Loki was confused as he walked into Gringotts after receiving and official Gringotts summons. Since the trip to get Harry's school supplies, Loki hadn't really spoken much to the Goblins, having finished all business with them well before. And yet here he is going to speak to them about something involving the vaults. Thorina had been mad that he had to leave Asgard when he did, seeing as it was Halloween and she'd wanted him to join her and Thor for some games. Thankfully Loki had been able to distract her with a new spell that left Thor baaing like a sheep for an hour. Still, as Loki drew closer to Gringotts he got a feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to be a simple matter that would be done and over within minutes.
As Loki entered Gringotts, it was to see all the Goblins who looked up eyeing Loki with suspicion. As he approached the head teller, the Goblin didn't even look up as he said, "Ragnok has been expecting you Prince Loki, a Goblin Runner will be along shortly to escort you to him, take a seat!" he said brusquely.
Loki raised a brow at that but did as he was told. Clearly something was very wrong and they had questions for him about it. Loki tried to think what this could be about but nothing really came to mind. After all, he'd been watched every time he'd gone into the Potter Vaults by the one who took him down there, so there were records of his activities down there. Maybe something happened that he wasn't aware of. That seemed more likely to be the case, but why were the Goblins looking at him with suspicion?
As a Goblin came up to Loki, he bowed curtly, "Greeting Prince Loki," he began, "My name is Griphook, I am Ragnok's son, if you would kindly follow me hopefully we can clear up any...'misunderstandings'..." he said, finishing on an uncertain tone of voice.
Loki frowned at Griphook's wording. Goblins would only call something a 'misunderstanding' if it was serious and they knew that the public would question the Goblins abilities to run Gringotts if whatever it was, was made public. Standing Loki gave Griphook a nod and followed him.
As they left the openness of the bank's foyer, for the closed in walls of the halls of the bank's leaders and more high class tellers, Griphook spoke more clearly, "After you had the Potter vaults unsealed, we noticed some...inconsistencies between our records, and what is in the vaults, father wishes to question you further, all future business will be hinged on your cooperation Prince Loki," Griphook said seriously.
"Inconsistencies?" Loki questioned. If there were inconsistencies with what is in the Potter's vault then there is reason to be concerned, for Loki is currently the only one with access to that vault until Harry comes of age. So if something is wrong with the vault all eyes go to Loki first. However Loki could think of others who might have done something to the Potter vault. Dumbledore's name sprung to mind, alongside Fudge. The two had the Potter vault sealed, but that didn't mean they couldn't have taken from it before or even after it was sealed. Putting aside his thoughts Loki gave Griphook a nod. "I shall answer whatever questions asked of me and do my best to help uncover the truth behind this matter." Whatever this 'inconsistency' is Loki was not happy about it. Someone had found yet another way to wrong his family, and they would pay for it.
Griphook stopped outside of Ragnok's office and knocked, when he got the all clear to open the door, he stopped as he said, "I really hope you haven't dishonoured us Prince Loki, it would be a shame to lose out on one of our most valued friends," he said honestly before opening the door and allowing Loki inside.
"Whoever has dishonoured the Goblins it was not I. Though I know it will take more than just my word to clear my name," Loki commented as he entered Ragnok's office. "I would like to know however just how bad this matter is?"
Ragnok scowled, "I see my son has been talking to you," he said seriously, "Truth be told, it is quite dire, as many of the Potter family's more important artifacts have 'vanished' quite thoroughly," he replied.
"Your son has only spoken of inconsistencies," Loki explained, not wanting to get Griphook in trouble that is not earned. "Artifacts have been taken from the vault? What manner of artifacts?" Loki hadn't really taken too much stock of what was in the vault asides from what he'd taken the few times he'd been down there.
Ragnok sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, "For one, there was the invisibility cloak that had been passed down from father to son for hundreds of years," he replied, "On top of that a very expensive and elaborate pensieve that was made by Harry's paternal great grandfather," Ragnok added, "There is also a number of necklaces, gems, rare spell books, and suits of medieval Goblin forged armors missing from the vaults," he concluded with a growl.
Loki was surprised to hear the list of missing items. Invisibility cloak? His son in law had something like that? A pensieve that was made by Harry's great grandfather on his father's side? That takes serious skill to make. The necklaces and gems weren't anything of note compared to the other things that were taken. Rare spell books were among the things that needed to be recovered in Loki's mind. And then there was the Goblin forged suits of armor. "Those are very serious things that have gone missing. When was the last time anyone is able to account for them being in the vault?" Loki questioned.
"After the death of James and Lily Potter, but before they were sealed by Dumbledore and Fudge's orders," he said seriously, "As the one who unsealed the vaults, you can understand why we would need to question you Prince Loki," Ragnok said seriously.
