The Emotions of a God
It was the sensation of sunlight on his face that added to the joy Loki was feeling. Though he was used to Tony being able to throw around a seemingly limitless amount of his wealth, it was still a bit of a shock to have a home that was just this close to the beach. The fact that he could walk from the kitchen and be on the sandy beach within minutes was a luxury the god didn’t know he needed. Sure, it didn’t compare to the majesty of Asgard or even the realm of the Light Elves, but this slice of Midgardian beauty that Tony had carved out for their family was more than enough.
Looking out towards the horizon, he saw his son splashing happily amongst the waves, a constant smile plastered on the child’s face. So carefree, born from a life that had never known a single hardship. When Loki watched the young child play with Tony in the water, he felt a sense of pride rise within him. It would have been so easy to become just like his own Father. To become distant with Harry. Cold and aloof. Only paying the child attention when it best suited him.
Harry would never know a Father like Odin, not if Loki could help it.
The god of magic cast his gaze back towards the sun, letting its warmth bask down upon him. He had no idea what he had done to earn such a favor, but he was thankful for it. He was free of his burden to Asgard. Free of the rule of his Father. Free from the expectations of his brother. Free to just live as a mortal on Midgard, content to be with his husband and child.
It was the sudden lack of his son's laughter and splashing that drew Loki’s attention first.
Looking away from the sun, whose rays were growing colder by the second, Loki found both his love and his son missing.
“Tony,” he softly called out, getting up from the cold sand to run over to the shoreline. “Harry! Tony!” he yelled out, casting his eyes outwards to the storming seas before him.
The surf foamed violently as the waves churned. Storm clouds overhead began to dump their deluge, turning the sand into grey sludge that threatened to drag Loki downwards with every step. He pulled his legs up desperately, still looking out into the raging storm in the hopes of spotting Harry or Tony somewhere amongst the high waves. If he could see them then he could pull them back to safety.
“HARRY,” he yelled with all of his might, his voice all but drowned out by the thunderous booms from above.
As he struggled along the shoreline, his foot crushed something hard. Looking down, he was horrified to see his son’s glasses under his foot, shattered beyond repair. The red-rimmed frames were twisted and the lenses were nothing but a spider-web of cracks. His hands were shaking as he cradled them close, knowing that it could only mean his son was lost. Sobs wracked his body as he cried out into the storming skies, his grief the only thing he could feel.
“Grief is the only constant in the universe,”
Loki stiffened at that voice, his mind and body flung back until the beach became a distant memory and he was kneeling on rough steel on a ship. His body was still soaked and in his hands were his son’s glasses.
“Grief. Pain. It is merely inevitable,” Thanos continued, the hand of the massive Titan landing with a thud on Loki’s shoulder,
“Your son was spared this. It was a mercy. A respite from what is to come. Certain death, away from the random choice of true balance,”
“Pity, he would have made a better one of our ranks than you ever did, mongrel,” came the indifferent voice of Ebony Maw.
Loki was powerless as he was ensnared in the creature’s mental powers, Harry’s glasses ripped from his hands as he was pulled into the air. Maw looked up at Loki, circling him with a disturbing grin on his face.
“Perhaps it is better for him to have died. You, however, will have no such rest. You will be witness to the arrival of Thanos as he sets the cosmic scales in true balance,”
Loki felt his body slam to the ground, forced onto his hands and knees before Maw and Thanos, both of them towering over the god in their unchecked power.
“N-no. I cannot lose him. Not again,” Loki cried, trying to fight against the hold on his body, “I will not lose him again,”
“I’m afraid, that choice is already out of your hands,” came the voice of Odin.
Loki was standing now, looking down at the body of his son, no longer a child but a teenager. His eyes were closed. His body was pale and cold to the touch. The warmth of life long since gone.
“You were supposed to be better than I was. And yet, here lies your son, proof of your failure” the All-Father taunted
Loki reached out, taking hold of Harry’s hand, feeling how cold it was.
“I won’t let this be,” Loki whispered, willing his magic into his son, “This will not be,”
Loki woke with a start, his eyes adjusting to the darkroom he found himself in. His hand was still holding onto his son’s while the boy was sleeping in his bed. At least Loki told himself that Harry was just sleeping and not currently in a coma of some kind. It had been the only way he could have managed to keep his own sanity during all of this.
