Harry Potter : In the shadow of divinity9.52%

Chapter - 8 : Secrets of Asgard

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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Loki was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger, he hardly knew anything about the man other than what he himself had told him. Everything he'd said and done up until this point could have been a carefully crafted lie to gain his trust, lure him into a false sense of security, though for what Harry had yet to figure out. Loki had spent years looking out for him, he'd donned hundreds of disguises and spent countless hours talking with Harry or comforting him or just being there when he was struck with a sense of overwhelming loneliness. What reason did he have for wasting so much of his life in Harry's company other than because Harry was his flesh and blood? None that he could think of, or at least none that cast Loki in a bad light or gave Harry any reason to believe that he was a bad person. Crazy, perhaps, terribly lonely and maybe a bit bored, but not bad. And, in the end, that was all the justification he needed.

Loki was waiting for him, exactly as he said he would be, on the very same swing set he'd left him on. It was late in the evening, nearing dark when Harry arrived, leaving the park empty of nosy neighbors and their far too energetic children.

"I've decided to believe you," Harry said, foregoing any pomp that may have proceeded the statement as he plopped himself down on the swing beside the older man.

"Indeed?" Loki smiled softly. "That was much quicker than I'd allowed myself to hope."

Harry shrugged. "I would have been here sooner, but I allowed myself too much time to think. Too much time to doubt myself."

"What made you finally decide to trust me?"

"It's like I said before, I'm usually pretty good at spotting lies. But even if I wasn't, I thought it over for a long time, and you have no reason to lie to me. Right?"

"None at all," Loki agreed.

Harry nodded in satisfaction. "So I'm going believe you and all that you've told me, but that doesn't mean I trust you. Not yet."

Loki nodded approvingly. "No one should have your trust so easily, not even me. I will, however, do everything I can to earn it, I wish to be a part of your life in whatever way that I can."

"You can start by telling me about who you are."

"That's as good a place as any, I suppose," Loki nodded. "However, I'm afraid that my answer may only further your doubt."

"Not if you tell the truth."

"I have no intention of lying. It's only that my tale is a bit…farfetched to the uninformed."

"You've told me that I have magic and that the man who I was told my entire life was my dad isn't," Harry said drily. "I've believed you so far."

Loki laughed in wry amusement. "I suppose you have a point. All right, what would you like to know?"

"You said before that you're not from around here," Harry said after taking only a few seconds to think. "Where do you live?"

A dismayed look crossed Loki's face. "Of course you would start with the question that is most difficult to answer," he sighed. "To put it plainly, when I say that I'm not from the area I actually mean that I hail from an entirely different world."

"A different world?" Harry asked skeptically. "So…you're an alien?"

"That's one way to put it, I suppose." Loki paused for a moment, thinking over the best way to word his explanation. "The universe is made up of nine realms; Nidavellir, Niflheim, Muspelheim, Svartalfheim, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Asgard, and Midgard, they are each home to different races and species, but they are all connected through the branches of the world, Yggdrasil. My home is on Asgard."

"Asgard?" Harry repeated. "Like in the books?" Not even a few weeks ago, he had borrowed a book from the school library on myths from different cultures and religions, among them had been a story of a god who lived on a mountain and wielded lightning bolts and another of a one-eyed king who resided in a golden palace on a place called Asgard.

Loki nodded. "Precisely, while I'm sure the tales have been a bit muddled up over time, the basic gist of it remains."

"So you're a god, from a different dimension?"

"Did I not say you wouldn't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you," Harry protested, "it's just that this is a bit…."

"Farfetched?" Loki supplied.

Harry shrugged. "A bit. The book said that people from Asgard-"

"Asgardians."

"Right, that Asgardians were gods. Immortal. Are you?"

"In the eyes of your people I suppose we would seem like gods, we are stronger, faster, and live far longer than those who hail from Earth, Midgardians. But we are only men, not gods."

"Am I immortal?"

"None of us are truly immortal, we can die by blade or by poison and many other means," Loki said. "I am not entirely certain of your mortality, your mother and I are of two different kinds; a union between an Aesir and a Midgardian has not been seen in several millennia, if a child was born to such a pair, they have long since passed."

"Is that why I have to keep hidden?" Harry asked. "Because you're from Asgard and my mum was from Earth?"

"Among other reasons," Loki said carefully. "On Asgard I am of high standing, my father is Odin, King of Asgard, an illegitimate child of mine would be…frowned upon."

Harry frowned, Loki wasn't lying but he wasn't telling him everything, he was purposely omitting something. "You're a prince?"

"Yes, though it is my brother, Thor, who will one day wear the crown."

"How many people are in your family?"

"Only four, including myself," Loki said. "My father, Odin, my mother, Frigga, and my brother, Thor."

Harry nodded, the slightest bit amazed by the revelation. He had grandparents and an uncle, maybe this one would turn out to be better than Uncle Vernon. "How long do I have to stay a secret?"

Loki shrugged. "I cannot say for certain. I do know that it won't be for many more years, you will need to be older and have some mastery over your magic, in case you ever need to defend yourself."