The story has been updated, so I apologize for any inconsistencies.
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Loki was grateful to leave that undesirable portion of the castle, which definitely felt like a 'killing-me' kind of a room, and return to the more open, spectacular architecture of the school where he could breathe. Dumbledore guided him to another part of Hogwarts, a brighter area. A medieval door, a masterpiece of intricate carvings, greeted them to their next destination, where he would fulfill one of the clauses attached to his original task.
"This is our Defense Against the Dark Arts class," said the headmaster, opening a crack in the door with a simple push of his hand.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts? What's that?" said Loki, forever doubtful.
"Oh, this one, I think you will like," said the headmaster with a playful smile. Dumbledore gestured for the Trickster to go inside, and was greeted by a person he did not expect.
"Ah, you must be Mr. Laufeyson?" said a strange man with a peculiar aura and the remnants of a story scratched on his face. It was a face that bespoke adventures and perhaps a few too many encounters with the darker side of magic.
For a moment, excitement ignited his spirit, for he thought Mobius had returned, mistaking the man's mustache for the analyst's, and the man's cut for the agent's permanently broken nose, but the light brown hair color, and different accent threw him off. Could there be more than one variant here, he wondered. A soft thud from the door, as Dumbledore left him with this newest stranger, was enough to startle him back to this reality.
Loki found himself in a large classroom with tall glass windows, and a seemingly limitless ceiling with dangling chandeliers, filled with many students dressed in more black-robed uniforms. They gossiped amongst themselves, trying to decipher the unexpected visitor. So much for minimal, personal interaction. Once some of the initial shock had worn off, the Trickster took in the rest of his surroundings. He noticed for the first time that even though the clothes looked the same, the students were oddly divided by separate colors and emblems. He saw one group that had similar colors and emblems to that of the dead boy's. He counted four different sigils in total, all consisting of one animal sported by two complimenting colors. No doubt, the green and silver one with the snake intrigued him the most while the red and gold one with the lion brought some deep, unresolved, childhood resentment. His fingers absently traced the embossed emblem on his own boring brown and orange Variant jacket, a stark contrast to the traditional wizarding robes. Loki smiled awkwardly.
"I was told that you would be my assistant for this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" he said plainly. Loki observed him with great suspicion.
"Yes… and you are?" he asked. The students exchanged confused looks.
"What the bloody hell, they haven't met?" whispered a ginger-haired kid to one of his fellow students. He was clustered with the group of students who sported the red and gold.
"Why is he wearing muggle clothes?" whispered another wearing blue and bronze colors framing a bird. The professor gave him a warm, yet petty smile, similar to the one Mobius gave him the first time they met.
"I am Professor Lupin," he said, stepping forward. Loki cocked an eyebrow.
A strange wardrobe in the middle of the classroom shook, capturing their attention.
"You are just in time for our first lesson," Lupin said, turning to it. Loki thought the item was odd, given the fact that they were in a medieval classroom, but then again, maybe it made the most sense here. It wobbled violently the more Professor Lupin walked closer to it.
"Nothing to worry about," Professor Lupin reassured calmly because a few students had stepped backward in alarm. Loki's eyes darted from him to the wardrobe on guard.
"There's a boggart in there," he said to his students.
"A boggart?" Loki said to himself.
"Indeed," said Lupin, "What is a boggart?" he continued to the class. A girl with light brown, wavy hair, next to the redheaded boy, raised her hand in vigor.
"It's a shape-shifter," she said.
"Very good, Hermione, and can anyone tell us what a Boggart looks like?" Lupin continued.
"No one knows. They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears most," continued the eager girl, "That's what makes it so—"
"Terrifying, yes." Loki's enthusiasm for the school dropped.
"Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let's practice it now, shall we? Without wands, please..."
Loki crossed his arms and observed. Lupin pulled out his own magical stick from his robes. The students waited and watched.
"Riddikulus!" said Lupin to his students. Loki nearly laughed out loud.
"This class is ridiculous," hissed another student under his breath. Loki looked over to see him sneering. He looked like a weaselly boy with slicked-back, bleach-blond hair. Silver and green colors adorned the snake emblem patched on his uniform. He fidgeted like he was nervous and did not want to be there.
"Good. So much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a Boggart off is... laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Neville, come up here, will you?" A half-smile crept on Loki's face. The idea of humiliating a foe sounded intriguing, but Loki's version of fun was not the usual norm. A wimpy-looking student with shortish brown hair stepped forward toward the rattling wardrobe, queasy.
