When Runa told Harry to follow her, he'd done so without question, wondering where his new, and first real friend, was taking him. Though as the traveled further from the palace, he began to worry if he'd be able to get back in time to keep Loki and everyone from noticing his absense.
"Runa, where are we going?" He asked after a while, all the turns they had taken were starting to get confusing in his head.
"Don't worry Harry. I'll make sure you get back to the market later so you can go home. But you can not tell anyone about the place I am taking you. I'm taking a big chance trusting you with this secret, so you better keep it." Runa told him.
Harry nodded. He had no plans to tell anyone that he had gone to where ever she was taking him as he was sure he'd get in big trouble with his family for it.
After a while Harry could make out a wall with a gate in the distance, the wall appeared to be a patch work of different stones and the gate was made with pieces of wood that had been put together from pieces that had been salvaged.
"Is that where we're going?" Harry asked her.
Runa nodded. "It's a different part from where most of the adults live, so don't expect to see many of them around." Runa told him before opening the gate just enough for them to slip in.
Inside Harry saw houses built from pieces of stone and wood, as if they were made from scraps rather then like the other homes he had seen. Thinking back Harry remembered his uncle Vernon talking about places called 'Slums' and how the people who lived there were 'no better then rats'.
"Runa, what's the meaning of bringing a noble brat here?"
Harry turned and found the dark haired boy he had seen eariler that day, the one that had been with the boy that had fought those men.
"He's different Ari. He's lived without a family or anyone who wanted him until recently. I don't think he means us any harm. Besides what could he do?" Runa told him.
The boy, Ari looked Harry over with a frown. "He could tell everyone where the entrance to this place is. You know that a lot of nobles want to see this place and everyone inside burn."
"I won't tell anyone, I promise." Harry swore to Ari.
Ari sighed and gave him a dark look. "You better not. Because if you do myself and a friend of mine will find you and make you pay."
Harry nodded in understanding, he didn't doubt that Ari would come after him if he told anyone.
Runa roll her eyes. "Ari stop it! He's the first friend I've made outside this place and I am not going to let you chase him away."
"Fine I'll stop. So what's this noble brat's name?" Ari asked.
"His name is Harry." Runa answered.
The corners of Ari's mouth twitch. "Harry? What kind of name is that?"
Runa shrugged. "I don't know. You know how weird nobles are."
Harry had started to look around him at everything and spotted the blond girl that he'd seen being followed by a guard. "Hey I've seen her before." He said without thinking.
Runa and Ari turned to look where he was looking.
"You mean Godiva?" Ari asked. "Yeah, she wanders around a lot outside of here."
"There was a guard following her when I saw her." Harry told them.
Runa rolled her eyes. "Must have thought she was going to steal something."
Harry shook his head. "He wasn't dressed like a guard but I could tell he was one, and he looked like he was trying not to be noticed."
Ari frowned at that. "A guard was following her but hiding that he was following her? That doesn't make sense."
Runa nodded. "Let's ask her about this." She suggested before walking over to her. "Godiva, did you know you were being followed when you were outside of our home?"
Godiva sighed and nodded. "Yes, I think it was the same guard as before. They rarely change who follows me."
"You knew you were being followed? And this isn't the first time?" Ari questioned.
Godiva shrugged. "When they see I am coming back here they just stop, so I never bothered to tell anyone about it. And the guards never do anything to me. It's weird."
"Why would the guards secretly follow you?" Ari asked himself.
"I don't know. Who knows what they think or even what the Allfather thinks." Godiva then noticed Harry. "I saw you with the Queen eariler today. What are you doing here?"
All eyes turned to Harry in surprise.
"You were with the Queen? What were you doing with her?" Runa questioned with narrowed eyes.
Harry quickly remembered what Loki told him to say when people questioned him about his ties to the royal family. "Prince Loki's my teacher. I'm learning magic from him." It still felt odd saying 'magic', a word he'd been forbidden from saying, the whole time he'd lived with the Dursleys.
"Prince Loki is teaching you magic? Never heard that one before." Ari commented.
"Your family must be important to the royal family then, if prince Loki chose to teach you." Godiva pointed out.
Harry just shrugged, not knowing what else to say without telling them what Loki told him not to tell anyone.
"Ari, where's Jarl? Is he not with you?" Godiva asked, when she noticed the absence of the larger boy.
Ari shrugged. "Think he's training. We ran into some trouble on the way back from hunting and he struggled a bit, or at least that's what he thinks happened. Had to toss him my knife just so we could escape."
Runa sighed in annoyance. "Come on then, let's find him before he works himself to death." She then started leading Harry someplace else. Godiva and Ari following, with Ari commenting how Jarl hates to be distrubbed when training.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
After finishing speaking with his mother about Darcy, Loki sat down in his study to look over the documents he'd taken from his daughter and son in law's vault. Things that appeared important enough, as well as having possibly been written during the last few months before their deaths.
Most of what he had found were letters that had not been sent because they had both been in hiding during that time. There were a few letters to Petunia Dursleys, that Lily had wanted to send, that included moving pictures of Harry and pleads for her sister to forgive whatever it was her husband had done to anger Petunia so. Loki set the pictures aside with a smile, the baby Harry in them smiling back at him as he kicked his little legs and waved his hands about.
Then there were a few offical documents that had clearly belonged to James Potter, letters from the Ministry that appeared to be updates regarding a group called Death Eaters and their movements. Those had been interesting to look through as they told Loki a little more about the people who'd been after his daughter and her family.
The final thing he read, was a letter to one Albus Dumbledore, a name Loki was getting sick of popping up when it came to his family. As he read through the letter he learned that Harry had a godfather name Sirius Black who they had been thinking of making their 'Secret Keeper' but that they had changed their minds, and had instead gone with another friend named Peter Petigrew. And the letter went into details that they had already cast the spell. Telling Dumbledore that if anything were to happen to them that it was Peter who must have betrayed them.
