The wind was bitter and strong, it had been since she'd made planetfall. It was like the planet itself was protesting her intrusion, though she knew that this weather was typical for Jotunheim. It had been a fruitless year on this worthless planet, and a fruitless decade putting out fires across the nine realms.
The new arrival took the weather far worse than her, but he persevered, bowing low in acknowledgement. "Goddess." He said, a fearful worship in his voice. She liked it. She did not know him, but she could tell that he was young. As a captain, he was of low rank to be debriefing her, but given his age, it meant that he'd risen through the ranks quickly. "I bring news from Ear- Midgard."
"Go on." She said.
The man hesitated, swallowed his courage and then spoke "The Time Vortex has been breached. A team of wizards retrieved two people from within."
Hela froze, a frisson of fear lancing through her, before being replaced by anger. "When." She snapped. The man hesitated. "Answer me."
"Four days ago."
"And why am I only hearing about this now?"
"To be blunt." He said "The Agent in charge was trying to cover his ass."
Now she understood. He was the messenger. She was meant to take her anger out on him, rather than on the Heads of Hydra. She would not play their game. Regardless, she had more important priorities right now. "So the Order has him." She murmured. It had to be him- Harry Potter. The man who had killed her in another world, with a weapon that was rightfully hers, and broken the universe in yet another rather than let her win. The situation wasn't unsalvageable, but she'd need to act fast.
"It wasn't the Order, my Queen." The man interrupted. "The Order was there, but they were also fighting them."
That… complicated things. If killing Harry Potter was as simple as leveling every last wizarding bastion, that was doable. She'd spent decades doing much the same- cleansing the world of those abominations. She'd destroyed schools, towns, and fortresses, one after another. It had been a long, brutal process, but she was patient, and did not care how many of her own followers died. When she had left to finally reclaim her throne on Asgard a decade ago, she'd left the wizarding world on what she'd assumed was the brink of destruction. She had hoped that Hydra would be able to finish them off, but without her they'd only lost ground. The Order, still led vigorously by Dumbledore and Grindelwald, had not been left as weak as she had thought.
Perhaps leaving hadn't been her best decision, but Odin had just fallen into Odinsleep, and the opening was too tempting for her to ignore. She'd expected a glorious return home, and she'd been disappointed. The prince- Thor- had fought her at every turn, waging a guerilla war across the nine realms. It was why she was at Jotunheim, Prince Loki of the Frost Giants had made a pact with him, and that was an alliance she couldn't allow to strengthen. But her time here had been spent trying to catch smoke. She could kill as many Frost Giants as she pleased, but it did not give her final victory. She was almost grateful that something more important required her attention. "What's your name, Captain?" She asked.
"Erics. Captain Henry Erics." The man said. She appraised him for a moment. She appreciated the regard he held her in, and his composure in what he must have believed was certain death. He wasn't bad to look at, either.
"Henry, you are my liaison now. We will inform your superiors when we return to Midgard." She decided. He would make a good pet, she supposed.
"When are we going?"
"Now." With that, they disappeared in a flash of blue light.
Far away, Heimdal blinked as his vision cleared. Thor would want to know about this.
-----
"Go ahead." Harry goaded, spreading his arms open in invitation "Let me see what you got."
Lily's eyes glinted at the challenge, she seemed to have no compunctions about hexing him. "Expelliarmus!" Harry let the spell hit him, and was pleased that his wand ripped from his grip- though he did not go flying back. Lily snatched the wand out of the air triumphantly. She'd made remarkable progress- wingardium leviosa, lumos, the knockback jinx, and beginner level transfiguration were all a breeze for her. It was clear where to go from there- defense.
"Ah, expelliarmus." Ron said, walking through the doorway. "Y'know, Harry used that spell to fight Voldemort."
"Technically." Harry allowed. It had been a useful argument when teaching the DA, so that they would take the lessons seriously, but Lily certainly didn't have that problem. She soaked everything up like a sponge, hanging onto every tidbit of advice he dropped. "But you know that's because of-" Harry paused, something clicking in his mind "Wait, how did you know that?" He asked, with something close to hope.
"Err." Ron scratched his head "I dunno. It just came to me."
"Okay, but how did you fight a Dark Lord with a disarming spell?" Lily asked. The only thing that rivaled her enthusiasm for magic was her desire to learn more about him.
Harry looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow, wondering if he would know. "Oh, erm…" He hummed, then snapping his fingers "Priori incantatem!"
