AN: No warnings for this chapter,does not have much action, but I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own HP or Marvel
Chapter 25: Dragons.
Harry was lying on Loki's sofa, not wanting to get up; he hadn't slept much the night before. He tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep. By the time he did fall asleep, the sun had already risen. Loki had left him alone and allowed him to sleep in late; Harry woke about an hour ago and went to the bathroom, then came out and laid back down on the sofa. He had passed Loki, who was sitting at his table grading papers, Loki had looked up and gave Harry a look he couldn't read, but said nothing, as he laid back down and did nothing, but brood over his name coming out of the Goblet of Fire. Harry decided the best thing he could do was not leave this room, ever again, or at least until the first task. He really didn't want to deal with the stares, the pointing, and the whispers that would follow him everywhere the moment he stepped out the door.
"Harry," Loki said, leaning over the back of the sofa and looking down at him. "I teleported to the kitchens and had the house-elves make us some lunch."
"I'm not hungry," Harry said; Loki made a noise of disapproval and walked around the sofa to stand before him.
"You skipped breakfast," Loki said, "You are a growing boy; you need food to keep you going."
Loki reached down, grabbed Harry by the arm, and gently pulled him to a sitting position, then pulled him to his feet, laid his hands on Harry's shoulders, turned him around, then walked him over to the table, pulled out a chair, and made Harry set down in it. He frowned at the sandwich and crisps sitting on the plate before him.
"None of that," Loki said, sitting across from him, "I let you pout all morning; it's time to stop and accept what happened and deal with it. After lunch, we will start your training, the first task might seem a long way off, but the 25th will be here before you know it; you'll train tomorrow also, and Sunday, you'll need to do your homework because classes start back Monday."
"I'm not going back to class, ever," Harry vowed, "I'm not leaving this room until the first task. I'm not putting up with people staring and whispering."
"Now, that's just stupid," Loki said. Harry gave him a surprised look."You are the son of Sirius Black, a man that has never given a damn what other's thought of him, that attitude is inside you somewhere; it's time it came out because whoever put your name in that goblet didn't do it for laughs, and you are behind the other champions in wizardry knowledge, you might have to play dirty to get through a task, remember what you said to me last night you are not in this tournament to win, so, do not give a damn about pleasing the judges or upsetting your fellow champions, your life is worth far more than their need to win some silly trophy."
"I don't even know how to play dirty. I've never been in any competition before unless you count Quidditch," Harry said.
"Well, I'll just have to teach you." Loki replied, "Now, eat." he frowned when Harry didn't touch his food. "Do you not like it? I should have asked what you wanted, but you seemed to enjoy that when Sirius made it for you at home."
"No, it's fine," Harry said, picking up the sandwich and taken a bite. "Has Thori returned?"
"He has not." Loki replied as he ate his sandwich, "We only sent him last night; Thori hasn't even had time to reach Sirius yet, do not worry. Your father will be charging into the castle in a few days, ready to kill whoever put your name in the goblet."
"Sunday is the 3rd," Harry said. Loki paused as he was about to take another bite of his sandwich; November 3rd was Sirius's birthday, and Loki had already gotten him a gift.
"I'm aware of that," Loki mumbled, quickly changing the subject. "Eat. When you finish, we'll work on your training. I want you to learn more wandless magic."
True to his words, the moment Harry had finished eating, Loki had stood up, gently took his arm, pulled Harry to his feet, walked him to the middle of the room, and had him set down and cross his legs in front of him, and put his hands on his knees with his palms up.
"First, you'll meditate, get your magic stirring," Loki said, "Close your eyes, clear your mind, good, now, do as I taught you last year, and take deep breaths, in and out, focus only on your magic."
Harry did as Loki said and could feel his magic starting to stir, giving his fingers a tingling feeling.
"Excellent, Harry, open your eyes," Loki said; Harry did and was startled as he saw gold shimmering light flowing from his hands. "Deep breaths, don't panic, it's normal; remember you've done this before, just keep calm, and we'll try a spell."
Loki walked over to a bookshelf, grabbed a book, sat it on the floor, and then told Harry to summons it to him. Harry took a deep breath and then said.
"Accio, book"
The book stirred but didn't move; Harry took a breath and tried again.
"Accio, book."
This time it moved a little toward Harry but nothing else, and he started feeling slightly annoyed, making his magic flicker a little.