Loki made note of those two names, Sirius Black and Peter Petigrew. He would have to look into what happened to both of them when next he visited Midgard. Which was beginning to look like it would be much sooner then he'd orginally planned.
Sitting back in his chair Loki sighed. It seemed that his daughter had gotten caught up in something far larger then he'd first thought. And whatever it was, clearly this Dumbledore was at the heart of it, if not close to the heart of everything. At the very least this Dumbledore person seemed to have a hand in everything that happened to Harry after the death of his parents.
Deciding he'd read enough of the documents, Loki turned to the books Ragnook had suggested him to read. Wondering just what people had been writing about Harry, what these so called 'Adventure Stories' were about. From what he heard, these stories were very popular among children, parents buying them for their children so they can learn all about the 'Boy-Who-Lived', a stupid title, Loki felt for his grandson.
Settling into his chair Loki began to read, knowing that he wasn't going to like any of this one bit.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Jarl turned out to be the large boy that had been with Ari when Harry first saw them, and he was a lot bigger up close then Harry had thought he was. Throwing punches at a block of stone with some cloth wrapped around it to soften some of the impact. Jarl's knuckles were red and there was some blood on the cloth where he was hitting, suggesting his knuckles had split open. Sweat was dripping off his forehead in large drops and his focus was solely on the block he was hitting.
"So, who's going to try to get his attention just to get punched in the face?" Ari asked with his arms crossed.
"What do you mean who's going to get his attention? He's your friend, you do it." Runa argued.
Ari glared at her. "We might be friends, but that doesn't mean I won't get hit if I try to bother him while he's training."
"Well I'm not going to do it, and neither is Godiva!" Runa snapped.
Harry, not wanting to see this fight go on any more walked over to Jarl and tapped him on the shoulder. Harry only just managed dodge the punch Jarl threw at him thanks to the many years he'd spent avoiding Dudley's punches.
"Harry!" Runa called when she saw what happened.
"Jarl it's alright! He's with Runa." Ari told Jarl.
Jarl glanced at Ari before looking to Harry, taking note of the noble clothes he wore.
"Harry that was amazing. I've never seen anyone dodge one of Jarl's punches like that before." Ari commented with an impressed look at Harry.
"I use to have to dodge my cousin's punches a lot before my grandfather took me away to live with him." Harry explained.
Ari nodded. "You could make a good warrior, being able to dodge like that."
Runa sighed and rolled her eyes at Ari. "Ari, he's learning magic from Prince Loki." She reminded him.
"I was just saying, he could if he wanted to Runa! I wasn't saying he should or that he had to." Ari argued back.
Jarl sighed to himself. "Your giving me a headache."
"Now that we're together, we should go some place cooler. It's getting to warm outside." Godiva suggested, knowing that the heat was partly to blame for Ari and Runa going at it.
"Right. Let's get back home." Ari suggeted.
Harry's eyes widen as he realized how long he'd been gone for. Loki was bound to notice he wasn't in his room if he didn't get back soon. And if Loki caught him in the clothes he was in, he was bound to figure out that Harry was doing something he wouldn't like. "I have to get back home before I get in trouble." Harry told Runa worriedly.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I'll take you back to the market then."
"Will you come back later?" Godiva asked him.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, the next time I'm not studying, or with my family, I'll come back." He promised.
Ari nodded. "Alright then Harry, we'll all keep an eye out for you and when we see you ready to come back here, one of us will bring you."
Harry smiled. "Thank you Ari. Bye." Harry waved to them as Runa lead him away.
"I think Jarl kind of likes you. He doesn't like too many people." Runa told him.
"Why not?" Harry asked her.
Runa sighed. "It has to do with his father. I'm not the best one to explain it. Let's just say that some of us are hated for our families. Godiva however is different cause no one knows who her parents are. Which makes it even more odd that guards are following her." Runa explained.
"What about Ari?" Harry questioned.
"Son of a thief. Ari saids his father had honor, but most people don't care about such things when it comes to theives." Runa explained.
Harry thought on that, remembering how people looked at him after the Dursleys started telling them that he's a thief. It wasn't the best of times. "And what about you?"
"Don't know my father, but I've been told that my mother was a Valkyrie. Though I really don't know for sure. All I know is my mother died and no one knows how. That's almost as bad as dying without honor." She explained sadly.
Harry decided one more time, to try to find out about Jarl, "Runa, please tell me about Jarl, please?"
Runa stopped walking and sighed, "Fine, if you really want to know, Jarl's father killed a man, no one knows what his reasonings were, well, at least no one other then Jarl that is. But, as I'm sure you know, no one listens to us children. I don't know where Jarl's mother is, as he doesn't like talking about his family. Not that I can blame him, there's only so many times anyone would want to try telling anyone the truth before they give up."
Harry wondered what really happened with Jarl's father but he wasn't going to bring it up, knowing that it's hard to talk about dead family, even more so after having so many people refusing to believe him.
"Come on Harry, we need to get to the market so you can go home." Runa started walking again, and Harry had to jog to catch up to her.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Loki almost slammed the book he was reading down in anger, using so much force he caused a crack to form on the desk. Every one of the books he'd read about his grandson was full of 'glorious adventers' that were nothing more than lies. The magical children of Midgard were having their heads filled with nonsense about Harry, meanwhile, Harry was suffering at the hands of the Dursleys while children believed he was having grand aventures fighting dark creatures and magic users. One story even tried to spin a tale in which Harry was betrothed to a princess! Needless to say Loki was not please in the least.
"All of these fools will pay for this insult!" Loki growled. He needed to get back to Midgard, not only to look into Sirius and Peter, but to get these book removed from their shelves and exposed for the lies they were, but their aruthors punished for writing such lies about Harry as well.
Standing Loki headed for the throne room, trying to compose himself before he reached his father. If he was going to get permission to return to Midgard, again, he had to explain his reasoning for needing to return so soon, and he can't do that if he's ready to kill the first person to annoy him.
