prepared for the Goblin Chief and Lady of the Forge. His relationship with the goblins had warmed after he'd killed Voldemort. He'd been able to become better at not saying offensive things and asking the right sort of questions. Harry had, in his first meeting with Ricbert, requested her patience after the war was over. And she had granted him it. It helped that he had invited her and the others to come to the wedding, Harry had brought it up to Odin and the king had ruffled his hair and praised him for coming up with the idea.
"Child of Lily." Ricbert greeted, a pleased look on her face.
"Chief Ricbert." Harry said bowing. "And company."
"May I introduce our King? King Snaglot the Great."
"It is an honor. Thank you for coming today." Harry said bowing even lower. "And thank you more so for working with me and allowing me to weild one of your swords."
"Peace, Child of Lily." The grizzled king said. "You have purchased that right fairly and earned your right to work with mine own due to your diligence."
"Thank you." Harry said. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Asgard, there's a ship waiting to take you to the place of the ceremony. There will be food there for you as well as guests to meet and greet. I know that the King of the Dwarves, King Nordri, will be arriving shortly. He has expressed interest in meeting you and yours to compare smithing techniques."
"Ah. What a challenge that would be." Snaglot said dismissively, implying he believed his people were much better at smithing than any other. Harry's eyes didn't miss the gifts the goblins had brought in chests made of gold and goblin silver.
"I only request you wait to have any competitions until after the wedding." Harry said. "Please, I know you and yours would win and I'd rather focus on my parents being wed than comforting the losers."
"Of course, Child of Lily, we will be civil."
And when the Dwarven Contingent arrived right after the goblins, with chests made of Uru and gold, Harry begged the king to avoid starting any competitions with the goblins, because he wanted to focus on his parents being married, not comforting the obvious goblin losers. King Nordri agreed with a laugh, happy that Harry thought him to be the best. Once they were on their way Heimdall spoke.
"You had better hope they don't tell the other what you said."
"Uhm." Harry said. "I'm sure dad'll take care of it if that happens."
"Hmmm."
"Who's next?"
"The Vanir, then the elves."
With the Vanir came their queen, the goddess of beauty herself, who had a magical aura so attractive it made a Veela look tame. Harry managed to keep himself under control and welcomed her with a smile and a polite bow. Her husband, King Freyr, looked quite happy with his actions and Freya pinched his cheek telling him he was far too adorable for his own good. Of course, they brought their own gifts stored in finely woven bags, made of a strange silken fabric Harry couldn't name.
The elves, whom Harry had long wanted to meet, came through the Bifrost with songs leaving their lips. Their magic tingled and felt so similar to his own. They had strange pupilless eyes and long oddly shaped ears. Harry thanked them for coming and then mentioned that he would love to hear them sing their magic one day.
"I've an affinity for it, at least my father believes so, and I would love to learn from you and yours King Rennyn." Harry said honestly.
"We would be honored to host you." He sang back his voice jumping up and down following some tune Harry could not hear.
"Oh yes." Another elf spoke, their voice adding to the harmony. "We would love to add your voice to ours."
"Thank you, I look forward to it." Harry answered. "Please, be welcomed in Asgard and enjoy the wedding!"
Then they were alone. Technically there were still other realms they could have invited. But Sutur, King of the Fire Giants, had declared in a blood oath to destroy Asgard and Frigga had felt that would ruin the mood. Even if Thor and Odin both felt a good battle before the wedding itself would add a bit of excitement. Then there was Hel, which currently only had one inhabitant the ex-goddess of death, whom Odin admitted would probably kill them all if invited. Frigga had looked quite sad at that but had agreed, promising to explain more later, once the wedding was over and things had calmed.
There was really only one people left to invite.
It had been Harry who had argued for it, first to his dad, then when he hadn't wanted to listen, to his mom. She had listened and agreed, and she'd convinced dad by doing little more than just looking at him directly when she asked. Then when he'd agreed to it, they'd had to convince Odin and Frigga that it could possibly be a good idea. Which had taken a bit longer. But Harry had been adamant. Peace was the only option for the future. He wanted peace on earth and he wanted peace here. This could work.
Besides, the current king of Jotunheim was King Helblindi, Harry's uncle. He couldn't be worse than Vernon.