"Don't get upset. You're doing good, try again," Loki said, and Harry took a deep breath and concentrated on the book.
"Acico book."
Harry's gold magic grew brighter, and the book came zooming into Harry's hands. He caught it with a large smile and looked up at Loki, who was also smiling.
"Well, done, Harry, well, done." Loki praised.
"Umm, Loki, I can't stop it," Harry said.
"Stop what?" Loki looked at Harry's hands and saw that his magic was still flowing from them, "Oh, that's normal, do not panic, it happens to me all the time, just focus on your magic again, but this time pull it back."
Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pulled at his magic, and the tingling feeling disappeared. When he opened his eyes, the gold light coming from his hands was gone, and he signed in relief.
"You're doing good. I'll let you take a minute to collect yourself then you can start again," Loki said, Harry was given ten minutes, before Loki was ready to start again, this time he made Harry stand, conjured a dummy, and had Harry practice defense spells on it, mostly with no wand, but did have Harry use his wand if the spell was too difficult without it. Being Loki's son did not mean the God would go easy on him, no, he pushed Harry hard, and when he thought he couldn't do a certain spell or curse, and Harry wanted to quiet and move on to the next one, Loki wouldn't allow Harry to give up, but made him keep trying until he got it right.
At dinner time, Loki shifted back to her female form and made Harry accompany her to the Great Hall to eat, and like Harry knew they would, people pointed and whispered at him. Harry ignored them the best he could and walked to the Gryffindor table and sat across from Ron and Hermione; both were relieved to see him and believed Harry when he said he didn't put his name in the goblet, which made Harry feel a lot better.
Saturday, Loki again made Harry eat breakfast in the Great Hall. It was a little easier than the night before. After breakfast, Harry returned to Loki's chambers, and their training continued, only stopping for small breaks and eating meals. Harry realized he ate a lot more after days of constantly using magic, but he now could summon Loki's book to him with no problems and was getting the hang of using magic without a wand, a lot better than he was during the summer.
On Sunday, Harry took a break from training so he could get his homework done, after breakfast Ron and Hermione accompanied him to Loki's chambers, Harry as usual, just opened the door and walked on in; Hermione and Ron followed him and closed the door, but unlike Harry who had walked over to the corner of the room to get his school stuff. Hermione and Ron had paused at the door and just stared at Loki, who sat at the table, drinking wine and reading a book.
"You two can have a seat," Loki said, amused by their hesitation. Harry looked up from picking up his bag and frowned at his two best friends until it clicked into his head why they were hesitant to come closer. Loki was in his male form, which Ron and Hermione had not been around since he revealed himself as the God of Mischief. Harry understood why they were weary. During his first weekend visit to Loki's cottage, Sirius had left to be with Remus during the full moon, leaving Harry alone with Loki. He had been a little cautious around him; it was much easier to forget he had invaded their planet when Loki was in his female form.
"Guys, it's okay. It's just Loki," Harry said, carrying his books over to the table and sitting on Loki's right side. He was sitting on the end, where he always sat.
"There is no need to fear this form, children," Loki said, marking his page in the book, "Come on over, and I'll help you with your schoolwork."
Ron slowly walked over and got out his books, and once he started helping Ron, it only took him a few minutes to relax.
"Hermione, do you have any work you wish me to look over?" Loki asked; Hermione hesitated a moment but then reached into her bag and pulled out a roll of parchment, and handed it to Loki.
"My Arthmancy assignment was a bit tricky. I'm not sure if I got it right," Hermione said; Loki read over it, then assured Hermione she understood it correctly and did an excellent job as he handed it back to her. Then Loki turned to Harry to make sure he was doing his best.
When Harry, Hermione and Ron finished their homework, the four of them sat around the table talking; soon, their conversation turned into Loki and Hermione having a conversation about house-elf rights. Loki frowned at the tin of badges she pulled out, asking if Loki would join her newfound organization S.P.E.W. She even mentioned how Ron keeps telling her it's a waste of time.
"Hermione, Ron is right; house-elves like caring for wizards." Loki pointed out, and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"That's because they are brainwashed." Hermione snapped, then looked a little frightened, but Loki just let it go and continued his point.
"Possibly," Loki said, "But wizards aren't going to give up their servants willingly; most homes with elves are old traditional pureblood families. It's the same with the wizardry government; purebloods mostly run it, and most own elves. Those are the ones you have to convince, and they are the only ones who can change laws."
