31 Chapter Thirty-One

Harry had found that he became tired less easily and needed less sleep as a result of Odin's blessing. It had been another month, since his adoption to the royal family. Frigga had been given a mirror at her insistence and had Harry over for dinner at least once a week. Loki and he had been pranking each other non-stop. Harry had found himself bound to the ceiling and muted at one stage, while Loki had been sunk into the floor and stuck there for an hour, before their mother insisted that family dinners were no place for their war. They had grudgingly agreed after they each freed the other.

That didn't stop Harry from layering subtle spells on Loki to activate at a later stage. He had found Loki could be quite inventive and would often prank him in unexpected ways after he left the dining room. Once he had gone to sleep and had woken up next to a stranger. He had panicked until it became clear he had been charmed to see Natasha as a different person. He had taken his vengeance by activating one of his delayed spells to have Loki forget how to walk for a day. So far neither of them would admit defeat, and the citadel was abuzz with stories of their friendly war.

Harry had continued his work at the Institute, trying to help genetically enhanced individuals come to grips with their powers. For some he had enchanted bracelets to allow them to appear as normal humans once it became clear their physical appearances were not capable of reversing themselves.

It had been a couple of weeks since he'd had to make any changes on the island. Logan was still working on getting all the animals capable of it to live together. His dragon, Puppy, had been given its name for its desire to follow him around all the time. Harry had been shocked to find Logan laying in the hot spring with the dragon enjoying the water by his side. Apparently, it had followed him and had decided to try it. Since then, the dragon could often be seen soaking there on her own.

SHIELD had not called on him in a while, but that did not stop him from enjoying a drink with Fury from time to time at Marauders Den. Coulson had not been there as often since he started working with his own team. Apparently he was too busy with his work on superhuman individuals. His most recent missions focussed on something called the Centipede Project run by a mysterious figure referred to only as the Clairvoyant.

Harry had finished the latest Foe Glass and had successfully bonded it to Fury, much to his surprise. Fury had immediately started writing things down in a notebook he kept in his pouch, while studying his new favourite toy. The figures were still hazy, but there were hundreds of them. This apparently did not surprise the man. He had made many enemies in his life.

Harry had been able to focus on his own studies into enchantment and was almost done with one of his newest ones. He was keeping it a secret from Natasha though as it was a surprise for her. Other than that, he was working on continuing to supply and set up distribution centres and Natasha was helping him by researching places that required it the most. Clint had started accompanying him on those missions to keep him safe after he had been shot by a sniper one day in a country whose government was not thrilled at his presence.

Harry had received a wound, but it was not fatal and he had healed it quickly, before going after the sniper. He had needed to give the man Veritaserum and track down everyone that had been in contact with him, just in case they had heard of his miraculous recovery. The shot had been aimed at his heart, but somehow did not penetrate far enough to kill him. Asgard's protection was nothing to be scoffed at. Natasha did not have the heart to try to dissuade him from continuing his work, but had insisted on protective gear when he did. Since then he had started going as Ghost. Nobody had attempted to shoot at him again, since from their perspective, Harry Potter had hired the Ghost to do his work for him and nobody wanted to piss off the Avengers by attempting to kill one of their members.

He was in the middle of one such installation when his Mirror vibrated. He lifted his hand where it was mounted and activated it. "Yes?"

"Harry! They are attacking the citadel! Come with haste!" Odin urged.

Harry instantly dropped what he was doing, grabbed Natasha and activated his portkey to their chambers in Asgard. When they arrived, he could hear alarms going off and screaming in the distance. Harry picked up Natasha who was suddenly in her dragon armour and Widow Gear and took off flying down the halls.

Harry heard a great crash in the reception hall, so Harry flew that way. When they arrived though, it was too late. Dead and dying guards lay everywhere with unknown enemy soldiers scattered about. Odin had also only now arrived with his spear, Gungnir, in hand. Harry approached the King and he heard him whisper his wife's name.

"Where is she?" Harry asked urgently.

"Her rooms." Odin replied.

Harry did not wait, he put a hand on Odin's shoulder and hugged Natasha to him. They appeared to a scene which horrified him. A beast of a man stood there holding the Queen in the air with one hand and ploughed a sword through her back. Thor had just arrived and was attacking the man that seemed to have been interrogating the queen.

