THANK YOU EVERYONE SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT!

Beta: Zerubel

Sorry. Real life mixed with bad writer's block happened, and, well.

But we're back! I hope you appreciate this chapter because I rewrote it half a dozen times and I'm still not all that happy with it. I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment so I don't have much to say right now.

Enjoy!

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"Harry." He grunted. There was a sigh. "Not that I'm against you sleeping through important responsibilities..." Moo let the sentence hang and Harry grumbled irritably before pulling the fur blanket off his head. The Arab smirked at him and held a cigarette out. "You've still got some time to get ready, but-"

"Thanks." He took the offered cancer stick, and sat up, letting himself fall limply against Muhammad so they sat shoulder against shoulder, albeit facing in opposite directions. He lit his and sighed heavily after the first drag. It had been a stressful couple of days. Convincing Odin to agree to the deal they'd struck up with Surtur had been easy enough. The King of the gods had been surprised, and pleased enough that there was a chance of peace at all, that he'd listened attentively as Harry explained how the oaths would work. He'd asked a few simple questions and made some suggestions about details that needed to be worked out, but all in all he'd been at ease with the deal Harry had made (he had even agreed to go through with the apology, although he'd looked a little disgruntled at the thought). The only real change he'd made was in giving Harry something to give to Surtur that would allow him to set up times in which he and his people would be using the bifrost. It was a scroll, and would function like a schedule of sorts, so that there were no chances, excepting emergency situations, of the three races trying to make use of the rainbow bridge at the same time and butting heads over it. He'd even sweetened the pot, in his own way.

Harry's original suggestion for the treaty allowed for the Eldjotnar and the Jotuns to travel to the Well of Urd (which Harry had since learned was in a sort of subrealm at the base of the 'tree of Yggdrasil'), using Asgard like a quick pitstop. Odin had added to it, saying that as long as Surtur, and Jotunheim's ruler (their Queen, he had said), would agree not to make war with any of the other realms, then they could use the bifrost to travel to any realm they wished for the sake of trade.

Or at least, any realm but Midgard, Niflheim, or Valhalla; the latter two because no one could travel freely to them (Except Hel, and, maybe, Harry once he figured out how), and the first because Harry himself had explained that unless they were warned beforehand, and agreed to such a deal, the people of Earth would panic if giant men and women suddenly appeared in a burst of light. The jotuns and Eldjotnar would need to work out individual trade deals with the leaders of each realm on their own, but at least they would have the option now. The wizard was sure Surtur would be pleasantly surprised at that.

For some reason, Harry had expected Odin to be less cooperative.

But the treaty wasn't what had him so stressed; rather, it was the lack of his glamour band. Neither Heimdall nor the Allfather had bat an eye at the sight of him, since both, it seemed, could see through glamours, and the latter hadn't even realized Harry was wearing one at all, and had assumed everyone could see him as he was (apparently he had thought that was the reason for the initial wariness most of the guards had around him, not his bad temper those first couple days). The rest of the Asgardians, on the other hand, were another matter entirely.

He'd had quite a few guards jerk away from him or raise their weapons instinctively, and when he'd passed Eir on the way to his quarters yesterday she'd dropped and shattered the container of healing salve she was carrying with her. Thor had said that he would spread word about Harry's appearance, and do his best to explain that Harry hadn't had bad intentions when he'd hidden himself (though the Thunderer had also told him that given that he didn't know if that was actually the case, once the treaty was done they would be having a nice long talk on the subject). With luck word would spread quickly and without painting him in too negative a light.

That said, Harry didn't plan to go into the city anytime soon.

He'd had another woman scream when she saw him, and it was the first time Harry had actually faced the sort of reactions he always expected to get when showing someone his form. He'd been so lucky up to this point, with everyone who had learned about him either not being particularly surprised, or being more interested than put-off. He'd never had anyone fear him like this, or at least, he'd never had anyone fear him because of his appearance. There was that time in second year where everyone had been afraid of him because they thought he was the heir of Slytherin, but that was different. They'd been afraid of the heir, not him, not really.

Not like these people.

