They landed on the grounds of the manor just far enough back to get a good look at the house, and Loki winced when he felt the vomit trail down his back. The fearfully babbled apologies afterwards as the child squirmed to get down and begged not to be sent back broke his heart though. He let the boy down but knelt in front of him with his hands on his shoulders. He could clean up in a minute. This was more important. "Hey. Shh. It's okay," Loki assured him gently, using his thumbs to wipe his son's tears. "I did say you might be sick, remember. It's not a big deal. See? Look," Loki waved his wand and cleaned himself up completely. "No harm done." When Harry seemed to be calming, Loki decided to try for a joke, and see if that could do the rest of the job. "It's far from the first time you've puked on me after all."
Harry couldn't help but giggle through his sniffles. He didn't know a lot about babies, but he did know they tended to do that often. "Y-you really won't send me back?" he still had to ask.
"Listen to me carefully, child. There is not a force in this world that could ever make me send you away. I love you with everything I am. Now and forever. Being apart from you these last ten years has been just as much torture for me as it has been for you and I swear I will do everything I can to make it up to you and make up for lost time for both of us. You are my son. No matter what. Okay?"
Harry nodded slowly, but asked, "Wh-where were you? You told Aunt Petunia you were hurt?"
"Not exactly, but it's something of a long story. Why don't we go inside and get you a bath, I'll show you around the place, and we'll have a nice dinner and then we can have the big long talk tomorrow and I'll explain everything and answer all your questions, alright?"
"O-okay," Harry nodded. He did need a bath. He hadn't been allowed one in more than a week. He hoped that he would be allowed to use the hot water here. Dinner was the big thing that peaked his interest though. He hoped that he would be allowed to eat more than his relatives let him. Loki lifted a hand to brush through Harry's hair before turning him so he could see the house. Harry sucked in a sharp breath. "We live here?" he asked in awe. He suddenly remembered his father offering to pay the Dursleys a quarter million pounds if they were nice to him. He didn't know how much money that was, but it sure sounded like a lot. He was starting to doubt his relatives' story about how his father was a drunken bum.
"We sure do. This is our ancestral home. My father's family has lived here for eleven generations. You will be the twelfth generation of Potters to call this place home."
"Wow," Harry breathed out, now certain that this was all a dream, and his father's next words reinforced it even more.
"Did your relatives tell you anything about magic, Harry?" Loki asked.
"There's no such thing as magic," Harry repeated their words, despite the serious doubts he was having about that after everything he'd seen in the last twenty minutes.
"Oh but there is, kiddo. There's so much to tell you and teach you, but for now you need to know that there are...or should be at least...servants here. They are magical beings called house elves, which is actually a misnomer since they're the offspring of brownies and fairies and thus have no elf blood in them at all, but that's beside the point..." Loki cut off his own rambling and got back on track. "But that's beside the point. They are very helpful beings and eager to serve. They will probably be quite excited to see us since the place has been empty for more than ten years so don't be alarmed."
Harry caught the fact that his father apparently hadn't even been home yet before coming to get him and that warmed him greatly. He still had to ask though, "Are they...slaves?"
"Not at all. It's true that some people treat them appallingly, but not us. It's also true that they don't get actual money for their work, but they have no need of such things. They are paid for their work in magic that they receive from the family they serve. The stronger and happier the family, the stronger the magic they receive. That's why they are so happy to serve because it helps us all."
