Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. This is just for fun and I hope you enjoy reading it.
Child of Silence
By Angelwings Sorrow
Chapter 22 "The Paths We Walk"
"I can't believe that Professor McGonagall is letting us leave School." Neville said in awe. The two first years met after breakfast and were now walking up to Professor Flitwick's office.
"She knows this outing is important." Harry typed out before knocking on the office door.
"Come in." the two entered the office and Gigi jumped down from the air and was rubbing against the little Prince. Harry just smiled and gave her a good scratch behind her ears.
"Hello Professor we're ready to head to Diagon Alley." Neville greeted.
"Good, good, I am ready as well. If you would be so kind Mr. Lokison." The Half Goblin smiled as he fastened clasp of his cloak.
"Of course Professor." Harry signed shooing the jinx off before he slipped on his Sling Ring. Concentrating on Diagon Alley he opened a portal. Neville's eyes were wide in the display of Sorcery. Flitwick nudge the Gryffindor through the portal before following allowing Harry to bring up the rear and close the portal.
The Trio made their way through the Alley with little fanfare until the approached the Bank. Harry had shifted to his Asgardian Armor mostly out of habit whenever he visited his godfather. Those in the in the Alley doing shopping noticed the strangely dressed boy and gasped when the guards at Gringotts greeted him.
"Welcome Prince Haraldr, the King is expecting you and your friends." On the guards greeted as they bowed deeply to the young prince. The group was led to the Manager's desk. Gripknott bowed to Harry before leaving to announce their arrival to the King.
"I've never met a king before." Neville whispered hiding behind Harry.
"The King will see you now." Gripknott announced holding the golden doors open.
Harry nodded to the goblin and led his friends into the throne room where he found his Master standing with his Godfather and a witch he had never met before. He knew there had been some serious discussion before their arrival and there was bound to be more on his part. He opened his locket to make it easier on everyone.
"Haraldr I'm glad you made it with little trouble." Jareth smiled and embraced the boy. He loved whenever Harry visited because he always brought a breath of fresh air to his cold and calculating Kingdom.
"Hello Godfather, we had not trouble at all. May I introduce my Friend Naville and you remember my head of house Fillius Flitwick." Harry announced after untangling himself from his godfather's arms; Neville and Flitwick bowed deeply in greeting.
"Rise and welcome to my Kingdom. Now, my guests are not strangers to you all; Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme and Lady Augusta Longbottom, Young Neville's grandmother. Lady Longbottom this is my Godson Prince Haraldr Lokison of Asgard and the House of Potter." Jareth finished the introductions.
"Good day Lady Longbottom."
"So you're James' son. You look a bit like him, but you are more mature than he was in his youth." Lady Augusta ran a critical eye over the young prince. "Now, I want to know is how you know that Neville's Magic Core is damaged. Also, what is wrong with his wand? It is a great wand that helped his father become and Auror. If he is to follow in his father's foot steps he will need that wand."
If there was one thing that Harry hated it was people bullying others to be what they didn't want to be. He had enough of that with Lily's sister wanting him to be normal and not a freak. It happened again with HYDRA forcing Bucky and him to do bad things for their evil purposes. Now he was under the constant pressure of the Head Master trying to get him to be the Boy Who Lived. He only just met Lady Lonbottom but he could see the exact pressure that Neville had grown up with. He was not going to let it continue to hurt the gentle Gryffindor.
"Lady Longbottom, Neville is not your Son. Your Son is gone but there is hope his mind will return one day. He may not be the same but there is hope for his return home. Neville does not have the soul of an Auror. He is strong and brave but he does not want to risk his life for your quest to reclaim the son you lost. His father's wand scares him and it is turning on him and damaging his Magical Core. Forcing him to use it will eventually kill him. Is that what you want for him to die before for he reaches his Seventh year?" Harry glared at the witch his magic rolling off him in powerful waves frightening all but Strange and the Goblin King because they knew just how strong the young Prince really was.
"No, I don't want Neville to die." The Matron said weakly. "I just want him to be the wizard his parents will be proud of. It is a great honor to be an Auror. His father was a great powerful Auror and did great things for our world. I want Neville to follow in his footsteps."
"Do you know your Son's mind of what he would have wanted for Neville? I don't think you know but place your own expectations on what you assume to be the will of your son. Yes your son did great things but that was him not Neville, you don't even know your own grandson because you are trying to see someone who is not there. Neville is a talented Herbologist. He would have more skill with magic if he had been given the right tools. But he will never be an Auror." Harry said sternly cutting off any further argument.