The monster lost an arm to Odin's spear as he grabbed the man and jumped from the balcony. Harry had run to Frigga and kneeled down over her, hands over her body. He was pushing his magic into her, to stop the bleeding and to try and stabilize her. It was taking a lot of energy. Whatever that blade had been, hadn't just cut her. It had disintegrated flesh wherever it made contact.

"Harry, you must call for Fawkes." Natasha told him, but Harry was so focussed on the queen, he didn't seem to hear her. Natasha looked into his eyes and saw something that scared her to her core. His eyes were glowing more brightly than she had ever seen before. She could feel the rage rolling off of him in waves. He seemed to barely be in control of himself, doing what he could just to keep Frigga alive, while straining against some form of instinct or power.

"Fawkes, please come to us and help your friend!" Odin, who had run up to them when the enemy escaped, cried out in desperate hope. Harry didn't even look up when Fawkes appeared. He could not hear the phoenix song. The rage and the power rolling off of him was trying to pull him from the one thing that might save Frigga's life. He felt something inside him, which knew that the queen was almost gone. Somehow her life wound come to an end in just a couple of seconds.

Then, the feeling went away, as Fawkes cried his healing tears into the wound. When her life seemed to be safe, he lost all coherent thought as whatever instinct was fighting the power seemed to relax and fail. When he came to, he was standing up. Someone was holding him. He looked down and saw Natasha, holding him in a tight hug. For a second he was confused, he didn't know how he was standing. He looked around and saw Loki and Thor, holding him up by the shoulders so that Natasha could hug him. Then he heard her words.

"Snap out of it, Harry! We need you here. You saved her. Don't become a monster." she was saying. Harry lifted his tired arms, somehow having taken strain as he poured more and more magic through them to try to safeguard the queen's life. When he hugged her back, her head snapped up and met his gaze. "You have control?" she asked.

"I… think I do. What happened?" he asked weakly.

"You were not yourself. You had tried to rush off after the enemy. You were not in control. Nothing we said seemed to get past your rage." Odin said from his wife's side.

When Harry focussed on him, he asked, "How is she?! Was I able to help? Please tell me she's okay?" he begged.

"Your efforts were keeping her alive, only barely, but Fawkes was able to repair what your magic could not. She's resting now." Odin informed him. "You scared me son. You have never wielded so much power in my presence. Thor and Loki only barely seemed to hold you while you strained to leave after the enemy." He then nodded to his other sons.

Harry looked around and saw both of them cradling their hands together after they had let go of him. It seemed that they had been burned. Harry asked in shame, "Did I do that?"

"You were not yourself, brother. When I saw Frigga fall, I almost lost myself to rage as well. If Loki had not shown up to help, I fear you will have been lost to the rage. You only stopped fighting us when your lady held you." Thor told him.

Harry held out his hand to Thor, who calmly presented his hands. They were badly burned. "My magic must have been fighting you. Sorry for hurting you." Harry said shamefully as he healed his hands. When he was done with Thor, he turned to Loki and healed his hands as well.

"Remind me to never anger you, Harry. There is much power in you and I fear my chances at winning our competition has just been proven slim." Loki tried to joke as the relief showed in his face.

"I have never seen Harry lose control like that." Natasha said. "He sometimes has moments where he is truly angry and he has trouble controlling his power, but never like this. He can usually control himself. This was different. It was like he was becoming someone else." Harry could hear the fear in her voice.

"I never wanted to scare you, love. When I saw Frigga hurt, I almost lost control. I wanted nothing more than to burn the monsters that attacked her until not an atom of them existed. I wanted to burn their souls." Harry said as he shook, but then he calmed himself. "Luckily I was able to remain in control to help Frigga. After she started responding, I relaxed and the anger took control. After that I don't remember."

"You have a berserker's mindless rage. I would be proud of your righteous anger, for you show you care deeply for Frigga, but you were not the man that I know you are. We will need to address this in the near future. But for now, we have other troubles." Odin said as he looked up at the door, where Jane Foster had just walked in.

"Will she be alright?" Jane asked worriedly walking up beside Thor.

"Thanks to my brother, she will make a full recovery." Thor assured her, putting an arm around her shoulder.

