Many of the professors had retreated into the hall for dinner while they all knew that Umbridge would have gone to her office to report to Minister Fudge about what had occurred. She'd use it as another reason to get Dumbledore out, saying he allowed a killer into the castle just to smear his name even more, as well as the names of the Avengers. The Avengers remained in the hallway with headmaster Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall and Snape, discussing the events and how they would handle Loki as they knew the danger he presented being in the castle.

The danger presented itself quite clearly when Loki's sons came around the corner, Fenrir jumping between them all as if to separate them from one another while Jörmungandr used himself as a wall. Loki, however, went straight for Thor who was isolated from the others and pinned him against the wall. Thor, not wishing to fight the man he called brother, knowing that he wouldn't kill him, simply let it happen but what he wasn't expecting, was for the accusations that Loki brought. "Where is she?" Loki asked, tightening his grip with every second that passed while the Avengers threatened him. "I know you took her. Was this Odin's plan from the beginning? Give us hope, distract us so that he could send someone to retrieve her".

Thor shook his head as best as he could and struggled as he choked, "brother-"

"I am not your brother," Loki snapped.

"We didn't...didn't take her," Thor stuttered, "we gave our word".

Loki tightened his grip for a second before letting him go. He knew Thor wouldn't take her, not while they made Loki wear a cuff of oath, they had him and his children just where they wanted them. Trapped. Taking Dahlia at this point would be pointless. "Someone has her, if not you who?"

"Voldemort," someone behind him said but the boys obstructed his view.

"Boys," he said and they immediately turned to their human forms, Fenrir catching Jörmungandr just in time before he fell. Loki saw that it was the Captain that spoke, and he glared at the man as he said, "he is dead. He's nothing but a spirit in the air waiting to be captured, clinging to this realm in fear of what comes next".

Even Loki, however, immediately doubted himself when he saw the headmaster quietly discussing with his two professors hastily. He knew they were all past members of the Order of the Phoenix, well he knew two were and he, like Lily, had hope that Severus was a double spy, which only concerned him more. The group of heroes, however, looked to one another but it was Clint that took the great pleasure in telling him, "seems like your girls have been keeping secrets from you. He's back, flesh and blood, and living. Has been for almost a year now, and...he wants Dahlia dead. Seems like all his attempts over the years haven't quite worked out yet".

Loki froze but tried to keep himself composed to not show weakness but when the others silenced and glanced behind him, he turned to see Hela stood ten feet away from him, breathing heavily from running. "We were going to tell you," she said sounding like a small child that knew she was going to get in trouble, "papa, I swear we were. But it'll have to wait, we have to find her now".

She turned to walk out of the front doors, but Loki grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "you tell me now," he said sternly.

Hela looked to her brothers for help, they looked at her the same way her father did so she answered, "she told you what happened in first year, you know about the troll and Quirrell and Voldemort. In the second year, she told you that Muggle-borns began to get injured, petrified. She told you that the teachers-"

"Dealt with the monster...they didn't, did they?"

Hela shook her head, "Dahlia is the one who put the pieces together. She discovered the Chamber of Secrets, the monster that Salazar Slytherin put in there. Of course, before she even went down there she had to find out the truth about it which meant fighting off giant spiders that wanted to eat her, a crazy teacher that wanted to wipe her memories, and when she got down there, she had to fight off a Basilisk that was being controlled by a memory of Voldemort concealed in a diary. She destroyed the diary and him, but she almost died from when she was bitten by the Basilisk, luckily she was healed with Phoenix tears".

"Go sis," Fenrir said by accident and Jörmungandr hit his arm and glared at him, "what? She took on a basilisk and survived, sorry that I'm impressed".

Jörmungandr then shook his head and said, "we are never leaving you alone together, who knows what will happen to the universe". Of course, Fenrir just smiled at the thoughts that popped into his mind.

Loki, ignoring his bantering, asked his daughter, "why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to enjoy the rest of the story?"

She shook her head and replied, "third year she had an escaped prisoner after her but that turned out to be Sirius, that's how he really came back. She did uncover the traitorous rat Peter, but he got away, and she had to fight off hundreds of Dementors that wanted to eat her soul".