Which was why Harry had secreted himself away in his quarters the second he was done talking to Odin and hadn't come out since. He had no choice now, because he was expected back in Muspelheim to hash out as much of the details as they could without Jotunheim's Queen. He wasn't sure how long it would take, but this time at least the group going along would be even smaller than the first. It would be him, Thor, Sif, and the elder warrior whose name he'd never gotten. The wizard had convinced Odin to lower the numbers as a sign of good faith.

Well, that's what he'd told him; really it was just because all the warriors had managed to do the first time was piss Surtur off just by being there and being Asgardians, and make Harry himself uncomfortable.

He made a sound somewhere between a growl and a huff, and finished his cigarette. Moo chuckled at him.

"Someone's all sunshine and smiles today."

"Shut up." He chuckled again and tugged at the animagus' hair.

"Go on. Go save the universe or whatever it is you're doing."

"Preventing an interdimensional war?"

"More like a pissing match I think." Harry burst out laughing.

"Muhammad!" The other man smirked unrepentantly. Harry shook his head with a grin and went around the room hunting down something to wear. Asgardian clothes were a pain, but they were growing on him, and he couldn't face the sad puppy eyes he got from Thor when he didn't wear them. He actually liked this particular top, specifically the red undershirt and the gold lining along the straps. It made him feel like a proper Gryffindor.

It didn't take him long to get dressed and put his cloak back on. He gathered up the scroll Odin had given him to pass on to Surtur, pulled his boots on, and strapped his sword to his hip (more for his own comfort than because he believed he would actually need it). He paused, looking around the room.

"Have you seen the twins?" They'd been there when he'd gotten back to his quarters from Muspelheim, and they'd comforted him a bit, in their unique way, when he walked in sans glamour and explained the bare bones of what had happened. But the day after that they had left and he didn't think they had come back during the night. Moo shifted, but didn't answer at first. "Muhammad?"

"They sent one of those whispy white things to say they were gonna be in the city for a couple days." Harry frowned. They'd sent a patronus message? He'd had his father do that a time or two, and he'd explained it was something most of the Order members knew, but he hadn't known the twins could do it (he could, but only because Severus had taught him; he supposed Mum or Dad must have taught them).

"What for?" He shrugged and the animagus couldn't help but think he knew and just wasn't sharing. He sighed heavily.

"Alright, just... Nevermind. I'll see you later."

"Later, Idiot. Be careful alright?" Harry waved his concerns off and made his exit, leaving Moo stretched out on his bed. He made his way through the common room, opened the door to leave, and then stopped short.

"Sif!" She had her hand raised, as though she'd been about to knock, and let it fall a little awkwardly. "Sorry, am I running late?" She shook her head.

"No. I was just hoping to speak with you before we left." She gestured towards the door, and, hesitantly, Harry stepped back and let her into the room, closing the door behind her. His fingers flexed nervously around the scroll he held and his tail curled slightly around one of his legs. He swallowed. She'd never come to visit him here, and having her present in he and his brothers' temporary home made him inexplicably nervous.

"This is about the glamours." She tilted her head slightly at the unfamiliar word. "I- My illusions."

"Yes. I-" She sighed. "There has been much speculation as to why you would hide yourself. I hoped to ask you directly rather than make some assumption of my own." He looked away, and she shifted on her feet, turning away from him slightly and looking around, examining the common room. He couldn't help but think the gesture was more for his benefit than any interest of hers in the space. "I meant to come and ask you yesterday, but Hogun thought you would appreciate some time to yourself." He would need to remember to thank the stoic god for that; he definitely had appreciated the calm before the storm.

"I- It's sort of, um, a long story."

"We have time." Her tone made it clear she wasn't leaving without an answer.

"It's... Complicated." He bit his lip. "On Midgard, those who are... Different... Aren't always treated kindly. My- The other-" He paused, trying to remember the word. "Seidmenn- If they knew what I am, most of them would be more likely to toss me in a cage than show any understanding. The others, the non-magical lot, wouldn't react all that much better I think."

"You hid to protect yourself." He nodded. She smiled a little. "That is not a long story at all." He chuckled nervously. "What I do not understand, however, is why you felt you needed to hide yourself here." He shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. The goddess' eyes assessed his claws with an expression of slight interest.

"I don't know much about Asgard." He spoke plainly. "I had no reason to believe you lot would react any differently than my people, and- Well, not everyone has reacted as calmly as you or Thor. I think it may well have been a good choice on my part." Sif looked a little sad at that, and then, with a small frown, she stepped closer to him. He instinctively wanted to step back, but stopped himself. She raised a hand slightly as though to touch his face, but paused.

