Rebirth 2

“I thank you, Allfather…” he muttered weakly, staring at the projection of his home planet, or as he had come to know from the god before him, an alternate version of his home planet. According to Odin, the thing that had attacked his Earth had somehow sent him across the Universes. Travelling through Space-Time was an everyday experience for him, for what apparition but a localised wormhole pinched through the reality, but yet…Universes?

The words themselves made his brain spiral out of control, let alone the thought that he could not even go to the same afterlife as his friends.

“May your ancestors grant you strength, Jamesson,” the giant of a man shook his head, “I know that mere words cannot dampen the thoughts of being driven in such a way from one’s home. To even be denied the chance of meeting your loved ones, even in death. Yet, you are alive now. In a foreign Universe, yes, but Midgard still exists. You can still go to your home planet, and maybe find many things similar to what your own was.”

“You said wizards don’t exist here,” he muttered, staring at the various holographic screens floating before him, each one showing a major event in humanity’s evolution in this Universe.

“Not as the ones you know,” he smiled, tapping Gungnir on the floor, and Harry watched a yellow-robed figure form before him, tall and translucent. “Sorcerers, they call themselves, founded by the mighty mystic Agamotto thousands of years ago. They defend Midgard from dimensional breaches and threats. Had you appeared directly on Midgard instead of Asgard, the Sorcerer Supreme would have been the one to apprehend you most likely.”

“What other options do I have, Your Majesty?” he asked, watching the projection disappear and the room revert back to its original appearance, the stone walls adorned with giant hunting trophies and tapestries of those hunts. As his gaze came to rest on one showing a much younger Odin along with two others battling a giant fiery creatu-

“Surtur, the Primordial Fire Giant,” Odin’s heavy voice interrupted his thoughts, and he looked at the god, finding his single eye looking at the three Asgardians in the frame, “and my brothers Vili and Vé. They did not survive the battle.”

Unheard was the sentiment that Odin understood his pain. Of losing family to something so greater than your capabilities, and Harry appreciated it. In this moment of confusion and despair, when his past was completely out of reach, and his future was more uncertain than ever before, Harry appreciated it a lot.

“Can you tell me what attacked my planet?” he asked after a brief silence, turning his head to look up at the god. “You must have some inkling of the creature who did it. I saw the recognition in your eyes when you were watching my memories.”

“Aye, I do,” his voice turned grave, and Odin tapped the floor with Gungnir once again. Darkness enveloped his vision completely, before galaxies blossomed into sight, numerous and vibrant. “The deep and the dark of the universe is composed of not just stars and planets, but cosmic forces that shape it with every breath they take.”

Fire came into being before him, searing and bright in a way that made him gasp, in awe of its beauty and in fear of its terrible might, as an entire arm of a galaxy disappeared in its wake. The fire twisted and turned on itself, before it turned into a phoenix and disappeared into tiny sparks. The projections twisted yet again, showing giant, metallic beings standing above planets, staves glowing at their sides as they fed energy into the rock below them, and a new being of the same kind sprouted out of the world.

“Ancient beings that were present at the dawn of the cosmos,” Odin continued, showing him a planet, lush and lively like the Earth, before a great shadow descended on them, a horned head blocking their sun as a purple storm descended along with it, and Harry’s eyes widened in realisation, “and some that predate it even. The being who laid waste to your planet is one such entity, named Galactus. The World Eater.”

“It exists here too?” disbelief colored his tone, before anger took its place and he turned to Odin, “Ca-”

“Do not even think about it, Harry Potter,” The use of his full name shocked him, but the ironclad surety in Odin’s voice shocked him even further as hundreds of dead, lifeless balls of rock floated before them, “The World Eater is not some errant warlord utilising just technology and armies to destroy entire systems. He is what his title says, a world-eater. A being that has existed as long as the Universe has held consciousness, and so mighty that not even an armada of the Kree at the height of their power could stop him from laying waste to three of their systems.”

“So he just destroys life, without repercussions?!” he nearly hissed, looking at Galactus with all the hate and anger born of listening to people’s tales about Voldemort’s terrible power and his disregard for life, as well as his own experience at the hands of this abomination of a creature, “You are god, and yet you let this thing prey on innocents?”

“Have care of how you speak of things you know nothing of, Harry Jamesson,” Odin warned, and Harry felt sweat bead his forehead as the god before him let just a smidgen of his presence fill the room, reminding him of just who he was talking to, “Tis not Asgard’s nature to interfere in things beyond our borders, and even if it were, the Devourer commits no crimes, for it is his nature to eat planets, just as it's our nature to hunt.”

“Then why not find planets that have no life?” he asked, turning back to look at the shadowed figure, purple eyes staring back at him soullessly, “Why not make an exception for those planets with sentient life on them?!”