It had been Loki who had extended the invitation. Harry and his mum had sat by his side as he had carefully penned out a letter, explaining why in Merlin's name he'd be contacting them. He had told them what he knew from Odin, that he was Laufey's son and that Odin had taken him in as a fosterling. He had apologized for the strained relationship between their realms, for the death of Laufey and for the damage to their lands. He had then extended an invitation to the wedding and also to finally reclaim what was rightfully theirs.
They had accepted. Although whether or not that was because they just wanted a chance to regain the Casket of Winters or because they genuinely wanted to come to an Asgardian Wedding was up for debate. His dad had been jittery about it ever since, they all had. But Harry was hopeful. He didn't know much of anything about Jotuns but he hadn't known anything about Asgardians a year ago, there was always time to learn.
"Are they ready?" Harry asked.
"They are." Heimdall said.
"Don't sound like that." Harry said. "This is good. It's time to bury the hatchet, or at least try. This is going to be good."
"I do hope you're right."
Then the Bifrost activated and out stepped two, 6 meter tall blue skinned giants. The dome of the Bifrost was at least 10 meters tall, which meant that the towering figures that were well over double Harry's height could stand comfortably within it. They both had skin the color of cobalt with raised black lines along their face and entire upper body. Their ruby red eyes looked down at both Harry and Heimdall with suspicion. Frost grew along the floor from where the two beings stood, growing centimeter by centimeter as the tension grew. Harry gazed up at the men, noting the horns on their heads that looked quite sharp.
"Hullo." Harry said. "You must be King Helblindi and Prince Býleistr of Jotunheim. I'm Prince Haraldr Lokison. Thank you for honoring us with your presence today at my parents' wedding."
The one on the left, who was wearing a crown of matte metal on his head, whom Harry assumed to be Helblindi narrowed his eyes and then crouched down so that he was eye level with Harry, or at least closer to it. At his movement Heimdall readied his sword while Harry flinched a little in shock. The king looked Harry over, starting with his boots and then moving all the way up to his hair.
"Hmmm." He said, his voice rumbling loudly through the dome. "You have our dam's hair."
"What?"
"Queen Faurbauti, our dam." He repeated. "Their hair looked like yours when it was allowed to grow, always stuck up in the back."
It was not at all what Harry had been expecting him to say. He did not in fact know what he had expected.
"Uhm. Thank you?" Harry said, making the king smirk and straighten up.
"Why have we been invited here?" He asked him.
"My parents are getting married."
"No. Why invite us, your enemy, here."
"You're not my enemy." Harry said. "Laufey was Odin's enemy. I'm from Midgard I was raised there, we don't see you as enemies there anymore."
"You are a prince of Asgard, do not lie, Asgard sees us as nothing more than monsters."
"Which should change." Harry said jutting out his chin. "I want to change that. My father is your brother, but he was raised here. And my mother is human. I am part of your people, I want peace between us."
"Peace? An Asgardian who believes in peace! I have to laugh."
"Peace is the only thing worth fighting for." Harry said. "And even if I live my whole life and never manage it fully, I'll still work for it, cause even if I only make a small change towards it, it'd be worth it."
Helblindi looked down at him with a smirk, a similar smirk could be found on his brother's face. They both looked similar to his dad in some ways, their noses and brows had the same shape.
"I…" Helblindi said. "Could not agree more."
"Really?" Harry asked brightly at the same time that Heimdall lowered his sword in shock.
"Really. I swear on the very magic that lives in me, on my connection to the ice of my realm, that I wish to fight for peace."
"Well then King Helblindi." Harry said smiling. "Welcome to Asgard."
Harry ended up leading the Jotuns to the royal courtyard. By leading he meant that the king had picked him up and placed him on his broad shoulders, smiling at how 'adorably slight' he was. Harry then gave directions while trying not to fall off. The King explained that he had no interest in continuing the war of his father. Laufey had been a cruel harsh man, showing love to nothing and aggression to all. Helblindi had been raised to take his place, to crave violence and blood. But he and his brother had chosen a different path after Laufey's murder.
