Tricks.
Rumors spread through Hogwarts faster than any spell, so when two Gryffindor third-year students were seen holding hands as they walked to class, it didn't take long before the betting pool was called in.
Breakfast was never quiet, but a few girls going to the Weasley twins made it even louder. Each one demanded to know who had a winning bet.
"Do they really not have anything better to talk about?" Hermione mumbled quietly. Why was everyone obsessed with her love life? Wait, love? She shook her head at that.
"Ignore them." Harry wrote down something in that notebook he carried.
"What are you writing?"
"Ideas." That was all he gave out, as he kept writing.
"Good luck getting any more than that," Neville told her. "He won't even let Reg look in it."
"Not from a lack of trying on his part," Harry mumbled. This was where he stored all the designs and formulas he came up with. From Regulus hammer and Nevilles axe. He had one he was working on for Hermione, his girlfriend, that made him smile, but he wasn't done with it. He hoped for Christmas.
"But I bet before the year was over!" Lavender was let out from down the table.
The three turned to see Lavender arguing with the redheaded twins.
"Sorry, but someone else put it much closer," George replied.
"Like hours," Fred explained.
"Who?"
At that, Luna skipped over and held out her hand. "My winnings, please."
"Hey, she can't bet! She's too close to them."
"She had some interesting things to add that made her admission acceptable," George said crypticly.
What he meant was that Luna had found and laid out some of their hidden spots around the castle, and he implied she might lead a certain man and his cat around to them. That got her in pretty easily.
"Here you are." Fred handed her the small stack.
"Thank you." Luna took it and skipped over the table with the others. She slid half the bet over to Hermione with a wink.
Hermione grinned back and took the half.
"Clever girls." Harry chuckled.
"What is going on down here?" Their head of house asked as she came over to the twins.
"Nothing Professor. I just settled a small wager." Fred answered.
McGonagall looked over at Harry and Hermione. She, too, heard the gossip. In some ways, it was like looking at James and Lily again, other than Hermione's hair color. Then she remembered the other reasons she had come down.
"Filch was found in a spider web that the headmaster had to remove. Care to tell me anything?" She had a gaze so strong that even some of the others at the table were about to confess.
"I'm afraid I have nothing to say," George said. "You?" He turned to his brother.
"Not that I can think of."
Hermione looked at Harry, who smirked back, while Neville was trying not to laugh.
"I hope so. If this happens again, then the guilty party will have repercussions. Am I clear?"
"I hope the ones responsible take your words to heart," George replied.
"Absolutely. Such delinquents." Fred shook his head in disappointment.
She rolled her eyes and went back up to the head table. She did have a betting pool of her own to check in on.
Breakfast ended, and the groups began fanning out to their classes. Hermione started to grab her bag of books, but Harry picked it up first.
"What are you doing?"
"Carrying your bag to class."
"Why?"
"One of the responsibilities of being a boyfriend." He winked back.
Hermione shook her head with a goofy smile before taking his hand.
But as usual, someone saw the happy couple and decided to voice his unwanted opinion.
"And I thought your father would be the biggest embarrassment to the Potter name. But you had to follow his example and date a woman." Draco stopped himself.
"What's wrong, Malfoy? You seemed to want to call me something." Hermione smirked.
Draco glared. "Shut it, you..."
"You...what? Come on, Draco. Say it." She challenged him back.
The boy only glared more. He was calling on all his lessons to maintain his control, but the fact that this mudblood was talking to him like this was infuriating.
"Why are you so concerned with who Harry dates? Are you jealous?" She egged on.
"Of him?! It's hardly my concern if he lowers himself like his father did."
"The man who fought against Voldemort and was one of the bravest men who ever lived? Yes, such shame." Neville snapped back. This tossed was asking for a hex.
"He can't help himself. He has to insult the woman who beat that coward, Voldemort," Harry said. He was enjoying the way Hermione was tearing into Draco but had to add his own two nugs. "The way I see it, you can't ask for better examples of the best the wizard world has. Certainly better than someone who was branded as a slave and lived on his knees. How is Daddy doing anyhow?"
Draco wanted to curse him so badly, but he just raised his nose. "One day your mouth will get you in more trouble than you can handle, Potter."
"Maybe. But it won't be from you." He stepped forward.
Draco and he had a face-off that you could feel the tension from. Neither one is backing down. Harry saw the way the boy stood and how he was cupping his wand in his pocket. He did a quick probe to see what spell Malfoy was planning, but was shocked to find a wall.