"Yes I understand," Loki nodded. "I will do whatever you need me to in order to clear this matter up and get those items returned to the vault. You have the records of my times down in the vault from the guide that watched me during my time in the Potter vault. Though," Loki stopped to think for a moment. "Now that I think about it I do not recall seeing anything like a pensieve while I was down there the first time, though I could be mistaken." Loki wasn't sure just what an invisibility cloak would look like or even the missing books. "And I do not recall any suits of armor of any make."
Ragnok sighed, "Please forgive me for this Prince Loki, but, as you know, you are the god of lies, and the patron of thieves," he said, "So I cannot trust that you are impervious to truth potions, as such, I will need you to swear under oath, on your magic, that you did not take the items, Prince Loki," he said, "I know it's a heavy burden, given you are a god of magic and a master of it, but, I have to make sure, and it has to be a heavy penalty in case you are," he said seriously.
"I understand and came to this meeting with you knowing it would be something as serious as this. I shall swear any and all oaths you need me to so that you may clear me and find the one who is the true thief. Though if that person expects mercy from me for their crimes I shall all too happily show them how wrong they are to think such foolish thoughts," Loki meant every word of that. Not only had his grandson been robbed of important belongings but so too had that person brought humiliation to Loki's family. Someone would pay dearly for this.
"Then please swear that you have not taken any heirlooms or other belongings from the Vault other than those witnessed by a Gringotts employee and show that you can still use magic, and remember to swear it on your magic," he replied, looking at Loki with sadness in his eyes for having to make Loki do this.
Loki sat up straight in his chair. "I swear upon my magic that I have taken nothing more then what was witnessed by those with me during the times I was in the Potter vault. I swear that I knew nothing of these heirlooms before this day and that I have not taken any of them!" After finishing Loki made Ragnok's quill float in the air for a short while to prove he still had his magic. "I trust this clears me of suspicion?"
"Yes, it does Prince Loki," Ragnok said, "However, you can understand that we will be providing additional security whenever you visit the Potter vaults," he said, "Not that we don't trust you, but the Potters are one of our oldest clients, along with you of course," Ragnok finished.
Loki waved it off, "This is a matter not to be taken lightly. I understand perfectly why you had to do this. However I must question who else you are looking at for these crimes?" Loki questioned.
Ragnok nodded his head, "We are currently looking into Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge, for obvious reasons, however, we are also looking into other leads, other threats that could be behind this, though there are very few with the skills and power to break into our vaults, however, Gringrotts is glad and reassured that one of the Goblin's oldest friends is not our culprit," he replied.
Loki growled when he heard Dumbledore and Fudge's names be mentioned. Of course those two were on the list. It seems everything that goes wrong involving Harry those two are not far behind. However Loki was pushing that thought away to question the other part of what Ragnok said. "Any names of note that I should be aware of?" He questioned.
"Hydra, but, we never know who they might have on their payroll," he growled, "We're also considering some of the current criminals, a certain 'Enchantress' has also made herself known to us, and she is clearly not human, however, we have had...'trouble', locating her whereabouts," he said, reluctant to admit that the Goblins were having trouble.
Loki raised a brow at that. "Enchantress?" There was only one person Loki could think of that went by that title. He just couldn't think what she would want with those items. Well, the invisibility cloak could be used to spy on Thor and the gems are something that Amora would want. "I know where to find this Enchantress, she and I have history," Loki informed Ragnok. "However Hydra is not something I am familiar with," He admitted.
Ragnok nodded, "I would recommend looking up the history of World War Two and also buying some magical history books on the subject then," he suggested, "As for what Hydra is, they are, in short, the modern world's first modern terrorist organization, a threat and a menace, they infiltrate all they encounter, and have tried to get past us a few times in the past. They are devious and underhanded little bastards who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty, definitely someone you want to look out for in the future Prince Loki," Ragnok concluded, "Now, Prince Loki, after some searching, we did, in fact, find a one Darcy Lewis in our files," he said, smirking now.
Loki frowned in confusion. "What? Why would you have her in your files? She is not apart of any magical communities."
Ragnok coughed, and cleared his throat, "Actually, Prince Loki, it seems that your mistaken, Darcy Lewis is an American witch, current status, up until your return, was muggle born, or as the Americans call them, No-maj born," he said, "She has a considerable sum in her vaults, most of it from gambling apparently..." he said with a slight hint of disapproval but also a tinge of being impressed.
Loki stared at Ragnok for a moment before letting out a long sigh. He would need to have a long talk with Darcy about not informing him of such things. "Anything else your files say about her?" He questioned tensely. He really was starting to hate surprises with a passion these days.
"Yes, she also has a long list of citations by the American Aurors for performing magic in public under the guise of 'stage magic'," he said, holding and failing to hold in a laugh.
Loki rubbed his temples at that. That did sound like something his daughter would do. "I dread the answer but I must asked, anything else?"