Harry noted a flash of anger cross Odin's face, but he smothered it. "My wife almost gave her life to protect yours. I will not make her sacrifice be in vain, by being angry at you, for she was trying to protect all the nine realms." He said as he picked his wife up and took her over to her bed. "We must discuss how to continue to do so."

Thor pressed for them to have Malekith extract the Aether, when even Harry's magic seemed unable to help. Odin was not going for it. He hoped to draw the Dark Elves back to Asgard so they might defeat them where they held the upper hand. There was a lot of anger being aired and Thor was obviously worried about Jane, whose health kept on declining.

"I think Thor's plan has the best chance of succeeding, but we need to ensure that Malekith is stopped and with as little loss of life as possible." Harry interrupted before they could start arguing again. "We could travel to a safe location, where nobody else is in danger and I could help attempt to destroy the Aether."

"No! You are not yet fit for battle. I know how much energy you used sustaining your mother's life." Odin exclaimed. "You have been hiding it, but I can sense you damaged yourself while focussing your magic on the task." Odin finished softly.

"I can live with this. It is only temporary and my magic will restore me in less than a day." Harry replied confidently.

"Then we will wait and reconsider our options when you are ready for battle. I will not lose any of my sons to a fool's errand." Odin said with finality.

Harry had since been forced to eat and rest. Natasha had been on her mirror discussing the current state of affairs with Fury. He'd had some people get in contact with experts like Eric Selvig to find out where the largest impact of an event like the convergence would be. Apparently he had been caught streaking through Stonehenge, speaking of the realms coming into alignment. SHIELD was currently evacuating Greenwich, just on the off chance that Selvig wasn't completely insane.

Harry woke up the next morning when there was a knock on the door. Natasha was already dressed and ready, so she went to the door to find Frigga there. When she came in, she hugged Natasha tightly and then came to the bed where Harry was starting to get up. "Lie down and let me look at you." she interrupted him. "Odin was not happy when I decided to get up, but he could not keep me when one of my sons may be in pain." she said.

"I am feeling much better, Frigga. Thank you for your concern." Harry said laying back so she could inspect him.

"I hear I have you to thank for still being among the living. You and Fawkes that is." Frigga said as she looked up to the headboard of the bed, where the phoenix had slept that night. "Thank you." she said. Fawkes nodded at her and she smiled, before continuing to check him over. "You don't seem to have any physical damage at least. How is your magic?" she asked.

"I am fully recovered. Since I received that blessing from Odin and Asgard, my magic seems to have been bolstered some. I am regaining my strength faster these days, which is miraculous, since it was already quite fast since I came to this reality." Harry said honestly.

"Asgard's blessing gives you strength and endurance. It was my blessing that helps with your magic. I am not considered a skilled wielder of magic for nothing, you know. Loki learned much of his illusions at my instruction." she said with a smile. "Even though the magic you wield is different in some regards, it is still energy and you will be able to handle more with time as you get older."

"Thank you, Frigga, mother." Harry said. When he thought her lost, he had, for a moment, thought he'd never get the chance to call her that. He did not want to regret not doing so now.

"You are welcome, my son." she said with another, soft smile as she pulled him up and hugged him. When she let him go, she looked at him and said, "You will, no doubt, travel with your brothers when they confront Malekith. You must keep them, and yourself, safe. Odin will not leave my side, but I have spoken to him. He will allow Thor to try this plan, but he is not happy about it. At least he relented when I said that if you are healthy, you could help protect them." Then she turned to Natasha. "And at least you will be there to protect Harry. Goodness knows, we could use someone sensible in the family." she smiled.

"We are not yet family, Queen Frigga," Natasha smiled back, "but I will keep an eye over them and make sure they don't do something stupid."

"You are family in all but name, and I will, thanks to Harry, be able to see you joined to the family properly one day. Hopefully soon." Frigga insisted.

"That's another month." Harry said jokingly.

"Please stop asking for it?" Natasha asked. "We may not be ready yet, but I'd like us to marry sometime this century." she joked.

"That won't be a problem. I am his mother and Queen. If I fear he's taking too long, I will simply order my son to do what is proper." Frigga joked along with them.