Strange had managed to finally get Harry somewhat stable after a grueling few hours. Most of the time was spent by the Sorcerer trying to reverse the damage from the runes that Harry had carved into his arm. The work was expertly done, which made reversing the magic all the harder. It was constantly feeding off of Harry’s magic to power itself. With the runes designed to keep his arm intangible, it was impossible to stop the bleeding until that problem was solved. The solution wasn’t ideal, but it was the only choice they had. To drain his son’s core of magic.
“It will kill him,” Loki had raged at the Doctor as they stood on either side of Harry’s body on the hospital bed.
“No, what will kill him is the heavy amounts of blood loss he is currently going through. Those runes are not going to heal and they were cut far too deep. We have to remove all of his magic for the runes to stop working and then I can save him,”
“By stripping him of his magic,” Loki growled
“Temporarily. His magic has been the only thing keeping him alive and with it also running the runes, there isn’t a lot of it left. And this is despite the depth of magical power your son holds. I promise you Loki, your son will regenerate his magic. This is the only way,”
Loki had insisted on being the one to bleed his son’s core, feeling sick as he stripped away the magic within his son. Harry, despite being unconscious, writhed in pain as Loki siphoned away his magic back into Yggdrasil itself. True to his word, Stephen was able to remove the runes carved into Harry and set to work healing the wounds. Of course, that didn’t mean everything would be alright, as evidenced by the coma Harry was trapped in.
Loki hadn’t left the room since Stephen finished his work. More than that, he refused entry from anyone else into the sick bay. Not even Tony was allowed to step foot within the medbay. It was selfish, this Loki knew, but he wasn’t in the mood to remotely care. Even though they were both Harry’s parents, it was Loki that had carried him. Even if it was only for a few months before the surrogacy into Lily.
It was hard to know that this was how Loki was looking upon the face of his child for the first time. Not in the light of day or with a smile. But in the darkened room of a hospital bed. Unsure of if he would ever wake again.
“No. He will. I know he will,” Loki refuted the thought that was threatening to take roost in his mind.
That was his son on the bed. If there was ever a person who could fight back from the brink of death, it would be his son. He was sure of it.
Sitting up for a moment, Loki let go of Harry just long enough to stretch towards the ceiling, his back protesting the way he had fallen asleep. It did little to bother him though, he would sleep on a pile of rocks if it meant being able to keep his son close.
Despite his insistence that he be left alone, Loki glared at the door as someone knocked on it. A second later, it slid open, though the lights thankfully remained off. Standing there in the door frame was a tired-looking Tony. One who was regarding Loki with concern in his eyes. Even if Loki couldn’t see them properly, he could feel it all the same in the gaze that he was regarded with.
“How’s he doing,” Tony asked, still not stepping fully into the room
“The same as before. Not waking up,” Loki turned to face Tony, arms crossed in clear disapproval, “I thought I told you that I didn’t want anyone else in here with him,”
“Yeah, and while I respect the whole Mama Bear energy you have going on, I need you out here right now,” Tony took a tentative first step into the room. When he was sure Loki wasn’t going to hit him with some magic, he walked over to the man
“While you have been looking after our bundle of joy, I have been dealing with a bunch of Wixen showing up demanding to be let in to see Harry. Ones that seem to take issue with being denied as such,”
Loki bit the inside of his lip and tried to figure out just who was trying to gain access to his son. His money was on that meddlesome fool Dumbledore, but considering the trial coming up it was anyone’s guess.
“Am I to assume our guest Sorcerer Supreme is keeping them from coming down here and taking Harry,”
“Better he does it than a god with a loose code of morals. You should still go up there though, see if you can iron things out,”
“I can’t do that Tony. I’m not going to let Harry slip away again,” Loki turned away from Tony to look back at Harry
“Look. I know you are afraid you are going to lose him, but he is my kid too. I promise you, Harry will be fine with me here. And when you are done intimidating a bunch of Wixen into leaving us alone, he will still be here,”
Loki felt so many retorts and rationalizations rise and fall on his tongue. He wanted nothing more than to spend every second by Harry’s side until he could see those eyes of his for himself. It was his fault that Harry was even in this predicament. His fault that Harry wasn’t with him from the get-go. Safe. Protected. Shielded.