"Well, there is one last thing..." Ragnok said, "More of an observation made after we looked into her when you returned," he said with the smile of a man who won the lottery.
Loki slumped into his seat, something he hadn't done in years. "And what would that be that has you looking so pleased?" He asked, really planning to have some words with his daughter after this.
"It would seem that your daughter has followed in your footsteps...in a sort of fashion..." Ragnok said, "She has a sort of promiscuous reputation at her old institution, the Salem Witches' Institute," he said, now letting out a series of chuckles.
Loki sighed, remembering what he'd seen and experienced when he met Darcy for the first time. He had tried back then not to think about what it meant but now, here he was being told that it was what he had thought back then. "I pray, when I take her to Asgard, she has learned some self-control. Norns only know what trouble she will cause once revealed as a princess of Asgard to the realm." At least Loki could look on the bright side of things in that he hasn't been made a grandfather by Darcy. That was something...right?
Ragnok coughed again, "In any case, you should be happy to know that she has not born any children do to her...'night time adventures', I believe one of her teachers called it," he smirked as he finished, "Anyway, how about sharing a drink with me like old times Prince Loki?" he asked hopefully.
"After what I have learned I believe I need a drink," Loki sighed, "Please by all means let us drink."
Ragnok poured them both a glass of Goblin Dungeon Mead, and passed one to Loki, "To crazy children and their equally crazy antics!" he cheered as he downed his glass.
"May they one day know how we feel now!" Loki wouldn't really wish this upon his daughter. Maybe Thor, but not Darcy or Harry.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
~Meanwhile At Hogwarts Headmistress's office~
Minerva was currently standing with Amelia Bones, along with the head of the DMLE, or Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Minerva sighed, "I have no idea how a bloody Nundu got onto the grounds, but, you best believe I want a full investigation into this, and I will be ordering the teachers to cooperate," Minerva sighed, "After all, the only way it could get onto the grounds was if someone bypassed the wards!" Minerva finished.
"I trust the children are all safe in their dorms? Including Harry and Susan?" Amelia was checking on Harry partly because Loki would go mental if anything happened to him and partly because he is her godson. Loki still owed her some more time with Harry to make up for the short visit she'd gotten that one time he'd been able to bring Harry over.
Minerva sighed, "Harry and his friends should be in their dorm, however, I can't be too sure, they are a tricky bunch to figure out, fiercely loyal, and brave too, however, they are Hufflepuffs, through and through that group is," she said, "Almost ashamed I'm not a teacher anymore, would have been an honour to teach that group!"
Just as she was about to speak again, a Prefect from Hufflepuff came rolling into the office and came to a stop on the floor, having entered the room clumsily, she was also rubbing her arse from hitting it against some objects on the floor, "Owie!" said the Prefect.
Amelia stared down at the prefect in surprise and confusion. By rights the girl should be with her house in the dorm rather than rushing into rooms. Not to mention the girl's hair color was very bright. What could cause this girl to come rushing to the room her headmistress is in? Had the Nundu moved from its previous location?
Minerva sighed at the sight of Nym on the floor. She had expected the young Prefect to stick with her house and yet here she was. "I trust there is a good reason you are here rather than where I ordered the students to be?" Minerva questioned, though she was fearing the worse.
"Yeah, about that..." Nym began as she slowly got up, rubbing her backside as she stood up, "I was...leading the students...back to the common room...when I noticed Harry and his friends...had broken off from the group!" she began, panting for breath as she spoke, she had clearly been running hard, "I followed them out to the grounds when I heard a roar from Hagrid's, followed shortly after by a high pitched girly scream, and then I saw Harry and his friends run in that direction!" she screamed, "I ran here as fast as I could to warn you and get help, Asgardians they may be, but there is no way that Harry and his friends could fight off such a beast!" she finished, having caught her breath enough to no longer have to pause to breathe.
"What?! They went after the Nundu?!" Amelia dreaded what she would find when they caught up to Harry and his friends. How would she be able to look Loki, Sirius, or even Remus in the face if anything happened to the boy!?
Minerva cursed under her breath, "There must've been someone not at the feast that they went looking for to warn, after all, Harry's group tend to follow the rules. We must hurry and get to them before anything bad happens to any of the!." She ordered, "Ms. Tonks return to your dorm!"
Nym shook her head, "Harry is my distant cousin, that makes him family, not to mention he is one of my friends who doesn't judge me for what I am!" she replied defiantly.
"Ms. Tonks, we have enough students currently missing at this time. I will not allow you to come with us," Minerva said in her most authoritative tone before sighing. "Also do you not care how worried and upset Harry would get if something were to happen to you because you followed us?"
"It would be better for you to go back to your house and wait till Harry returns," Amelia told Nym. "We will make sure that Harry returns safely to his house," Amelia promised her.