Frigga left the room so Harry could get dressed. When he was ready, they left for the family sitting room, to find Thor and Loki deep in discussion with Odin. When they entered, Odin stood up and walked up to Harry to engulf him in a large hug. "I was pleased to hear that you are feeling better. The family owes you another debt for saving my Frigga."

"Our Frigga." Harry insisted. "And there is no debt. Doesn't family look out for their own, first?"

"You are right of course. We do look out for our own. And then we look out for Asgard and then the other realms." Odin said as he let him go. "Come, let us see if we can dissuade your brothers from trying to prove they can get themselves both killed in one day. We could use some of your wisdom and experience." he said as he led them to the table where Loki and Thor were both smiling at him.

"Are you done with your beauty sleep at last?" Loki asked jokingly.

Harry lifted his chin and brushed his hands through his hair, affecting the air of vanity, "Can't you tell?" he said with a smile.

"If you were going for beauty, you'd have to sleep for years." Loki joked back.

"Enough of this. Jane is getting weaker by the hour and we cannot afford to delay any more. How are you feeling, Harry?" Thor asked.

"I am well, thank you. The rest has restored me and I'm feeling much better." Harry replied.

They were soon discussing their plan and Harry spoke up when they finished. "I've had time to think and I've come up with an idea." Harry said. When everybody was looking at him, he continued, "You said that Svartalfheim is a dead planet, correct?"

"That's right." Thor said. "We intend to cause as little damage as possible to any innocent bystanders. A dead planet is our only recourse."

"That's perfect, then. Listen up…" Harry explained his plan to them. There were a couple of feral grins as Harry finished.

"Okay, never mind about getting you angry. Remind me never to have you against me at all. You can be a vindictive, scary person when you start calculating." Loki said in awe. "I love it."

"Indeed, your plan is brutal, but also brutally efficient." Thor said.

"With that as part of your plan, I have no objection." Odin said. "Just be careful. A lot still hinges on Malekith taking the Aether out of Thor's mortal." Thor frowned, but let it go.

They were soon on their way to fetch the Royal Magic Carpet. It was faster than their flying ships and had enough protections to keep Frigga from being overly worried.

Loki offered to lead them through a hidden pathway between the worlds, trying to impress Harry with his knowledge. "It will be just as quick as using the bifrost, but will have the benefit of being clandestine. Nobody of even Asgard will know we had left the realm. Only Malekith should detect it." he had said.

They soon found themselves on the Royal Carpet. "You made this?" Loki asked. At Harry's not, he said, "It is quite responsive and I can feel its potential for speed and protection. How much would you want to make me my own?"

Natasha spoke up before Harry could respond, "I suspect you would enjoy his flying brooms even more. They can go more than twice as fast as the Carpets. Harry also prefers them. He's a bit of a speed junkie and was quite the star in the magical world for a sport they played on brooms."

"It that so? You will have to let me try one of your flying brooms in the future then. If you could go more than twice as fast on a broom as I can feel this carpet can, then it must be quite the thrill." Loki said with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I'd love to introduce you to the sport sometime. Maybe we can take the time to look at a memory of the last quiddich world cup I was able to attend." Harry mused. He liked the idea of introducing someone that might appreciate the sport. Loki did love the magical things Harry had thus far introduced him to.

"We'll have to make the time. Who knows, maybe we can revive one of your favourite pastimes?" Loki offered.

"We'll have to see. I suspect it might be a different game if you include only a culture of warriors. I'm working on something special that might allow me to have others enjoy it too." Harry said mysteriously.

They arrived at a cave, through which Loki flew them at high speeds. Just before they crashed into a wall, they felt themselves passing through something and soon they found themselves on a different world.

"Did we just pass through a hole in reality?" Jane asked. She was weak, but Harry had been able to bolster her health slightly. She wasn't in danger of dying in the next day or so, but Harry could only sustain her so long. The Aether seemed to eat at the magic first before it continued eating her life away.

"It is less a hole or a tear, than it is a junction point between different worlds. There are many of them around, in places of power, where the borders between worlds are not as thick." Loki explained. "You just need the right knowledge and power to find and manipulate them."

"So, you broke through some sort of barrier? Why not use that when you attacked New York?" she asked bitterly. She had not forgiven him even if people said he was reformed.