What the hell? Since when does he have shields? The tosser's mind has always been open. He's up to something.
"You are in for a rude awakening, Potter. There's a storm coming; you can't hope to survive."
"Malfoy. I am the storm." Harry lost his smirk and had a look in his eyes that even Draco felt some fear from.
The blonde stalked off without saying a word. Harry's eyes were locked on him as he disappeared around the corner.
"You have that look on your face that says something is wrong," Hermione said.
"Malfoy. His mind is protected." Harry whispered back.
"I thought you stopped reading people's minds." She frowned.
"I don't do it a lot, but with how the git acts, it's smart to keep an eye on him. Someone's taught him Occlumency." And Malfoy is surprisingly good at it.
"Ten gallons on Snape," Neville said.
"He is the most likely one, but why?" Harry had to do some investigating.
"You're going to spy on him." Hermione realized.
"What a horrible thing to say." Harry mocked offense. "Do you think I am a delinquent?"
"Yes."
Neville snorted at her point-blank response.
Harry chuckled before they went to their class. "Terrible influence."
"You certainly are." She squeezed his hand back.
Stephen read over his reports. So far, Karl was in the wind. Have you ever thought that would change? Loki had made no noise and showed no signs of being on Earth. So his current work was on narrowing down the last of the anchors.
Laid out before him was a mapping of all the locations he found them at. Gringotts, Sirius's house, the Gaunt shack, Malfoy's home, and he had Harry's name lit up. Even if Harry wasn't technically a Horcrux, the soul piece did set everything into motion.
"Stephen." Wong came into the study.
"Wong." He didn't bother looking up. He had a thought nagging at the back of his mind.
"Starring at that won't make the last Horcrux appear."
"If only it was that easy." Stange sat back.
"What are you thinking?"
"So, something about the curse Riddle left in Hogwarts. I can't help but feel like we missed something there."
"The cursed areas were removed. What else is there?"
"We traced the area he tied the curse to, but how did he keep it powered all these years?"
I thought for a moment. "The defensive spells of the school could have been used."
"I checked. He had or still has something in that school that kept the curse alive." Strange said. "I think that when he came to interview for the position, he left something there."
"You think he placed one of his anchors in the school?" Wong realized.
"It would be like him. Hide something right under Dumbledore's nose."
"And Albus would never think to; look there. He would never have imagined Riddle would outsmart him like that. Or thought that he could possibly miss what is right in front of him." Wong nodded.
"Dumbledore suffers from his clouded vision. Believably, he knows best." Strange pulled the Hogwarts history book, the more accurate one, and began reading. "The problem is we're only guessing, and even if it's true, he could have hidden it anywhere."
"True. Luckily, we have someone inside who has been sneaking around the castle for years." Wong offered.
"I don't like the idea of Harry facing one of those things again."
"He's a bit arrogant and still young, but not stupid, Stephen."
"Never said he was. I'll consider it, but for now, let's get in touch with Bill Weasley. He went there and may have seen or heard something we missed."
"And if it gives him a chance to work with us, securing an ally for the future?"
"He offered. Tom attacks his sister. The young man is eager to strike back."
And Mordo? We still haven't a clue what he is planning." Wong reminded him.
"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it. Nobody will."
"You always know just the wrong thing to say." Wong exhaled.
Stephen chuckled at that.
"This is fascinating." Atreus watched the woman's work.
They were in Alice's shop as she demonstrated different spells for the new year that would start next term. Atreus was under Natasha's supervision since his 'mother' was working. It took some convincing for Freya to agree; he had to keep up appearances, and now Regulus had taken to being a tour guide for his new friend.
Regulus had shown him around his father's shop and explained that the basement was the best place to practice. Atreus hadn't gotten a wand yet, so he tried with one of Regulus's practice ones. Loki was quite pleased with himself that he was able to replicate some of this magic on his own. Nothing too spectacular since he was playing a child.
"Not bad."
"For someone who has no idea what he is doing?" Atreus grinned.
"You're new to all of this." Regulus shrugged back. "Hey, check this out!" The boy pulled off his necklace and expanded it to the full size of his hammer.
Arteus tensed when Regulus showed him the hammer.
"Wicked, isn't it? My brother made it for me."
"Brother?"
"You haven't heard of him? Everyone knows him. He's the Boy Who Lived." Regulus did quotations with his fingers. "He hates that title."