"May I?" Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, her eyes lowered slightly, and he swallowed, and then nodded. She touched the scales across his jaw gently at first, and then more firmly, cupping his cheek. The feeling sent a chill down his spine and he stayed very still. Her hand trailed upwards and she carefully ran her fingers along one of his horns and the band wrapped around it. Her other hand came up to touch the gills on his neck, and he reached a hand of his own out, settling it on her hip. Their eyes met and he blushed. She smiled kindly at him.

"You are different, but not that different. Your illusions didn't change your features."

"I didn't want to change who I am, just-"

"I know." She stepped closer, leaning her head down a little. "You are not so strange looking, either. Different yes, but... Not terribly so." She was smiling slightly, and moved even closer. He thought she was going to kiss him again but she didn't. Instead she simply stayed close, her expression expectant. His own face was red, but he swallowed, and took a chance.

It was as wonderful as the first time, but this time it was more than a simple press of lips. She moved hers against him, and he moved back, unsure. Her lips were softer than Blaise's had been, and warm; that warmth spread, curling down into his belly in small waves. It was slow and careful, and his eyes shut almost of their own accord. He pressed a little harder, and felt her smile against him. His heart was beating quickly, and the hand on his neck moved back, wrapping up into his hair and guiding his head into a different angle. He moved his hand from her hip farther around her till it rested in the small of her back. He felt her tongue against his lip and heat shot down his spine. He opened his mouth slightly, the red in his cheeks fading though his heart never slowed down. He pulled her a little closer to him, being forced to tilt his head back farther. Their chests were pressed together; her hard armour clanking against his thinner set and pressing the scales of it against him somewhat uncomfortably- not that he minded. Kissing Sif was amazing. It was different than it had been with Blaise; better, so so much better. It lit a fire inside him that was threatening to turn him, willingly on his part, to ash. He could have gone on kissing her for forever and a day, but-

Someone cleared their throat, and he jerked away like he'd been burned. Her hands stayed on him, falling to his shoulders. He let go of her waist, his hand curling up over his stomach, and he looked up. Muhammad was there, leaning casually against the wall, but there was something odd in his expression. His eyes looked darker than usual, his face carefully blank; even more so than usual.

"Not that I'm not enjoying the show," He drawled sarcastically, and Harry flushed in embarrassment, the heat in his stomach twisting into something anxious and unpleasant for reasons he didn't know. What was wrong with him? He wasn't ashamed of this... Whatever this was, between he and the Asgardian woman... Was he? "but don't you two have somewhere you need to be?" Sif let her hands fall, clearing her own throat.

"I suppose we do, yes." She looked back down at Harry, her eyes soft, and a slight flush in her own cheeks. "Are you ready?"

"Ye-es." His voice cracked a little and he shifted his weight in discomfort. His tail curled upwards between his legs a little. Her eyes shone when she smiled at him.

"Then we should go." She didn't seem embarrassed at all when she looked up and dipped her head to Moo, just the slightest hint of something sour on her face. The Arab narrowed his eyes at her, and Harry could see the distaste there. He was well aware they didn't like each other, whatever the reasons, but he was pleased that Muhammad remained civil, just as he had the night of the Bifrost celebration.

"Good luck Harry." He didn't look away from her as he spoke, and the animagus took a deep, silent breath.

"See you later." He nodded at the other wizard.

They broke off their odd stare-down and he and Sif left after that. Harry found himself more conscious than ever of the Sheildmaiden's hands, and how close the one was to his own as they made their way towards the bifrost; the way it brushed against his own occasionally as they walked, and how badly he wanted to reach out for it.

Embarrassed or not, he couldn't keep a smile from his face.

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His second entrance into Muspelheim was much more pleasant than the first. There was no cage, and Commander Ragnhild was there to greet them sans Surtur with a polite smile on her face. She didn't even give the three Aesir with him any unpleasant looks (or any looks at all really); something Harry very much appreciated.