"What's a Dementor?" Fenrir asked.

No one answered as Loki held up his hand to stop him from asking as he wanted Hela to continue. "Last year, she was a member of the Triwizard Tournament. She had to fight a dragon, merpeople, and a maze with different creatures on the inside that wanted to hurt her. When she and Cedric reached the cup, it turned out to be a Portkey and she was confronted with Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort looking like a deformed infant. Cedric died, and they tied Dahlia up and used her blood in a ritual to bring Voldemort back to power, stronger than before. Death Eaters were summoned, and Dahlia fought and only just managed to escape with Cedric's body. When she returned, it was uncovered that one of the professors was using a Polyjuice potion to disguise themselves and was really a Death Eater. Since then, Voldemort has been building his army, gathering allies, but the Ministry do not believe what Dahlia saw. They're talking about her like she's crazy while he's growing stronger".

"I'm going to kill him," Loki snarled.

"Papa, you can't. We found out why he is still alive, why he didn't go to Niflheim when Dahlia destroyed him the first time. It will take time but if you destroy him now, he will only return. Give us time".

Loki was silent for a moment, breathing heavily in anger, then said, "you do not keep anything like this from me again, understand?".

Hela nodded, "I understand. Papa, it was a Portkey that took Dahlia from the Hospital Wing, we must go now. They could have her across the country by now".

With that, they quickly left the castle, the boys changing into their animal forms as they were quicker that way. The four of them ran or slithered to the camp as quickly as possible, hoping Hela's forces would be able to track Dahlia down soon.

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Arriving at the camp, it was very much a traditional camp with cream-white triangle tents placed in a circle, blocking off any entrances into it but the main entrance which had a wooden archway around it with the engravings that anyone who understood the Norse language would be able to understand. It was clearly stating that this is the camp of Queen Hela and if you didn't understand ancient Norse, you could understand the armed guards if you tried to get inside without invitation. Torches were placed around the camp, ready to be lit for nightfall, as was a large fire made from logs that was in the centre of the camp. It was not too far away from Hela's tent, not that she had stayed in it, which was obviously the largest tent. From the outside it looked small, but every tent had an extension charm so it was bigger on the inside.

As they approached the camp, they were seen rather quickly thanks to the giant forms of the boys and they were immediately greeted by Akio and a group of his ten closest and most well-trained soldiers. Everyone, soldiers and servants alike, were rushing around the camp, some gathering weapons while others were prepping for the Thestrals that they had brought over. Five hundred soldiers were brought over, handpicked by Akio himself, along with two hundred servants that included physicians and other needed people. On top of that, they brought three hundred Thestrals that were the soldiers' and they were out along the ground just outside the camp.

Akio greeted the Queen and her family with a bow, recognising not just his Queen but all of them as a royal family, "my Queen, my Lords" and the other soldiers followed.

Akio then handed Hela a looking glass and she said, "show me my sister, show me Dahlia Lokidottir". Their reflection faded as the mirror swirled to form the image of Dahlia but it was weak and blurry. They only just made out Dahlia and the fact that she was breathing before they couldn't see anything else. Hela almost threw the looking glass as she said, "she's on Midgard but in a very powerful ancestral guarded place. What's the plan?" She asked Akio as she couldn't think straight for the moment.

Akio answered, "group A, consisting of the servants, will remain in the camp with twenty soldiers guarding them. Group B, one hundred and eighty soldiers, will search the area, the castle, forest, the closest town and as far as they can get before we find her. The rest have had their Thestrals brought over and will search the sky and the country for any sign of her. We will find her my Queen".

Hela thought for a moment before she said, "Thestrals...I sent Eclipse over before all this happened. Where is she?"

Akio gestured behind him, "she was injured trying to protect the Princess when the Asgardians arrived". They followed him as they went to the herd of Thestrals and at the front of the Thestrals was Eclipse. She was being restless whilst Carr, a Midgardian-born man who had died close to a millennia ago, who studied Thestrals and became their care giver, was studying her wing. He was like a veterinarian but with only Thestrals.