"Boy, who lived?" The one who survived the 'dark lord'." Loki did read that in some books. He was intrigued because they say he survived the impossible. Of course, with such weak magic, that is not surprising.
"Yeah. Doctor Strange found him after, and he held him for my dad when he went after the traitor. He's at Hogwarts. I'm starting next year! You too!"
"Right." Loki nodded. The boy is older. He's probably the one my brother mentioned. Unexpected, but that doesn't ruin my plans. This boy here is a fountain of useful information. "I've heard of this Dr. Strange around here. He's either loved or hated."
Regulus looked at him oddly. "You didn't hear of him outside? He's not officially an Avenger, but he worked with them. His magic is one of the ones not hidden."
Atreus shrugged. "I was learning about this magic."
"Hmm. We'll say Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme. The highest authority of magic on Earth."
"Interesting," Loki noted. He would have to avoid this man, but he didn't worry. He was just a human. "So Thor is your favorite Avenger?" Motioning to the hammer.
"I don't have a favorite. Thor is awesome, though."
"He sure is." Loki was happy he was so good with illusions because he would be rolling his eyes otherwise.
"I'll tell you a little secret. I always wanted to meet Loki." Regulus whispered to him.
"What? Why? He's the bad guy."
"Thor doesn't think so. Or so his stories told me. They sound like Harry and me, but with more stabbings."
Loki didn't know what to think about that. His brother told stories of them. Which ones? He probably made himself more heroic. He did find himself smirking at the fact that he told the stabbing story. It was a good time. "What would you say to him?"
"Ask him for advice on pranks. He's the God of Mischief after all."
Loki may be starting to like this human child. Interesting child. Stupid but interesting.
"Hey, my friend Morgan is calling." Regulus pulled up his mirror. "Hey, Morgan."
"Reg, get over here! Daddy's got some new stuff he's made." Morgan demaabout.
"I'm with my friend Atreus." Regulus turned the mirror toward him.
"Hello."
"Hi." Morgan greeted. "Bring him too."
"You know we can't just bring anyone into the compound."
"Since when do you follow the rules?"
"Since his mother is standing right behind him," Natasha answered as she came into view.
"Hi Nat." Morgan smiled. "Can Reg and his friend come over? I have to show what Daddy did!"
"Please!" Atreus begged the woman. "How many people can brag about seeing the inside of the Avengers headquarters?!" He had to get into that place.
Natasha sighed. "You stay close at all times."
"Yes ma'am!" Atreus smiled back. Into the belly of the beast? I would have it no other way. I just need some time in the compound, and I can find where Stark hid the stone. I'll need to know if he should come for his due.
"Grab this." Regulus held out a rope.
"What is this?"
"A portkey. Don't let go."
Arteus took hold of Regulus and Natasha. Then he felt a grip on his navel as he was pulled at an alarming rate. They landed outside the compound a few minutes later.
"That was unpleasant." Atreus groaned.
"Yeah. Dr. Strange's magic is better for travel. Not naval trauma." Regulus chuckled.
"About time!" Morgan ran out to them. "Hello."
"Hi. I'm Atreus."
"Morgan, but you probably already knew that. Come on, let's go see the new stuff daddy put on my suit!"
"Not without us watching." Pepper came down. "And who is this?" she asked.
"Hi. I'm Atreus. I hope you don't mind that I tagged along." The 'boy' gave a small, uneasy smile.
"Any friend of Regulus is welcome here. As long as they behave." She smiled back. "It's nice to meet you, Atreus."
"You as well, ma'am."
"Reg ran into Atreus here, and since his mother had to work, I offered to keep an eye on him in the alley." Natasha explained.
"Come on!" Morgan grabbed Regulus hand and pulled him.
The group didn't see the reflection of Arteus slip away down the hallway, invisible to all eyes.
Loki remained hidden as he looked through every spot he could. The stone had to be here somewhere. It would be easier if he wasn't keeping two illusions going on the same every day he was working with what he had.
He found some sort of technological area that seemed full of information on human devices, but the doors were shut. Just as he was about to use a spell, he heard a voice coming down the hallway.
"Tony, how's the distribution going?"
Loki froze at who it was. Banner was talking to Stark. The last thing he wanted to do was be seen here. Not with Banner and the Beast.
"Fine. Have you been getting those letters? The ones from the Twilight guys." Tony hit the panel and came into the lab. He sat at his desk and kicked his feet up on the table.