"This way please, your Majesty." She didn't address Thor or the other two, but Harry supposed that sort of snubbing was better than any direct, confrontational hostility. They followed her to the same room they had used before, and though she paused to look back at them when they passed through the entrance, no one glowed this time. Surtur was already sitting down, waiting for them, and dipped his head as they settled in. Harry and his two friends wound up on the same cushion once more, with the elder warrior sitting in the center of the one next to them, making him feel a bit apart from the group.

"Tell me, King Black, what said Odin on our agreement?" Harry smiled, and lifted up the parchment.

"He's agreed to allow you free travel through the bifrost to the Well of Urd, and any other realm you wish aside from Midgard, provided you use this to schedule the times you wish to use it." Surtur looked surprised, and carefully took the scroll from Harry and unrolled it. It was about the size of a large poster, but in his hands it looked smaller than notebook paper. He looked it over carefully, and raised a brow.

"This shows the times at which the Asgardians will be using the bridge as well?" Harry nodded.

"It's so that you're aware what times are unavailable. Odin has a copy of this as well, and they're connected, so the time slots are 'first-come-first-serve'. He thought it might help to avoid situations where you're both trying to use the bridge at the same time. He did, however, specify that exceptions may be made in cases of emergency; but only emergencies. As long as you agree to peace with all the realms you wish to travel to, then you'll be able to go to them freely, and Asgard will not hinder any attempts on your part to construct trade agreements in those realms." Surtur hummed; a half pleased, half astonished sound. Clearly this agreement was better than what he had been hoping for.

"Why not Midgard?" He asked, lowering the scroll to look Harry in the eyes. "You said that is where you make your home, yes?"

"It is." He paused. "Midgardians are... As I told you before, Midgard is far removed from the goings-on of the other realms, more so than Niflheim even. They'd forgotten the very existence of the other realms over the millennia, and it's only very recently, with the presence of Prince Thor and Prince Loki," Sif stiffened beside him. "on their world that they've again been made aware of things. That said, at this time their knowledge is primarily limited to Asgard, and most of the interactions they've had with-" He paused, thinking of the right word. "off-worlders has been... Unfavorable at best. If you and your kin were to travel to Midgard unexpectedly it would immediately be seen as hostile action, and those on Midgard would react accordingly. Truthfully, Earth's inhabitants simply aren't ready for you. It would take a lot of time, and effort on my part and the part of others, before they would even agree to your presence on their planet, let alone any agreements regarding trade."

"You speak as though you are not Midgardian yourself." Ragnhild commented. Harry smiled a little bitterly.

"I am Midgardian, but I'm not quite so fearful or judgemental of those who are... Different," His tail slid to the side behind him, making his point. "than most of my people." The Giant King's brow scrunched and he nodded, looked the parchment over once more, and then set it aside.

"And the other part of our agreement?"

"The Allfather has consented to a formal apology on behalf of The House of Odin."

"But not the return of our gold?"

"No." Harry paused. "I did tell you such a thing was unlikely."

"You did, yes, and I knew it myself before then." He sounded resigned. "Even so, the trades we will be able to make with this will allow Muspelheim to begin prospering once more. Perhaps we can finally begin to recover. At the least, this is worth five centuries of peace. Perhaps by then Odin may reconsider, and, if not, then perhaps by then we will not have so dire a need for him to do so." Harry dipped his head. King Surtur, for all his bitter fury, was not against compromise, and the animagus certainly appreciated it. Without that, this peace treaty wouldn't be on its way to happening, no matter how much the Eldjotnar might respect Harry (or rather, the title he held). The animagus smiled.

"Now all that's to be done is discuss the details, and seek out Jotunheim's Queen to-"

"Jotunheim is no longer ruled by King Laufey?" Surtur was frowning, and beside him, Thor went very still. Harry's knowledge of the whole affair was limited at best, but he knew enough to know why Jotunheim had someone new in power, and who was responsible. His smile froze on his face, becoming less genuine and more a mask.

What he didn't know was how Muspelheim's King would react to that.

Harry you need to distract him.

I'm well-aware, Tom.

"No. I'm afraid I don't know who's ruling now, but I'm hoping she'll be as amenable as you've been so far... initial difficulties aside." Surtur frowned and Ragnhild shifted uncomfortably beside him at the reminder of the cage and Harry's own subsequent distaste. It was a minor distraction, but it was enough to deflect further questions, at least for the moment.

I had hoped this wouldn't come up.

It was my slip of the tongue.