Odin was, to be honest, a bit bored today, there hadn't been much to require his attention today. As such, it was with some bit of relief that he welcomed the sight of Loki entering the throne room for something.
"Father, I require more time on Midgard to deal with more issues that have arissen regarding Harry and our family matters on Midgard!" Loki said with some heat still in his voice. As Loki spoke, he was glad that Odin had given the guards the day off today from the throne room at least.
While glad for something to drive away his boredom this wasn't what he thought Loki was coming to him for. He thought that maybe someone had spoken against Loki teaching Harry, or maybe even had insulted Loki in such a way that it couldn't be ignored. "Explain your reasons for wanting to return to Midgard again," He ordered, clearly whatever it was had Loki fuming with rage over it, however if the reasons weren't good enough, then Loki would have to wait another time to return to Midgard and deal with this.
Loki drew a breath and tried to clam himself some more before speaking again. "I have learned of two men who were part of what happened to my daughter, one of which had betrayed my daughter and her husband's trust, and the other I was not made aware of who would've been a far better choice to care for my grandson then my daughter's adopted sister and her family, and yet I was never told of him. Then there are the lies being told to the magical children of Midgard about the life Harry has supposedly lead. There are books that tell fictitious tales of Harry doing battle with dark magic users and dark creatures. These people were lining their pockets while Harry suffered! If I do not correct this, then when I do finally take Harry to show him the world his mother was a part of, then the children he will meet there will believe he is something he is not! That he has done things that are impossible for a boy his age to have done." Loki explained, struggling to control his rising temper as he recalled each pack of lies in those books. One part of his mind, the part that still held reason pointed out that he should've brought at least one of the books to show his father.
This was very interesting. Two male mortals, one who betrayed Loki's family and another who Loki had not been informed of. And then there was also these authors who were writting false tales regarding Harry. This was something that Loki should take care of, however it wasn't that long ago that he'd allowed Loki to go to Midgard already. Letting Loki go a second time could raise some eyebrows among the court, who, while not knowing where Loki had gone the first time, did question just what Loki could've been doing. Some had even started to talk about Loki leaving to spy on a threat to Asgard, while this would be a good story to explain Loki's trips, it would do no good to raise panic of a possible threat.
"Can this matter not wait for another time?" Odin questioned.
Loki had to take another breath, as clearly his father wasn't getting just how important this matter is to him. "Father, there must be a reason why I was not informed as to this man, Sirius Black, and his connection to my family and I must know what happened to the man who betrayed my daughter's family. More importantly I must stop these lies about Harry! Midgard's magical children are growing up believing that Harry is doing all these things that these books claim he's done, when the day comes when they meet him themselves, they are going to expect something great. I do not want these expectations to ruin his life on Midgard."
These were proving good reason to allow Loki to return to Midgard, though he still needed to figure out how to explain his youngest son's disappearance. However the fact that these books would ruin his great grandson's honor, as well as the honor of his family, was what made the choice for him. "Very well, I shall grant your request to deal with these matters." Odin would turn the matter of explaining this trip should anyone qustion it to Frigga.
"Thank you father." Loki was glad that he had gotten permission to go, then a thought came to him. Perhaps this would serve as good chance for Loki to introduce Harry to Darcy. "May I take Harry with me?" At the raised brow Odin gave him he explained, "There is someone on Midgard I feel Harry would benefit in meeting. This may be the only chance I get to introduce him to them."
Odin sighed at this. While it could serve to explain Loki's disappearance, claiming that he had taken Harry some place for a lesson, however did Odin really want to let Loki take Harry back to Midgard, even if only for a few hours? Sighing again Odin waved his hand, "Fine, you may take him to Midgard with you."
Loki smiled. "Thank you father." He then turned and left. He had to find Harry and take him to meet Darcy. While not fully liking the idea of leaving Harry with Darcy at this point, he knew he couldn't bring Harry with him.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Harry had only just managed to get back to his room and back into the clothes he'd been wearing eariler before Loki entered his room. Though from the look on Loki's face, he had no idea just where Harry had been or that he'd disobeyed him at all.
"Harry, how would you like to meet your aunt Darcy?" Loki asked as he walked over to his grandson.
That had Harry's mood going from scared and panicked to excited. "Really? I can meet her now?"
Loki nodded. "It seems there is more on Midgard that I must take care of, and I have decided to bring you along and leave you in her care while I tend to them. When I finish, I shall collect you from her and we will return home. Now then, let us get you changed for this trip, as I do not want you to get sick while we are there." Loki walked over to Harry's waredrobe and Harry started to panic again when he remembered he'd left the clothes he'd worn while he was with Runa on the bottom of the waredrobe. Thankfully Loki seemed not to notice them as he began to remove things for Harry to wear.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Darcy had been surprised to see Loki, her father, again so soon. She was still getting use to knowing who her father is now, not to mention that her father's a god. And yet here he was again with a young boy that looked a lot like him.
"Daughter, I would like you to meet your nephew, Harry. Harry, this is your aunt Darcy." Loki introduced.
Darcy smiled at Harry. "So this is my sister's kid? S'up little man?" She greeted.
Harry was kind of at a lost as to what to say to that, having never been greeted like that before. "Hello aunt Darcy." He said shyly.
"Oh my god, you are so cute." Darcy gushed as she walked over and hugged Harry.
Loki was please to see his daughter accepting Harry. He had not been sure how this meeting would go and, as Darcy wasn't the kind of woman he had expected, he wasn't sure what to expect when he brought Harry to her.
"Now then, I have some important matters to attend to and I fear I can not bring Harry with me. Darcy will you look after to him while I am away?" Loki asked her.
Darcy didn't even think about it. "Yeah, you leave little man here with me and do what you gotta do. Sure there's something we can do while you're gone."
Loki was tempted to ask what she was thinking of, but stopped himself. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, and that just made him question if this was a good idea after all. After a moment Loki shook off his worry and gave them both a smile. "Thank you Darcy, I shall try not to be too long. Harry, remain with Darcy until I return."