“No one knows,” came the answer, and Harry grit his teeth as the projection went away, knowing that Odin was holding back something. But he had no way of making the god spill those secrets, and he was already an outsider in Asgard, so it was better not to push his luck. “Galactus has been around for eons, ever since the Universe took its first breath in its nascent stages,” the god continued, drawing his attention as Odin turned around, and vanished the projection from the room, “There have been a few times, when he has made an exception for a planet, but it has happened so rarely that many say it's mere speculation.”

“Understand this, Jamesson,” Odin looked at him, his eye holding the weight of the thousands of years he had lived, and despite his protests, Harry listened intently, “What happened to you, it was unfortunate. Galactus devouring your planet was certainly ill-fated, but it wasn’t done out of malice. He serves his purpose in the cosmos, just like we all do. For what reason you survived his presence, and even more, just how you broke through the barriers separating Universes and arrived here, I don’t know. But know this from one who survived death at the sacrifice of others, life seldom gives you a way out. Your planet was halfway dead already, from what you have shown me, and maybe you would have won the war. Or maybe your adversaries would have, but either way, most likely it would all be in ashes. You have received a chance that not many do, make wise use of it. Think about what you are going to do next, and honor your fallen friends with your actions.

“Aye, Allfather,” he whispered, watching the god turn around and walk towards the exit, before his eyes looked down at himself. Odin had given him a tunic to clothe himself in, when the Allfather had noticed his conjured garments, and Harry chuckled at the silver and gold coloring.

‘Slytherin and Gryffindor, eh?’ he thought, hearing the doors close behind him, leaving him staring out at the setting sun, the faces of his dead friends and family swimming past his eyes. His throat ached as it closed up, and his eyes stung as he remembered.

He remembered the days of Hogwarts, when he, Ron, and Hermione had snuck out in his cloak for the first time.

He remembered the time when they had survived against the Death Eaters, on the run and alone.

And he remembered his wife, where they had barely started to love one another before it was snatched from him.

And for the first time in three years, Harry let the tears fall.

“Father, I hear you have a Seiðr in your custody,” Thor began, biting into the deer before him, and moaning at the taste of the soft, succulent honey-coated meat. Truly, Vanaheim might just be his favourite place in the nine realms after Asgard. Ignoring the disgusted cringe Loki gave at his manners, and Thor mentally rolled his eyes at his feminine brother, making exaggerated chewing noises just to disgust him further.

“He is not a mere Seiðr, Thor,” his father shook his head, before looking at Loki, “Seiðr-craft is more about communing with nature and divining the future, much like what most of the Giants could do. This human is much more than just a Seiðr. I would say he is much closer to what Loki can do, if I have read his skills right.”

“Truly fascinating,” Loki drawled, his voice conveying just how true his words were, but Thor ignored them in favour of looking at his father, watching him stir his soup idly, “Just how did a Midgardian come to be on Asgard anyways? I wasn’t aware we were still in contact with the humans.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Thor saw interest develop in Loki’s eyes, his posture turning just a bit more attentive as his eyes sharpened, and he mentally chuckled at his brother’s behaviour. Of course, information about anything which could help him cause mischief would be more than welcome in his brother’s eyes, especially about something as precious as entering and exiting Asgard without their father’s notice.

“That is a tale that is his to tell, if he deigns to share it with you,” Odin shook his head, but Thor read between the lines well enough. Something bad had happened to the human, which had led to his presence in Asgard. Well, never let it be said that Thor was one to let people feel down if he could help them. One good bout in the training grounds ought to lift the Midgardian’s spirits!

“For now, he is my guest until he decides his next destination,” his father continued, and his tone turned to Uru as his eye looked at them both, “and that means under no condition is he to be a part of your games. You are not to subject him to be a part of your routine spats and humiliation rituals.”

“I merely wish to show him around Asgard and take his mind off whatever plagues our guest,” he replied, placing the leg down on the platter as he leaned back, “No guest of Asgard should have to wallow in their rooms while the most beautiful of the Nine Realms is waiting to be explored!”

“By explored, you mean take the Midgardian on hunting trips or Jötnar territory with your numbskull friends,” his brother interrupted, and Thor frowned at that. While that was his plan, Loki need not put it as though he did not care about the mortal. He knew he got excited when there was a fight to be had, but which Asgardian didn't?! 

Except Loki, of course.

Besides, he would have taken utmost care with the Midgardian around. They were a rather fragile species after all.

“If the Midgardian agrees to seeing the sights of Asgard, then I expect the finest behaviour from the princes of Asgard,” their father spoke up before he could give Loki a befitting reply, making him bite back his retort as he looked away from the smugly smiling nuisance. Locking eyes with his father’s stern one, Thor nodded at the words before returning to his dinner once it seemed he had spoken for now.