"Five points to Gryffindor." Harry said with a grin. He turned back to Lily. "Essentially, our wands had the same core- a feather from the same phoenix. They refused to be used against each other, it was quite the light show." He explained "We had a battle of wills, that I managed to win, and his wand began… showing the previous spells it had performed. Which-" He grimaced "In that case, meant showing echoes of all the people he had killed. They helped me escape."
"That's possible?" Lily asked "Bringing people back?"
"Death's… a tricky subject. Officially, there's supposed to be no way to bring people back from the dead." Harry explained, going fully into teacher mode. Ron too, seemed interested "But there are ghosts at Hogwarts." Lily blinked in surprise "As well as portraits of dead people who can talk and interact with you. And then there's the resurrection stone."
"Isn't that just a fairy tale?" Ron asked "The Tales of Beedle and Bard?" Clearly, he didn't remember everything.
"Legends often have a basis in truth." Harry said enigmatically "The Deathly Hallows exist. Though they certainly do not give one the power of life and death, as the legends say. The Resurrection Stone doesn't fully resurrect people- again, they're like echoes. Of course, there's time travel, which is its whole other can of worms."
"I wanted to ask about that, actually." Lily broached "You said you time travelled another time, at school?"
Ron put a hand on his forehead "Oh Merlin, I remember. We were bloody saving Buckbeak."
"Buckbeak?" Lily asked.
"We had Hermione researching legal precedent." Ron continued, seeming to relive the whole saga "Bloody hell! Hermione punched Malfoy in the face." Harry snickered, even after all these years, it was a treasured memory. Lily's curiosity had only grown more intense, so he committed to telling her the story, letting Ron jump in when he remembered something.
"-and then this one." He jabbed a thumb at Ron "Who could barely stand from his injury, told the wanted mass murderer that if he was going to kill me, he'd have to kill him too." Ron blushed. "I really have the best friends."
At that, Lily grew wistful, and Harry felt like a cad. While Harry had eventually been able to make friends, Lily was still isolated. Her life had been lonely, even lonelier than his on balance. He hadn't meant to rub it in her face. "Hey." He said "You will too." He felt helpless. He had nothing to back up his words, no practicable way of achieving them. Parents couldn't force other teens to make friends with their children. In a very real way, she was utterly unlike any of her peers. No wonder she was clinging to him- he and Natasha were all she had.
"Hogwarts, sounds amazing." She said.
"It was the first place that felt like home to me." Harry admitted "Before, I always felt like an outsider, unwanted. It wasn't the magic though; it was the people." Lily nodded, and he had no doubt she related to that immensely.
"Its not the same, now." Ron said, darkly. "We make it sound like a fairytale, and in some ways it still is, but… " He shook his head "The entire place is a factory now- training people to kill and die."
Lily looked downcast, and Harry knew what she must be thinking. She'd hoped that Hogwarts might have been a place where she could find people like her, people she could be friends with, and that hope had just been crushed. Grasping, he hit upon something to lift her spirits "We're going to be looking for more friends and allies, Lily. A lot of us are misfits in our own way. It'll get better, you'll see." He desperately hoped so, because as much as he wanted to nurture the bond between them, Harry knew that there was a very good chance he might not make it out of this alive. She couldn't cling to him forever.
She digested his words, and though she didn't look so morose, she didn't look convinced either. "So, the story?" She asked tentatively.
Harry seized on the distraction "Right, so it turned out that the wanted mass murderer was innocent, and my godfather. The real traitor all along was…" He paused for dramatic effect "A rat."
"A rat?" Lily repeated "Is this, like, a metaphorical rat?"
"Oh god, I just remembered." Ron groaned "It was fucking Scabbers."
-----
Ginny was doomed, truly utterly doomed. Natasha had followed up on their decision to get to know each other better, and she wanted a refund. It was bad enough that Harry's partner was hot as hell- she also knew exactly how to use it and could see through Ginny's every attempt to hide how affected she was. The conversation was easy enough- between Ginny's time at Hogwarts and Natasha's as an Avenger they had plenty to talk about. Natasha talked at length about her adventures with Harry, and Ginny listened with a hint of longing. She'd missed so much of his life, and he'd missed so much of hers. Could they really bridge that gap?
Ginny's real problem, though, was that Natasha spared no opportunity to tease. As soon as she'd managed to maneuver Ginny into a cloistered sitting room to 'talk privately', all bets were off. Yes, Ginny was aware of the way Natasha's outfit complimented her cleavage. Yes, she saw the sway of Natasha's hips as she walked. Yes, she was aware of how Natasha touched her- on her forearm, on her shoulder, and on her thigh. She couldn't deny that each touch affected her. It made it very difficult to feel sorry for herself over the time she and Harry had missed.