"How would I do that?" Hermione asked.
"By first bringing attention to the mistreatment and abuse some elves suffer at the hand of magic users, lobbying for laws to be in place that protect them from abuse, that would be quicker and easier," Loki explained, "Then, if you still truly want to try to get their freedoms, do it after those laws are in place because it'll take a lot longer, maybe even years, but at least there will be laws in place to protect them from abusive owners."
"That actually might work," Hermione said, a thoughtful look on her face. "You seem to know a lot about lawmaking."
"Not only have I been reading a lot about your government lately, but I was also raised and schooled in politics," Loki said, "So was Thor, all a part of being raised in a royal family."
"Oh right, you're royalty; that makes sense." Hermione nodded as if she had just remembered that fact. Loki pulled out a galleon and held it over Hermione's tin.
"I may not completely agree with your goal, but I can respect it. I'll wear one of your badges." Loki said.
Hermione looked at Loki in shock as he dropped the galleon in the tin and took the badge that Hermione handed him and pinned it on his shirt.
Monday seemed to go by fast, with Harry having to endure more pointing and whispering, and whenever he passed a Slytherin, they would point to a badge on their robes and laugh at him; Harry just ignored them, but he would find out what was on their badges when Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to Potions that afternoon; Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyal, and Pansy Parkinson's was standing outside the room, laughing and passing out badges.
"What are they up to now?" Hermione demanded. When Malfoy looked up and saw them coming, he burst out in more laughter and walked towards them.
"Potter, want a badge?" Malfoy demanded, holding the tin out; curious, Harry reached in and pulled one out.
"Support Cedric Diggory." Harry read, then the badge changed to say, Potter Stinks. "Oh, these are hilarious. Did you think of this yourself, or did you get the idea from a first year?"
"Mock my intelligence if you want, Potter, but they are a big hit among the houses," Malfoy said, "Here, do you want one, Granger? " He held the tin out to Hermione, then pulled it back, "Wait, let me get it out. I don't want a Mudblood's slimy hands getting them all dirty."
"Hey," Harry snapped, dropping the badge in the tin. "Don't talk to Hermione like that."
"And who's going to stop me?" Malfoy challenged.
"I will," Harry said.
"Harry, Professor Snape will be out here any minute; he's not worth getting in trouble over," Hermione said.
"I'm worth a lot more than a mudblood like you, Granger," Malfoy said; Harry snatched the tin out of Malfoy's hands and tossed it down the corridor with so much force, it flew to the end, hit the wall bounced off flew back up the corridor a few feet, hit the floor then rolled off to the side and out of sight, the floor now lettered with Support Cedric Diggory badges, Harry turned back to Malfoy, in anger.
"I can ignore the whole school talking about me, laughing at me, and even wearing those stupid badges. What I won't ignore is people talking about my friends," Harry said.
Malfoy said nothing, and just stared at Harry in shock for a moment, then pulled out his wand; Crabb and Goyle did the same; next to him, Ron and Hermione quickly pulled out their wand. Before Harry or his friends could say anything, Malfoy, and his friends, cast spells at them, and Harry, the only one who hadn't pulled out his wand, held up his hands and cried out.
"Protego,"
The students gasped as a shimmering, golden light surrounded Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the three spells cast their way, bounced off the light, rebounded, and headed straight back at the three Slytherins, Crabb's hex hit him, knocking him down, as boils started forming all over his face, same with Goyle, but Malfoy ducked the spell coming at him. Instead, it hit Pansy Parkinsons, knocking her on her bottom. As her teeth grew rapidly, she made a noise and quickly covered her mouth with both hands. At that moment, the potion classroom door opened, and Snape came charging out.
"What is going on?" Snape demanded.
"Potter and his friends attacked us, sir," Malfoy said.
"That's a lie." Harry snapped, which caused the Slytherins to start shouting, agreeing with Malfoy, then the Gryffindors started siding with Harry.
"Silence!" Snape demanded, he pointed at Malfoy, "Explain,"
"I was showing Potter the badges I made when he suddenly got angry and tossed them down the corridor and attacked us," Malfoy answered.
"That's a lie." Harry snapped, "They tried to curse us. I just blocked it with a shield charm." A few Gryffindors agreed with Harry, including Hermione and Ron, some even mentioning the gold light."