"Really, we owe our oldest brother a debt, he freed us from quite the tyrant." Býleistr said his voice deep and gravelly. "And now he is offering us the Casket? We were suspicious it was a trap."
"What's Jotunheim like?" Harry asked deciding to change the subject.
"Cold." Helblindi answered.
"Oh."
"And beautiful." He added making his brother snort in amusement. "You should visit us during the summer, when our skies are painted with colors you cannot even imagine when our magnetic field activates for months at a time. We may not have feasts like the Aesir, but we have dances."
"Wouldn't I get squished?"
"Oh no. You'd dance with the other mages." Helblindi said. "They'd be around your size. Did you not know there were other small Jotun?"
"Uhm."
"That would explain why our brother called himself a runt." Býleistr said. "Haraldr, our magic users are smaller Jotun. We believe it to be a recessive gene within us, producing small but powerful Jotun. Small Jotun are far more easily able to weild magic beyond the ice magic all Jotun can do. If you and your father were to visit, there would be many beings your size to walk amongst and know."
"Oh." Harry said. "That's…that's good to know. I think I'd like to visit, convincing my dad might be hard though."
"Do not worry about that." Helblindi said as they finally arrived at the courtyard. "I will make the invitation myself.
Harry felt like he'd entered into some alternate dimension as the two giants walked into the royal courtyard and settled in the spot left aside for them, that had specially made seats their size. He was carefully lowered down by the king who told him to call him uncle. The crowds of people in the courtyard were staring at the Jotuns with uncertainty so Harry only smiled and brightly said.
"Do you want to meet my friends?" Harry asked. "They're over there."
By friends Harry meant anyone he could think to drag over. He plowed through the awkwardness of the situation by pretending everything was normal and slowly people began to comply. By the time the wedding was set to begin much of the tension had fled and the presence of the Jotun royalty had been accepted, at least it appeared so to Harry. The wedding began with everyone moving to settle in their seats around an altar made of gray stone. The rock had dozens of runes carved artfully around it.
The people who had attended his parents, the Avengers and Alice and Sirius and Remus, came next, sitting nearer to the altar. Sirius gave Harry a thumbs up to show that everything had gone well on his end. Thor was sporting a pretty terrible black eye from who knew what, but he was smiling quite happily nonetheless.
Next came Odin and Frigga. The leaders of Asgard were dressed in matching gold, nearly glowing with their power. Frigga looked especially radiant as she settled behind the altar, a mantle of power around her shoulders as she readied herself to seal his parents together for all time and eternity. This was a bond that would exist beyond death, in this life and in every one thereafter, a binding of souls.
The altar was placed in the center of the courtyard, with everyone seated around it in two semi-circles, forming a line that went north and south straight down the center. Frigga stood to the east, looking out over Asgard, with all the regal bearing of a queen. She lifted both of her hands up to the clear blue sky, and the crowd quieted.
"Come." She spoke, her voice echoing through the air. Harry leaned forward and looked down both ends of the path to see that his mother and father were on opposite ends. Ron and Hermione sat by his side, both hushed and waiting. Slowly both of his parents began to march towards the center, careful to move at the exact same pace as the other, a symbolic coming together of two equals.
When they both entered the circle of the crowds, Frigga began to hum. Magic burst invisibly out of her, sending shivers down Harry's spine as it reached out in a perfect sphere touching every single witness and reaching out towards his parents. His mum was wearing a white dress. White dresses were a very human custom but his mum had insisted she be allowed to wear a bridal gown, Frigga had been charmed by the idea. It was long and flowing with sheer sleeves that were cuffed with lace at her wrists. Her long red hair, which she'd been growing out, was styled with intricate braids and pinned with flowers. She also had a circlet going around her forehead made of the finest of silver. His mum was carrying in her right hand the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
His dad was wearing very traditional Aesir wear. A fine green tunic with golden thread embroidered along the chest in the shape of the Yggdrasil was paired with fitted trousers and boots made of dragon hide. He also had a cape on as well as the golden horned helmet that Harry still thought looked a bit silly. His dad was carrying his own sword, a large thing about as long as Harry was tall, that had spikes of sharp metal along the sides. It was a fearsome looking weapon.
When his parents finally neared the altar, they stopped.
"Kneel." Frigga said, her voice filled with power.