Nym looked at Amelia for a moment, staring her in the eyes, before finally nodding after apparently seeing something in Amelia's eyes, "Alright, but, he better make it back!" she demanded before leaving the Headmistress's office and returning to the Hufflepuff dorm.
"We must move quickly and find them. Minister Bones I trust that you can keep the beast busy while we get the students out of harm's way?" Minerva questioned.
"We'll take care of the Nundu. Just make sure that everyone is safe!" Amelia told Minerva.
With that said, both groups proceed to rush out of the office to stop the Nundu.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
~Same Time; Grounds of Hogwarts, Hagrid's gardens~
~Song Start: Kingdom Hearts 2 ost Tension Rising extended~
As the group rushed over to Hagrid's garden/giant pumpkin patch it was to see Hermione at the far end, with red puffy eyes, and a look of sheer terror on her face. Standing between Hermione and the group of Asgardian children, was a large creature, with a tail ending in a bulb of spines angled towards the end. The tail was connected to a spotted body, covered in small clusters of spikes, connected to a 'collar' of spines that was slowly growing into a mane as the creature growled at Hermione.
"There's no way we're going to be able to fell the Nundu by ourselves, even if we were finished with all of our training!" Ari pointed out.
"Well then the only thing we can do is try to keep it busy until the teachers and aurors arrive then!" Runa pointed out. "Any ideas as to how?" She asked her friends.
Godiva smiled, "Why not do to the Nundu what we do to the guards? Come at them from all angles?" She suggested.
"That could work, Jarl, you stay close to Hermione but far enough that should the Nundu charge you she'll have time to get away," Harry ordered, "The rest of us will spread out and cast spells one after the other to keep it focusing on us."
"Just remember to move quickly when casting, like Prince Loki and Lady Freya taught us. If given even the smallest chance the Nundu will lock on to one of us and attack them!" Ari warned before they scattered around the area.
"What?" Hermione gapped when Jarl seemingly appeared a couple feet in front of her. She'd been so scared and focused on the Nundu that she hadn't noticed the group arriving.
"If it charges at me be sure to get out of the way," Jarl told her before focusing all his attention on the Nundu.
Nodding to Ari, Runa readied her bow, and placed one of her special arrows against the string, its head was engraved with a special rune of her own creation, though, she had some help from Lady Freya, it was a distraction arrow, as well as something to entertain the Asgardian children back home, after all, fireworks weren't exactly 'common' in Asgard. As she took aim, Ari threw his throwing knife, distracting the Nundu while at the moment it turned to face Ari, Runa launched her arrow, unfortunately for the Nundu, it had its tail up, so when the arrow hit it, it scored a perfect bullseye on the Nundu's rear and, well, let's just say that the result was 'explosive'. Godiva and Jarl and Harry all covered their eyes as a shower of sparks went off from the rune on the arrowhead activating as at the same time, due to its shock at the bang, and the lights, the Nundu proceed to poop in surprize. However, due to the arrow wedged in its butt's entrance, instead of coming out normally, it began to sputter and spray everywhere, it didn't help that the Asgardians had left their shields in their rooms earlier that day. The Asgardians rarely went anywhere without their weapons, but their shields tended to be big and bulky. They had gotten special permission to carry their weapons so long as they never drew them outside of sparring sessions and not without prior knowledge of a teacher or Prefect that they were going to train. It had been made clear to them that their weapons were as much a privilege at Hogwarts as a broom to a student, if they broke the trust they were given with their weapons, the weapons would be confiscated and not returned till the end of the year. Needless to say, they weren't eager to break this rule.
As the fecal matter went flying in all directions, Harry, Jarl, and Godiva were just glad they had covered their faces as Runa and Ari got a face full of shit spray from the Nundu, though, they quickly went from relief to horror as the Nundu began to react and turn to face Runa and Ari, causing the spray to now hit Harry, Jarl, Godiva, and even Hermione.
As the shit finally stopped flying Harry cast a stinging hex at the Nundu's rear, causing it to turn towards him but before it could take a swipe Harry shouted, "Everyone, shut your eyes!" before he cast a Lumos Maxima while closing his eyes, sadly, just after he cast the spell, he felt a great pain in his arm as the Nundu struck out blindly, its vision currently impaired by the spots in its eyes from the bright flash of light.
To get the Nundu to turn away from Harry and the smell of blood Godiva cast a spell at the Nundu's side. The spell would make it feel like a handful of angry bees were stinging all at once, and thankfully the Nundu started to spin, trying to shake off the bees it thought were there.
Seeing an opening Jarl lifted a large rock he found and chucked it at the Nundu, managing to knock it over. "Hermione head for the hut! Lock yourself inside if you can!" Jarl ordered her.
Hermione scrambled to do as she was told but got her legs tangled in a few of the vines on the ground, causing her to trip and crash to the ground.