Harry nodded to Loki with a smile, he had a good feeling about Darcy.
With one final look at Harry and Darcy Loki left, a part of him worrying about just what Darcy had in store for Harry, and the rest of him focused on the task at hand. He had to learn just what had happened to Sirius and Peter, and most of all, he had to stop the lies being spread about Harry.
With Loki gone, Darcy turned to Harry. "So little man, hungry?" When Harry nodded Darcy took his hand. "Great cause I am starving. Let's go get some burgers." She then pulled him along with her as she headed for her favorite dinner to grab a bite. Might not be the best food, but it was the cheapest and good for what it was worth.
As they made their way out of building to head to the restaurant, Darcy decided to ask a question, "So, have you ever tried spicey food?" Darcy asked. Harry shook his head, when he was with the Dursleys, he was never allowed to try anything, and when he ended up on Asgard, he had not had anything but hearty meats and potatoes and other veggies, not to mention nutrient potions. Darcy gasped in mock shock, "You have never had spicey food?" she then held a hand over her heart, "Well then, Demi-God nephew of mine, we need to fix that..." she said with a mischievous look in her eye.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Dumbledore 'trusted' his allies, mostly, but, he wanted to ensure that Harry was found, so had decided to hire some 'additional help'. The ones he found and hired, while not the most trust worthy looking bunch, didn't seem as bad as some of the other ones he'd looked at. Dumbledore was certain that these men could be trusted and that they would be quiet about their mission.
He explained to each of them what he needed of them, giving them leave to leave Britian if they had to, so long as they found Harry Potter and ensured his safety. They men had argued with him over the price of the services, and in the end Dumbledore agreed to the high price they asked to be paid. At this point he was willing to do almost anything just to learn Harry's where abouts.
As the men left however, Dumbledore got a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that something wasn't going to go right. He just hoped that if something did go wrong, Harry wasn't the one to pay the price for it. After all, he needed the boy undamaged, well, as undamaged as he could be after his time with the Dursleys...
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Loki was growing angry as he finally located the Ministry of Magic in London, ignoring the stares of the 'common people', as he walked around with his ornate staff while also wearing a green buisness suit with a gold tie, giving him an air of purpose, and his handsome looks catching my a woman, and some mens, eyes. As he was making his way to the entrance, he was shocked to find it in a toll booth, not that he knew that was what it was. Entering it, he picked up the reciver gently, and was shocked by what he heard, "What is your name and the nature of your visit to the Ministry today?" the voice on the reciever said. "I am Prince Loki of Asgard, and I am currently seeking to retress a mystery I do not like," he stated in reply with some confusion too. "One moment please..." suddenly a badge popped out of the con return and Loki picked it up, and looked at it. The badge was golden and said, in bold letters, 'Prince Loki of Asgard' and underneath was, 'Offical Buisness'.
Figuring it was to serve as both idenity as well as make it easer for those at the Ministy to direct him to where he needs to go, Loki pinned the badge into place on his right breast pocket. He then jumped a little when the booth began to sink into the ground. Thankfully this quickly proved to be the passage into the Ministy, just as his magic had indicated, he just hadn't expected it to be so in this fashion.
When the booth stopped moving Loki exited it and took stock of the busy hall around him. Countless witches and wizard walking about, some chatting, some reading papers or carrying things, to one side he noticed a man selling papers. The whole hall was filled with activity and for a moment, Loki found himself marvelling at it, thinking back to how things use to be before he'd stepped in and guided them. Shaking the thought off, Loki began to move forward, he had no time to waste thinking of the past when Harry's future was being ruined by lies. At one point the mass of people began to thin into lines and Loki noticed they were all moving toward four people who appeared to be some sort of guard checking wands. Loki almost rolled his eyes, knowing that when he got up there, there would be some trouble since he does not use a wand, and the man he was going to have to face did not carry a look about him that suggested he would believe Loki to be who he claims.
"I wanted to make this quick," Loki sighed to himself. Between the slowness of the line and the chaos that he was about to ensure Loki felt he would be lucky to get Harry home by dinner time. At the very least Loki could see this working a little in his favor as it would mean the more important members of the Ministy would take notice of his business and aid in getting things done faster.
"Wand," The man said flatly and uncaringly as Loki walked up to him, hand out stretch expectantly, so used to the routine that he didn't even look up.
"I have no use for such silly things as wands," Loki told the man and tapped his badge to show who he is.
The man looked between the badge and Loki a few times before sighing. "Sir, do you know how many loonies we get claiming to be Loki? Now either hand over your wand or leave before I have your arse escorted out."
The man's tone was one Loki was use to, yet he never stopped hating. It was the tone one used to speak to a foolish child who never learned. Degrading.
"Very well then, if my badge means nothing here, then I see little point in speaking further on the matter." Loki said before using his magic to revert his clothes back to his Asgardian garb.
(AN: Song Begins: 'Battle of the Department of Mysteries song'; search that on youtube to hear the song we pictured playing at this moment)
Needless to say this little display cause an up roar amongst the gathered people and left the wand checker stunned. Sure they had all seen transfigurations before, but never on a level like this. Loki had not moved his hands, as other wandless magic users had to to perform wandless magic, and nor did he utter any spell. He had just stood there and his magic did its work. And the clothes he wore were unlike anything they had seen before, clothes that seem to radiate magic of their own while servering to make their wearer appear even more regal then he had in the suit. The only thing taking away from Loki's appearance, was the badge that had remained pinned in place during the change.
Many of the older Pure Bloods gathered quickly, recognizing Loki for who he is and began whispering in shock and excitement amongst themselves, and the younger Pure Bloods, who were quick to join the excited chatter. They seemed to believe that Loki was there to put things as they believed they should be. Some Pure Bloods even broke off from the group to send messages to the Minister about Loki's sudden appearance, and some sent word to their families, knowing that this could be the only chance they had to get in good with Loki and possibly advance their families agendas further.