“Where is Mother?” Loki asked after a few moments, delicately picking at his roasted fish, and Thor nodded silently at the question. He had not felt his mother’s presence ever since he had come back, and neither had she appeared for dinner.

“She has returned to Vanaheim for the solstice,” he answered, taking a swig of his mead before looking at Loki, “She left instructions for you to leave for Niðavellir as soon as you are rested from your excursions. A weapon has been commissioned for you as per her instructions, and the final enchantments need to be set by you. After that, you are to reach Vanaheim and accompany your mother.”

Nodding at the words silently, Loki quickly finished his dinner and walked off with a bow of his head towards their father, and Thor made a face as the trickster swirled his lime green tunic around himself and disappeared into its folds.

Magic was not a man’s tool to util-

“Will you say the same when I conjure things out of thin air or employ my runecraft?”

“Nay, Father,” he sighed, somehow still amazed by his father’s uncanny ability to read his thoughts. 

“Your tendency to mock Loki for his magic should not come between your bond as brothers, Thor,” he said, putting down the mug of ale, and Thor straightened in his seat at his father’s words, realizing the seriousness of them.

“When I depart to Valhalla, you shall need every ounce of strength and wisdom you have at your disposal to help you reign over the realms,” he continued, and Thor stifled his protest at that, the thought of his father dying so alien to him that it seemed like Ragnarok might come before that. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, and Thor met his father’s eye as his fingers squeezed down on him, “I and my brothers quarrelled often, sometimes much more wildly than you and Loki… yet, when Surtur’s sword was ready to burn Asgard and my father left for Valhalla, it was my brothers who stood at my side.”

”I understand Father,” he nodded slowly, eyes shifting towards where Loki had been, and he took in a brea-

“You don’t,” his father shook his head, and Tho blinked at the strange, sad smile that seemed to come over his face as his father leaned back and took a sip of his mead, removing his hand from his shoulder, “But you will.”

“So you are the latest thing the Allfather has found himself to amuse with.”

“What the—who are you?” Harry twisted, lightning coating his hands as he looked in the direction of the voice, only to blink at the finger prodding at the wards he had erected around his bed.

“Quite impressive work for a mortal,” the voice came again, and Harry quietly pulsed his magic throughout the room, willing all illusions to be dispelled at once. A gasp escaped him at the amount of magic that it took, yet he kept his hands raised, conducting enough energy to stun a dragon out of the air. A golden sheen travelled across the finger and beyond, revealing the hand connected to it, as well as a golden, serpentine bracelet on the thin wrist.

Emerald robes greeted him, trimmed in a blinding gold color, reminiscent of the clothes Odin had given to him before the pale, emerald-eyed aristocratic face was revealed. Black hair fell down in gentle waves to the man’s shoulders, and a mocking sneer was plastered on his face, reminding him of Draco.

Only Draco didn’t have even a hundredth of the power he could feel from the ma-no, god before him.

“Loki,” he breathed, lowering his hands and dispelling the barrier separating them, “I am sorry, I am rather jumpy about people sneaking up on me.”

“That is Lord Loki to you, Midgardian,” the man smiled sardonically, pulling back his finger and giving the mostly gone wards an appreciative glance. “Who taught you about weaving protections like these? Was it the Enchantress?”

“Family libraries and a few veterans,” Harry answered, jumping down from the bed and moving forwards, standing just as tall as Loki. Had his hair been as long and his face just a bit thinner, he could have passed for the Trickster’s brother. “Quite a few of the illusions and their dispellments were said to be inspired by you.”

“Oh?” an immaculate eyebrow rose, and Loki took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest, “I wasn’t aware I was inspiring Midgardians into developing magic. Last I checked, most of them were still working under that Sorcerer Supreme and those Sanctums.”

“The Allfather mentioned them,” he mused, before looking back at Loki, “Your tales about casting illusions and switching forms were a matter of great curiosity for many. Quite a few managed to replicate one feat or the other you have performed at some point. Though your capability to change your sex was still out of reach for the wizards.”

“Was?” Loki asked, “You speak of your race as if it were in the past?”

“Earth got destroyed by a war we had, and then something, or someone called Galactus showed up to finish up the rest,” he shrugged, the surrealness and confusion of the experience dimming now that a couple of days had pas-

“You expect me to believe that the World Eater came to Midgard and left without the whole of the Nine Realms coming into an uproar about it?!” the god laughed, giving him an amazed look as he conjured a chair for himself and sat down, wide eyes scanning him amusedly. “I admit I am genuinely impressed by your capability to say that with a straight face. Had it been Thor instead of me, then my oaf-headed brother might have even believed you!”