Yet, one look at Tony at his side, the man looking tenderly at their son, helped put a few of his worries at ease. For now, at least, he would leave his son's side. He could trust Tony at the very least.
“Very well. I suppose it is time to let the cat out of the bag as it were. I imagine they are asking just what right we have to keep our son here,”
“That’s about the long and short of it. To be honest, there was no way we were going to be able to keep this under wraps until the trial,”
Loki gave his son one last look as he stood, committing every inch of his face to memory as if he wasn’t going to see it again.
“Suppose you are right. Well, time to go face the music. I trust Madame Bones and Kingsley are already on hand,”
“Yep,” Tony popped the ‘P’ as he took over Loki’s seat at their son’s bedside, “They are staying out of sight for the moment. Though David Copperfield seems to be driving our guest crazy with his explanation as to why being a sorcerer is better,”
Despite his wiry smile, Loki kept his thoughts to himself. Best to not go into this already thinking lowly of the Wixen that thought they had claim to his son. He did grant them only the barest of favors since they did not know the truth. It did little to temper his irritation though.
With a parting glance at Harry and Tony, his nightmare still burning in his mind, Loki took his leave from the med bay in probably the most extra way possible. After all, there was no sense in not showing up with a bit of added flare. Or in this case, appearing in literal green flames.
The scene upstairs was going about as well as one could expect. Strange was doing his best to keep the peace, however his way of doing so involved keeping the three visitors tightly trapped under a golden dome of Eldritch magic.
“This is most peculiar,” came the wizened voice of Dumbledore as he reached out to touch the sphere that kept him, McGonagall, and Severus trapped, “I have never seen magic such as this before,”
Minerva was less awestruck by the sphere they were trapped under, instead, she was busy using light hexes to test the dome for any sort of weakness. She was growing more and more frustrated as time went by, her voice going from calm and collected to a thick Scottish brogue as she began to swear under her breath.
Severus, on the other hand, was looking more annoyed than anything else. He had been pulled from his lab by the report that Harry’s magic was finally felt outside of where Black had been keeping him prisoner. The Headmaster had kept both him and Minerva awake as they tried to track the boy’s movements through the night, always arriving just moments too late before he would vanish again. Severus had planned on informing Loki and Kingsley as soon as he was able to, but it was clear that things had gone a different way. At least Harry was safe, to some degree
“Well, sorcery is a different branch of magic, one that requires greater skill to master. So, I am not surprised that you know very little of it Albus Dumbledore,”
“Oh, you know of me my boy,” Albus had a twinkle in his eyes, one that spoke of either curiosity or planning. It was often hard to tell which
“I am Master of the Mystic Arts and the Sorcerer Supreme. It is my job to know of all the magical events going on in the world. Including the pickle, you seemed to be dealing with,” Strange responded snappishly
“I do apologize for not respecting your title. There were rumors of a Sorcerer of your standing years ago, though we always thought them to be just rumors. Hopefully, you can understand that we a concerned for one of our own and merely wish to see him returned to his family safely,”
Strange looked ready to refute Albus’s words when the conversation was cut off by a tower of green flames appearing between both parties.
“Show off,” Strange muttered as Loki stepped out of the flames, dressed in his Asgardian armor. Horned helmet and all.
“Albus. I wish I could say it is a pleasure to meet you once again, but I fear it is not,” Loki smirked, glaring down at the Headmaster
“I…Laci. I thought you were dead,” there was a moment, a fraction of a moment, where fear and understanding flashed across the face of Albus. Only to be replaced by a warm smile, “My boy, it has been years since I saw you last,”
“Don’t play dumb with me Albus. I remember how you broke into my mind when I was on Midgard, a student in your institution. You saw how I was more than a mere Midgardian magic user. You know who I am,” Loki seethed, never letting his glare break from Albus
“Albus, what is he on about? Do you know this man and why he may have Harry,” Minerva asked, gripping her wand as she eyed Loki
“I am afraid I do. The man you see before you used to attend Hogwarts as a Slytherin years ago, the same year that Severus was in. He was always curiously powerful and I was worried that he may be on the side of the Dark Lord. I peered into his mind and discovered that he was a god. One that was hiding from his father amongst us,” Dumbledore somberly spoke
“You would do well to not remind me of that night Albus. It was part of the reason why I ran from my son in the first place,”
“Your son,” Minerva moved to the front, pushing Albus aside, “You can’t mean Harry? He is the child of James and Lily! I was there for his birth and you were never present, let alone mentioned,”
Loki looked over to Strange, the doctor sighing slightly as he dropped the barrier that had kept the three Wixen sequestered. Neither party made a move, though Minerva refused to let go of her wand. Even Albus looked ready to cast, while Severus stood in the back, wishing he were anywhere else.