Loki gave the stunned wand checker a smirk, "Does this serve to better identify me?" He questioned, knowing full well that it had the effect he'd wanted.
The wand checker stood there, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to think of what to say or do now. He'd never thought anything like this would happen, and had certainly not been trained to deal with a God trying to get into the Ministry.
Loki sighed, clearly he would get no where with this man. "If you are unable to decide if I may pass or not, then fetch one of your supieors to decide for you," Loki instructed, "I shall wait." It wasn't what he wanted to do, but he would do so if need be.
(AN: Song End)
"Prince Loki, what an honor for our humble Ministry to receive you." A portly little man, with rumpled grey hair, and a lime green bowler hat on his head, said as he jogged up to Loki. From the way the man dressed, Loki could tell he was an important figure. "Cornelius Fudge, at your service."
Loki's lips twitched into a slight smile. This was one of the two men who had sealed his daughter's vault. Loki had been planning to meet with this man at a later time, he guessed now was better then later. "Minister Fudge, I have heard of you."
This seemed to fill the Minister with pride, misplaced though it should be. "Come with me, Prince Loki. I am certain I can help you with whatever it is you need today." Fudge said as he waved the wand checker aside so Loki could pass. "I am sorry for the trouble you had, it's not often we get someone as great and important as yourself here." Fudge had noticed the badge and the reason it said on it for Loki's visit. Whatever busness Loki had, he would handle it personally, and with luck, get Loki on his side as a result.
Loki smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes at the Minister. "Excellent, I was planning to speak with you later. How...fortuitous...that we happen to meet when we did." He was lead to a private lift and wisked away to Fudge's office.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Harry watched curiously as Darcy put hotscause on his burger, to him it almost looked like ketchup, but the smell was all wrong.
"There you go," Darcy said setting the top bun on the burger and sliding it over to him. "Try that."
Harry carefully picked up his burger and took a bite of it. He chewed it for a moment, before the hotscause hit his tongue. The flavor of the scause and the heat took him by surprise after months of eating only meats, potatos, and other vegetables. The kick of the flavors and heat made Harry sweat a little, as it was his first time eating hotsauce, but he liked it.
"It's good." He managed to say before he took another bite.
Darcy smiled. "Hell yeah it's good. Hotscause goes great on everything." She told him as she took a drink of her milkshake. "I swear they put crack in it to make it so good."
Harry gave her a confused look. "What's crack?"
Darcy paused a moment, thinking about telling him but then shook her head. "Nah, not something you should worry about. Anyway eat up, there's lots still we can do while dad's away." Darcy then smiled. "Never thought I would be able to say that."
Harry was still confused, but continued to eat his burger happily. He wondered where Loki was and what he was doing, if Loki was enjoying himself like Harry was, then he wondered where Darcy was going to take him next, after all, she was fun to be around, and what theywere going to do when they were done here. Honestly, Harry was deeply enjoying his time with Darcy, she had introduced him to a new food that he greatly enjoyed, she was carefree. There was also the fact she was much nicer then Petunia ever was, and the best part is, if he understood things correctly, Dracy actually was his aunt, unlike Petunia.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
When Loki and Fudge reached Fudge's office, Loki had to do a double take at the woman that was waiting there for them. She was a short squat woman resembling a large pale toad. She had a broad, flabby face, a wide, slack mouth, and little neck. Her eyes were bulging and pouchy, and in her mousy brown hair she wore a black velvet bow, which reminded Loki of a fly perched dangerously above a toad, she was also dressed in a horrid looking pink dress and had a look on her face that he guessed was suppose to be pleasent but only served to make her look very creepy.
"Ah, Prince Loki, allow me to introduce you to Dolorest Umbridge, my Undersecretary here at the Ministry, and one of my most trustful employees," Fudge introduced, and Loki had to bite back the comment that came to his mind about the woman lest he laugh at how she could be truted with anything.
"Prince Loki, what a pleasure this is. I do hope your time at the Ministry has been a pleasant one." Umbridge greeted him sweetly, though coming off more as creepy.
"Well, that's one way to put it I suppose," Loki commented before being shown to a chair.
"Would you care for a drink?" Fudge asked as he held up a bottle of something Loki was sure was alcohol.
At first Loki thought to accept, just so he could have something to help distract him from looking at Umbridge. But he shook his head, he needed to think clearly right now, he couldn't let anything cloud his mind. Even if Midgardian drinks aren't strong enough for someone like him. "No thank you. Perhaps something else?"
Fudge smiled and set the bottle down. "I'll have tea brought up to us then." Fudge then sat down at his desk with Umbridge next to him, within Loki's sight much to his dismay. "Now then, do tell what is it that I can do for you?"
Loki thought how to word the reason to be there. From his time dealing with the court of Asgard, he knew that coming right out with what he wanted was never the best route to take with people like Minister Fudge, a man that clearly had plans to use Loki for his own ends if he could. He had to first see what their stance was on the matter of both Harry and the two men he came to find, then depending on their answers, he would begin to explain himself, being careful not to show his hand too much. And he also had to learn about the sealing of the Potter vault. Deciding to start with the vault and go from there Loki took a breath and fixed a smile to his face.
"Well I recently decided that I have been away from this realm for far too long. So I thought it best to reestablish myself, and the first place I thought to go to to begin this was Gringotts. I have an account there you see and I wanted to reopen it so that I might make use of any coin I have to, perhaps further those I find worthy," Loki noticed the interest both Fudge and Umbridge took immediately at that bit of information. "While their however, I started to ask about families I once knew, I thought to perhaps see if any of them would be worthy of my time. However one of the families caught my attention when I learned of their deaths. You might have heard of them, the Potters I believe was their family name."
Fudge's eyes widened a little at that. "T-t-the Potter family? I was u-u-unaware that you k-knew them." he stuttered out a tad fearfully.