“Oh…it wasn’t this Midgard,” he blinked, before clarifying the situation as he conjured a chair for himself, mimicking the ones the teachers had used back in Hogwarts. Sitting down slowly, Harry watched the confusion on Loki’s face—and it was good that they were not meeting right after he had come here.

Otherwise how the fuck was he supposed to know that Loki here was Odin’s son, not his blood-brother.

Or that Hela and his other three half-giant children didn’t exist at all.

It had been a shocker to say the least, especially since they played such a big part in the Norse history and culture at his home, yet here they had never existed.

“This Midgard?” the son of Odin blinked, tilting his head slightly and summoning a goblet of mead as he crossed one leg over the other, giving him a speculative look. “Go on, let me hear what fantasy was concocted by that addled brain of yours.”

“Multiversal travel,” he shrugged, “The Allfather thinks it happened due to the large and varying types of energies exploding at a singular point in space when my planet was being devoured by that glutton.”

“The Allfather also believes that Thor has grown mentally over the last millennium and half he has been alive,” he smirked, swirling his drink around as he glanced at him. “Multiversal travel, what kind of grass did you smoke? Please send some to my rooms, I need some of that medication after a day of dealing with Volstagg and Thor.”

“I did not smoke anything, and neither do I lie,” he frowned, and had he been brash like his younger years, then Harry knew he would have leapt out of his chair. The one thing he had always hated being called was a liar. The scars on his hand twitched as he recalled Umbridge’s tender ministrations, and he clenched his fingers into a fist as he willed his memories into the reality around them, the room disappearing to showcase the last moments of his Earth, “These are my memories, verified by the Allfather himself. I cannot assuage your doubts, but you can run them by him if you doubt the veracity of my claims.”

“Fascinating, this is not a mere illusion,” Loki whispered, reaching out with a hand towards the projection of him being flung back by the storm, “I can feel the sensations, even the emotions behind the memory. No Midgardian sorcery ever reached this level of craftsmanship and delicateness, not without coming onto the astral plane.”

“I hope that now you believe the Midgardian, as well as my judgement of his claims,” Odin’s voice shattered through the moment, and Harry instantly stood up, lowering his head in respect to the god and his host. The One-Eyed Whisperer walked inside the room, and Loki vanished his chair as he stood up, meeting his father’s eye.

“I was just about to leave when I caught sight of the guest room being open,” the Trickster spoke up, and Harry got the distinct impression that the man was smiling ear-to-ear.

“Hn,” Odin grunted, before his gaze shifted to him, and Harry stood straighter at the heavy stare despite the smile that split through that bushy-white beard. “Jamesson, what say you about experiencing the wonders of Niðavellir and Vanaheim? Loki is going to travel to said realms, and I don’t think staying cooped up here in your rooms is going to do you any good. Both of you are masters of magic in your own right, that ought to give you something to talk about.”

“I admit he has shown some skill, but would you call him a Master? An equal to me, the student of Freyja herself?!” Loki frowned, and Harry did too. While he knew he lacked the sheer raw power that the beings before him possessed, he knew he was no slouch when it came to the versatility of his magic.

Not to be boastful, but he was the most powerful wizard of his race, and even McGonagall had claimed that he had eclipsed Dumbledore’s strength in the last year of war. And if he could dismantle Loki’s illusions with a focused pulse of his magic in their first meeting, then he didn’t know what the Asgardian was so proud of, except for his divine blood.

“Even your mother wasn’t arrogant enough to refuse tutelage from mortals when she had a chance to learn something,” Odin shook his head, and Harry watched Loki look away at the admonishment, “You should not assume that you know all there is to know, the world is a lot bigger than the confines of your library.”

‘Malfoy indeed,’ he thought to himself, watching the byplay as he remembered his younger days, when Draco had touted his superiority throughout the halls of Hogwarts and beyond on the back of his father’s politics and wealth. However, in the end, all of that had failed him, as it had taken Dumbledore’s and Snape’s sacrifice to save his hide from what a pathetic failure he had been. Convictionless even in the face of his parents’ deaths and what had believed in his whole life.

“Heimdall awaits you, Loki,” Odin said, breaking him out of his thoughts, tapping Gungnir on the floor, and Harry watched as a raven manifested out of hte runic tattoos on his arm and flew out of the window into the afternoon sun. With a sniff, Loki walked off towards the exit, leaving him and his host standing alone in the room, and Harry met Odin’s eyes, finding understanding as well as wisdom in that gaze. It reminded him of Dumbledore, of how the Headmaster had always appeared to be omniscient, and yet, Harry knew that Odin was so much more than it wasn’t even comprehensible to him. Giving him a smile as if he could read his thoughts, the King of the NIne Realms inclined his head towards the doors, where Loki stood still,  “and you too, Harry Jamesson, should you decide to venture out to the realms beyond.”