Archives and Libraries

Back at the TVA, Mobius secluded himself away in another time theater, hoping he could get a moment of peace without Hunter B-15 or anyone else interrupting his work again. He hadn't been alerted to any spike on the timeline, but he and Loki were progressing nowhere fast; so, he paid a trip to the TVA archives for more information. However, when he requested reels from the various names he collected thus far from Loki's adventures at the magical school, nothing came up, not even for the elusive Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore or the late Cedric Diggory. Mobius could only conclude that they never had their temporal aura logged, or they never had variants to begin with, which seemed quite rare given the circumstances. Perhaps the Time Keepers had already determined their set paths, which could explain why a Loki Variant was not meant to be there. Mobius' only option was to check out a holoprojector to see where Loki left off.

The agent switched on the orange retro sphere. A light projected a movie memory, and Mobius flipped through Loki's reel past the mythical beast he set free. Mobius shook his head, and snickered. Loki always had a way of getting away with things. At least that endeavor was relatively harmless. Mobius continued through the reel until he encountered the stone wall with an odd blonde girl.

"It's the Room of Requirement," she said.

Mobius smiled at her carefree nature.

"Yes, haha … you've already said that," said his sarcastic Trickster.

"Oh come, Loki. She's just a kid," Mobius scolded as if he was there with him.

"It's also known as the Come and Go Room. It only appears when someone is in great need of it, and contains what that person needs at that time … I don't know why Cedric was in need of it … I thought he was practicing spells, he blew a hole in the wall you see … but then, there was another person, in black and green …" Luna continued.

Mobius sighed on the edge of his seat. He didn't want to believe a Loki Variant could have taken the life of a child, but all the evidence seemed to point in that direction. The question was why.

"I never saw their face … just an orange light, and then they were gone," she finished, disturbed.

"Very, well. Thank you Ms. Lovegood! You may go," Professor McGonagall said quickly.

Mobius rubbed his worried forehead in anguish. He thought she was far too young to have witnessed something so horrible.

"What do you suppose this means, Mr. Laufeyson?" asked the wise old witch.

Mobius perked his head up. "My thoughts exactly," the salt and peppered haired analyst said to himself.

"I think … I need to get into the Room of Requirement," answered his Loki counterpart.

"Couldn't agree more," Mobius concluded. He quickly turned off the device, locked the theater and headed back to the archives with an extra pep in his step for finally he had a new lead. Only did he creep around corners for fear of being stopped by B-15 or Renslayer did he slow down. The archives had the same retro interior decorating as the rest of the TVA, if someone could even call it that; dimly lit, consisting of dark green and brown colors with the occasional orange line or label. If someone looked up or down, however, they would see the many looped layers of the vast library. Once he reached the main desk, an elderly woman with glasses tapped softly behind a computer.

"Back again, I see?" said the Librarian barely looking up from her device.

"Yes, I need files on the Hogwarts architecture," Mobius said politely. She glanced up at him apathetically, and typed something on her computer.

"I'll see what I can find," she said as she slowly got up from her desk. When she returned which felt like an eternity, she plopped down a thin filing folder in front of him. The mustached, salt and peppered analyst flipped it open with a stern look of disapproval.

"What? That's it? That can't be it," he complained. The librarian returned his look with a slow blink of disappointment. Mobius sighed.

"Just give me all the files on the school, anything you can find," he pleaded. She rolled her eyes, but left to fulfill his request regardless.

The wavy hair of one light brunette spilled over an open book. Hermione had rummaged ambitiously through the vast library of Hogwarts, searching for any trace of a 'Mr. Laufeyson.' She couldn't handle it anymore, her thirst for answers needed to be quenched, and she came up empty except for one book which boggled her mind. She sat in the main hall next to Ron who was more concerned about feeding his stomach than his mind. She lifted her head only to glare at him when an unsavory noise emanated from his overly stuffed mouth.

"What?" asked Ron, feeling the heat from her stare.

"Will. You. Stop. Eating?!" said Hermione, taking the book and hitting Ron with it in rhythm with her words.

"What? I'm hungry!" Ron pleaded. She reopened the book to her saved page when Harry joined them at the long table lined with various food and drink. Candles floated high above their heads.

"Harry!" she said elated to see him.

"Where've you been, mate? You missed Divination class," remarked Ron, finally putting down his food. Hermione rolled her big brown eyes.

"Oh, honestly, Ron. If you ask me, Divination Is a woolly discipline. Now, Ancient Runes, that's a fascinating subject," she said, placing her book flat on the table for all of them to see.

"Ancient Runes? Exactly how many classes are you taking?" asked Ron, completely oblivious to the book.

"A fair few," she answered, trying to remain on topic.

"Hang on. That's not possible. Ancient Runes is at the same time as Divination. You have to be in two classes at once," Ron thought out loud.

"Nevermind that, what exactly … have you learned in that class, Hermione?" Harry probed carefully. Dumbledore's not so subtle hint nagged at the back of his mind. Hermione smiled, bubbling at the brim to expel all of her knowledge on the subject.

"Ancient runes were a form of writing which witches and wizards used hundreds of years ago. What makes them so fascinating, is not only their shape or design, but rather their ability to reach across time. They could be used for magical purposes, such as divination, casting, spells and enchantments, and even in potions by inscribing runes onto a cauldron or on vials," she explained.

Ron tapped his fingers on the table with his head resting in his other free hand.

"Riveting … " said Ron sarcastically, clearly uninterested. Hermione scoffed at him. Harry also wanted a more relevant point.

"And what's even more fascinating, is that a particular name popped up," she continued proudly, "I'm sure you can guess which one," she said looking at Harry who leaned forward. Hermione spun the book around so Harry could read it. The page depicted strange edgy symbols similar to the ones he saw on the basin of Dumbledore's pensieve. He had never recognized them as anything before, until now. Next to the runes, was a depiction of a hieroglyphic figure in colors of green, black, and gold. Hermione placed a finger on the text under it. 'Loki Laufeyson' it read. Harry happily grinned.

"Brilliant! What's it say about him?" he asked. Hermione's smile faded to a subtle frown and her brows knitted together.

"About him? Harry … you don't actually think this is Lupin's assistant?" she asked, gently tapping the page. Harry looked to Ron for help, but he shrugged just as clueless.

"Well, yeah … I mean, why bring this up if it wasn't?" he asked her skeptically. Hermione sighed.

"These runes can be traced back to these ancient people, but that was hundreds of years ago, well before the founding of Hogwarts. They're practically myth at this point. If Lupin's assistance is using this name, it must be an alias," she explained. Harry leaned back away from the book deflated.

"Look … It's the only place where this name pops up. Trust me … I've searched," she said, less elated than before.

"But that doesn't make any sense … Why would Dumbledore hire someone under a fake name?" Ron inquired quietly. Harry pondered. He wouldn't, he thought, unless he was protecting something or someone, and the memories he shared with him were far too convincing to suggest otherwise. Hermione noticed some of their fellow classmates leaving the main hall.

"Come on, we can talk more about it later. We don't want to be late for class," she said, packing up her things.