Loki gave a seemingly carefree shrug. "I have come to know many in my time. However when I learned that James Potter and his wife had died, I sought to find any living family to offer my respects to and perhaps provide aid to them. However I came upon none until I looked into Lily Potter," Loki had to stop himself from saying 'Lilias' when he spoke of his daughter. "I learned that her sister was a Muggle, and thus had no interest in anything I had to offer. However I also learned of the Potter's only son. Naturally I thought to aid him in his future by transfering some funds into the Potter vault. But to my surprise the vault has been sealed for the last four years. A most strange thing, as the goblins are more then able to protect the vault from theives while the boy grows." Loki did not miss Umbridge's look of disgust at the mention of the goblins. "When I inquired about it, I learn that you, Minister, and one Albus Dumbledore, were behind the sealing. Now, I know it is none of my business why the vault was sealed, however I can not help but wonder about it. The Potter's from what I know, are a very Ancient and Noble house. So naturally something of this nature would attract attention. Did you worry that Lily Potter's sister might misuse the contence of the vault I wonder?"
Fudge shook his head frantically. "I had no idea that she had a sister until just now."
"How odd. If you had no knowledge of her, and there is no other Potter other then her son that could access the vault, why ever would you have it sealed? The family have no dark magic tied to them, so that can not be it. So what could the reason be?" Loki could see Fudge starting to sweat over the matter. Umbridge however was just starting to look annoyed. So Loki turned to her. "Is there something you wish to say?" He asked her, feigning interest.
Umbridge smiled at him sweetly and gave a small shrug. "Well, I know it is not my place to question one such as yourself Prince Loki, however I cannot help but wonder just why this matter interests you so much. There are many vaults that get sealed everyday after all."
Loki nodded. "Perhaps. However as I have said, I wanted to provide aid for the Potter's son's future. I cannot do so while their vault is sealed. And as there seems to be no reason for the sealing in the first place, so I have to wonder about it." He explained. He knew there was something she really wanted to say on the matter, he would have to bait her into saying it. And from the looks of things she wasn't far from speaking her mind either.
"But I'm sure someone of your level would have far better things to do then worry after some silly little vault," Umbridge said, clearly trying to keep up her act. "And there are better things to spend ones money on after all."
Loki raised a brow at her. "Better then a child's future? I fear I must disagree with you my good woman," Saying that had left a bitter taste in his mouth. "How could providing a future for a child like the Potter's son not be a worthy cause?"
"Because who cares what happens to the child of some jumped up little Mudblood?" Umbridge asked hotly.
Loki truly had to regin in his anger at that, remembering how great an insult Mudblood was. "Oh? Is that your personal opinion?"
"It is, and Cornelius shares it. Everyone thinks so highly of the Potters and that son of their's, nothing but a bunch of nonsence I say. The only good thing about that boy is what can be gained from being seen with him. Nothing more." Umbridge answered, clearly not fearing any repercussions of her words.
"So, Harry Potter is nothing more then a pawn for your 'game?'" Loki asked Fudge, being sure to sound as though he was not against such a plan. "A means to further yourself as Minister for Magic?"
"W-well, the idea is not without merit. After all there are many who view the boy almost as highly as yourself," Fudge explained fearfully.
"And how would you use him? You just admitted to having not known of Lily's sister, so I take it you do not know where the boy has been living these last few years. Were you going to wait till his schooling years began to start trying to win him to your side?" Loki needed to know just what Fudge's plan was.
Fudge nodded. "S-something like that yes."
Loki smiled. "Not a bad plan, I must admit." And were it any other child, perhaps Loki would be all for it. But as it was his grandson Fudge and Umbridge plotted to use as a tool, he could not stand for it. "I have heard enough," Loki growled, making Fudge pale as Loki fixed him with a dark glare.
"What?" Asked Umbridge, noticing the change in Loki's presence and not understanding what was happening.
Loki got to his feet and glared at the both of them. "If you believe I shall sit idly by while you plot to use the Potter son for your sick 'games' you are greatly mistaken."
"I don't understand. Why should you care at all for that Mudblood's filthy halfblood brat?" Umbridge quesioned hotly.
Loki would've taken her throat into his hands and crushed it if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't want to touch such a disgusting thing. "That 'filthy halfbood' is my grandson. And that is my daughter you are calling a Mudblood."
Fudge's eyes widen greatly in fear at that news. "G-g-g-grandson?! D-d-daughter?! Oh god no!" He gasped, realizing just what had happened. "Prince Loki, please, let me explain-"
"I have heard enough!" Loki snapped cutting Fudge off. "You thought to use a member of my house to further yourself and now you shall pay the price for it."
"W-w-what are you going to do?" Fudge asked in fear. Loki was well within his rights, under Asgardian Laws, obscure ones to be precise, to kill Fudge for what had been said, and Fudge feared that death was what awaited him.
"Oh do not worry Minister," Loki spat the last word out. "I won't kill you. However, I am certain you will wish for death when I am through with you. You and your horrid toad woman." Loki turned his eyes to Umbridge and gave her a dark smirk. "I can not wait to expose your secrets to the world, as I know one such as you could only get to where you are through lies and blackmail."
Umbridge was clearly angry with the way things were going, clearly she did not fear Loki as she should, as she stood up from her seat. "I have no idea what you are talking about! Nor do I like how you are adressing the Minister of Magic. Kindly remove yourself right now!" She snapped/ordered at him.
Loki had to laugh at her. "A woman with fire I see. However you are a fool if you think I fear you."
"Dolores be quiet!" Fudge ordered as he got to his feet. "Prince Loki, I beg your forgiveness, please! I would never had plotted against your family had I known." Fudge was desperate to save himself from whatever fate Loki had in store for him.
"Pleading will do you no good, you have made it clear to me what sort of man you are. The Ministry will be far better off without a worm like you." Loki sneered. "I suggest you pack your things Fudge. For your days in this office are limited." Loki then turned on his heels and stormed out of the office, slaming the door hard enough to not only crack it but to also knock many books off their shelves. He then proceeded to make his way to where he vaguely remembered the old Office of Magical Law Keepers was. As he arrived, he noticed the sign now called this department the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Steping into the department, he was met with a tall black wizard, who was broad shouldered. He was bald, and wore a single gold hoop earring. As Loki waited for him to approach, the man spoke, "Hello, what can I help you with today?" He had a slow, deep voice that was reassuring in tone.
