Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Marvel, nor anything else recognizable. No profit is coming from this. I am merely playing in the sandboxes of those far more famous than myself.

So new story…

A sort of 'What if?' I suppose. I've read a lot of 'Harry Potter is half Asgardian/etc stories' but most/all of them I've read have Harry aging like a normal human. In this story, Harry will not age like a human, but like an Asgardian. So what happens when the boy-who-lived is expected to defeat Voldemort when physically, he is still only 9?

Obviously, this story will be an AU for Harry Potter. The story will stay cannon for the Marvel Cinematic Universe until the very end of Thor: Dark World, where it will veer off into its own direction. I may use elements of movies that came after that, but I give no guarantees for that. I also am pulling concepts from the Marvel Comics (which I have not read) I find online, as well as from Norse Mythology itself, so odds are, if you recognize a name or idea, I don't own it.

This will be a redeemed/never truly evil Loki story, and will eventually include all the Avengers along with other familiar characters from the MCU and Harry Potter.

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Idunn's Apples

~x~

Chapter 1

~x~

Harry Potter was running.

His little feet pounded the ground as his muscles strained to push him as fast as they could. Behind him he could hear his cousin, Dudley Dursley and his pack of friends laughing as they slowly caught up to their prey.

As far as nine year olds go, little Harry was fast, but a life of malnutrition and ill fitting clothes meant that he was no where near the physical shape or height that he should have been by his age. Granted his fat whale of a cousin was on the other side of the spectrum when it came to physical shape. Over eating and too many video games was the only reason that the bully hadn't caught little Harry yet today.

Harry took another sharp corner into a nearby park, desperately looking for a place he could hide from his pursuers. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep up this pace for much longer. Already, his vision was beginning to get dark around the edges. Besides the subtle tingling, he had lost feeling in his legs ages ago.

Oh how he wished to be anywhere but here. Harry was never one to complain, but his young mind didn't understand why he had been dealt such a miserable life. Beyond dealing with his bully of a cousin day in and day out, he was well aware that his relatives hated him. He tried to be good and respectful, but no matter how hard he tried, he was always doing something wrong in their eyes. He was pretty sure all of Surrey hated him actually. He was never good enough, and anyone who did seem to see past all the gossip and hatred directed towards him always seemed to disappear not long after making their empty promises toward him.

Harry was knocked out of his thoughts as he stumbled and was barely able to recover his balance. He wheezed out a breath as he chanced a look back. His cousin and his gang were gaining on him. It wouldn't be long now before they caught him if he didn't get somewhere safe soon.

Harry supposed that in the grand scheme of things, this really was his fault. School only had a few more weeks before it let out for the summer and he knew better than to stick around after the final bell. While the only thing that awaited him at home was a long list of mindless chores, it was far better than dealing with his cousin. But today, he hadn't been thinking about that. His teacher had mentioned a book in the school library that had caught his interest and in a moment of weakness, his curiosity overruled his common sense. He did get the book, it was carefully tucked into his old backpack, but at the cost of his cousin cornering him on his way out.

Unlike his cousin, Harry actually did enjoy learning. He wasn't really allowed to apply his intelligence in school, due to his relatives not wanting him to outshine their precious son, but that didn't mean he didn't learn outside of class. He wasn't allowed to watch television, or given many possessions to play with, so books were one of the few escapes he had from his miserable life.

Harry wove between the trees, hoping to regain some ground between him and his pursuers.

The little boy often wondered what his life would be like had his parents not died. Of course he knew that his parents weren't the best of people. 'Drunk deadbeats' as his relatives often labeled them. But still, he figured that even if they were as bad as his relatives said, his life couldn't be much worse than it was now. At least they would love him, right?

That had to count for something.

Harry stumbled again, only this time he couldn't seem to get his feet back under him in time to recover. He hit the ground hard, his already broken glasses flying off his face in the process. He whimpered as he grappled for his glasses. He knew he was done for now. His cousin and his friends grew louder as they both drew closer and more excited at finally catching their prey.