More devastating than her physical touch, were Natasha's words. She went out of her way to praise Ginny, whether to compliment her quick thinking in one of her stories, or to tell her how cute she was when she blushed- which was good because that blush was a near constant feature right now. Ginny knew what Natasha was doing. Her insecurities around the older woman must be obvious. Knowing why Natasha was acting this way didn't mitigate it's effectiveness, and Ginny found herself feeling butterflies several times.
Naturally, their conversation often revolved around Harry. He was the main thing they shared- other than trauma- and Natasha turned out to be an excellent sounding board. They talked about his recklessness- Natasha bemoaned it. And while Ginny could sympathize, she couldn't bring herself to agree. "Natasha, its just… yes, he's reckless. But he's also decisive." Ginny said "Without that, I'd be dead. No sane person would have tried to save me. He fought a basilisk with no hope of backup. You might call that stupid, but he saved my life. He's saved other people's lives like that, too."
Natasha had softened, and conceded that sometimes Harry's decisiveness was exactly what was needed in an emergency, and Ginny had extended an olive branch by explaining that she'd had always just wished he'd stop trying to go it alone- that whatever daft plan he came up with, he'd include her, or at least Ron and Hermione. Natasha had easily signed on to that. But naturally, Natasha managed to steer the conversation to more licentious topics. "So, I know you two lost your virginity to each other." Ginny ducked her head, while Natasha chuckled "That's sweet. How was it?"
Ginny hesitated for a moment, but realized that she'd never actually gotten the chance to talk about it. Her regular sounding board for all things Harry had been Hermione, but Ginny'd had a feeling that Hermione would not have been interested in hearing Ginny gush about getting laid by her best friend. Regardless, Hermione had left not long after, and in the following year, it had been wise to keep shut about just how close she and Harry's relationship had been. "It was brilliant." She said, not bothering to keep the enthusiasm out of her voice.
"No first time awkwardness?" Natasha probed.
"I was expecting something to go wrong." Ginny confessed "But really, the hard part was us finding some time alone. It was in the runup to my brother's wedding, so the house was hectic, especially with a family like mine." Natasha smiled, nodding along as Ginny told her tale "It was Harry's 'birthday present', you see."
"Clever." Natasha said "Harry loves his presents."
"But then Ron walked in on us, on purpose! He didn't want Harry 'leading me on' or some rubbish." Ginny rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Like I couldn't take care of myself. I had to beg Hermione to 'take a long walk' so that Harry and I could get some private time in my room." It was a relief, finally getting to talk about it, and once the words started they didn't stop.
"You gotta do what you gotta do." Natasha nodded sagely "So it was worth it?"
Ginny snorted "Of course it was! I mean- I've heard stories from other girls, about their first times being… a little underwhelming. I'd been like, obsessed with Harry for years… I thought about it a lot. I was worried it'd never live up to expectations, but it was good, it was so good."
"Harry's very attentive." Natasha agreed, rubbing her thigh. Ginny shivered, the topic of conversation was only exacerbating her… condition. Thinking about that night never failed to get her keyed up. "Though I wondered how much he had to learn his first time. Was he just a natural?"
"Er, it was more like I was easy. I guess." Ginny huffed. "Like I said, he was my first crush, and I crushed hard. I could barely get words out around him for a couple years. So this was like, my ultimate fantasy. Like I said, I thought about it a lot. And when we got in bed together…" She remembered it so clearly. His broad shoulders and firm chest over her- his strength and solidity, and the heat of his body. "…and I just remember how he looked at me, like..." She breathed.
"Yeah, its intense." Natasha said, her voice growing husky. "It's his complete focus. Like he's completely consumed with you, and you're the only thing that matters in the world." The two of them sat in contemplative silence for a moment. Then she gave her that coy smile "So, tonight? Or do you still need to think about it?"
They both knew her answer.
-----
Ginny hadn't been nervous during her first time with Harry, but her second first time with him brought out the nerves. They weren't both virgins sharing their first time together. Maybe they'd no longer have chemistry. Maybe she'd never be able to measure up to Natasha's experience and skill. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
She knocked on the bedroom door, and Harry called for her to come in. She saw him, and her doubts slipped away. Since they'd initially discovered him in the nude, he'd dressed in simple robes fit for battle. Here, though, he'd dressed down- just in boxers and a T-shirt. She liked seeing him like this- so different from how he presented himself outside this room. It already felt private, intimate.