The Nundu, now very angry got back onto its paws and charged at whatever the blurry shapes before it were. Ari and Runa just barely managed to jump out of the way but not without Ari getting smacked across the face with the Nundu's spiny tail and Runa scraped her arm on the ground where she landed.
Just as the Nundu was about to attack again, several dozen spells hit it as aurors and teachers came to the rescue, allowing Harry and his friends to grab Hermione while the Nundu was distracted and high tail it out of danger.
~Song end here~
As the group of six made it to the group of Aurors who were holding off the Nundu from attacking, along with the Teachers acting as support, Amelia and Minerva rushed forward to greet them, only to stop and grab their noses at the smell that met them.
Harry couldn't blame the two for reeling. They did smell pretty horrible right now after all.
"The six of you, go clean up this instant and then report to the hospital wing for treatment. After that remain there until I come get you!" Minerva ordered. She couldn't believe that they had managed to survive the encounter with nothing more than some scratches, bruises, and soiled uniforms. At least they each still had their lives, which was good, but punishment would have to be dealt out. The last thing Minerva needed was the other students thinking that Harry and his friends could get away with everything and anything.
Harry, his friends, and Hermione all hurried off to bathe and change uniforms. The stink was horrible and they really didn't want to keep smelling like dung. Not to mention Harry, Ari, and Runa's wounds did sting pretty badly. They needed to get them treated before infection could set in. As a result, they had been given access to two of the Prefect bathrooms, one for the girls to use, and one for the boys.
Amelia was dreading what would happen once Loki heard of what happened this night. Never mind what Sirius and Remus would say on the matter. Though, when she thought about it, Sirius might try to high five Harry at some point, the over grown man child that he is would find what happened tonight impressive. But at least it's over, Harry and the others are off to bathe and have their wounds treated, and Amelia's work was just starting. After all, it's not like a Nundu is easy to sneak into the country, let alone school grounds by someone working alone. Turning to the Nundu, Amelia sighed, "There must still be some corruption in the Ministry that I have to weed out," She then turned to Minerva, "We will get to the bottom of this. One way or another," She promised.
Minerva nodded and went to coordinate with the other teachers and the DMLE Head Kingsley Shacklebolt.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
~Meanwhile, in the Prefect bathroom containing Runa, Godiva, and Hermione~
"You shouldn't have come. Now you'll get expelled for sure!" Hermione said sadly, she felt horrible about what happened, after all if she had been stronger of heart she could've just told Ron where to go with his Mudblood comment and then she wouldn't have gotten caught by the Nundu, thus Harry and his friends wouldn't have had to come to her aid. Hermione also hated herself for just freezing up and screaming when she found herself face to face with the Nundu. She'd read so much about it but what good did that information do her once she was confronted with one? None, that's how much good it did! She couldn't even help Harry and his friends by advising what they should do!
Runa waved off Hermione's worries, "You think that's gonna get us in trouble? You should've been there when we turned the Allfather's beard bright pink. Now that was trouble!" Runa laughed. Though in truth she was worried about what was going to happen once McGonagall spoke to them. This wasn't some simple little fight with some Gnomes after all. They had gone up against a Nundu when they were supposed to be in their dorm room. If McGonagall didn't punish them for this Prince Loki certainly would. Even Queen Frigga would dish out a punishment for their reckless actions in that situation.
Godiva sighed, enjoying the warm water and the scent of the different soaps that had quickly replaced the strong smell of Nundu crap. "Whatever happens will happen. We will just have to face it like we normally do. I don't think Harry will be expelled, His reasoning for disobeying was good, even if we stood no chance of winning," Godiva pointed out, "We didn't go into that battle expecting to win though, we merely wanted to buy time for help to come! I'm sure McGonagall will understand once we tell her our reasoning," she concluded.
Hermione wasn't so optimistic, she was going to be the reason Prince Loki's grandson got expelled from school, and all because she let someone as petty as Ron get to her. Harry didn't deserve this, neither did his friends. She would have to do something to try to shift the blame to herself. Even if it means getting expelled alongside them she would do so. She'd tell the headmistress that she went looking for the Nundu, believing she could handle it on her own. After all, that seemed like the kind of thing that people would say about her.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
~Meanwhile with the boys in the other Prefect bathroom~
Harry sighed as he lowered himself into the water; it was warm and relaxing, welcoming to his sore muscles. It hadn't been easy moving so quickly, and the deep scratches that were on his arm from where the Nundu had gotten him, well, they had been really deep, if it hadn't been for a healing rune that Runa had researched with help from Lady Eir and used a little on Harry before the group split for the two bathrooms, Harry would have lost a lot of blood, more so then he already had. As it is, the wound on his arm was closed, but still raw, as such it stung terribly as it made contact with the water, but, having learned to endure pain from the Dursleys, he kept silent about it, only losing said battle by letting out a hiss at the sting of pain. He then turned to Ari and Jarl, "Well, not bad for our first 'real battle' eh guys?" he asked, grimacing as the soap and bubbles popped against his wound.