They didn't see the other figure slip in when the doors opened.
"Vampires. And yes, I have." Bruce answered, going over his notes. "What are the odds we can catch lighting in the bottle again for them?"
"Statistically, there is a..."
"He wasn't asking for the stats. F.R.I.D.A.Y." Tony interrupted the AI.
"Understood boss. Morgan is showing off her new suit to Regulus and an unknown child." The A.I.
"Did Natasha adopt another one?" Tony stood. "I'd better go check them in case something goes wrong and I get blamed."
"You usually are responsible."
"That's not the point, Bruce."
Bruce chucked as Tony left.
Loki peered over the computer as Bruce had his back to him. He had paid attention when he had that doctor build his device for the portal, so he had some basic knowledge of this human item. He typed in INFINITY STONE.
The files came up. One for the Tesseract. He didn't need that one. Then he found his goal.
What is Wakanda? Well, I know where to look, at least.
He backed out and set the screen to what it was before, just in time as the doors opened.
Bruce came to his console. Nothing looked out of place, but he felt like something was off. Then a noise of something fell behind him. He spun around and found Motto sitting on the table.
"Motto." He sighed. "Regulus needs to put a bell on you."
The Demiguise dropped his handful of candy as his eyes caught sight of something. Loki could swear the creature was watching him as he rushed from the room.
Loki made it to the room with the children as Morgan finished showing off some of the new gadgets on her suit. If he wasn't trying to keep a low profile, he could easily take both the children and disable the women before using them all as bargaining chips, but that thought let his mind wander. It wouldn't be beneficial. Not yet, anyway.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y. is still running the controls?" Regulus smirked.
"Yes, and she will be for the conceivable future." Pepper answered. Morgan frowns back. "Don't give me that. If it were up to me, she would be doing the same with your father."
"It's a good thing I invented her then." Tony came in.
"You're Ironman." Atreus went wide-eyed. I'm Atreus. A big fan."
"You are correct." Tony shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Natasha here has a habit of bringing magical children here." He teased.
"He's a first-generation. We were showing him the shop when Morgan called."
"I had to come along." Atreus smiled.
"Of course."
The adults started talking as Atreus grabbed some snacks from the nearby cabinet.
"Here." Regulus handed Morgan and him one.
"What is it?"
"Chocolate Frogs."
"Real frogs?" The boy questioned him as he held the odd food.
"It's just a spell."
"A freaky spell. He didn't warn me the first time I tried one." The girl glared at him.
"It was funny!"
Reluctantly, Atreus took a bite, and his eye grew as the sweet treat hit his taste buds. The Trickster had no idea what this was, but Asgard needed it. A lot of it!
"Good?"
"This is delicious!"
Morgan and Regulus chuckled as they ate theirs too. But Regulus had a look in his eyes as he noted something about the other boy. It didn't change when Motto came back and pulled at his leg, motioning to Atreus.
"Here you go, Motto." Regulus handed some of the candy over.
The Demiguise continued to eye Atreus until they all portkeyed back. He knew something was off, but he couldn't place what it was.
"Thank you for the day. I should go meet my mother." Atreus said to Natasha:.
On cue, his 'mother' came over to them. "Atreus. Did you enjoy your day?"
"Yes. Very much."
"Thanks again for this." She said this to Natasha.
"It's no problem."
"Did he behave?" Freya asked.
"Yes, he did." Natasha smiled. "Someone could learn from him." She ruffled Regulus's hair.
"Mum!!!"
They laughed as they waved goodbye. Loki canceled the illusion as he dove into the back of a shop. The owner paid him no mind since he had already enchanted the man into an illusion.
It was no palace, but he made it work. First and foremost, he had to fill it with as much candy as he could. He didn't think much of humans, less than vermin, but these sweets were definitely a positive they had.
Hermione had barely gotten back to her dorm room when she found herself facing Lavender and Padma. "Yes?"
"Nothing; we were just wondering." Padma smirked.
"Is he a good kisser?" Lavender asked with a wicked grin.
Hermione's face went red. "That's none of your business."
The girls broke out laughing at her reaction.
"He definitely is," Padma said.
Hermione glared and stormed out of the room. "Bloody girl talk."
She came down to the common room, where her boyfriend, who still felt weird to say, was waiting for her.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Lavender and the others. They had to ask some mental questions."
"Like what?"
She blushed again. "They wanted to know if you were a good kisser."
Harry blushed this time. "And?"