"Silence," Snape ordered, giving Harry a curious look. Then he looked at Crabb, Goyle, and Parkinsons. "You three, hospital wing now, Potter, Granger, and Weasley, that's ten points a piece for attacking your classmates."
"What?" Harry demanded, followed by his fellow Gryffindor shouting out their disapproval.
"Unless you want to lose more points and for me to start handing out detentions, I suggest you all shut up and get in the classroom. Now!" Snape demanded, pointing at the door; they all went quiet at once and hurried into the classroom, not wanting to antagonize Snape further.
By the next day, Potter Stinks badges were everywhere, being worn not only by Slythreins but also by Hufflepuffs, which wasn't shocking, but also by a few Ravenclaws, the only house that wasn't wearing any was Gryffindor. The school turning on Harry again wasn't all that surprising, but what was, Malfoy's badges weren't the only badges students wore. Ever since Loki started wearing a S.P.E.W. badge, Harry noticed a lot more students, including Fred and George, wearing the badges.
A week passed, and still, no word from Sirius, and Thori had yet to show up. Harry had returned to his dorm to sleep but still hung out mainly in Loki's chambers when not in class; Sirius not showing up yet or even answering their owl was turning Harry's fear of something happening to him into a fear that Sirius had left him and Loki; Harry thought he had mentally prepared himself for one of them leaving, but he was finding out that was something you couldn't prepare yourself for. When the first Hogsmeade visit came, Harry didn't go. He stayed behind and trained with Loki, who was happy with Harry's progress and was confident that once Harry got older, he'll be one of the most powerful magic users on Midgard or even in the nine realms.
One evening Harry was hanging out with Ron and Hermione in the common room when Professor McGonagall showed up to escort him to an unused classroom where the other champions had gathered. The room was small, with a long table set up and covered with an extended length of velvet. Four empty chairs sat on one side of the table, with five chairs on the other side. Ludo Bagman was seated in one of them, talking to a witch Harry had never seen before. Wanda Maximoff, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour were standing together by the back wall, having a quiet conversation, and a cameraman was standing in the corner, fooling with some camera.
"Ah, here he is, Champion number four." Bagman suddenly shouted, spotting Harry and rushing to greet him. "In you come nothing to worry about. It's just the wand-weighing ceremony. The rest of the judges will be here in a moment."
"Wand weighing?" Harry asked, confused.
"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," Bagman explained. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing toward the witch in magenta robes. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet. "
"Maybe not that small, Ludo," Rita Skeeter said, her eyes on Harry. "I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?" she said to Bagman but still gazing fixedly at Harry. "The youngest champion, you know, to add a bit of color?"
"Certainly," Bagman agreed. "That is if Harry has no objection?"
"I rather not," Harry said, then turned and sat in one of the chairs in front of the table just as the door opened and Dumbledore walked in, followed by Professor Schmidt, Madam Maxime, Barty Crouch and to Harry's surprise Ollivander. They walked up to the front of the room while the other champions walked over and sat where Harry sat. He felt his face turn red when Wanda sat in the chair beside him.
"That's an unusual hat," Wanda commented. It took Harry a second to realize she was talking to him.
"Oh, yeah, umm. it belongs to one of my guardians." Harry said."In her culture, the horns are a sign of sorcery."
"Professor Ikol?" Wanda asked. Harry nodded. "Where is she from?"
"Norway," Harry mumbled, trying not to look at Wanda, he just knew he'd somehow embarrass himself if he did.
"Interesting," Wanda said, "Do you know what magic school she went-"
"Champions," Dumbledore called out, interrupting Wanda. "May I introduce you to Mr. Ollivander. He'll be checking your wands and making sure they are in working order." Dumbledore stepped back, and Ollivander stepped forward.
"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" Ollivander asked; Fleur Delacour walked over and handed her wand to him. "Hmm."
He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton, and it emitted several pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.
Yes," Ollivander said quietly, "nine and a half inches, inflexible, rosewood and containing dear me... "
"A hair from a veela," Fleur said, "One of my grandmothers."
"Yes..yes, a veela," Ollivander said, "Not something I would ever use for a core; veela are too temperamental but to each their own." He tapped the wand and sparks shot out of the end, then handed it back to Fleur and said it was in perfect working condition.
"Mr. Diggory, you're next," Ollivander said as Fleur returned to her seat, and Cedric went up to Ollivander and handed him his wand.
