The Hospital

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Loki said, swatting away the head nurse, "I'm fine!" he said more sharply, blocking Madam Pomfrey with both hands up from mending the cut on his head. She was an older woman with a pleasant face and a white bonnet, indicating her primary occupation. He sat up on a white hospital bed surrounded by Lupin, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be here," she scolded. Loki's emerald eyes rolled to the back of his head, casting her mature responsibility aside with his childish ego.

"I'll say. You got bloody smashed into the ground by ... some ... kind of ... big green monster. He literally destroyed the classroom with you! How are you alive?" said Ron letting his mind run away with his mouth.

"Ronald?!" Hermione scolded. Madam Pomfrey looked up from her medical supplies to give the newcomer a wide eyed, scathing look of judgment and bewilderment, hesitant to ask what happened. Loki fixed a sharp gaze upon the oblivious redhead, cutting through the air. If he could shoot lasers from his eyes, he would have burned a direct hole into Ron's forehead.

"What was that thing, professor?" asked the boy with a lightning bolt scar. Loki's glare remained piercing as it landed on Harry. The Trickster could not decide if he was playing dumb to maintain a facade, as a Loki would do, or if he was truly asking as an innocent youth. Defense seemed like the safest approach.

"Yes, I would like to know that as well?" said Lupin, knitting his brows together in suspicion.

"First of all, I'm not a professor. Secondly, I seem to recall it being a boggart," he answered snidely, yet politely except for the stretched grin across his face. They have no idea, he thought regarding the big green beastie, a trace of vulnerability hidden beneath the sarcasm. Hermione crossed her arms in a pouty disgust by his flippant nature. Lupin squinted his eyes at the non-answer and walked around the side of the bed closer to Loki so he was looking down at him.

"This isn't a game. I've never seen anything like that, as rightfully terrifying as it was," said Lupin as if he was talking to a smartass student. The Trickster got a better look at his weary face. He certainly bore similar worrying lines that Mobius possessed, but the cut on his nose looked more like a vicious creature had raked two old claw marks across his face. Lupin, despite the visible fatigue etched into his features, maintained an upright posture. His shoulders, though burdened, refused to sag, a testament to his resilience. Before Loki could make a quip, a figure walking swiftly approached them. Her long wizarding robes swept the floor gracefully as her steady stride carried her to them bearing great responsibility. She was an older woman with high cheekbones and big eyes, wearing an elegant hat with a crooked point and wide rim tilted ever so slightly to the side, a pinnacle to a witch's wardrobe.

"Professor McGonagall," said Harry, announcing her presence.

"McGonagall?" muttered Loki as if he was practicing how to pronounce her name. It was a mouthful, he thought. She glanced at all of them, relieved that there was no student in the medical bed, but her gaze quickly fell upon the three young Gryffindors.

"Why is it that when something happens, it is always you three?" she asked, greatly concerned. Her wispy voice and accent added to her uniqueness.

Loki furrowed his brows confused as he gazed upon the youngsters with curious scrutiny.

"It wasn't their fault, Minerva," Lupin said, stepping in, "They were helping me with my assistant," he said side glancing at Loki. "We just had some trouble with a bogart," he added.

"A bogart?" she asked, greatly concerned. The pitch in her voice rose towards the end of her question. "Nearly half the classroom was destroyed, Remus!" she directly stated. Loki's eyes wandered around the hospital wing, planning an exit strategy, when he saw the heavy oaken door of the hospital wing creak open, revealing the tall silhouette of Professor Dumbledore. The air seemed to ripple with a unique blend of reverence and anticipation as the headmaster stepped into the room. The Trickster held his breath, anticipating some form of reprimand. The old wizard's long robes, a rich tapestry of blue-grays and silvers, billowed with a weighty grace that matched the solemnity of the situation.

"It's quite alright, Professor McGonagall," he said with authority. The headmaster parted his way through the small crowd. Loki braced himself, expecting a public scolding or to be sent directly back to the TVA. "A classroom can be fixed. Thankfully, no one else was harmed," said the headmaster peering over his half moon glasses at Loki, a silent reminder of his terms and conditions. The Trickster responded in kind with a death glare.

"Professor McGonagall, will you escort the students back to their dormitories?" he asked Minerva. She nodded respectfully with her elegant witch's hat, and ushered for Ron, Harry, and Hermione to follow her out.

"Professor Lupin, I can take it from here," Dumbledore added kindly.

"Of course," Lupin said reluctantly. Lupin threw Loki one final look before completely walking away as if to say this conversation was not over, leaving the Trickster alone with the headmaster once more. The atmosphere settled from the previous commotion, but the air remained thin; Loki was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Dumbledore finally addressed him.

"I heard you made quite the impression on your first day, and a literal one I might add. I trust Madam Pomfrey has healed any injuries?" remarked Dumbledore observing the dark haired Asgardian in the hospital bed with genuine concern. Loki rolled his eyes, "It takes a bit more than that to kill me," the Trickster remarked snidely. Dumbledore kept a wise gaze over his half moon glasses.

"Oh I know, but the students are not aware of that. Mr. Laufeyson, while our own personal fears are not a sin, I would exercise caution when it comes to their safety," Dumbledore said.

"How was I supposed to know what that creature would-" Loki began to argue, but Dumbledore put a steady hand up to quiet him.

"It's alright, I understand it was not entirely your fault, but I must ask you to be more careful in the future. Help is always welcome to those at Hogwarts, you need only ask for it. I'm sure Professor Lupin would be more than happy to help you with some of your inner fears ... you will be spending some time in his class after all," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. Loki took it as a small slight given the underlying circumstances to his true purpose at the school. "Now then, If you are feeling up to it, we have a room waiting for you upstairs," he said.

"Are you not concerned ... that I may still be injured," remarked Loki, gesturing to the hospital bed supporting the lower half of his body.

"Oh I think our school took more of a beating than you did."