"I couldn't say anything. It's not like we've...you know."
Harry nodded but rubbed the back of his head. "Well, technically, we did..."
"That didn't count." She spoke over him with a hiss.
Harry smirked back. "We're both still figuring this out. We don't have to worry about it."
True. My first boyfriend. I keep thinking I'm going to mess this up.
"Come on. Let's go blow off some steam. A good workout is the best therapy." He offered.
"You're going to kill me with these exercises." She groaned at him.
"The exact opposite. Like mom said when she put me through it, 'This pain saves you from those who want to hurt you.' Besides, I'll go easier this time." He promised.
"You said that last time."
"Last time, you were just my friend."
"That was you going easy on a friend?!"
"Now you know why Neville didn't want to come back." He chuckled.
"How much worse was it for you, Natasha?"
"I think I died once, and she made me walk it off." He shrugged.
She didn't know if he was kidding or not as she followed him into his portal and the 'hell' that was his workout. Sure, she knew it was helping her in the long run, but still.
Plus, she got to spend time with him in his ridiculously tight shirt.
While they were off, Harry's astral form was floating over a certain professor and his favorite student.
Snape tested Draco's shields as the boy grunted and hissed.
"You did acceptable." Snape stopped and backed up.
It's probably the closest thing Snape gets to a compliment.
"You didn't get in." Draco grinned.
"Your ego is why you're here, so I suggest you keep it in check." Snape snapped quickly. "If you had better self-control when dealing with Potter, we wouldn't have to have these lessons, and the Slytherin points would be higher." He thrust the headache potion at the boy, who forced it down.
Okay, so he's trying to get Malfoy to control his emotions so as not to start a fight with me. We'll say that's not so bad, but he's going to regret this. Now Draco can keep secrets from him.
Harry floated over them for a while while they worked. He winced as Snape attacked Malfoy's shields; although it was necessary for the checking process, it was not pleasant to watch. He had a feeling, though, that if Snape had to train someone else, he wouldn't be as gentle. It was kind of funny because this actually proved Snape could teach if he wanted to.
"Keep up the exercises, and you will be adequate."
Draco glared behind his head at that. He knew he was doing well.
"I saw your little exchange with Potter and Granger. You learned something at least."
"Potter is a disgrace like his father."
Harry glared down at the blonde, but it turned to the 'adult' when he responded.
"Of course he is, but you didn't go to your first instinct and draw your wand. Keep your head up and maintain control of yourself. Potter's arrogance will provide opportunities. Watch for them. You may go." Snape stalked to the back of the classroom with no further words.
Harry followed Draco back to his dorm. He waited for a few minutes before going back to his body.
It was midnight when Draco and his cronies snuck out of their dorm.
They had cleaned up the undercroft and now had practice dummies to use spells on. Draco was hitting his, which he had put a lightning bolt scar on, with every spell he could think of. It did help clear his head.
Goyle was trying not to get in his way as he practiced too. Crabbe was going through some of the trunks when he came across something. He looked over the book and saw a name and date that were about a century old.
"Draco." He held up a book for him. "I think this belonged to the last ones here."
"Give me that." Malfoy grabbed it. He read the name of Sebastian Sallow on the inner page. "Interesting."
He skimmed over the pages until he found one entry.
Anne. They say there's nothing to be done. The curse can't be lifted. Even uncles have given up. She says we should just make her comfortable. I won't. I will find a way to fix her. She suffers every day, and I won't give up. I can't.
A curse that causes endless pain with no counter? Now that is something I need to learn.
Draco began reading the rest, hoping Sebastian learned about the curse and how it worked.
Karl sat down and took a breath. Umbridge was not of any use, not that he truly believed she would be, but she was a set of eyes where he was blind.
If he was to get to the boy, he would need a distraction. Umbridge can handle pinpointing the boy while the rest of the village is in chaos.
His hand hesitated as he reached for the darkhold. There's always a price. Am I nothing more than a hypocrite? Visions of the boy filled his mind. No. I do what I must.
Magic poured into him as he read through the chapter he needed. The Darkhold glowed as it held true to its name.
From the shadows, sickly hands began to form. Gliding through, he shadows the wraithlike creatures that were called from their dimension once more.
"You have work to do," Mordo told them.
Unable to resist, the creature bowed.
Mordo ignored the feelings of dread and misery the creatures caused. He would remove them when he was done. Along with the ones at that prison. Another mistake I have to correct.