Both of his parents knelt across from one another, their knees touching the stone floor of the courtyard at the same time.
"Present your offering, Lily Evans." Frigga said softly. "And make your vows."
His mother lifted the sword and placed the blade on the altar, it made a melodic ringing sound that vibrated through Harry's ribcage.
"I present to you this sword." She said. "A weapon of great strength and worth that you may use to defend and to conquer. I vow to stand beside you, to guard you, to guide you, and to be guided by you. I vow to love you, to support you. This I vow until the end of all things."
"Loki Odinson." Frigga said. "Take your weapon."
Slowly his dad reached out with his free hand, over the altar and took the handle of the blade from his mum. She passed it over to him as gently as she could, careful not to nick him with the dangerous blade.
"Now." Frigga said. "Present your offering and make your vows."
"I present the great sword of Bor, which he used to defeat the Dark Elves nearly 5000 years ago. It is the blade of a warrior, of a hero. I present it to you, that you may keep it for our future children, that we may raise great heroes together. I vow to love you, to love you with all that I am. I vow to protect you, and to listen to your wise counsel. This I vow and more, more that I lack the words to express. I vow that you will have my heart and my soul, until the end of all things."
"Lily, take your weapon."
Carefully his mum reached out. It was difficult for her to get to the other end of the long blade without cutting herself or getting off of her knees. Both of his parents had to strain over the top of the altar to make it happen. When his mother got a hold of the handle she grunted under the weight but took it anyway. Her arms quivered from the strain as she dragged it over the altar and brought it down to her lap with a thud.
The alter began to glow purple.
"I, the goddess of marriage, have seen your offerings and I have heard your vows." She said, then she waved her hands. To the north and south, at the end of the paths his parents had just walked two large mirrors appeared parallel to the other. Harry could look down either direction and see his reflection mirrored back at himself a thousand times. "You stand before me, ready to bind yourselves to one another, to bind your families together. Look forward and see the past reflected to you, remember those who have lived and died, who bore you. Look forward and see the future, the children you will bear and raise. You kneel before this altar, a link in the line of eternity ready to be formed."
The longer Frigga spoke the more of her power Harry could feel. The altar was glowing brightly too, it's light reaching out to caress his parents.
"I find your souls to be well matched, to be fruitful." Frigga said after a moment of silence. "Place your weapons upon the floor beneath you and touch the altar with both hands so that I may bind your souls."
His parents did that, his mum letting the sword drop with a clatter, unable to move the incredibly heavy thing smoothly. His parents touched the altar at the same time, their palms flat against the smooth stone. Harry held his breath as he watched Frigga place her hands over theirs. She then spoke in a language Harry did not know, he did not need to know it. The spell she was speaking was obvious. He could feel the magic of his parents' souls being connected. A link between them that would allow them to find each other even after death. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever felt. He didn't even realize he was crying until Hermione reached out and wiped his cheeks for him.
The altar began to hum loudly as Frigga finished her melodic chanting. It hummed to a crescendo and then it flashed so brightly Harry had to close his eyes against it. When it finished, Harry looked back to see Frigga smiling.
"Rise." She said. "Rise and greet the world anew as the Royal House of Loki."
Frigga took his parents' hands and lifted them both up. Then with a swish of her wrist she produced two golden apples. She handed one to each of the newly married couple.
"Feed one another, let the strength of the eternities come to you from the hand of your partner."
Harry watched as his dad carefully held out the apple to his mother's lips. She smiled at him and held out her own. It wasn't strictly necessary for his dad to eat one, he'd already had one as a baby. But it was tradition for both couples to eat one more, for the symbolism of it more than anything. This would be the first time that one of Idunn's apples was used in a wedding to turn a mortal immortal though.
Everyone held their breath as both parties took a bite of the other's apple at the same time. They were careful to ensure that none of the golden juice dripped from their fingers to the stone floor below. Biting and eating every single bit of each apple. His mum had to eat it all to ensure the transformation worked completely. They finished by licking each other's fingers clean, which was just a little weird, but felt almost not weird in the setting.
His mum was literally glowing now as the transformation happened. It only took a few moments before it was finished. She looked more golden than she had before, more solid, even as she swayed under the changes.
