An American at Hogwarts

Chapter Twenty-Four

I gave him a thumbs up, and he motioned for the portal to close. Before he could, so fast I almost missed it, Loki shot through with Peter and Shuri in tow.

Then the portal finished closing, and the seven of us were left standing in the middle of an ancient stone corridor.

"Peter—Loki—what the hell were you thinking!" yelled my dad, scowling at the Asgardian.

"I was thinking Alexa may need some company while you're trying to fix her device," Loki replied smoothly.

"She-"

"Dad, it's okay," I said, interrupting him before he could really get going. "I'm sure Strange will be back for them in a minute."

We all paused and looked back at the spot of the portal, waiting expectantly. When nothing happened, I kept talking.

"...or not. That's fine though. They can all just stay with me until Strange comes back. I'll keep them out of trouble." I shot Loki a grin, and he just shook his head at me. "Fred and George, do you guys mind taking my dad down to the spot you had in mind?"

"Not at all!" they chorused. They were handling all this crazy remarkably well.

"By the way you guys, this is Fred and George," I said, speaking to the newly-arrived New Yorkers. "They're twins, and they're wizards in my year. They're kinda the absolute best, funniest people ever. Loki, you seriously need to talk to them while you're here. They're expert pranksters."

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps I'll walk with them and your father."

"Uh-uh, no way. You're staying within five feet of me at all times while you're here."

"Good call," agreed my dad, sending a little glare at Loki.

"Anyway," I continued, before Loki could respond. "Fred and George, meet my dad, Tony Stark. This is my Uncle Loki, he could probably give the two of you a run for your money in the pranking department."

Fred and George grinned at each other, and it seemed like they were taking the words as a challenge. I'd have to do something about that before the three of them blew up Hogwarts.

"And the two awesome people who are our age are Peter and Shuri. They're two of my best friends from home. Shuri's an actual princess!"

"Nice to meet you guys!" exclaimed Peter, smiling that mega-watt smile at Fred and George while Shuri waved.

"Nice to meet you too!" chorused Fred and George.

"Okay, now that that's out of the way, we don't have all day to do this," said my dad. "Let's get this show on the road."

I nodded to Fred and George, and the three of them took off into the depths of the castle.

"We'll see you back in class in a bit!" called Fred, as George waved over his shoulder. I waved back, then turned to my other three visitors.

"Okay. Now I just have to keep you guys from being noticed for the next five hours," I said, putting my hands on my hips and looking at Loki, Peter, and Shuri. What the heck was I going to do with them? They were all extremely noticeable.

"We want to see your school!" declared Shuri, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"And meet all your friends!" agreed Peter.

"And see these other wizards in action," added Loki.

I rubbed my temples, trying to think. Finally, I came up with a passable plan. Not a great one, but one that might work.