Augusta was a proud Pureblood witch and it took a lot to get her to admit she was wrong. As much as she wanted to fight the child and stick to her beliefs she could not. She didn't want to kill her only Grandson. She had no choice but to give in. "I will let him get a new wand."
"Good. Master can you please examine Neville? He has a block on his magic and needs repairs to his Magical Core. I have not learned how to do repairs yet." Harry asked the Sorcerer.
"Of Course Harry. That is advanced Spell work that I will not be teaching you until you are at least eighteen, I don't care how far you push your studies." Strange gave his student a pointed look. Harry was just like him a genius pushing the limits and thinking they knew better than others. He didn't want the boy making the same mistakes he had when dealing with Kaecilius.
"Yes Master, I understand." The Prince bowed trying not to pout because he wanted to learn everything about Sorcery.
"Hello Neville. My name is Dr. Stephen Strange I am Harry's mentor. He explained his scans and I am just going to examine you and see if I can repair any damage I find. Is that alright with you?" asked Strange as he walked over to the Gryffindor.
"Y-yes, sir."
"It'll be okay Neville. I trust Master with my life he won't harm you." Harry tried to reassure the nervous Lion.
"Okay Harry. I'm ready." Neville took a deep breath and drew strength and courage from his friend. He stood there locking eyes with the Ravenclaw as the sorcerer encircled him in magic.
"Harry, I'm going to need your help in removing the block. A powerful wizard cast the block on your friend's core. Now follow my hands we'll have to do this together."
"Ready when you are." The Master and Student worked in together in sync letting the magic surround the Gryffindor. It took almost an hour to undo the block and repair the damage done to the boy's Magical core.
"We're done Neville. Now you're going to feel a bit weak for the next few days as your core adjusts to being unblocked and repaired. The new wand with help it grow stronger and let you gain better control over your magic." cautioned Strange. The boy who looked a bit overwhelmed with the sudden onslaught of released Magic.
"Sorcerer, can you tell who was the one to place the block on my Grandson's Magic?" Lady Longbottom asked.
"Unfortunately no. This spell was done by a powerful wizard but the sealing spell was done by two others. I can not tell you who the casters were with the overlapping signatures, I am sorry."
"That is a pity but the block is removed and that is all that matters. Lokison How did you know of my son's condition?"
"When I examined Neville months ago I felt a presence attached to his soul and it was the soul of Frank Longbottom he told me what had happened to him and his wife that left his son in your care." Harry said softly knowing it would be hard for the two to hear.
"It looks like your father is still looking out for you Neville. I have business at the Ministry so I shall leave you to the company of your friends. I shall see you at Easter." Augusta was not one for public affections she buried her emotions for now and gave Neville a brief hug and swiftly left before the boy could reply.
XxXxXxXxXx
Bruce was working on the Regeneration serum when Natasha entered the lab. The Doctor hadn't been out of the lab in two days, kind of like Tony on a Science binge. She had been gone on a mission and the Ai informed her that the doctor had not moved from the lab since she had left. This was very concerning to the Widow. Bruce was so focused that he didn't know that he was being watched. Since Harry's first Christmas, Bruce had been making shy hesitant attempts at wooing the beautiful Assassin. Natasha found it sweet and endearing.
"Hey,"
"Uh?" Bruce looked up at the sound of the soft sweet voice. "Oh Hey, I didn't hear you come in."
"I can see that." The red head smiled and came to stand beside tired doctor. "I just got back and Jarvis informed me that you haven't come up for air in two days. I thought only Tony got tunnel vision this bad."
"Yeah well normally I would agree with you but I can't stop now I am close to finding a cure for this serum. While taking it, it does regenerate the cells but they die quick. The Human body regenerates blood cells daily as older cells blood cells die in basic life cycle as the body ages. For example the human body loses a hundred hairs a day and we grow them back. That's our natural regeneration but this serum distorts that. It ages the cells causing them to die faster and the body can't regenerate new ones fast enough. Though these people physically don't age their inner body is aging five times faster then normal and eventually their body will give out." Bruce explained, rubbing his tired eyes not seeing the amused smile on Natasha's face. She understood some of what he was saying but what made her smile was the fact that his face lit up as he talked about his discoveries.
"Well you're not going to make any progress if you are sleep deprived and starving."
"I've been eating." He said weakly.
"Is that so?" Nat asked with a raised eyebrow. "Jarvis, when did Bruce last eat?"
"Dr. Banner's last meal was at ten-thirty a.m. yesterday morning. He had one energy bar at midnight."