It's not your fault. Tom made a meaningless sound that Harry interpreted as a sign of frustration. We will need to run interference now. Try and make sure the treaty goes through before he and Jotunheim's Queen are given a chance to speak in-depth. If King Surtur discovers Loki's assassination of Jotunheim's ruler, given how seriously he takes their alliance-

You think he'd not agree to the treaty?

... It's a possibility. The benefits still outway the costs for them. Even if he didn't reject the treaty outright, he may wish to renegotiate, and any agreement made then would not be as favorable. Harry gave no outward sign of the internal conversation, and instead continued to smile.

"If everything is acceptable to you, then we should start going over the wording of the treaty. Since the oath will bind you all to your words on this matter, the exact ones used are important."

"To ensure there are no loopholes?" Ragnhild asked.

"On either side, yes." He pulled a short stack of papers from one of his (magically expanded) pockets. "I wrote out a few basic templates for the oath, based on the usual sort I'm familiar with." And a few Tom had taught him. "Odin selected a couple he thought would work best, and made some suggestions, so now I'd like to go over them with you and get your opinions on them."

With luck, there would be no further slips.

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A few hours later Harry admitted quietly to himself that he had... Underestimated King Surtur's intelligence. Muspelhiem's ruler had gone over the wording with vicious precision, pointing out every way he could that the Asgardians could go back on his word, and, even, how the Eldjotnar could as well. Harry caught a few things himself, but mostly he relied on Tom's hissed words in the back of his head. When Muspelheim's King commended his skills he felt like he was cheating.

You'll get to the point where you won't need me for these things eventually. It comes with time.

He didn't answer. They'd eventually settled on a fairly simple oath that covered what it needed to, and wouldn't require any declarations of fealty, promises to aid each other in unrelated conflicts, or force any sort of trade agreements of any sort. The oath would allow the Eldjotnar and the Jotunns freedom to use the bifrost, ensure any trade agreements they set in place both wouldn't interfere with any such agreements the Asgardians already had, and also couldn't be interfered with unless there was some manner of violence involved. Odin would make his apology (not part of the oath itself, but something that would be done before it was made) and in exchange for their bifrost use the frost and fire giants would swear themselves to peace with the Aesir for five hundred Asgardian years.

Surtur seemed satisfied with it at the end, and they had made the decision for Harry to invoke the oath as a mediator rather than have them make it to each other. No one had said so outright, but Harry thought Surtur was worried Odin would try to change the wording at the last minute and screw them over.

But he had other things to think about at the moment. The negotiating had gone on long enough that Surtur offered to let them stay for dinner, and they'd been lead to a larger room than the previous one and directed to sit at a round, marble table. The room was enormous. It was a long hall, bigger than Hogwarts' great hall; with a crystalline ceiling that sparkled brilliantly with the light from the torches and fairy lights. The floors were mostly the same black marble as the other rooms, but a mosaic had been created in the middle of the room with white and silvery tiles. It was a being of some sort, who looked similarly to an older man. It was detailed. He was standing with a spear in his hand, the other hanging limply at his side. His arms were longer than a human's, hanging past his knees and ending in large claws. He looked like he was supposed to be made of white stone... Or maybe ice?

Ymir.

Oh.

There were many white tables set up throughout the room, around the mosaic. Many were very large in size, three times the size of vans, to fit 'small' groupings of Eldjotnar. Others, however, were smaller, and Harry found his eyes focussing on the reason for that.

He had thought the Eldjotnar were the only inhabitants of Muspelheim.

He had thought wrong.

The other race of Muspelheim were much smaller than their fire giant fellows. They still rivalled the Asgardians in size, however. Thor was the same height as a few of them, but most were half a head taller at the least. Their skin was very dark, so black it nearly looked blue. He might have thought them human, at first glance, if not for the hands. Around their elbows the skin lightened, creating a gradient from the black through various shades of brown up to a maize-color at their fingers; fingers that were tipped with claws not unlike his own. It was such a strange sight that it had taken one of them walking very close by their table for him to realize it was their skin, and that they weren't all wearing gloves. They were tattooed and dressed much the same as the Eldjotnar, except that the patterns weren't all in shades of orange, but also violets.