"I'm glad you're here, Gin." He said, his eyes warm and his voice brimming with affection. "I missed you." She didn't hesitate to wrap him in a hug. "Every day."
"Me too, even if I didn't know it." She said. She'd always known that something was missing from her life, she'd just hadn't known it was him. God, she loved him. Being in his arms felt right. Even when she was eleven on the worst day of her life, it had felt right. "I love you." She said into his shirt.
"I love you too." She could feel his words rumble in his chest, and it sent a thrill to her. Unthinking, she tilted her head up to kiss him. It took only a moment to find their rhythm. Harry had been a quick study under her careful tutelage during her fifth year, and they'd had some spectacular private moments together. She had worried that it wouldn't feel natural after all these years, but it did. It felt so natural that all other thoughts began to melt away. Her hand wove through his hair- oh how's she'd missed running her fingers through it- to tug him closer. Harry obliged, his tongue pressing and swiping skillfully.
If anything, it was even better than she'd remembered. When they'd been together, Harry had tended to wait for her to make the first move. It was sweet, but his overly cautious attitude, so at odds with his method in every other aspect of his life, was a bit of a hindrance at times. Now, he didn't have such compunctions. He felt so much more self- assured. Confident in himself, but also in the fact that she wanted to be here. Harry had always had trouble accepting love and affection. It had broken her heart just a little and had inspired more than a few fantasies about bursting into Number 4 Privet Drive and exacting vengeance on the Dursleys.
Case in point, instead of waiting for Ginny to advance the plot, Harry took matters into his own hands, quite literally. His hands wandered freely down her back, with one moving down to cup her arse. Tingles shot up her spine, and Ginny whimpered into his mouth. She could feel his erection pressing prominently into her abdomen. It was maddening, and a heat throbbed in her core in response. Ginny hiked a leg up, and Harry lifted her, allowing her to wrap her legs securely around his waist. Her robes bunched up, and Harry sculpted his hand up the bare skin of her thighs. Her skin tingled at his touch, and he slipped his hand beneath her robes to re-take its place at her bum.
Her hips spasmed erratically against his hardness, but when Harry re-established his grip on her bum, he grinded against her with a firm, deliberate pressure. His hardness rubbed right against her clit, and Ginny saw stars. "Fuuuuuck!" She moaned, tearing her mouth from his as she shuddered. With Harry's guidance, they repeated the motion, each time drawing another pulse of hot pleasure.
"You want my cock, Gin?" Harry teased, his voice curling with desire. She nodded, a broken whimper escaping her lips. "What was that, Gin?" He pressed, as he also pressed his hips forward.
"Fuuuck, I want it!" Ginny burst. "I want your fucking cock!" Harry tossed her onto the bed, and the casual display of strength did things to her. He shucked off his shirt in a well-practiced motion, and Ginny stared. Her eyes roved across the expanse of bare skin, drinking in his musculature in a way she hadn't been able to when they'd found him in the time vortex. Then her gaze dipped down, she could see the shape of his cock as it strained against the thin layer of fabric that contained it.
"Impressive, isn't he?" Natasha commented. Ginny startled, just now noticing that the woman had joined them. She was wearing a simple nightgown, and had taken a seat on the bed next to Ginny.
"Nat." Harry huffed good naturedly.
"What? She was literally drooling." Natasha said, and Ginny, blushing, rushed to swipe at her chin. "Not that I blame her." She winked.
Natasha's entrance had broken the moment, and Ginny was forced to wonder how things would work with the three of them. Was the night supposed to be about her and Harry, or did Natasha want to take an equal role? Were Ginny and Natasha going to both focus on Harry? Or was Natasha planning on following up with her flirting?
"How is this supposed to work?" She asked "I've never actually done anything like this, and well, you're the expert."
"Yeah, you're the threesome expert, Nat." Harry teased "Please guide us."
"I do happen to have a plan." She admitted.
"Of course you do." Harry said warmly.
"Oh, hush." Natasha huffed. She turned to Ginny "You've only had sex one time, right?"
"What about it?" She asked, defensive.
"Well, with Harry taking such a shine to teaching, I thought I'd prepare my own course." Her eyes glittered with mischief "Let's call it, Harry 101."
-----
"We have news." Albus Dumbledore said gravely "It is imperative that this stays between us. We don't want to cause a panic."