“There is a lot we must discuss, and I’d rather not have to fight you all. If you all can…indulge me for a few moments I will be more than happy to clear the air on any obfuscations on the truth,” Loki offered
“You expect me to believe the man who claims to be the god of lies,” Minerva spat back
“Not at all, but I do hope you will listen. Do that, and I may be willing to let you see Harry afterward. Though, make no mistake, if you attempt to take him from me I will prove to you why I am also the god of magic,”
The threat in Loki’s voice was sharp and vicious, one spoken with the confidence of a warrior. Albus looked back at his companions, getting a read on their emotions as to how to proceed. Severus, as always, was impossible to discern. Minerva though, it was easy to tell that the woman was on edge, ready to curse Loki at a moment’s notice.
“I believe we can entertain this notion for a while. From what little is known about Asgardian customs, I assume this is to be discussed over drinks. I have always wondered what true mead tastes like,” Albus was firmly in his role as a doting old man, though Loki saw right through it.
“Fresh out of mead. Would you settle for Fire whiskey instead,” Loki offered as he gestured for them to follow him.
Loki had no doubts that at least Minerva and Albus were going to try and convince him to give them Harry. Part of him was hoping that it would come down to a battle if that were the case. He was itching to pay Dumbledore back for his part in Harry’s upbringing.
While the magic users were having their talk, Tony was busy with the only one he cared about. Well, the only one besides Loki, though he would never admit it out loud. It was odd, seeing Harry right there in front of him, breathing softly. There was so much of Loki in him, that was to be sure, but Tony couldn’t help but see shades of himself. Mostly in the boy’s complexion and the slight turn of his jaw. Not only that but that hair, was very much like he had been in his younger years. Wild and unkempt.
"Still can’t believe you’re real,” he whispered fondly into the darkness of the med bay. He can’t help but reach out to brush a stray bang from the face of Harry.
Tony had no plans of ever having kids. Hell, he was sure that all the palladium that had been coursing through his veins years back would have made that an impossibility. Not to mention the fact that he was far more comfortable with guys than he let on. Yet, here was his kind. Here was the impossibility made real and Tony had no idea how to deal with it. Quantum mechanics and engineering were easy for him, but parenting was nowhere in his wheelhouse.
Then there was the whole his son being not only a Wizard of all things but one that was as famous among his kind as Tony was around the rest of the world. He was still trying to get a grip on the fact magic was even possible in the world. Of course, he wasn’t too shocked, after all, he was on a team with a living god. Yet, most of what Thor and even Loki did he could somewhat hand-wave as science he didn’t understand. The magic he had seen from the Wixen though, was beyond what he thought possible. Then that Doctor with the red cape had to go and throw another branch of magic into the mix just to add to the complications of it all.
Tony was, for the first time in a while, just at a loss for what to expect.
Pulling up a chair, Tony pulled out his phone, accessing the files he had on Harry, specifically the AI his son had built. Hermione had been the ticket into getting the thing working again, and Tony was once again stunned at what his child was capable of. When compared to FRIDAY or even JARVIS before becoming Vision, the code for it was not as advanced. Yet, the framework was still there. His son, the wizard, had been well on his way to creating an AI at a far younger age than Tony had. He wanted nothing more than to tell his kid good job and help him on making it great.
His mind flashed back to his teen years, going into his father’s lab, holding his makeshift hydro-powered generator. Tony knew that it wasn’t the best craftsmanship, even back then, but he had gotten it to work. His father, who hadn’t even said hi when he came back home that day from a trip, took one look at the thing and scoffed. Told Tony that it wasn’t as good as it could be and that Tony was wasting his time. It had been the only time Tony ever cried, as he took a hammer to his project in the dead of night.