"What are they?" Fenrir asked as the boys changed forms as they approached the Thestrals.

"Thestrals, creatures from Niflheim. Eclipse is Dahlia's," Hela answered when they were only a few feet from reaching Carr.

Carr bowed and said, "my Queen. The Thestrals are ready when the soldiers are-"

"And Eclipse," Hela cut him off, "can she fly?"

Eclipse stood and tried to stretch her wings but they all noticed how her left wing was injured and shook, not being able to open fully thanks to Odin. Carr shook his head and said, "she cannot fly, milady. If she was to fly, her wing could become injured beyond repair". Eclipse shrieked and clamped her jaw tightly near Carr, showing her clear displeasure. "As you can see, she isn't happy about it".

"Of course, she isn't," Hela said and Eclipse looked at her and whined, knowing they needed her. Hela's brothers didn't understand so she explained, "Thestrals are spiritual creatures of the dead. Only those who have witnessed someone die can see them. Thestrals are extremely loyal and when they choose someone to be their rider, they connect on a spiritual level. They are able to feel their rider's emotions. Right now, Eclipse can sense that Dahlia is injured and she's our best chance of finding her quickly. Their bond isn't as strong because they haven't been linked long but Eclipse could find Dahlia in a certain location..."

"But she can't," Jörmungandr said.

Hela nodded then looked to Akio and said, "go with the plan, we'll have to search everywhere". Akio brought out a horn at his waist and blew the horn. All the soldiers went into position, many of them finding their Thestrals and some even took off to the sky already. Hela looked to her father and said, "I gave her a necklace to conceal her magic," she held up her hand which held Dahlia's belongings, "she hasn't got her blade, necklace or wand, to defend herself she will have to use Aseir magic. With how weak she is, we should be able to sense it if she uses it. All we have to do, is be close enough. She was supposed to be waking up soon, if she wakes up and uses her magic, we can track her..." she then looked to her brothers and said, "you stay here".

"No," both of them said immediately.

"You're both weak from your time in captivity. Find healer Saida, she's my leading physician, she'll help regain your strength and heal you," Hela said and her shoulder was then nudged, she turned to find her own Thestral there. She mounted Zelda and then held out her hand so her father could follow her, sitting behind her. He did have a Thestral but of course, he wasn't brought to Midgard as they didn't expect Loki to make an appearance.

"Boys, do as your sister said," Loki said and the boys sighed in defeat.

"Catch," Hela said and threw them Dahlia's wand and dagger while she wrapped the locket around her wrist. "Keep them safe," she said, "Dahlia will want them back. Fly, Zelda". Hela held on to the Thestral's spine while her father held on to her waist, they were some of the last to leave. So much of the sky was filled with Thestrals going in all directions, but most were going to the south as they were at the top of the UK.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dahlia felt weak, she felt tired, but she had to open her eyes. She knew the pain coming from her abdomen was the knife wound and she knew the tingling feeling all over her body was her magic returning, but it was also helping her to fight off the poison. She knew her sister wouldn't let her die but the voice she heard as her eyes began to flutter open, the face she saw, wasn't the one she thought would be there. She expected to see her sister, sat by her side holding her hand and about to start fussing over her and telling her off for what she did. She expected her protective sister demanding, no, telling Dahlia that she was going back to Niflheim after she healed. Dahlia wouldn't complain but did want to see her friends first, just to explain the truth. She expected all of this but not the thirty-six-year-old innocent ex-convict Marauder to be sat by her side, for Dahlia to be in her bed at Grimmauld place at all.

"Hey, Prongslet, you're safe now," Sirius said smiling.

"Sir-Siri-Sirius?" she then coughed quite violently and Sirius stood to get her a glass of water from the cupboard. He then held up her head as he tilted the cup so she could sip the water.

"There we go, take your time," Sirius said before removing the water and putting it back, seeing that Dahlia had enough.

"Wh-what am I doing here? How did I get here?" Dahlia said as she tried to sit but winced when she felt pain.