"Given that we are still young and I doubt the adults back in Asgard could fair better with the few numbers we had, I'd say we did well," Ari nodded before grinning, "Just wait till we return and tell them our battle story. I bet Prince Thor will be proud and even the Allfather will be impressed with what we did!"
Jarl sighed and sank into the water so only his head could be seen. "I doubt Prince Loki will be very happy with us," He pointed out making the other two think about how Loki would react when he eventually finds out, and causing them to both gulp in fear.
"But we did it to save Hermione who had no idea about the danger she was going to find out there," Ari tried to point out, "What are we going to do about Ron by the way? It's his fault she was out there, and thus something must be done. And maybe even to that Pansy girl's friends, the ones that hoped Hermione would run into the Nundu," Ari questioned.
"For now let's focus on resting and recovering. Once we are done in here we need to go to the hospital wing and wait for the headmistress so that she can pass judgement on us," Harry reminded Ari. "After that," Harry smiled a little, "Why not wait to punish Ron? Make him think he's getting away with it before springing punishment on him," Harry suggested, "It would make it crueler as he would first think he is getting away with it, and thus would confuse him when we start to play some of our nastier prank ideas on him!"
Ari grinned, "I like it. Not to mention when the headmistress writes to his mother about what he said to Hermione he's bound to get a Howler or two from her about it."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Ari," Jarl suddenly spoke up sagely.
"Huh? What are you talking about Jarl? The Headmistress will have to write to the parents about this and when it's learned that Ron's the reason Hermione was out there she's bound to inform his mother!" Ari said, trying to work out just what Jarl was on about.
"And if she doesn't there will be other people that will, like the twins for example. You know they will tell, partly cause they love causing trouble for Ron, and partly because they'll be pissed at him for saying such a thing to Hermione!" Harry added.
"Meh," Jarl shrugged, "Just call it a gut feeling if you like," Jarl replied nonchalantly.
"Well whatever happens to Ron regarding his parents is beyond us right now," Harry sighed as he held back a wince. He moved his arm so it was over the edge of the bath, out of the soapy water, an action not missed by Jarl.
"We should finish up here and get to the hospital wing, less we get into even more trouble for being tardy," Jarl commented, deciding not to comment on Harry's sore arm.
Both Ari and Harry nodded as they finished cleaning themselves.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
~Later, Hospital wing of Hogwarts~
Harry and the other five of the group had made it to the Hospital Wing, feeling clean, considering that their clothes had apparently been taken away to be cleaned by the Hogwarts Elves, who had kindly left them some clean clothes from each of their trunks.
Harry entered the Hospital Wing first to see Madam Pomfrey rushing about getting potions ready, clearly they had been expected.
After they had stood there for a while, Madam Pomfrey finally noticed them and escorted each of the six children to a bed, and began scanning them with spells, and pouring potions down some of their throats. "Bloody Nundu's getting into the school, with the new wards they shouldn't have gotten in," she said, "Not to mention that you lot should never have faced it!" she finished angrily as she began working on the raw wound that was on Harry's arm.
Ari, still coughing a little from some of the potion he'd been given going down wrong shrugged at her. "Well no one else seemed to know about Hermione being out there so we figured best to get her out of harm's way. We didn't know how long the adults would take."
"Has the Nundu been removed from school grounds yet?" Harry questioned, worried that it could get loose again.
"I have no idea, I haven't been told yet!" Madam Pomfrey replied curtly, "Now lean back and rest, all of you, I am to take care of your injuries, thankfully, you Asgardians are made of sterner stuff then us humans, so all your wounds are more non-lethal rather than lethal!" she ranted.
"We're fine Madam Pomfrey. I studied healing magic and healing runes under Lady Eir back in Asgard. I was more then able to tend to all of us so this really isn't needed," Runa tried to reassure the woman.
Jarl sighed, "Runa, I feel you are fighting a losing battle," he put in.
Madam Pomfrey eyed Runa critically, "Well, even though you are mostly fine, you're all staying overnight for observation, healers orders!" she countered, glaring at each of them, daring them to challenge her on this.
"We have to stay, at least until the Headmistress gets here and decides what to do with us," Harry said, though if he was informing Madam Pomfrey or reminding Ari it was hard to tell.
"I'm sure the Headmistress won't be too much longer," Godiva spoke up as she lay down. "After all the Nundu was being contained fairly well when we left, so there can't be too much left for her to do out there," she finished as she took a sip of some nice cold water that Madam Pomfrey had poured for them.
Just as she finished speaking, the doors to the Hospital Wing opened and in walked Minister Bones, Headmistress McGonagall, and the Head of the DMLE, Kingsley Shacklebolt. As they walked in, they were soon followed by someone that made five of the six children tense up, mostly due to the fact he was here, but also because of the angry look on his face.