Loki smirked, "Yes, i was wondering if you could help me find the head of this department," he replied with a smile.
"Right this way please," the man spoke kindly.
Loki followed the man through the hallways, his mood slight improving now that he was getting somewhere, as well as in the company of a man that seemed to want to help without any thought to personal gain. Soon they came to a door and the man knocked. A female voice called for them to enter.
"Prince Loki to see you." The man said after opening the door and leading Loki into the office.
The woman sitting behind the desk was not what Loki expected to find heading this department. She had close cropped grey hair, a square jaw, and a monocle over one of her navy blue eyes. She gave off the appearance of being very serious but Loki could see past that to the good heart that lay being her stern appearance.
"Thank you Kingsley." The woman nodded to the man, who turned and left. Amelia had been shocked, and surprised, when she had learned that Prince Loki himself had decided to visit the Ministry of Magic. She stoof to her feet and gave a polite smile. "Prince Loki, I am Amelia Bone. How might I help you this day?" She waved to a chair and sat once Loki was seated, hoping that he wasn't really evil like the legends said he was.
"I have a few matters to disguss with you today. The first I thing should be your Minister," Loki started, noticing that he now had Amelia's full attention at that. "I have reason to suspect that he has breached protocal and well taken control over matters pertaining to a Most Anceint and Noble house. I have no doubt that there are other crimes, however that I leave for you to find. There is also that toad at his side, Umbridge, I believe her name was, I am certain her crimes are many. The both of them must be weeded out of the Ministry."
Amelia just barely managed to contain a smile at that. She had been trying to take them both down for years but kept finding her hands tied. "In order to look into the both of them I would require consent from someone higher up."
Loki smirked, knowing she was asking for him to voice his consent to her investigation. "And you have my consent and backing. I doubt there is anyone on Midgard who could over rule me on this."
Amelia wanted to get up and dance in pure joy, but stopped herself as it would unprofessional. At long last she can find what she needs to take down Fudge and Umbridge, to finally start cleaning out the foulness that has long since taken root in the Ministry. She would've started dancing, however she had to control herself in front of Loki, who was giving her an amused look. Clearly she had not kept her joy from her face.
"I assure you I too am happy about this. You might want to start by looking into Fudge sealing the Potter vault, as I believe he may have been taking from that vault, I will speak with the goblins and have them aid you in this endevor." Loki told her.
"Thank you Prince Loki, that will be very helpful indeed." Amelia nodded. With Loki's backing there was no limit to the corruption she could uncover. "What other matters bring you here today?"
"What I am about to speak of must not leave this room. I am trusting you with this as I feel I can, and that you can aid me in removing those that could stand against me." The seriousness of Loki's tone and the look in his eyes, told Amelia that this was something very important to Loki and thus he had to be careful about it.
"I swear that I shall not speak of it." Amelia would make an Unbreakable Oath if she had to.
"I believe you." Loki smiled. "I recently learned that my daughter had survived the fire that claimed her mother's life. She was taken in by a Muggle family and eventually went to Hogwarts. She married and had a child, a son. I knew my daughter as Lilias, however I believe you know her as Lily Potter."
Amelia's eyes widen at that. When Loki spoke of a daughter and grandson, she hadn't even thought of the Potter family, and yet, as she thought on it now, it made sense to her. How else could Harry Potter have survived four years ago if it weren't for the Asgardian blood that runs through him.
"You can see why I would want this kept quiet?" Loki asked her.
"Yes, this is quite shocking." Amelia nodded.
"I had the Potter vaults unsealed and removed serveral documents from the main vault in the hopes of learning more about my daughter and her husband. This is one such document, or rather a copy I made of it at least." Loki handed the letter adressed to Dumbledore to her. "I seek to learn of the fate of the two men mentioned in the letter."
Amelia read the letter, her eyes widening as she got to the end. "Their Secret Keeper was Pettigrew?" She gasped. "Then Sirius was innocent after all..."
"Tell me, where are these men?" Loki would find Pettigrew and ensure the man suffered for betraying his family.
"Peter Pettigrew is dead. It is believed that Sirius Black killed him, however I am now questioning just what happened when Sirius cornered Peter now that I know the truth of the betrayal."
"A pity, I would've liked to have had that honor myself," Loki growled before sighing. "And what of Sirius Black?"
"He was put on trial and sent to Azkaban. He has been there for the last four years." She answered.
Loki found this odd. Even without the letter there were means that Sirius could use to clear his name and leave no doubt as to his innocence. So why wouldn't he make use of them? "Might I see the transcript of that trial?" Loki asked.
"Of course Prince Loki, I am very interested as to that trial myself now." Amelia sent word that she wanted the trial transcript for Sirius Black brought to her office right away. "I take it that Harry is currently safe with his true family?"
Seeing that Amelia honestly was asking after Harry's safety Loki smiled and nodded. "My family has welcomed him into their lives and he seems to be taking well to Asgard."
Amelia smiled. "I am glad to hear that. When you spoke of Fudge sealing the Potter vault, I worried what else he might have done regarding that family." A knock on the door halted any further disgussion about the family. "Enter."
An old, bald wizard, with large glasses, entered the office. "You asked for transcript for the trial of Sirius Black?" He asked.
Amelia nodded and both her and Loki noticed the man had brought nothing with him. "Where are they?" She asked him curiously.
"I looked all over but, I could not find any record of a trial for Sirius Black." The man answered looking very confused. "I searched every file we had. There is no trace of a trial anywhere to be found."
Loki's eyes narrowed at that. "That can not be. The laws state that all witches and wizard are to be granted trials. There are no exceptions."