He wanted to ask, but he thought that might be rude, so he held his tongue. Still, his glances were more obvious than he meant for them to be, because only a few moments after they sat down (and Surtur and Ragnhild went off to a table of their own), the older warrior he still wasn't familiar with spoke up.

"The Muspel." He jumped a little.

"I beg your pardon?"

"They're the Muspel." He gestured a hand towards the dark-skinned beings. "The tale goes that Surtur formed them with magic from the core of Muspelheim. The first of their kind were birthed from the obsidian of the dead mountains, and the rest came along the natural way over time." Harry's slight frown cleared away. He remembered something of Surtur's angry tale. A mention of a Muspel woman coming to him wanting to marry an Asgardian man. He hadn't lingered on the thought, hadn't wanted to, but that made much more sense this way. He hadn't been sure what to make of the thought of a woman twice an Asgardian's height trying to take said Aesir as a husband (he still sometimes had trouble comprehending Hagrid's status as a half-giant, especially after seeing an old photo of a teenaged version of him with a tiny man sitting on one shoulder). The older male chuckled a bit. "You do surprisingly well for one who knows so little." The animagus narrowed his eyes at him.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" He shrugged.

"Take it how you will." There was a pause, and then he held his hand out. "Ralph." He didn't give a surname, and Harry blinked. That was... Honestly the most normal name he'd heard since coming to Asgard. Or rather, not normal (since that was fairly relative, all considered) but... Familiar.

"Harry." He shook his hand quickly. The man's grip was strong, and he eyed Harry's claws and the scales on the back of his hand, but didn't comment and didn't appear bothered.

"We did not have occasion to introduce ourselves properly before."

"There wasn't really time to waste on introductions."

"True enough, I suppose." Ralph shrugged. Harry shifted a little awkwardly as they fell silent. Sif was sitting rigidly beside him, eyes scanning the room. They were in a table near the middle, and people sat or walked by on all sides of them. He could see her fingers twitch, as though she wanted to grab her sword. He supposed they were a little vulnerable, but he doubted that anyone here would harm them. For all Surtur and his people disliked the Asgardians, Muspelheim's King had been taking this peace treaty very seriously. He wouldn't endanger it this late in the game.

Thor looked just as uncomfortable while they waited, but he mostly kept his eyes down. Occasionally he would glance up at one of the women and turn a little red in the face. Harry supposed he was still bothered by the piercings, since quite a few of them (and the men too) had at least one.

The awkwardness did not, thankfully, last very long, as a mixed group of Eldjotnar and Muspel came in the room a moment later with food. The Fire giants carried most of it, and they handed the smaller platters to the Muspel for them to serve. A male who was a little shorter than his compatriots came and set one of the platters on their table, and Harry thanked him politely. He grinned back, revealing shark-like teeth.

"You are most welcome, Your Majesty." He set out empty plates and bowls in front of the four of them, and gave a sort of half-bow before leaving them to it. Harry looked over the food, and found himself somewhat surprised. There was what looked like a salad with blue leaves and small brown... Were they mushrooms? Maybe. A dish that looked to be made primarily with some sort of rice, and and some sort of soup. It all smelled good, but his nose detected no meat. He'd gotten used to Asgardian meals, the bulk of which included boar meat or fish, or that strange meat that wasn't beef or venison that he'd never gotten around to asking about. By comparison, the lack was an interesting change of pace.

He perked up, and reached for one of the serving spoons. He was no vegetarian, but he was plenty happy about something new. He put some of the rice dish on his plate before he paused, realizing that the others weren't moving to serve themselves. He slowed, eyeing them. Thor was making a face at the food, and though Sif was more subtle, she was frowning a little. Ralph had the most peculiar look of all, something almost... Wistful. He was the first to shake his head and take the serving spoon from Harry to fill his own plate.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked the other two. Thor opened his mouth to answer, and then noticed the wizard had already put food on his own plate. He closed his mouth, smiled tightly, and then, after a moment's hesitation, went for the soup. Sif followed his lead.

Harry supposed he was alone in his appreciation of a difference from the norm. Still, he was curious, and when looking around and sniffing, discretely proved that even the Eldjotnar were eating pretty much the same foods, he voiced that curiosity.

"Do the Eldjotnar not have easy access to meat?"