"Careful," Sirius said as he rushed over to help her sit up and put more pillows behind her back, so she could be comfortable. "There we go," he said putting two more pillows behind her.

"Sirius, what am I doing here?" She asked for the second time.

"I took you from the Hospital Wing," he said as if it was the most casual thing in the world. Her hand immediately went to her neck but her necklace was gone. He picked up the paper from that morning and showed it to her as he stood at the end of the bed, "these lies, saying you're not James' daughter, I hope you don't believe them".

She read the title 'Potter? Girl who lives, daughter of god?' and a part of her was worried over Sirius' reaction. He seemed to be holding the paper rather tightly, she knew that James wasn't just a best friend but a brother who took him in when he ran away. To know that his brother's wife wasn't faithful could make a man do unpredictable things.

"Sirius-" she said carefully but he didn't listen.

"I mean, James is your father, you are his daughter. No one should believe these lies...these so-called heroes and gods must be working with You-Know-Who. That's it, they must be working with him and his filthy followers". Sirius walked around the bed and placed the paper on it as he sat down and took Dahlia's hand in his own before she could move it. He held it tightly and said, "Dahlia, tell me you don't believe these horrid lies, lies that are besmirching the Potter name?".

Dahlia tried to move her hand, but she was too weak to use force against Sirius and he didn't seem to be in the mood for releasing his grip.

"Dahlia," he said almost demandingly, wanting to hear her say it herself and not letting her silence speak.

She shook her head and said, "it's all lies".

He smiled and stood, letting go of her hand and walked away from the bed as he said, "good, good, yes, the Prophet is lies. James is your father-"

"Not the Prophet," she said summoning as much strength as she could and as Sirius turned to look at her, the smile he had was disappearing instantly. "They broke up not long after Hogwarts, James and my mother-"

"Because of war, she couldn't handle it, but she came back," Sirius said defensively but rather loudly.

"She could handle the war; my mother was a fighter," Dahlia said just as defensively as Sirius and began to cough but wouldn't let that get in her way for long. "Do you not think it odd that she came back? She came back and within a month I come alone and they get married...James' hair was black but not as dark as mine, he was tanned, not pale like I am. I hold some respect for James, as does, for James sacrificing his life for me, but he was arrogant and a bully and thought he was better than everyone else". Sirius stepped closer to her and gripped her arms as if he was going to shake her as she said loudly, enough for anyone in the house to hear, "above all else he's not my father, he was just a pawn in a much bigger plan".

Sirius then shook her, brought her up off the bed slightly, and she could feel her abdomen hurting but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing it, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HE DID FOR YOU?" Sirius shouted, "he died for you. I shouldn't be surprised, I always thought your mother was a gold-digging good for nothing whore who wanted his money".

"Sirius," someone said that sounded like Remus, but Dahlia didn't pay attention as she saw red. She quickly pushed her hand against Sirius' chest, using all her magic to send him flying back into the wall and held him against it while he choked. She heard the running of feet, she saw Remus, Tonks, Mr. and Mrs Weasley, and Kingsley all run into the room.

She felt her powers draining, she saw her purple Aseir magic streaming from her fingertips and going around his neck, but she also felt weak, as if darkness was going to consume her at any second. She had to release him and as she did, she fell to the mattress, barely having the strength in her arms to keep her body up to look at Remus picking Sirius up with the help of Kingsley.

Mrs Weasley and Tonks ran to her, however, helping her sit back in bed but she couldn't help but let out a scream when they moved her. The pain in her abdomen only worsened and she felt like she was being stabbed all over again. Mrs Weasley lifted her shirt up just to see the wound and Dahlia glanced down only for a moment to see a mass of black around and on the stab wound. It was the first time she saw it and she knew it would be an effect of the poison. She heard Tonks whisper, "it's gotten worse," to Mrs Weasley and the woman only nodded.

"You should not have done that, Dahlia," Mrs Weasley scolded her but Dahlia only continued to look at Sirius as he left, his pride clearly hurt. She also saw Snape standing near the door trying to conceal the smirk he had.