"Okay I've hear enough. Jarvis lock down the lad for twenty-fours. Bruce, you are coming with me." The petite Red Head hauled the tall doctor off the chair and to his feet.
"Locking down Now, Timer set for Twenty-four hours." Jarvis then began saving all Bruce's work and progress on the computers before shutting them down.
"Now I might not be as talented as Harry in the kitchen but I can make a decent lunch."
"But… Science…"
"Can wait, you need a good meal, a shower and a good night's sleep. Then if you're well enough I will let you back in the lab under a time limit." Natasha smiled as they entered the elevator. "Jarvis to my Floor please, and send up some of Bruce's things for a shower and sleep he'll be staying with me for now."
"It will be done Ms. Romanoff."
"Do I get a say in this?" The doctor asked shyly.
"Nope. Harry told me, without a firm hand you would be stubborn and neglect your health for Science because you are just like Tony. Since Loki has taken charge of Stark and his health, I am taking charge of you. Harry would be very upset if you got sick from over work." Natasha smile gently intertwining their hands together. She knew that Bruce liked her just as she liked him. Harry knew they were meant to be together and eventually love one another deeply like Steve and Bucky but Bruce was too shy to make the first real move. So being the strong determined woman that she was she made the move towards their happiness.
"Okay, I guess I can live with that." Bruce smiled shyly and just let himself fall a little bit more in love with the red head.
XxXxXxXxXx
It was dark out when he got back to his room and he was totally drained from the day. After healing Neville, they said goodbye to his Master before his Godfather took them to Ollivander's for a new wand. Then they had lunch in London with Uncle Steve and Bucky before meeting Professor Flitwick and returning to Hogwarts.
"Master Harry, Jarvis has informed me that Dr. Banner has been locked out of the lab for twenty-four hours and is now under the care of Ms. Romanoff."
"That's great Friday." Harry was happy for the two soul mates finally finding one another. "Is there any news from my Father or Uncle Tony?"
"I am sorry master Harry but there has been not communication from Prince Loki or Master Stark."
"I guess they are still lying low. Okay I guess we should finish that essay for Chemistry." Harry sighed and changed in to some Muggle sweat pants and a tee shirt the activated the 3D Computer option on Friday. He had been working for about an hour when Boot and Corner came in.
"Playing with your Muggle lights again?"
"Terry, Terry, Terry, I thought you were past ignorance, but I guess it takes some longer to learn than others." Harry typed out with one hand on a separate screen. He loved the multi-screen feature on Friday. It reminded him of Uncle Tony's Lab when he showed him how he created his Iron-man suits. "If you must know I'm working on my University Homework. I can't fall behind if I want to work with my Stepfather."
"Why would you want to work for a Muggle? They don't have magic and are inferior beings." Boot sneer as he readied for bed.
"Oh that is where you are so wrong." Harry smirked. Flicking a wrist at the screen he activated the gift Uncle Tony made for him for Christmas. Suddenly objects colored Blue and gold came flying from his trunk. In seconds Harry was wrapped in his own metal suit that was like Iron Man called Iron Merlin 1. He knew that he should have kept it under wraps but he was not going to let a snot nosed Pure Blood prat put his Muggle Family down. Harry disengaged Friday's computer mode placed her on the specially made spot on his armor. He tapped Friday once with his prepared statement. "My Stepfather made this for me and now I can fly with out a broom."
The two Ravenclaws watched with wide eyes as Harry lifted off the ground and flew out the window. It felt great to be flying again, but he really missed flying with Uncle Tony. He remembered when he first went flying with Iron Man, his father nearly had a heart attack but it had been the best experience he ever had. He flew around the castle twice before returning to the dorms and his stunned dorm mates. He had the Friday disassemble his suit and returned it to his trunk.
"Muggles or Magicals, No one is better than the other. Everyone is unique and has the potential to do great things. The question is do you have the drive to do it?" Harry tapped out before he shut himself behind the curtains of his bed so he could finally finish his homework.
XxXxXxXxXx
"Ha! I told you Harry would use the suit!" Tony and Loki had been working in the Malibu lab when Jarvis reported Iron Merlin had been deployed.
"What? Why would he need to use the suit?" Loki looked concerned while his lover looked overjoyed.
"Well let's watch the play back. Jarvis play Friday's recording." Tony ordered and Jarvis brought up the video of what happened in the dorms starting from when Harry got interrupted by the two boys and ending with him returning to his dorm.
"That's my boy! He doesn't take shit from nobody!" Tony cheered.
"It seems James was right. The British wizards are narrow minded bigots. I really wish Haraldr didn't have to deal with these ingrates." Loki crossed his arms and glared at the screen.