"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr. Ollivander asked. "Yes, I remember it well. Contains a single unicorn hair and made from ashwood; it's in fine condition." he tapped the wand, and sparks flew out of the end; he handed it back to Cedric and declared it in perfect working order.
"Ms. Maximoff, you're next, dear," Ollivander said. Wanda stood and walked over to Ollivander and handed him her wand. "This is a Gregorovitch creation unless I'm much mistaken? Umm, blackthorn wood and dragon heartstring core? You must be a very talented witch, you haven't used this long. Just a few months, I believe."
"Her first wand got snapped, and she had to buy a new one." Professor Schmidt said.
"Ah, yes, those things happen sometimes," Ollivander nodded. He then tested the wand and declared it in perfect condition, and handed it back to Wanda.
"Harry Potter," Ollivander called out; Harry stood and walked toward Ollivander and handed his wand to him.
"Aaaah, yes, how well I remember like it was yesterday, Holly, and a Phoenix whose father, in your wand, just gave one other feather." Ollivander said and for a split second, Harry thought he was about to announce to the room that his wand was a brother to Voldemort's wand, but Dumbledore cleared his throat, and Ollivander stopped his rumblings and tested Harry's wand, and he signed in relief.
Loki had been right about the time going by fast; before Harry even realized it, it was just three days before November 25th, and he found himself accompanying Loki down to Hagrid's hut at Midnight after Hagrid requested it; he wanted Harry to wear his invisibility cloak, but since Sirius had it, Loki used magic to conceal him from sight.
"Is Harry with you?" Hagrid asked when he opened the door to their knock.
"I'm here," Harry answered.
"Good, good, you two follow me," Hagrid said, walking out of his hut and shutting the door, then paused and turned to Loki. "You might want to hide also, Professor. They may say something the champions aren't supposed to know."
Loki soon disappeared out of sight; satisfied, Hagrid turned and started walking into the forest; Harry and Loki followed him around the perimeter, deep within the trees, then Harry heard what sounded like men shouting up ahead, then came a loud, earsplitting roar, Hagrid led them around a clump of trees and came to a halt. Harry's stared in front of him, eyes wide with shock; behind him, Loki let out a gasp and gripped Harry's shoulders.
Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick wood planks. At least thirty wizards, seven or eight to each dragon, were attempting to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy leather straps around their necks and legs. Harry watched as a couple of them raised their heads, opened a mouth full of giant fanged teeth, and shot fire into the dark sky, causing the whole area to light up with a red-orange glow and Loki's hands to tighten on Harry's shoulders, and she pulled him back.
"It's no good!" a wizard yelled. "Stunning Spells, on the count of three!" Harry saw each of the dragon keepers pull out a wand.
"Stupefy!" they shouted in unison. Harry watched the dragon nearest to them teeter dangerously on its back legs; then, very slowly, it fell, hitting the ground with a thud that Harry could have sworn made the trees behind him shake. The dragon keepers lowered their wands and walked forward to their fallen charges, each of which was the size of a small hill. They hurried to tighten the chains and fasten them securely to iron pegs, which they forced deep into the ground with their wands.
One of the dragon handlers turned and jogged over to them; when he got closer, Harry recognized him as Charlie Weasley.
"All right, Hagrid?" Charlie panted, coming to a stop. "They should be okay now we put them out with a Sleeping Draft on the way here; thought it might be better for them, but, as you saw, they weren't happy at all."
"What breeds you got here, Charlie?" Hagrid asked.
"A Hungarian Horntail," Charlie said, "There's a Common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one, a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue-gray, and a Chinese Fireball, the one laying there."
"Four." Hagrid said, "So it's one for each of the champions. What've they gotta do fight them?"
"Over my dead body," Loki mumbled under her breath as her hands left Harry's shoulders and her arms wrapped around him, pulling him protectively to her.
"Only have to get past them, I think," Charlie said, "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why, but I tell you, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing."
Charlie pointed toward the Horntail's tail, and Harry saw long, bronze-colored spikes protruding along it every few inches. Harry heard Loki suck in a breath as she held him close to her; all Harry could think was whoever put his name in the goblet would get their wish because Harry was sure he would die in the first task.
AN Wanda was trying to get information about Loki, out of Harry, since she knows she's not a normal witch, I decided not to have Ron get mad at Harry, because there's so much going on in the story already, Harry doesn't need any more drama, next chapter should be the first task, we'll get back to Sirius soon, in two or three chapters from now.