"Oh we are so dead," Ari mumbled as he looked anywhere but at Loki while holding his face in his hands.
Harry tried to smile at Loki but it came out as an awkward smile, "Eh, heh heh, uh, hi...Grampy," He started awkwardly.
"Don't! Just stop talking right there Harry and don't 'Grampy' me! I know what you and your friends did and the only thing keeping me from dragging you all back to Asgard is the fact that I promised to let you have this year in this school. So for now do not speak!" Loki growled.
Hermione gulped and then spoke up, "Um, e-excuse me, Lord Loki," she began, "I-its my fault that this h-happened," she said meekly.
Loki turned to Hermione with a glare, but before he could do more then open his mouth Runa jumped in.
"How is this your fault Hermione? You had no idea the Nundu was out there and it's that bastard Ron Weasley's fault you were out there to begin with!" Runa countered.
"How is Ronald Weasley involved with Hermione and you five being out there?" Amelia Bones asked sharply.
"He called Hermione a Mudblood, that's how he's involved! When she found out what it meant she ran out of the school and hid herself away in Hagrid's pumpkin patch. She was out there well before we all heard of the Nundu being on school grounds!" Runa answered with a slight growl." That bastard should have his wand snapped, and I don't mean the one he cast spells with either!" Both Harry and Ari moved a little further from Runa at that. Runa then turned back to Hermione, "So tell me Hermione, how is any of this your fault?"
Loki, Amelia, and Minerva looked between the kids, and it was clear that five of the six students were in agreement, and so decided to go with the obvious majority. "Headmistress McGonagall," Amelia began, "Please bring Ronald Weasley to this room, I wish to speak with him," she finsihed.
"Right away," Minerva said before turning and hurrying out the doors to get someone to fetch Ron. She was angry to learn a student had used such a word towards another student and would be sure that Ron was punished severely for saying it on school grounds as well as notifying the boy's parents.
Fifteen minutes later, Ron was led into the hospital wing by Minerva, as soon as he saw Harry, his friends, and Hermione, he growled, "What are the freaky creature bunch and the mudblood doing here?" he asked angrily.
"How dare you use that word in Hogwarts!" Minerva shouted in outrage.
"How dare he say such a word before me," Loki growled softly in anger. "I was ready to give the boy the benefit of the doubt, but clearly he is guilty of doing as they say he has. I pity your family, boy, having such a foul tongue among their numbers!" Loki wanted to lash out but held himself in check, just barely. He'd already been under suspicion by Gringotts for theift, no need to do something else to land him in hot water.
"You clearly have no idea just how disgusting that word is Ronald Weasley. I shall be sure to pass this information along to your father, about how you so loosely use it as well as how you insult Prince Loki's family," Amelia said, the only one in the room that truly seemed composed, though inside she was madder then an insulted Hippogriff.
Ron gulped, "What, everyone knows that creatures have very few rights in the magical world, and they are not human, and there for creatures!" Ron protested stupidly, "As for her, she should know her place that purebloods are on top!" he added proudly.
"Creatures? You called the very man who, alongside the founders, built the very building you attend as a school, a creature? Not to mention you dare try to tell ME who has rights and who does not?" Amelia questioned angrily.
"Pureblood?" Loki chuckled a little, "Clearly you don't know your family as well as you think boy. I know for a fact that your great great great great great grandmother married a muggle man who went on to father her only three children. So that would make you, what is the term you used? A yes, a Mudblood," Loki then turned from the outraged Ron to Harry. "And what pray tell brought about him calling her this?"
"I was trying to help him with a spell he was mispronouncing in class," Hermione answered, "He waited until after class to call me that."
"Couldn't even muster up the courage to say it in front of a teacher I see," Loki snorted with derision.
"I assure you Ronald your father thinks very differently about such things. In fact he has put forth no less than five requests to allow for more contact between Muggles and witches and wizards. One such name he has almost begged to be allowed into the Ministry for a day is Tony Stark," Amelia informed Ron, "He will be most ashamed of you when he learns how poorly you speak of those with Muggle families!" she finished shamingly.
Ari went to comment on how it was pointless trying to get through Ron's thick skull when Jarl shook his head, telling him that now was not the time to be a 'smart arse'.
"Let us not forget that many advancements in magic these days come from people like Miss Granger. They mostly come from Muggle-borns," Minerva added, "Muggle-borns add more to our society then many pureblood families combined!"
Loki let out a heavy sigh. "Clearly this boy's head is filled with fantasies of a world when those like him are next to gods while anyone else are not but filth. I trust you and the boy's family can be entrusted with ridding him of these foolish notions?" Loki asked Minerva.
"I shall send an owl to his mother once we have finished here so that she may decide what they will do with him," Minerva nodded.
"And I shall speak with his father, that is if his brothers haven't already sent off owls of their own in the meantime," Amelia said, having heard that, at the very least, the twins loved to cause trouble and this would certainly cause Ron no shortage of that.