"No." It was Ralph who answered. "There are few creatures who can live in Muspelheim besides the Eldjotnar and the Muspel. Most of those are are entrenched in seidr, and considered sacred. The soil though, is very fertile. They are able to grow a multitude of things here, though they keep the gardens hidden to outsiders."

"So they don't eat meat at all?" He shook his head. "Not anymore. They used to trade for it, but-" He stopped, and didn't finish his sentence. Harry looked away and ate his food.

Asgard really fucked Muspelheim over, didn't they?

Tom didn't answer.

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Harry sat quietly, legs crossed and the fin of his tail brushing the floor as he waved it lazily, as Odin read through the final draft of the oaths. The Allfather mouthed some of the words and occasionally nodded to himself. Then he set the paper down and smiled.

"You approve?" Harry asked.

"I do. You'll be going to Jotunheim next then?" He dipped his head. "Alone?"

"Maybe. I was thinking of bringing my brothers along."

"All of them?"

"Just the twins."

"I see. That may be for the best." Harry paused, taking in the older male. For some reason he didn't think Odin meant it was good he wouldn't be alone, but rather...

"Did the twins do something wrong?" He questioned. The Allfather looked carefully at him, and then away, clearing his throat.

"They're in the dungeon." The wizard went rigid. "They were put in there last night, and they'll be released later today. Nothing too terrible, really."

"What did they do?" He did his utmost to keep his voice neutral, even though he was panicking slightly. So that's what Muhammad hadn't wanted to tell him this morning.

"Nearly ate one of my guards." Harry blinked, panic frozen long enough for him to raise both eyebrows incredulously.

"Ate?" Odin nodded.

"Aye. As I was told, one of my guards made a comment about you, and it was unpleasant enough to draw their ire. They physically attacked him, and when he successfully fended them off, they transformed and attacked him again. One of his legs was shredded badly before that third brother of yours called them off. He will be fine, of course. The healers are seeing to him, and it was his own fool mouth that caused it. But I thought those two could use a bit of... quiet contemplation, so I had them arrested."

"Wait, transformed?"

"Into wolves, yes. I must admit, when you told me of their nature I had not expected such impressive beasts." He chuckled. "Once they calmed down, they seemed rather startled that they had transformed at all, and it took them a few minutes to discover how to shapeshift back." Harry's head was reeling. Their curse had been altered by that first full moon here on Asgard (and they were expecting another in just a few weeks), and he had wondered how deeply the consequences ran. There was a lot they weren't sure of yet. They didn't know if the twins would react violently to humans (or Asgardians) the way ordinary werewolves did, or if they were a danger to animagi in animal form... They didn't even know for certain how the twins now ranked in terms of strength or speed when compared. And ordinary werewolves often had shorter lifespans, between the wolf within itself, and the wolfsbane potion. They didn't know if that still applied to George or Fred, especially given that the potion no longer appeared to have any effect at all.

But the ability to transform at will (more or less, given that it had been accidental)... He hadn't realized Asgard's moons had changed them that much.

"... Maybe I'll be going it alone after all." The Allfather frowned, and Harry explained his reasoning. "Their curse was mutated by their time here, even further than I expected... Taking them to yet another realm, exposing them to other moons... I would rather their curse wasn't changed even further, especially when we clearly don't know the full nature of it now." Odin frowned, a cautious expression on his face.

"... Perhaps you're right."

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Harry's boots clicked against the stone floors as he stormed his way down to the dungeons. Several guards moved out of his way as he stomped through the halls. His expression was thunderous, and with his inhuman features fully revealed he imagined it was all the more alarming for them to see.

He was furious at the twins.

Of all the trouble they could get into, a fight with an Asgardian that was nasty enough to spill blood was not something he'd ever expected of them. Fred and George had always been somewhat more level-headed than other members of the Weasley clan. If someone pissed them off or upset them they got back at the person through pranks. Often those pranks were done in such a way as to make it so that everyone knew who was responsible, but no one could obtain any hard evidence with which to prove it. It let them slip through the cracks of punishment. But this-

Honestly, them defending him the way they had was admirable, but if some stupid guard said something nasty about him, then he would have prefered to find out by seeing said guard painted polkadot and plastered naked to the ceiling. For them to have lost their tempers like this, especially when Harry was in the middle of negotiating a peace treaty between three realms and, politically speaking, couldn't afford to come under more scrutiny or fire than he already was-

He sighed heavily, and the anger drained out of him with every step he took downwards to the dungeons. Mostly his irritation had stemmed from the fact that his brothers had put themselves in danger. Odin had said they were fine; uninjured aside from a few bruises, but still. They shouldn't have been so reckless.