"It is done." Frigga said. "I pronounce you married, now complete this union in the way of Lily's people and kiss, so that even the norns themselves may know what I have bound together."
His dad nearly leapt over the altar, reaching for his mom's face and pulling her gently to his lips. The crowds began to cheer loudly as the marriage was sealed in front of them all. Harry found himself jumping up and running to his parents, knowing the ceremony was over. They pulled apart from their kiss just in time to hug him.
It was done.
They were married. They were family.
It took what felt like a happy little eternity for the cheering to die down. When it did Odin declared the race to the feasting hall was on. Now the wedding could begin in full Aesir style with a feast that would last for a month. His parents would only be there for the first three days, after which tradition would have them sequester themselves for the next three weeks for the honeymoon only to return for the final three days of the feast. Harry would miss his parents, who were going to go somewhere off planet to be with each other, but he was happy for them, really happy.
And if he got a baby brother or sister out of the deal then who was he to complain?
The race to the wedding feast was another tradition. The first being to enter the feasting hall was said to be blessed with a union of their own. People rushed through each other to get to the great hall, while Harry picked up Bor's giant sword for his mum. Harry had no idea who got to the feasting hall first and he didn't really care. He walked with his parents until they got inside. The next tradition dealt with his dad, who stood in the entryway of the feasting hall. He lifted Godric Gryffindor's sword and slammed it into the marble floor as deeply as he could.
Tradition stated that the deeper the sword went the stronger the marriage would be.
No one was surprised that he got it all the way down to the hilt.
The feast was massive, the great feasting hall had been magically expanded to fit the thousands of beings within it. It felt like the size of two or three quidditch stadiums. There were tables laden heavy with food and mead. Odin opened the feast with a toast towards the happy family once he and his parents found their seats at the head table. The crowd roared again and the feast began in earnest. People ate until they were too full to eat, then they went to sleep, only to return as soon as they could to eat more. People sang and danced and cheered for hours.
Gifts were presented and vows of loyalty offered. All of this passed Harry by in a daze of joy. He felt lightheaded with happiness as he sat next to his beaming parents. Not even their flirting could bring him down, and they were doing a lot of flirting. He noticed some things, like Ron and Hermione talking to Idunn. His dad leaving to meet with his biological brothers. Sirius flirting with Sif of all people and not getting stabbed. He spotted Baldur and Draco meeting for the first time and giggled to himself as they argued about who was a better rival for him. The goblins and the dwarves were having a silent but stiff competition about who was better. The Avengers were mingling with the warriors in the crowds sharing stories of valor. Fred and George waited to pull pranks until after his parents had left and their pranks mostly involved loud noises and magical transformations that made people laugh.
Harry moved amongst the crowds meeting people and laughing and feeling light. Gone was every weight upon him as he managed to feast and party like the god he had become for a full month. He slept when he was tired and always returned to the feasting hall when he woke to find the feast still going strong and loud. His friends stayed with him, sleeping in his rooms when they got tired. There were games and dances to learn. There were hugs to give and jokes to share. When the feast ended, Harry was there to send every visiting group home. He hugged his human friends, bowed to the goblins and dwarves, accepted a cheek pinch from Freya, and promised to visit the elves and the jotuns when the chance arrived.
As the final groups left and the aesir went home to rest, Harry remembered the words Frigga had given him all those months ago at Christmas. She had told him she had hope. Harry understood that now more than ever. He felt as he flew back to his rooms, the day before his 17th birthday, that he was filled with nothing but hope. Nothing could stop him now, nothing. When the summer ended, he'd return to a planet earth that was safer than ever. He was going to graduate from Hogwarts and then he was going to fight for peace, for all the good and kind things in the world.
The next morning he woke to a small cake and his parents smiling faces, he didn't even realize he'd failed to stay up till midnight to wish himself a happy birthday. He guessed as he looked at the 17 candles placed carefully on the cake that he'd known he hadn't needed to. After all, if him being a demigod had been obvious then his parents loving him enough to remember his birthday was too.
Notes:
Thank you for taking this journey with me. It's been an honor to write for you all, especially in these trying times. I hope this story touched you enough that you want to go back and read it again one day.