"Hey, don't worry Reindeer Games, Harry can handle them. Plus the suit is the backup plan if his magic runs low. It's good to know that we gave him every tool and spells he would need to defend himself and protect his friends. He's our boy, he's got this."
"Yes you're right. Now let us return to the task at hand." Loki waved over to the project they were working on.
"Mark 47 is perfect."
"It is not perfect, because you have yet to full arm it or test it. I have gone over the specs with Jarvis and there are some minor spots the can be turned into major weak points if not properly re-enforced." Loki said bring up the schematics on the 3D Computer.
"Minor issues." Tony wave off the Prince as he put on the arm bands to the Mark 47. "Did I show you the remote control features?"
"No you have not. Is that really necessary; we need to go over these upgrades, Anthony."
"Just let me show you this real quick and then we can go over every inch of the Mark 47." Tony pleaded giving Loki the best puppy eyes he could manage. He knew that his puppy eyes weren't nearly as good as Harry's but he had to try. He really wanted his boyfriend to see what the suit could do.
"Oh, alright one quick demonstration, then I want to go over the suit with a fine tooth comb. I want it to be ready should Mandarin comes calling again." The Prince gave in to the pouty face of his lover, normally he was strong against such a face but being in love with the idiot softened his heart.
"You got it Sweetheart! Now I need you to sit right here, and enjoy the show." Tony pulled Loki over to Stool next to the work bench and sat him down. Once his Dark Prince was settled he ran over to where the Mark 47 was standing.
"I'm waiting Stark."
"Hold on. Music J." Jarvis begun the song that Tony had pre programmed. Loki watched with a raised eyebrow at Tony as the suit began to dance while the genius began to sing with the band Chicago.
You know our love was meant to be
The kind of love to last forever
And I want you here with me
From tonight until the end of time
You should know
Everywhere I go
Always on my mind
In my heart
In my soul
As Tony dance with the Suit in the back ground Jarvis began playing a movie of their time together, from the time he threw Tony out the window to the breakfast in bed they shared that morning.
Baby
You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life
You're the inspiration
Want to have you near me
I want to have you hear me saying
Loki was over whelmed by the performance and the movie displaying all of the best and some of their worst moments. He had never had anyone go to such lengths for him. It was very endearing if not a little silly to see Mark 47 dance with his lover.
"No one needs you more than I need you"
And I know (And I know)
Yes I know that it's plain to see
So in love when we're together
Now I know (Now I know)
That I need you here with me
From tonight until the end of time
You should know (Yes, you need to know )
Tony was trying real hard to remember all the choreography he and Jarvis put together for this moment. He had been planning this for a while but that attack on the manor had him speeding up his plans for his Dark Prince. It had taken him months to find the perfect song to tell Loki how much the Prince had meant to him and how he needed him in his life.
Everywhere I go
You're always on my mind
You're in my heart
In my soul
You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my…
As the song came to a close Tony and the Suit spun around to kneel on the floor before Loki and the Mark 47 held out its hand to the god and in the center of the palm was a velvet box. Though he had grown up on Asgard his time on earth and the endless movies Tony had made him watch he had become very acquainted with Earth customs. He held his breath as he took the box from the metal hand with trembling fingers.
"Anthony,"
"Open it, Loki." The god's head snapped to his lover as it was rare for him to call him by name. Anthony was serious there was no falsehood in this gesture. Hesitantly he opened the box and in its velvet folds was a simple and of emeralds with what looked like glowing blue stones. It was the same glow that came from the arch-reactor.
"Anthony,"
"I made the ring myself, because I wanted it to be as unique as you are. I also made it with bits of my new element for my Arch-Reactor. I blended them together with the Emeralds because that's how I see us. Though we are so very different we're good together because we are also the same. I don't want to go through life without you. You make me whole and you inspire me to go beyond the normal ways of thinking. Loki I love you and I want you by my side always. I want to be Harry's dad for real too. I want our family to be whole. Loki please accept me and all that I am, good times and bad, all the perfections and flaws that I have. Loki God of Mischief and Magic Prince of Asgard and Father to Haraldr will you Marry me?" Tony disengaged the Mark 47 and took the ring from its box and slid it on to the long elegant ring finger of his prince.
"Yes, I will." Came an emotional whisper breathed out. Loki couldn't deny this man anything. He was overwhelmed with the love that he was feeling coming from the mortal before him. Even thought he had loved James dearly it was nothing compared to what he was feeling for Anthony. Anthony completed him in ways James couldn't maybe this was fate's way of making up for all the sorrow and heartache he endured over the millennia.
