Of Numbers and Strange Friendships

Chapter 42

Peter was bouncing all the way through breakfast, even as he, Loki, Wanda, and Sigyn devoured pastries for breakfast. Loki loved the pastries Cook made as much as he loved pancakes on Midgard. Thor stayed well away from the pastries, not willing to risk his life to get past those four and their sweets. Or at least he intended to, but they smelled so good, so Thor had to try.

"How unlikely is it that I can get a pastry?" he asked the group, looking pathetic.

All four of them looked at the giant pile of pastries on the table in front of them, then back to Thor. "Extremely unlikely," Loki told Thor pleasantly before he shoved another pastry into his mouth.

Thor sighed. He knew Loki well enough to know that he wouldn't give up his pastries. The group laughed and happily went back to their breakfast while Thor pouted. "You four are all far too similar,"

"I blame Elphaba," Peter replied with a grin and stuck his tongue out at Loki.

"I am not Elphaba," he grumbled and poutily shoved another pastry in his mouth. Wanda and Peter both burst into laughter.

"So what are you four up to today?" Thor asked when the laughter died down.

"We're going to Hogwarts!" Peter practically vibrated in his seat he was bouncing so excitedly.

Thor looked to Loki and raised an eyebrow. "We're going to the Academy. The annoying arachnid wishes to see the school that he thinks is like the one in his Midgardian book, Wanda wishes to see the magic classes, and Sig is graduating today,"

"Why are there classes when it's graduation?" Peter asked with his never-ending curiosity.

"The school is year-round," Loki explained patiently. "Classes will be cut short for the ceremony late this afternoon. We should get going if we want to get there before classes begin." The teens scrambled to their feet, excited to see the academy. Loki vanished the pastries to bring them with him, leaving none for Thor. Thor pouted so pathetically at the empty pastry plate.

"Elphaba, you should leave a pastry for Uncle Thor," Peter scolded. There were times Loki still needed to remember morals and manners. Usually when it came to stabbing or otherwise being mean to Thor.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes. "Only so you won't pester me all morning, arachnid," he replied and summoned a single pastry in front of Thor, who lit up at his brother being nice.

The group left and Loki hired a carriage to take them to the academy. Usually he would teleport, or ride his horse, but the teens didn't ride and he was sure they wanted to see more of Asgard. Especially when Peter kept taking pictures of everything.

"Why are they singing?" Sig asked Loki quietly on the way to the school.

Loki had tuned Peter and Wanda out and focused his attention back on them at Sig's question.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something please~" the teens were singing, all grins and excitement.

Loki sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "There is a book on Midgard about a magic school. They are singing the school song because they think it amusing to compare our Academy to the magic school of their story," he explained, sounding exasperated.

Sig laughed. "I'll have to read that book sometime," she said. Loki summoned a copy of the first one and handed it to her. She grinned and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Lokes." She vanished the book as they approached the school.

School wasn't the word for the giant castle of the Academy.

The teens stared up at it when they'd climbed out of the carriage. "This really is Hogwarts," Peter said, in complete and total awe of the castle. Loki took his phone from him and took a picture of Peter's stupid open-mouthed expression.

Peter took a ton of pictures as Loki and Sig led them through the castle. They showed off the classrooms of students in their uniforms. (Robes insisted Peter and Wanda). They showed them the potions rooms in the dungeons, which Peter took too many pictures of. The library (yet more pictures, especially of the floating books).

"This is totally Hogwarts!" Peter told Loki excitedly while Wanda was pouring over the classes that were offered.

Loki chuckled. "You haven't even seen the, what was it called in English?" he paused and looked for the word he needed. "Quidditch pitch,"

"You. Have. Quidditch???" both teens demanded, their eyes wide with excitement.

Loki laughed and led them outside, explaining the game that was played on brooms high up in the air and the balls, bats, hoops, and rules. Everything he said had the teens insisted that he was describing quidditch.

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes at their insistence while Sig laughed. She was the one who passed out brooms to the teens and took off into the air on her own. Loki stole pictures from the safety of the ground of his love and adopted family playing totally-not-quidditch with students of the school. Peter and Wanda caught on quickly, and since it was the brooms that were enchanted to fly, they didn't need magic of their own to participate. Loki, however, much preferred his feet on the ground where he was less likely to fall and die. So he took pictures of the pure joy on Peter's and Wanda's faces.

And swore to himself that he'd never let Aunt May see the pictures of Peter flying on a broom.

He didn't have a death-wish after all.

And Aunt May was scary.

Even to Loki.