Tony wanted nothing more than to not be his father. To treat his son the way he had been when he was young. To look at something his kid had created and declare it to be useless. No, he would be the end of that cycle of abuse for Stark men. Tony wasn’t going to be a thing like his dead, not if he could help it.
“They look so peaceful when they are like that. The next thing you know, you are the bad guy for some reason,” came the voice of Clint, as always arriving unannounced and unheard.
“Well, maybe this one won’t be like yours. Besides, he has Stark blood in his veins and I turned out alright…enough at least,” Tony countered, turning to face the archer who was grinning “And are you telling me your parenting style is putting your kids in comas for some peace? I don’t need to send CPS for a house call do I,”
“I’m sure Mrs. Hawkeye wouldn’t approve of that. Though the thought did cross my mind at least once or twice. Not the coma mind you,” Clint quickly corrected, though Tony still gave him a knowing smirk, “And while he may have Stark in him, he is still Loki’s kid too. Which, not to sound rude, still confuses me,”
“I’m sure that he won’t be nearly as bad as that half of his gene pool. Long as we keep an eye out for any ideas of world domination,”
“The moment the kid tries to mind control me, I’m going to thwack him with my bow. Speaking of Loki, how’d you two…hook up in the first place,”
A fond smile spread across Tony’s face, one that Clint made his own face at,
“Oh god you look lovesick right now,” the archer quipped
“You asked. Loki just was different, ya know? Back when I first met him, I had no idea he was a god, or even the thought of gods being real. He was just some guy I met in London. Then he became The Guy I met in London. He was smart, witty, amazing in bed,”
Hawkeye interrupted with a fake gagging sound,
“Oh grow up. The point is, he was everything I wanted in someone. We spent a month or so together and, in that time…I felt he was the one. I was ready to move Stark Industries overseas for him. Then he just…vanished,
“Even knowing now why he did, it still hurts. And knowing that we had a kid and he kept him from me while he ran away to hide was honestly too much. Hell, it still is too much sometimes. But Clint, he still acts like the man I knew. Still sounds the same. Still smells the same and I just…,” Tony trailed off, looking back at Harry once more.
“So, even though he leveled half of New York, killed Coulson, and dropped an alien army that killed even more people, you still love him,” there was no accusation or malice in Clint’s tone. Just an honest curiosity to know the truth
“Clint, I’ve created weapons that have ended hundreds upon thousands of lives. I have more blood on my hands than almost anyone else on this planet. I got a second chance to make things better, to put some good in the world. It won’t ever make up for what I did, but it’s a start. Loki has the same chance. I can’t hold that against him,”
“So, you still love him,” Clint asked again, his eyes looking into Tony’s, searching for truth.
“Yeah. Guess I still do Legolas. Guess I still do,”
Clint didn’t say anything after that, just sat there in silence while Tony watched over Harry. The entire time he couldn’t help but think of how he had married a SHIELD trained killer. Or how his only true friend in the world was an assassin whose life was bathed in blood. Even he wasn’t exempt from having skeletons in his closet. They might not be as deep as Tony’s or Loki’s, but there were still innocent lives lost among them.
He had no love for Loki, not in the least bit. However, hearing Tony speak about how he cared for the god, Clint could at least understand why Tony was willing to give him another chance. Though, the archer would be watching him all the same. He and their kid. As there was no way that with his parents, Harry wasn’t going to be a problem of some kind. Hopefully, it would just be standard teenager issues.
Hopefully.
Loki looked across from the table, sipping at a blend of tea, watching as Minerva and Albus took in the information that was just given to them. Beside Loki were Madame Bones and Kingsley Shacklebolt, both officials stoned-faced as they watched the other three.
“And you knew about this Severus,” Albus looked over at the Potions Master, the man not showing a shred of regret at his actions, “You knew about all of this and you never spoke a word of this,”
“He couldn’t Albus. He was under the Asgardian version of an Unbreakable Vow,” Loki cut in to defend Severus, “The man couldn’t say a thing about his involvement without risking his magic being stripped from him. Even if he wanted to tell you, he would have been unable to tell you anything I didn’t want him to say,”
Albus, for his worth, didn’t show if he believed Loki outright. Instead, he held Severus’s gaze for a moment, the younger man allowing the Headmaster to do so. It was only when he pulled away that Albus looked a bit more at ease.