"I want to spend my life with you Anthony. On the Day we wed I will ask the All Father for an apple so we may have centuries together instead of years. You snuck your way into my heart and I can not live without you, it will break me if you fall before I."
"Centuries sound good Bambi." Tony smiled before covering those soft lips with his own.
XxXxXxXxXx
"Thank Friday, Jarvis, I'm glad that they are finally getting married." Harry typed out after he finished watching the video of Tony's proposal. He had he never seen his father so happy. Harry walked the frozen grounds of the castle at the edge of the forbidden forest watching the sun rise over the mountains. It was one of the rare times he was at peace with himself and the world.
He was happy for his parents and for his Aunt Tasha and Uncle Bruce as well. It was rare to find Happiness let alone twice in a life time. He could only hope the peace would last at least for a little while. The end of the year was fast upon him and the headmaster's plan was bearing down on him. He hoped what ever happened would not cause any harm to his friends or there would be hell to pay. On the other hand Mandarin was also out there doing Merlin knows what trying to destroy Uncle Tony and everything he has built. He knew his parents were strong and could handle things but he still worried over them. Harry took a deep breath of the cold air and tried to let the peace that surround him fill his soul and calm his thoughts.
"Are you always up so early?" A voice called out startling the young prince into falling face forward into the mud. Harry knew that voice and opened the locket because he was too irritated and dirty to use Friday.
"Malfoy what the hell are you doing here?" The Ravenclaw snapped and he got up and wiped the dirt from his face and used a spell circle to clean his robes.
"Well I had to send a letter to my mother but she's France right now; so if I want her to get it by evening I have to send Apollo out at dawn. I was just coming from the Owlery when I saw you standing out here freezing. I mean seriously you are looking a little blue."
"I'm fine, don't worry about it." Harry wave the Slytherin off and focused his magic to heat his body up back to human levels to hide his Jotun skin. "Was there anything else you needed?"
"No just you looked a bit lonely."
"I'm not lonely, Malfoy. I'm just thinking about things and what is happening around us. This castle is seeped in magic and life breathes with in her but there is a darkness that has been slowly smothering her. I'm trying to think of ways to save her and defeat that darkness." Harry said turning to gaze at the Castle that was glowing in the morning sun.
"You're just a first year like me, what can you do? I just don't understand you sometimes Lokison. It seems that your mind is older than you are physically. You see things beyond the normal scope of the average eleven-year-old."
"Life shapes us Malfoy. Yours wasn't as eventful as mine and I see the world beyond these walls where as you see the world as what is in the walls. We are different and so we mature differently. Weasley on the other hand has had a life that has him seeing the world in black and white, good, bad, dark and light. Unless some event affects him dramatically he will never mature. Or if something does happen the effect can either push him away from the dark path he has started down or it will draw him deeper in. As my Aunt Hela keeps telling me that life is choices that shapes our paths. My path is more complicated than others."
"I use to think my own path was simple and straight forward but now I'm not so sure. Meeting you Lokison has shifted it to where I am walking on shaky ground. My father has been starting to close off from me and mother. He's become harsher and more erratic that I fear for the future. When summer comes I won't be able to communicate with you or the others and I fear he will try to change me from the person I am becoming." The blond confided. Lord Malfoy was a strong force to try and stand against.
"Give me time and I'll figure out away to protect you. No one should be forced to change who they are. I'll talk to my Master and Father, or maybe my Aunt will have spell to protect the mind. From what my Aunt has told me things are going to really eventful from now until we graduate. For now we should head in breakfast is about to start and the professors will notice were missing." Harry turned and let out a loud whistle towards the forbidden forest. It didn't take long before a giant Jinx came running out of the forest. "Hey shadow did you have a good hunt?"
"Roar!" Shadow replied before tossing his master on his back.
"Come on Malfoy he'll give us a lift back to the castle." Harry offered a hand to the blond who looked at him skeptically.
"Is it safe?" Draco asked taking the boy's hand and was pulled up to the spot behind the Ravenclaw with little effort.
"Perfectly I ride him all the time at our manor. Now hold on shadow can be quite fast." Harry smirk as The Jinx launched in to a full run to the castle. His smile grew as he heard Malfoy shriek and tighten his hold around his waist.
A/N: Yay another chapter complete and Tony finally popped the question to Loki! Plot Bunnies have be itching to get this out but I had pen them up for a bit to get my chores done. Anyways on to the Charms competition! Who will be the winner? Thanks for Reading Keep Reviewing, Plot Bunnies need food.