There were days where, despite his daily consumption of the elixir of life, he felt every bit his age. This was one of them. Looking out at the concerned faces of his most trusted, and talented lieutenants.
"Don't leave us in suspense, Albus." Minerva chided, covering for her own anxiety.
"I have heard from a source within Hydra that Hela." Everyone in the room, save Tom, flinched "Has returned to Earth."
"Shit." Lily said eloquently.
"Indeed." Albus agreed. He had already discussed the news with Gellert. And their consensus had been much the same. They'd stood against Hela together, the self proclaimed Goddess of Death, Queen of Asgard, the 'Wizard's Bane', and they both knew how dangerous she was. She was terribly fast, impossible to pin down, resistant to magic, physically strong and resilient, and able to conjure weapons faster than any wizard alive. Bastion after bastion, no matter how heavily warded or defended, had fallen to her. Albus still dreamt of stumbling down the halls of Beauxbatons, tripping over the bodies. Hogwarts and Nurmengard were the few bastions left, and the only ones that had proven to withstand a direct assault from the goddess herself.
"We've benefited greatly from her absence." Tom said "But we knew it couldn't last forever."
"No, it could not. But one would always hope for more time." Albus said wearily.
"What plans do we have in place for this?" Lily asked.
He and Gellert had discussed this at length. At times, it felt like the war had consumed the entirety of their relationship, just as it had consumed the world. They both spent most of their time apart, putting out various fires wherever they could. When they did meet, their conversation was about the war. There was little room left for affection, or even sentimentality. Perhaps one day…
"Yes, that is why I've called you here." Albus said "Any projects you have in the works should be implemented as soon as possible." His eyes focused on Lily "I understand you've been working with some former students." That was an incredibly charitable description of her work, he knew "It is time for them to be ready for action."
"There is also the Asgardian." Severus mentioned.
"We don't have a way to make her compliant." Lily said shortly "She can even throw off the imperius."
Severus just hummed, a tight-lipped expression that gave nothing away.
"Perhaps… I could have a go with her." Tom suggested. Indeed, his imperius was perhaps the strongest of any in the room.
Both Lily and Severus hesitated, for once they seemed to be in agreement. Neither one wanted Tom encroaching on their 'territory'. "This is not the time for territorial squabbles." Dumbledore snapped "You will work with each other, and share all relevant information."
"Of course, sir." Severus nodded. Tom looked pleased with himself.
"Albus." Lily redirected "I'm not sure that my subjects are ready."
"Then you will ensure that they are." Dumbledore returned, brooking no argument. "The survival of our species, and the life of your son, depends upon it."
Lily flinched, cowed. "Yes, sir." She said. The discussion did not last much longer, and the three walked out to return to their work, leaving Dumbledore alone with Minerva.
"Albus." She asked "You've always said that you appreciate my candor. Is that still true?"
"Of course." He replied.
"You are making a mistake."
"I know that there are risks in accelerating these projects, but…"
"That's not what I'm referring to." Minerva said. "Do you really think that we can defeat her?"
Albus shook his head "I don't know." He'd spent decades looking for the Hallows, sure that they were the key to defeating the Goddess of Death. Gellert wielded the Elder Wand, but the stone and the cloak seemed to be beyond them. That had been the goal of the ill-fated war on the goblins. He had hoped that the race had acquired one of the hallows for themselves, but while they had recovered many valuable artifacts, the hallows had not been among them.
With his life's work coming to nothing, Dumbledore was forced to confront a hard reality. Perhaps Hogwarts, Nurmengard, and the other remaining wizarding bastions could withstand Hela's fury, perhaps he and Gellert could win the upper hand on her in a duel. But even if they did, it would be at an immense cost. Even if they won, they would lose.
"Then why not find allies?" Minerva argued "The merfolk, the centaurs, the goblins. Even the sorcerers and mutants. They are all enemies of Hydra, we could work together."
Albus sighed, a bone deep weariness settling in. It was an argument that Minerva could make because she was a woman. She hadn't been a recruit, hadn't experienced the realities of war. While she knew of the things that they had done, she didn't know. Lily had once suggested something similar, when she had first been brought into his circle. She didn't anymore.
For everything they had done, there was a reason, or at least a justification. The mutants were a threat, the Goblins and Sorcerers could have held the Hallows. It had all been for the survival of their race, and yet…
"Minerva." He said, deciding to match her candor "If they had done to us what we have done to them, we would let them die too."