“Madame Bones, while I know my involvement in the placement of Harry in that…horrid home is reason for alarm, I assure you I have always had Harry’s best interest in mind,”
“Be that as it may, Albus,” Madame Bones was full no nonsense as she spoke to the Headmaster, “You still placed a child who, at the time, was believed to be an orphan in the care of Muggles without alerting the Magical Children Welfare Department. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the child, he should have been sent to them so a proper Bloodline test could be done to find any suitable living relatives,”
“Albus, I told you they were the worse sort of Muggles,” Minerva muttered, mostly to herself though everyone heard, “I told you I didn’t feel right just leaving him there that night,”
“We didn’t have the luxury of waiting Minerva. There was no telling if the Dark Lord's agents would have come by to see the job finished. Not to mention he needed to be placed with them for the sake of the wards,”
“Wards that you claim would have protected him from You-Know-Who,” Shacklebolt groused, clearly irritated with Albus and his manipulations, “Knowing that Lily was merely a surrogate for Harry, there would be no tangible connection to those supposed wards. Wards that only you knew about and were not confirmed by any other source. I assure you, we will be investigating your claims,”
Loki was feeling smug, though he kept the grin he wanted to give from his face. It would not do him well to display such a face at this moment in time. Though he fully planned to relive the memory of Albus getting a dressing down from time to time.
“All the same, I do hope you will forgive the actions of an old man. I truly was doing what I felt was best at the time. Children, as I hope you all know, thrive best when they are with family. It was merely my intention to ensure Harry was raised by who I believed to be his blood relatives,” Albus kept a sad twinkle in his eyes as he regarded Loki,
“I do hope that, despite finding out the truth in such a fashion, you will forgive me. Understand that what I did was not only for Harry’s sake but for the greater good as a whole. The boy…he had a destiny before him. One that I am best equipped at helping him reach,”
There it was. There was the start of the plea to keep Harry for his reasons. Loki knew it was going to go this way at some point, and was fully prepared to go on the attack.
“I beg your pardon, but I highly doubt someone such as yourself could offer my son any useful help towards whatever this nebulous destiny you claim him to have. Even if what you speak is true, I am more than able to handle it myself,” Loki kept the venom out of his voice, as best as he could
“I assure you, I have a better grasp of the situation Loki. I have been watching young Harry in your absence and I will continue to do so,” the dig was clear to all at the table, with Severus breaking his reserved demeanor to lift an eyebrow in shock
“And yet, my son was treated less than human and abused while under your watch,” Loki leaned over the table, fire in his eyes, “Before you cast your stones, take notice of the glass walls of your own house Albus,”
Before Albus could say another word, a highly irked Madame Bones slammed her fist upon the table, drawing attention from all who sat with her
“Enough of this. I will not stand for this snipping over the welfare of a child. Albus, seeing as your care was removed once Sirius Black took custody of Harry, you have no standing to assert guardianship over Harry. Sadly, the same goes for Loki as well. Even though we did perform a bloodline test to confirm that Harry was his son, the nature of the boy’s custody is still up in the air,”
“Then what will you do with Harry? Surely you can’t think of leaving him here with people who aren’t even of our world. No offense to you Loki, but you don’t know the first thing about Potter, let alone how best to care for him,” Minerva finally spoke up, ire still in her eyes over the entire situation
“As Harry’s current acting physician,” Strange spoke for the first time, letting his book hover in place as he looked over the table of Wixen and one god, “He is in no condition to be moved without good reason. He is still in a coma and when he wakes up he will require constant watching to ensure he does not slip into another one,”
“I will have you know, Madame Pomfery at Hogwarts is a very accomplished Healer. She is more than capable of dealing with whatever ails Mr. Potter,” Minerva snapped, her Scottish accent thick
“Right, well I have two Ph.D.s in medical science, a highly accomplished surgeon, and a Master of the Mystic Arts. I think my qualifications outrank hers,” Strange gave Minerva a wink, before returning to his book.