Rounding on Harry, Ari, Godiva, Runa, Jarl and Hermione, Minerva spoke up, "Regardless, while you saved young Hermione's life, your actions were reckless," she said, "As such, I am taking fifty points from Hufflepuff, and twenty five points from Ravenclaw," she said, seeing their shocked expressions, she explained, "The points from Hufflepuff, are for not informing a teacher ahead of time, or even a Prefect, to what happened, as for the points from Ravenclaw, for not coming to a teacher about a racist student," she continued, "However, I should add twenty five points to Hufflepuff for showing loyalty and bravery for your fellow students by coming to Hermione's rescue, that being said, all six of you shall serve detention by helping Professor Sprout with work in her green houses for three days," she finished.
As for Loki, he turned a critical eye to the five Asgardians who all gulped at the look he was shooting them.
"No," Harry began as he got off the bed he was on. "My friends only did as I told them. So if anyone should get detention it's me, not them and Hermione, while she should have told someone about what that thing that calls it's self a human said," Ron visibly bristled with anger at that but wisely said nothing. "Her emotions got the better of her, which is understandable given how horrid it is to be called that word. Will you really punish her for something that any one of us might do if we had been in her place?" Harry said before adding, "Also, my four friends are not part of this school and thus things like detentions and points can neither be given to nor taken from them. So I am the only Hufflepuff that you can punish right now. I just ask to be the only one, out of Hermione and I, to be punished, as my actions were the only one committed with a clear head."
Loki sighed slightly, "I fear he makes a very good point. Harry is the only one out of the five that is a student, the other four are but his guards and friends. However, I will be sure to deal with them once the year is over and they are home!" Loki said the last bit while looking at the five in question with a meaningful glare, one that had all five of them gulping.
Minerva sighed, "Very well then. Mr. Potter shall serve detention with the head of his house for the next three days. However, Miss Granger will serve at least a day in detention with the head of her house."
Hermione nodded, accepting her punishment. She was a little relieved that Harry wasn't being expelled from school, however he was still in trouble with his grandfather. That was still her fault and she would work hard to avoid causing trouble for Harry in the future, or anyone for that matter. She would be stronger and learn to tune out those like Ron.
Then Minerva rounded on Ron, causing 'the witless wonder', to gulp in fear and shrink in size as she glared at him, "As for your, Ronald Weasley, in addition to notifying your parents, you will serve four months detention split between helping Assistant Snape clean out cauldrons, and every other day you will be in the armory, cleaning the old armors and weapons with Castle Caretaker Filch, by hand for both punishments, after those four months, we will see if your attitude and opinions have changed, hopefully for the better!" she said sharply before escorting the poor boy from the room and back to Gryffindor Tower.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~
~Later that evening with Loki~
Loki sighed heavily as he made his way to Knockturn Alley, and a little know tavern that dwelled within it. This meeting was to be a secret one; it was finally time to really make a mess for Dumbledore and those who had wronged his family. Loki had been leaving Gringotts after getting the letter from Headmistress McGonagall when he ran into Rita. Ever since he had discovered her, he had been paying her very well to spy on enemies of the Ministry of Magic for Amelia, Rita gathers the info, passes it to Loki, who in turn passed it to Amelia after paying Rita for her silence, with all the money in his vault, he could easily pay her for doing the job, and keeping her quiet. Now, he had a different mission for her, to spy on Dumbledore, and Fudge, and learn their secrets, as such, when he ran into her, almost quite literally, he had told her to meet him at an old tavern in Knockturn Alley, one that was less frequented, as very few knew about it, and it was also selective in its patronage. Since it was run by the Goblin Nation Loki was one of its favorite patrons when he was in town as they made lots of gold from him buying drinks. As he made it to the tavern, which was, funnily enough called 'Outta Da Way', he saw Rita waiting for him, apparently she had been denied entry.
"I tell you I have a very important meeting inside this place that you are keeping me from and when that person learns that you are preventing me from joining them you will regret it," Rita growled at the Goblin blocking her way in.
The Goblin crossed his arms and glared up at her. "Like I told you before, no reporters, least of all ones like you!" He said calmly, though it was clear he was growing sick of her.
Loki, who had been watching in amusement for a while decided to step in. "This one is with me. If we may pass?"
"Oh Prince Loki, so wonderful to see you again." Rita smiled brightly at him before turning to the Goblin with a smug smirk.
The Goblin raised a brow at this. "She working for you or something?" He asked before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter. If you are taking responsibility for her then, I guess she can go in," The Goblin sighed before moving out of the way.
"You have quite the effect on people Ms. Skeeter," Loki chuckled as he lead her in.
"Yes well, you're helping me change it, Prince Loki," she replied with a smirk as she followed him inside.
~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~~w~