I woke up the next morning and started setting my plan into motion. I didn't want to deal with any teachers or Prefects telling me I couldn't bring a bunch of muggles into the school, so I wanted to keep things as quiet as possible. My first stop at breakfast was Fred and George.
"Hey, so I need to move a couple people around the school without being noticed and find a quiet workspace someone could spend a couple hours in without being found," I said, getting straight to the point. "Whaddya got?"
They looked at me with narrowed eyes, then leaned in.
"We might know a place," said Fred.
"But first we want in on whatever's going on," added George.
I sighed, then looked around to make sure no one was listening in. We were pretty much alone at our area of the table, so as long as I kept my voice low it should be safe.
"Okay, so my dad needs to fix some technology for me, but it's really complicated technology and it may take him a while. I need to find him somewhere he can work where nobody's ever gonna know he was here. I'm meeting him in the shortcut to Gryffindor Tower from Astronomy at noon."
Fred and George looked at each other, and I saw them come to a silent agreement before they looked back at me.
"We know the perfect spot," said George.
"But we want to be involved," added Fred, before I could get too excited. "We want to help you get there and meet some of these people from your other life."
I sighed, but there really wasn't any question of what I should do. I needed help, and I trusted Fred and George. They were my friends, and it might actually be fun to show them a little bit of who I am outside Hogwarts.
"Alright, sounds like a plan. Just keep it quiet, okay?"
"You can count on us! We're great at keeping secrets," said Fred, grinning from ear to ear.
"We'll head to the spot you're meeting your dad right after Transfiguration," added George.
"Great! Thanks again you guys." They smiled and we all high-fived before I piled some scrambled eggs onto my plate and started eating. I had no clue what was going to happen, but with my dad being who he is and Loki's promise to tag along, I figured I would need my strength and energy to handle whatever they decided to throw at me.
I couldn't sit still through any of my classes that morning; I just kept thinking about everybody from New York coming here. Loki alone was enough to make me nervous, but Strange and my dad weren't exactly subtle either.
Finally, Transfiguration ended, and it was time for me and the twins to head back to the corridor every super hero in New York had appeared in last night.
"You know, I'm excited to meet these friends of yours," mused George.
"If they're half as interesting as you, this is going to be a blast!" agreed Fred.
They had no idea what they were in for.
We got to the corridor ahead of my dad, so we just had to lean against the walls and wait. It wasn't much longer before that familiar golden circle started materializing in thin air.
"Woah," I heard the twins chorus behind me. I didn't turn to look at their faces. Instead, I watched my dad step out of the portal. Loki was nowhere in sight, but I knew that meant nothing.
"Hi sweetheart," said my dad, stepping fully into the corridor to give me a hug.
"Hi dad."
"I'll be back for him here in five hours!" Strange yelled through the portal, not even bothering to come through.
I gave him a thumbs up, and he motioned for the portal to close. Before he could, so fast I almost missed it, Loki shot through with Peter and Shuri in tow.
Then the portal finished closing, and the seven of us were left standing in the middle of an ancient stone corridor.
"Peter—Loki—what the hell were you thinking!" yelled my dad, scowling at the Asgardian.
"I was thinking Alexa may need some company while you're trying to fix her device," Loki replied smoothly.
"She-"
"Dad, it's okay," I said, interrupting him before he could really get going. "I'm sure Strange will be back for them in a minute."
We all paused and looked back at the spot of the portal, waiting expectantly. When nothing happened, I kept talking.
"...or not. That's fine though. They can all just stay with me until Strange comes back. I'll keep them out of trouble." I shot Loki a grin, and he just shook his head at me. "Fred and George, do you guys mind taking my dad down to the spot you had in mind?"
"Not at all!" they chorused. They were handling all this crazy remarkably well.
"By the way you guys, this is Fred and George," I said, speaking to the newly-arrived New Yorkers. "They're twins, and they're wizards in my year. They're kinda the absolute best, funniest people ever. Loki, you seriously need to talk to them while you're here. They're expert pranksters."
Loki raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps I'll walk with them and your father."
"Uh-uh, no way. You're staying within five feet of me at all times while you're here."
"Good call," agreed my dad, sending a little glare at Loki.
"Anyway," I continued, before Loki could respond. "Fred and George, meet my dad, Tony Stark. This is my Uncle Loki, he could probably give the two of you a run for your money in the pranking department."
Fred and George grinned at each other, and it seemed like they were taking the words as a challenge. I'd have to do something about that before the three of them blew up Hogwarts.
"And the two awesome people who are our age are Peter and Shuri. They're two of my best friends from home. Shuri's an actual princess!"
"Nice to meet you guys!" exclaimed Peter, smiling that mega-watt smile at Fred and George while Shuri waved.
"Nice to meet you too!" chorused Fred and George.