“Be that as it may,” Madame Bones continued, “Harry is, for the time being, considered to be in the custody of the Magical Children Welfare Department. Madame Vers has already filed that, as long as myself or Shacklebolt are present, Harry's location is at our discretion until a trial to determine his placement,”
The witch conjured a scroll and passed it to Dumbledore, who looked over the listed proceedings, though if he was surprised, he certainly didn’t show it,
“In addition to this, we have been given an additional week before the trial to allow Mr. Potter the chance to heal. After the trial to determine Potter's guilt or innocence in the matter of casting magic before a Muggle, which we hope he will be awake to attend, we shall hold another to settle the matter of his guardianship. Until such a settlement is reached, neither Dumbledore nor Harry’s biological parents have a say in where he may stay. If, by the end of the trial, the Wizengamot cannot decide as to the boy’s final custody, they will appoint him to be a ward of one of the families that hold seats,”
Loki heard all this, knew all about it, but hearing it from Madame Bones like this was just a gut punch. There was a chance that if Albus made a good enough case, Harry would be taken from him. His mind cast back to his nightmare. Of losing Harry. He couldn’t do it again. He wouldn’t. Even if he had to steal the boy himself and leave with Tony to Asgard, he would. Loki had no intention of ever letting his son go ever again.
“I feel that this is an amicable decision Madame,” Albus said with a smile, getting up from the table, “I look forward to presenting the case, as it has been some time since I have had to do so before the entire Wizengamot. I presume we shall not see each other until then, Loki,” Albus extended his hand toward the god who looked at it in disgust
“I assure you, Albus, I have no wish to see you before then. And after all is said and done, and Harry is where he belongs, you and I will be having a chat about his destiny,”
“You may think Harry belongs to you, but I know where he is needed. Now, I do believe I have to talk with my Potions Master about what he had been up to during this summer,” Albus didn’t elaborate on it, though Severus looked annoyed at whatever was going to happen.
Minerva looked over at Loki, a curious glint in her eyes,
“I knew the Potters very well,” she spoke, catching Loki’s attention, “They were…they deserved so much better than what they got. Knowing Lily, you made the right choice in a surrogate. If you get Harry, promise me you’ll do better than we ever did with him,”
Emotion ran through Loki at Minerva’s words, though he didn’t show or say anything. Instead, he gave the witch a small nod as the trio began to take their leave. Once they had apparated away, Loki let out a long sigh, holding his head in his hands for a moment. There were too many emotions running through his mind to focus properly. Among them all was his worry for Harry and how things were going to go from here.
“Just so you know Loki,” Madame Bones drew Loki out from his closed hands, “Albus will more than likely fight like hell to gain custody of Harry. He has many of the Light-aligned Houses on the Wizengamot wrapped around his finger and he won’t make it easy for you. Expect him to do some digging into your past and bring that to court,”
Loki didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. It was something he already knew was a possibility and one that he was prepared to face. All the same, he felt a rush of nausea run through his body.
“Thank you, I will consider that. If you excuse me, I need to go check up on my son,”
Loki didn’t bother with the flames, he merely willed himself to be by his son's bedside. He appeared standing next to Tony, who had fallen asleep, his head resting on Harry’s bed. Someone had laid a blanket atop Tony and Loki couldn’t help but just look down on the scene before him. For a moment he could fool himself into thinking that he had walked in on Tony reading Harry a story or bringing him back to bed after a long day in the lab. Anything other than the truth of the matter, that their child was stuck in a coma.
Loki, the god of lies that he was, refused to acknowledge the truth. At least for this moment.
He didn’t use magic, merely pulled a spare chair and pulled it on the other side of Harry. Sitting down, he brushed the bangs out of the boy’s face, a face that looked at peace. Loki leaned forward, hooking his head in the crook of an arm. He was close enough that he could feel the even breaths of Harry as he slept. The rise and fall of his chest as he slept the night away. Reaching over, his hand found Tony’s, interlacing their fingers together. If the man was awake, he didn’t show it, but his hand tightened once Loki had a hold of it.
They joined hands, linking over the sleeping body of their son. A picturesque moment of life.
Life, as it was meant to be.