Even if he was perfectly aware of the kettle-and-pot nature of that thought.

He reached the bottom and came through the doorway, not quite stomping anymore but still clearly displeased, and approached the main guard by the door.

"Where are they?" He barked, a little startled by how harsh his own voice sounded.

"The cell to the right of his Highness." Harry did his best to soften his voice a little.

"Thank you. Have they- Are they alright?" The guard looked nervous, but he calmed some, expression easing.

"They are well. They didn't sleep until early morning, but they are awake now, and uninjured." He sighed. It wasn't that he'd thought Odin was lying but-

"Thanks." He made his way down the hall towards Loki's cell, and slowed as he came closer when he realized he could hear voices.

"-feathers are so overdone though-"

"Even if you charm them to multiply when touched?"

"Wouldn't that get out of hand though?"

"That's why you chain it to a limitation spell. Something like-"

"Causing the multiply spell to cancel out once the feathers fill a certain space?"

"Exactly."

"Feathers are still overdone... But you could do this with pretty much anything right?"

"As long as you took precautions yes. You need to chain in spells to avoid suffocation-"

"And to keep hard objects from doing too much damage."

"A few bruises never hurt anyone, but it would be good to avoid killing anyone yes. Actually, you might want to add in a- what do you call that spell that makes things weigh le-"

"Feather-weight?"

"Yes that one. A feather-weight spell so you don't unintentionally crush anyone."

"Makes sense. We've got another plan though, still a work in progress."

"Oh?"

"Something that turns objects invisible when touched."

"Figured we could use it on door handles or something-"

"When they go to reach for it-"

"Suddenly it's not there-"

"Or it is, but-"

"They can't see it. I can see how that would be disconcerting, although, it would be even more so if you spelled their weapons."

"Oh that would be a good one, but we'd have to work out how to keep the spell from triggering right from the start."

"They've got their weapons on them constantly, so we couldn't go by touch-"

"Perhaps a timer?"

"Maybe, but the spell is still a work-in-progress all around. We've got to perfect it first."

"What better way to perfect it than target practice?" There was a bark of laughter, and Harry finally came close enough to see them.

The cells were all separated from each other by solid walls, but Odin had kept the cells on either side of Loki (if not the one across from him) empty; at least until now. The twins had been put in the cell next to his, and though they couldn't see each other, they were talking. The redheads were sitting, leaning back against the wall that separated them from the liesmith, and Loki was doing the same on his side. He spotted Harry first.

"Good evening." The twins fell silent, and turned around in their cell to try and peek out and see what was happening. He was sure his anger, though slightly tempered, showed, because they both paled rapidly at the sight of him; freckles standing out in sharp relief against their skin.

"Evening." He responded, in a voice that he knew was entirely too chipper. "Corrupting my brothers?"

"Hardly. They're already corrupt, I'm just giving them advice." Loki grinned mischievously, and Harry offered a grin with too many teeth in return. He walked past him to stand properly in front of his brothers' cell.

"When all this crap with the treaty is done with, we're going to duel." They blanched, and his not-so-friendly-grin only widened. He had wanted, for some time, to duel the both of them so he could get a feel for what it felt like to take on two wizards at once (particularly two who would have flawless teamwork). It was mostly because so far, he had experience with a one-on-one duel, and the battle at Hogwarts that was very nearly a free-for-all.

Only now he wanted it for another reason: He was going to beat the shit out of both of them.

And the best part was that, he could wrap his anger and frustration with the current situation up inside the excuse of a duel. It would be perfect. His message of their coming punishment done, he turned around and walked right back out of the hall, the sound of Loki's cackling following him all the way.

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Finally something happening between Harry and Sif. Didn't play out exactly like I wanted, but! I am not going to complain!

We should actually see a little bit of action next chapter too. I know the past few have probably been a little boring.

Anyways, I'll try for the week after next for the next chapter! With luck I'll make it this time! Everyone have a great week!

And please review! Comment! Question! Critique! I love reading your guys' opinions!

See you next time.

Sincerely,

Mr. Hate