"Okay, now that that's out of the way, we don't have all day to do this," said my dad. "Let's get this show on the road."
I nodded to Fred and George, and the three of them took off into the depths of the castle.
"We'll see you back in class in a bit!" called Fred, as George waved over his shoulder. I waved back, then turned to my other three visitors.
"Okay. Now I just have to keep you guys from being noticed for the next five hours," I said, putting my hands on my hips and looking at Loki, Peter, and Shuri. What the heck was I going to do with them? They were all extremely noticeable.
"We want to see your school!" declared Shuri, practically jumping up and down with excitement.
"And meet all your friends!" agreed Peter.
"And see these other wizards in action," added Loki.
I rubbed my temples, trying to think. Finally, I came up with a passable plan. Not a great one, but one that might work.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Loki, do that thing where you make yourself look like someone else."
"Like this?" he asked, turning into my Uncle Steve. Captain America was one of Loki's favorite people to imitate.
"No, like a student. Not a grown man wearing a bunch of spandex," I replied. Loki sighed, rolled his eyes, and then changed his disguise to fit a normal, fifth year Hogwarts student.
"How's this?" he asked, spreading his arms so I could get a good look.
"It's great! But change the robes. You can't be a Gryffindor or else people will start to ask who you are, since all my Gryffindor friends know the other Gryffindors."
Loki sighed again as he changed his robes. "There's just no pleasing you."
"What are you talking about? That's perfect, Slytherin robes and everything!" I exclaimed, grinning. "See, I'm pleased."
I turned my attention to Peter and Shuri, who had been watching me deal with Loki.
"Okay, Loki, can you do a shimmer thing or whatever your magic is called on these two so it looks like they're wearing Hogwarts robes?" I asked.
"Yes, I can." With a wave of his hand, Peter was suddenly in Hufflepuff robes and Shuri had Ravenclaw. Perfect. "I have to do all the work around here."
"Look, I would've prepared more if I knew what to expect. And don't you dare try to tell me that keeping the four of us out of trouble isn't going to be work," I said, starting down the corridor and trusting the other three to follow me.
"Now, we have to be careful," I continued, pushing through the exit from the secret passage and back to the main school. "There are a bunch of people that can NOT see you, so you need to stick by me because I know how to avoid them."
"Alexa? What are you doing? Who are these people?"
I whipped around to see Percy staring at me from a few feet down the corridor we came out in. Less than twenty seconds in the school and I already got us caught.
"Hey Perce! Uh... what do you mean? These are my friends, and we're just hanging out." No reason for him to suspect anything, right?
"Hmm... I don't recognize you three. What are your names?" he asked, looking at Peter, Shuri, and Loki. I jumped in before they could speak with their non-British accents and get us caught.
"They're just from a couple different houses! Peter and Shuri, they uh, they got hit with a laryngitis hex by some other students back there," I said, trying to think quickly.
"Oh dear! Hexing another student is unacceptable! I must go find these troublemakers at once. What did they look like?" he asked, staring at me intently.
"Oh, uh, I didn't really get a good look at them... their magic seemed pretty advanced so we just ran..." I explained.
"I'm so sorry you had to deal with this so soon after being introduced to the magical world, Alexa," said Percy sympathetically, putting a hand on my shoulder. He gave it a squeeze, then started to walk off. We were almost in the clear, but then Percy turned back around and looked straight at Loki. "I'm sorry, I don't believe I got your name."
Loki straightened his back and lifted his chin in the air. "Lo—"
"Logan! His name is Logan," I interrupted, yelling over Loki.
"Logan. Nice to meet you." Percy smiled, then disappeared around the corner in pursuit of imaginary trouble makers.
As soon as he was out of sight, I whirled around and socked Loki in the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" he whined
"Were you seriously going to give him your real name? Loki's not exactly common these days!"
"I'm sorry! I wasn't aware I had to hide everything about myself."
"Well, you do," I said, before turning to Peter and Shuri. "I'm sorry I didn't let you guys talk either, but I'm the only non-Brit here. If they heard either of your accents they would've known something was up."
"That's okay!" exclaimed Peter.
"And now that we know, we can use British accents from now on," agreed Shuri with a big grin on her face. "Okay... 'ow's this mate?"
I laughed. "It might be a little heavy, but overall not bad! Peter?"
He cleared his throat. "I think I can do a pretty good accent."
"Woah. Peter, that was perfect! Honestly, that was better than Loki's!" I exclaimed.
"Hey!" Loki scowled, but I ignored him.
"Peter, you must've been British in another life or something," I said. He grinned, and I knew our team was ready to go. "Alright guys, let's try this again. Sneaking around Hogwarts without getting caught take two!"
"Hopefully this time we'll make it more than five feet," muttered Loki under his breath. I chose to ignore him, instead leading the way through the halls and trying to brainstorm what the heck I was going to do with them once classes started again.