"You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain. Neville, what frightens you most of all?" asked Lupin. For a boy adorning a proud lion on his black robes, he didn't look very fierce.
"Professor Snape..." whispered the poor lad.
"Sorry?" asked Professor Lupin, leaning in closer, ear first. The young pupil made a quick glance in Loki's direction.
"Professor Snape," said Neville a bit more volume.
"Professor Snape," Lupin chuckled, also glancing in the Trickster's location, "Yes, frightens all." Most of the class giggled except for Loki, not fully grasping the situation.
"And I understand you live with your grandmother. Yes?" asked Lupin kindly.
"Yes, but I don't want it to turn into her, either," said Neville sheepishly. Lupin laughed again.
"No... it won't," he said leaning closer to him. "Now, I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes, very clearly, in your mind.
"What?" whispered Loki to himself.
"She carries a red handbag..."
"We don't need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, when I open that wardrobe... here's what I want you to do. Excuse me." he said, stepping right next to him. "Imagine Professor Snape in your grandmother's clothes." he whispered in Neville's ear.
"Can you do that?" he asked. Neville nodded. Loki watched carefully with great anticipation. Lupin waved his wand and opened the shaking wardrobe. The door flew open. A pale hand in a dark sleeve reached out of it nervously. A tall man in completely black robes with many buttons up and down the tunic and along the sleeves stepped out. Straight, black hair of medium length framed his very serious expression. Piercing black eyes honed in on the very anxious Neville. Loki uncrossed his arms quickly on alert. The man had an uncanny resemblance to himself, minus some facial features. Had he found his variant so quickly, he wondered. Couldn't be, that would be too easy. Loki was about to summon one of his daggers when Lupin spoke again.
"Yes. Wand at the ready. One, two, three." he said. Neville froze.
"Think, Neville, think. Be brave!" he commanded.
"Riddikulus!" said Neville with a flick of his wrist, and the man's clothes changed to that of Neville's grandmother's. The man never said a word; he only looked around the room shocked like a chicken searching for whomever had just ripped a few of its feathers out from its tail as a joke. The students roared in laughter.
"What the..." Loki mouthed to himself.
"Wonderful, Neville, wonderful! Incredible! Okay... to the back, Neville. Everyone, form a line... Form a line!" said Lupin enthusiastically, and the students lined up excitedly. To set the mood, Lupin put on a record. Upbeat swing music filled the room with drums and trumpets. The students pushed and shoved themselves until the one with bright orange hair forced to the front.
"I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most... and turn it into something funny. Next! Ron!" said Lupin to the redhead. Loki snickered as he saw the look of terror painted on the young pupil's face. Ron practically whimpered. Loki's lesser look-alike dressed in old women's clothes, transformed into a hovering, constantly shifting blob, until it found his fear, a giant, hideous spider with beady black eyes the size of a small car. Loki jumped back in shock.
"Concentrate. Face your fear. Be brave! Wand at the ready, Ron." Professor Lupin reassured him.
"Riddikulus!" trembled Ron with a wave of his wand. Roller-skates appeared on all eight legs, making it constantly fall as it tried to stand up. The class erupted into laughter again. Loki recovered and straightened his jacket, hoping no one saw his sliver of surprise. Devious plans formulated in his head. If he ever processed such a creature on Asgard, what endless mischief he could have. The fun daydream was interrupted by Lupin.
"Yes! You see? Very good, very good! Marvelous! Absolutely, very, very enjoyable! How about you Mr. Laufeyson!" said Lupin. Loki froze.
"I beg your pardon?" he responded, blinking rapidly.
"Show us what you see," said Lupin kindly, gesturing to the boggart with his wand. Loki thought for a moment, and a terrible revelation came to him; the creature would expose his greatest fear ... unknown to him … against his will ... publicly.
"Hehe … ah," he began with a fake smile, trying to save face, "I don't think that would be necessary." Lupin narrowed his eyes.
"Oh come now, you are my assistant. Show these students what not to be afraid of," he said warmly. Loki's bright green eyes flickered from the professor, to the students, to the creature. Reluctantly, he stepped forward.
"Look, even a teacher is scared. How pathetic," said the slimy boy with his blond hair, ridiculing the class. Loki glared at him.
"Shut up Malfoy," snapped another boy with dark brown hair and round glasses. He stood next to the scared redhead he now knew as Ron, the know-it-all brunette he now knew as Hermione, and the wimpy kid he now knew as Neville. All four of them had the red and gold colors with the proud lion as their badge, but Loki noticed something rather peculiar about the boy with the round glasses. A harsh, red line lingered behind the curtains of his dark bangs, while his circular glasses framed his very green eyes. Thoughts swirled in Loki's head, and he stared at the boy for far too long. Neville grew more nervous.