"It would seem someone decided to make one. And I know just who that someone was." Amelia said darkly, her eyes narrowed in anger.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Darcy still couldn't get over what Harry had told her as they left the theater. "You really never seen a movie on a big screen before Demi God?"
Harry shook his head, trying to keep hold of his popcorn and soda as he walked with Darcy. "I was never allowed to go to the theater before." He admitted sadly.
"Ok that's it, every day you get to spend with me we are so going to see a movie every chance we can," Darcy said with conviction. To her it was a crime to keep a kid from seeing movies. If she ever met this adopted sister that her sister had, Darcy wasn't going to hold back.
In the distance three men watched as Darcy and Harry walked away from the building they had been in. The men were keeping out of sight and most of their focus was on Harry.
"That him? That the boy we're looking for?" One of them asked.
"Right age, black hair, skinny, could be him..." One noted. "Should we move?"
The leader of the trio shook his head. "No, not until we're sure, and he's more away from Muggles. For now, we keep an eye on him." He told the other two before he bgean to move, not wanting to lose the target. The other two men following him.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
Amelia and Loki were now standing before a man who had short grey hair with a neat parting, which was described as 'almost unnaturally straight' and a narrow toothbrush moustache.
"Amelia, Prince Loki." The man greeted them evenly. "What can I do for you?"
"Prince Loki this is Bartemius Crouch. He is the man who is resopsilbe for what happened to Sirius Black." Amelia told Loki.
Crouch frowned at this. "Sirius Black? What business does Prince Loki have with him?"
"It has been brought to my attention that Sirius Black was innocent of his crimes." Amelia answered.
Crouch chuckled. "Impossible. There were wittness to what happened, those who saw what happeed between him and Pettigrew. What's more he confessed to the crime!" Crouch told her confidently.
Loki decided to speak up then. "Where are the transripts for his trial then? Perhaps those can clear up this confusion."
Crouch's smile faltered a little. "I assure you there is no confusion."
Amelia crossed her arms and fix Crouch with narrowed eyes. "Where are the trial transcripts? They are not in the Archives like they should be." She asked him.
"This matter is closed." Crouch said as he turned back to his work.
Loki chuckled at Crouch's attempts to hide what was clear to them. "I say this matter is open. And I want those transcripts Crouch." When Crouch looked up at him to protest Loki smiled. "Or perhaps I should go to the papers with this. Trial transcripts for Sirius Black's trial with held from Prince Loki. I am certain that will sell many papers."
Crouch paled at that. Loki had the support of all the Pure Blood families, a mere word of him denying Loki what he wants to get, would cause the Pure Blood families to react and they would rise up against him and demand he give in to Loki's wishes. And then there was the matter of what really happened to Sirius Black. No matter how Crouch looked at it there was no way out of this. Sighing he decided to give into his fate. "There was no trial for Sirius Black. But he confesed to the crime! There was no need for a trial."
"All witches and Wizard are to receive a fair trail. That is the law Crouch." Amelia reminded him sharply. "Regardless of if they confess before a trial or not, they are to still have one." She turned to Loki. "I will have Sirius brought out of Azkaban for the trial he should have had four years ago. Should he prove innocent, all charges will be dropped against him."
"And Crouch?" Loki inquired, to which Crouch paled.
"He has broken the law by imprisioning Sirius Black without trial. He shall be placed under arrest and put on trial for his crimes." Amelia said coldly. "As much as he doesn't deserve a trial, it is the law."
Crouch hung his head, knowing he deserved this. He had known four years ago that what he'd done was wrong, now it was time to pay for it.
"If you will follow me Prince Loki, I had best send and owl to Azkaban to have Sirius brought here, and as I recall we stll have other matters to discuss." Amelia then lead Loki out of the room, knowing Crouch wouldn't tryin to run, after all, the man had once stood as a pillar of justice, now, he still believed in justice, it was just askew.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
It was decided, the men had waited long enough and on top of that they knew for sure this was the boy they were looking for. The woman with him had asked what the boy's full name was, to which he replied 'Harry James Potter', the very name of the boy they were looking for. But rather then report this to Dumbledore the men decided to grab the boy and bring him to Dumbledore, they were, after all, hired thugs, not the smartest of folk. However, as they could not be certain just who the young woman with the boy was, or even if she was Muggle or Witch the three called in back up. If she was Muggle then they would remove all trace from her memory that they had been there and take the boy, if she was a witch they would capture her and bring her in for questioning.
Darcy stopped walking and glanced around, noticing that something felt wrong but not knowing what, in her mind, her sixth sense from previous encounters in her life kicked in.
Harry noticed this and looked around. "What's wrong?" He asked.
Darcy took his hand in her's and held it tightly. "Nothing, let's go." She said before walking a little faster, not too fast as Harry wouldn't be able to keep up if she did, her free hand disappeared into her bag and closed around her trusty can of Pepper spray.
A man stepped out in front of her and Darcy pulled Harry behind her.
"Hey asshole, move." Darcy didn't need to look behind her to know more men were walking up to them. Her hand tightened around Harry's while her other hand tightened around the can in her bag.
"Give us the boy and we might let you go." The one in front of her ordered with a sneer.
Darcy could see a few more men approach in the corner of her eyes. "Not happening."
The man before her smiled and started to walk over to her, a stick in his hand, "Last chance." He pointed the stick at her. "Hand over the boy."
Darcy pulled her pepper spray from her bag. "Bet my can does more then your stick, and what a tiny stick it is." She heard a few snorts behind her while the one before her glared. When the man swung his stick Darcy hit the botton on her Pepper spray and hit the guy right in the eyes.
The man dropped his stick and began to howl in pain, rolling around as he rubbed and clench his eyes, "AAAAAAAH!" he screamed painfully and like a little girl, "IT BUUURNS!" he shouted in agony.
The men around Darcy took a stop back in shock, having never seen anything like that she'd just done before.
"Who's next?" Darcy asked confidently as she remembered she also had a tazer in her bag, one that wasn't exactly legal, but also not illegal to its voltage level and size, gotta love grey areas.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~