"Where the Chitauri came from, they were not close to any of the nine realms that are connected by Yggdrasil." Thor explained. He knew of her mistrust of his brother, but decided to leave it be for now. He had explained it to her to some degree, but Jane was a woman of science. Magic didn't mean much to her. She could usually explain things away in scientific terms and when that failed, she reasoned that there was just another type of energy they just had not discovered yet at play.

It was a couple of hours later, when Harry and Natasha climbed off of the Carpet and went invisible. For their part of the mission, they needed stealth. Soon the ship of the Dark Elves arrived. When Malekith and some of his troops exited the ship to confront Thor and Loki and take back the Aether, Harry and Natasha made their way on board.

They moved to the lowest bowels of the ship and Harry did what he had come here to do. Once he cast the spell, he apparated Natasha out to the silenced area he had setup beforehand. They flew back around the ship to find Thor, Loki and the Dark Elves fighting. Malekith had already absorbed the Aether and was making his way back onto the ship. The doors closed and the ship took off, leaving some of their people behind.

Harry flew up to the monster of a man and banished him straight up. As he went sailing into the air, Harry's magic must have triggered some of the weapons he was carrying and soon he was swallowed up into what could only be called a tiny black hole. It wasn't as if Harry knew anything about antimatter grenades, but technology did tend to react badly to Magic, no matter how advanced.

The ship, in the meanwhile, had started going invisible, but then it stopped as an explosion broke the lower part of the ship off and the whole thing started coming down to the surface of the planet. Bright plumes of green and angry red Fiendfyre could be seen eating through all of the hull of the ship. There were what seemed to be escape pods flying from the ship, but they too were on fire. It didn't take long at all for the fire to engulf the entire ship.

Harry noted that the Fiendfyre did not eat at the dead planet's surface. His control must have been stronger than before as well, since he had been able to easily stop a hungry flame as it tried to make its way to where Harry stood with the others. It looked like the flame was trying to fight him for a second before returning to the ship that was slowly being consumed in its entirety.

An hour later, not even a husk of the ship was left. All of those that had been in the ship had been eaten. The Fiendfyre dying as the last of its fuel was consumed. Harry took the device he had been given by Odin and went to the crash site. He soon found a stone, completely formed and untouched by the fire. Apparently not even the Fiendfyre could damage it. Whatever process Malekith had used to turn the stone into the Aether had been undone. Either that or it had reformed itself to protect from the Fiendfyre.

Either way, Harry did not touch it with his bare hands. He simply scooped it up inside the device and locked it. Odin had said he had a plan for where to store it. Harry had offered to help, but Odin refused, saying that if he was the only one that could retrieve it, those who wanted it would stop at nothing, including burning the entirely of Midgard to flush him out. Odin did not want that to happen, both to protect Harry and Midgard.

They soon returned to Asgard and Harry handed the device to Odin. "We were successful." was all he said.

"Well done, my sons. You have secured our futures from Malekith's plot to bring the universe into perpetual night." he pronounced to all who had gathered in the throne room. They were all dressed in dark clothing to mourn the many that had fallen to the Dark Elves' attack.

Harry had been shocked to find out Trygg had died in one of the battles. Odin had consoled him, "Fear not, my son, for he died in battle and he will dine in the halls of Valhalla for the eternal feast. No doubt he is there now, telling any and all of the man who made it possible for him to achieve his goal of dying on his feet, a true warrior of Asgard."

"I understand his desire, but it does not take the sadness of his loss from me. He had become a friend of sorts and I will miss his enthusiasm. He had a hunger for life, happiness and battle that made him fun to hang out with." Harry said sadly.

"And he would be sad that you feel the loss so dearly, but he will remember you always and we will honour him and all those who fell with a feast, to thank them for their sacrifice. It is our way and he would expect nothing less. Let us not mourn his loss, but celebrate his life and sacrifice." Odin intoned.

Harry nodded, and hugged Natasha closely. There was a funeral of sorts where those that died were sent off on boats, which they set aflame, and then they returned to the Hall. Harry was quiet that evening caught up in memories of his own loss. Loki did not prank him and soon Frigga asked Natasha to take him to his chambers so that he might mourn in peace.