"Mr. Laufeyson," said Lupin, regaining the Trickster's focus. Loki broke his gaze and walked closer to the creature's last form and it began to transform, but what form it would take he was unsure. The metaphorical spotlight pushed in on Loki. Unbeknownst to him, the students, and even Lupin, the Trickster was about to redefine the meaning of 'ridiculous.'
"Keep your nerve. Steady. Riddikul-"
A giant, towering, green monster resembling a very buff troll shrieked before him. Loki's confident expression dropped completely. All the color drained from his face. Horrified, the students scrambled to the far corner of the classroom. Some of them screamed. Malfoy squealed like a girl. Loki froze, crippled by fear.
"I need to get out of here..." he muttered quickly.
"Mr. Laufeyson!" yelled Professor Lupin. The Trickster yelped as the giant green monster man grabbed his leg in one enormous hand and slammed him into the floorboard of the classroom, completely shattering it like glass. He continued to swing Loki's body around like a ragdoll, smashing him into various things, breaking desks, and bookcases, finally ending with a quick upside-down check to see if he was still breathing before completely slamming him into a stone section of the room. Panting heavily wide eyed in shock, Loki created a dent in the floor in the shape of his body like a cartoon. The creature wasn't even the real Hulk and he experienced the same humiliation for the second time. The students, still screaming, huddled together as far away as they could from the calamity.
Suddenly, Lupin jumped in front of the beast, yelling with his arms open, wand in hand.
Loki, still conscious, thought he was mad. The creature transformed again. Loki watched in disbelief as the great beast that mangled him into the stone floor transformed into a simple, peaceful setting of a full moon cocooned by light, fluffy clouds.
Loki looked like someone slapped him across the face in addition to the extreme pummeling he just received. He wanted to ridicule, humiliate, curse, scream at the man who feared the moon.
"Riddikulus!" said Lupin with a sharp wave of his wand, transforming the peaceful scene into a comical leaky party balloon, banishing it to the wardrobe from whence it came.
"Right. Sorry about that! That's enough for today. Collect your books from the back. That's the end of the lesson. Thank you! Sorry!" said Lupin quickly to the terrified students. They gathered their things and scurried out the large door as fast as they could. Only one of them joined Lupin where Loki lay stuck in the floor. It was the dark-haired boy with the circular glasses. His closest friends, Ron and Hermione, followed.
"Professor? Is he alright?" asked the dark-haired student. Lupin watched, gobsmacked as Loki attempted to pry himself from the stone floor.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed after seeing the damage done to the classroom, "How's he still alive?" Ron blurted out loud. Hermione elbowed him hard in the side. "Oww!"
"Mr. Laufeyson, stay there," said Lupin as calmly as he could. With a flick of his wand and a silent incantation, Lupin cast a spell to gently loosen some of the rubble around his assistant, fearful of any injuries. Hermione was shocked by how deep he was implanted in the ground. She didn't want to admit it, but she too wanted to know how he managed to live. She recalled when they fought off a troll their first year, and none of them, not even Harry, would have survived. Loki put both hands at his sides to push himself up. Harry put out a helping hand. Loki took it absentmindedly not realizing it did not belong to Lupin. He froze, gripping the boy's hand once his green eyes met his. He wondered for a split second if this was some kind of trick, a kind gesture to mask the mischief within. Not all Loki's looked alike, but they all seemed to maintain some level of narcissistic resemblance. This student's dark hair and green eyes were no exception. It would explain why a Loki would take out a child if they were another Loki, but the mark on the student's face doused those theories. Now that the curtains to his bangs had separated, Loki could clearly see a lightning bolt scar. Another bout of unacknowledged hate nipped at his core, and he gripped Harry's hand a tad too hard as he hoisted himself up from the debris. Harry winced but continued to help him nonetheless. Crumbles of stone fell off the fallen Trickster.
"Mr. Laufeyson, are you alright?" Lupin asked in a more serious tone. Loki brushed off his jacket. Dust powdered the air.
"I'm fine-" he said while attempting to take a step forward and stumbled. Lupin caught him before he met the unforgiving floor again. Loki looked down and noticed his leg hurt, where the beast had grabbed him. He felt dizzy. Something hot and wet ran down his forehead. He touched it and found a red liquid on his fingertips.
"You three! Quick, help me take him to the hospital," Lupin said frantically.