Son of the Storm

Loose lips

The next morning, Thor joined Harry for breakfast, to the delight of just about all of Gryffindor House. Previously, the regular visitor had been Loki, and while he was uncle to one of theirs and teaching three others, he was also the patron of Slytherin House. That said, any who had taken the trouble to observe him closely noticed that, teaching aside, he made a point to interact with students of every house in roughly equal proportions.

But Thor was unreservedly a Gryffindor to the bone, being the patron of Gryffindor House, mentor and teacher of Godric Gryffindor himself, and frankly, epitomising the Gryffindor ideal. And, of course, father of one of the more famous Gryffindors of recent years.

"Harry, your headmaster told me this morning that on the night of the battle, you were seen… floating. And glowing," Thor said quietly. "And that witnesses specifically record you pointing and saying 'look'."

"Yes?" Harry said, tone inflecting the word into a wary question.

"You aren't in trouble, Harry," Thor said, with a slight smile, recognising the cause of the wariness. Inwardly, however, he frowned. Harry seemed to think he was in trouble far too often, and much as he would like to, Thor couldn't really ascribe that entirely to run ins with teachers. "It is just that I was on the battlefield near the end of the battle and an image of a strange golden figure did just as you did. That figure, which I believe was you, pointed me towards Volstagg and John Constantine. Volstagg was injured and Constantine was trying to protect him, but he was outnumbered. Your warning allowed me to go to the aid of two of my dearest friends." He smiled. "So I just wanted to say, thank you."

Harry blushed. "It was nothing. I don't even know how I did it."

Thor chuckled. "It was far from it," he replied. He gently turned Harry's head to look at him. "And often I have found that gifts manifest when they are needed – that unwitting act of astral projection may well have saved two lives."

"But, I don't know how I did it," Harry repeated softly. "I don't know how to control it and ever since… I've felt like there's something deep inside of me. Something new, something strange and something… powerful." He met his father's gaze. "And it scares me, dad."

Thor smiled gently. "Power is often frightening to those who understand its perils best," he said. "Your true strength is beginning to show. It will take time to fully manifest, I think, but that time is such that it can reasonably be measured in months, not years. And I will be there for you every step of the way. As will your uncle and your grandparents. And everyone else who loves you."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, dad," he said quietly.

Just then, the post arrived and a barn owl fluttered over to Thor, carrying a note, while Wanda's tawny owl landed on Harry's shoulder and absently stuck out a letter bearing leg. Its attention was quite obviously fixed on Harry's unfinished bacon.

Harry's eyes widened in excitement as he opened his letter, and Thor smiled to see it, before he turned to his own missive. It was a short, simple note.

Thor,

Look to your right.

Albus.

Thor frowned, then looked to his right. Sitting there was Hermione Granger, one of his son's best friends. Then he looked at her more closely. And it hit him.

At first, second, or even third glance, she didn't look very much like her mother. Well, save for the hair, and Wanda's had always been rather more manageable, as far as he remembered. But when he took a closer look, he saw some of her father's strong jaw and stubborn demeanour. Not only that, but features that were quite readily recognisable as Wanda's were beginning to shine through. While Hermione was by no means a bad looking girl, except possibly for the slightly oversized front teeth – and in any case, those weren't immediately obvious – she wasn't especially good looking either. That said, if he looked at her now and thought back to how she looked when he first met her, she was showing signs of growing in her mother's image, with stronger hints of Wanda's characteristically clear cut cheekbones and haunting beauty becoming apparent as time went on.