That night was not a good night for Harry or Natasha. As soon as Harry fell asleep the nightmares were upon him and she struggled to rouse him from his sleep. The entire room was shaking and things were flying about being thrown at imagined enemies, while Harry was fighting enemies in his dreams. Not once did the magic attack Natasha, but there was banging on the door just after she had managed to calm him down. Soon Frigga, Odin, Thor and Loki entered the room.

"What is going on here?" Frigga asked, first to his side.

"He had a nightmare." Natasha said, her eyes sad. Harry had told her of what happened in his nightmares. How he relived the losses he had suffered. Couldn't he find peace in even his dreams? Hadn't he suffered enough? "I cannot tell you of his dreams specifically, but you must remember that Harry's entire world had died. He'd suffered many losses. On nights like tonight, he struggles with old enemies and relives the losses." she said.

Frigga took Harry into her arms and cradled him. "Oh, my boy. What have they done to you?" She cried as she wiped the tears from his eyes. He hadn't woken once, but it seemed he had at least calmed down.

"If his enemies were not all dead, I'd mobilise the army and slay them to the last." Odin swore. "Is there nothing we can do for him?" he then asked.

"There is a potion which gives him the ability to sleep without dreams, but he says it can become addictive, so he seldom takes it. Tonight must have been difficult for him with a loss so closely following the fighting and the near loss of someone he cares for. I've tried to get him to talk to me about it, but he refuses to go into details. I think he fears I would see him differently if he told me too much of the things he's been forced to do." Natasha said.

"Has he told you anything?" Frigga asked.

"Some, but not all." Natasha nodded. "He has a mental defence, as you know, that defends from mental attacks. I think he uses that to suppress the memories and feelings. Sometimes, though, they leak out."

"Well, I'll speak to him tomorrow. We'll make the time and ensure his mind is put to rest. I cannot have my son suffer and do nothing about it." Odin promised. "Can you arrange a bit of time off from his other duties? I would like to keep him here until I know he has dealt with his grief." he asked of Natasha.

"If you can help him, I'll arrange it even if he doesn't want to." Natasha said fervently. "But if I could make a suggestion?" she asked.

"You know him best. It would be foolish not to listen to your suggestions." Frigga answered for Odin.

"Could we go to the island? He relaxes best there and would probably feel more at ease in a familiar environment." Natasha suggested.

"You speak truly. I have seen it myself. He does love his island. I think it has something to do with all the magic in the air there. It must remind him of his home." Odin said.

"We must attend to some things tomorrow, but we'll arrange for some time away. Maybe you can take Thor, Jane and Loki to the Island tomorrow morning and then we can join you towards the evening?" Frigga asked.

"I don't see a problem with that." Natasha said. Then she smiled slightly, "Actually, I'm sure Harry would love to see how Jane explains away all the magic there."

There was a chuckle from Loki. He liked this woman. She seemed to be good with Harry and she had even been there to support him, when she had only reason to hate him. She must truly love him to do so. That is good, for Loki would look out for his younger brother. He'd become quite fond of him. No woman that could hurt him would be allowed to enter his vicinity if he had a say in the matter.

Thor had been quiet. He knew Harry had had a difficult history, but events from the last two days were bothering him. Where had he hidden the raw emotion he could see on his brother's face now as he slept? How much pain and anger was he carrying with him that he could tap it like he had when Frigga had been injured? He didn't like it. No brother of his could be in this much pain and he not know about it. He swore to himself he'd help him however he could. He glanced at Loki and their eyes locked. There was a short moment before they both nodded. Loki must have seen it too.

Odin and Frigga were also worried. Harry had always been fun-loving and carefree. What had he gone through that would drive him to fighting imaginary foes even as he slept? They had been awoken by their rooms shaking and they would not be surprised if the entire citadel had felt it. If this was a growing issue, they'd have to step in before it consumed their normally happy, new family member.

They all went back to their chambers, when Natasha promised to keep his dreams at bay for the night, as best she could. Once they had left, she snuggled in closely to him. She fell asleep that way and didn't notice when Harry's arm enfolded her protectively. He was still having nightmares, but with her with him, all he had to do was protect her from them. Had he not fallen asleep before she was in bed with him, the whole affair might not have happened.