Harry typically compared his cousin to that of a baby whale in his mind, however in that moment, the bully and his friends reminded him of the hyenas from the movie The Lion King, which he had gotten the chance to watch the other day in class. He had really liked the movie, and couldn't help but compare himself to the little cub, Simba. If only he could find a Timon and Pumbaa to take him away and raise his as their own. That had been a day dream he had had more than once.

But that was irrelevant at the moment.

Harry knew he had no chance, and no one would come to protect him. They were now too close for him to be able to escape. From experience, he knew that trying to make a run for it at this point would only succeed in getting him tackled back into the ground. Holding his recovered glasses tightly in his hand instead of putting them back on, he curled into a tight ball to shield his stomach and face. He did his best to focus on his breathing and tune out the cackling jeers of his pursuers. Pretty soon, he succeeded and his world went silent. The only sound he could hear over his own breathing was a slight ringing in his ears.

He wheezed a cough and tasted blood. Probably from over exerting his lungs, something he wasn't exactly unfamiliar with if he were honest. His whole body was still tingling from the adrenaline induced sprint and he knew he would be sore the next few days from not only his cousin's impending assault but also from the run itself. It had been awhile since he had had to really run like this after all. He cursed his desire to rent the book again.

The next few moments seemed to last hours as he awaited the bigger boy's expected abuse. He could taste salty water drip into his mouth as he continued to pant, although whether it was from sweat or tears he couldn't tell. He had so hoped that he would be able to escape. He had been so close too! If only his clothes weren't so over sized, maybe he wouldn't have tripped.

Another few minutes passed in seeming silence and Harry began to grow confused. Surely they should have caught up to him by now. He waited a few more moments with bated breath.

Scrunching his eyebrows, Harry finally decided to chance a look. He knew there was a very good chance Dudley and the others were standing over him and merely waiting for him to peak. After all, a face was a much more fun target than the back and legs. You could do far more damage to it with a well placed hit. Peaking over his arm, Harry was surprised to see nothing. No blurry people standing over, no trees blocking the sunlight, nothing. Looking upwards, all he could see was blue.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed as he slowly unwrapped his arms from his face and chest to take a better look. Putting his glasses back on, the first thing Harry noticed as the distinct lack of Dudley and his gang. The second thing he noticed was that he was most certainly not in the same park that he had been in only moments ago. In fact, he was pretty sure he had never been where ever this was before.

'I did it again,' Harry thought miserably, thinking about another time he had been chased by his cousin and ended up on the roof. 'Uncle Vernon is going to kill me!'

While he always pretended he didn't know how the odd, freakish things happened, the truth was, Harry really did know. He was a smart kid. He was able to put two and two together and come to the realization that he was different. A freak, as his relatives aptly described him. He didn't know why it sometimes happened, but Harry was not exactly surprised when he found himself instantly in a new place again. He liked to think it was sorcery however, and had hoped that someone like the X-Men would one day come knocking on his door to offer him a better life, but that hadn't happened yet. And with his current circumstances, it was better to earn as little notice as possible.

Taking a deep steadying breath, Harry pushed himself to his feet and looked around at his new surroundings more carefully. He was pretty sure he was in a garden of some sort. All around him were beautifully kept flowers, of which, only a few Harry could recognize. He seemed to be standing on some sort of pathway, however he couldn't see where it went to. Slowly spinning in a circle, Harry could feel his dread building. He couldn't recognize anything! Even the landscape— for he was pretty sure that there were mountains over there— were unrecognizable to him. There were some buildings too. He could just make out the tops from over the tall plants, but they were unlike any buildings Harry had ever seen.

At that point, Harry came to an undeniable realization: He was no longer in Surrey.

"Did I somehow teleport all the way to London?" Harry questioned himself aloud. He knew that there were parks in London, but he didn't remember the buildings looking quite like the ones he was now observing. Granted, he had only been in London one time before, and that had been when he was only 7. Mrs. Figg hadn't been able to watch him that day, so the Dursley's had been forced to bring him with them, much to their chagrin. Harry, on the other hand had had a blast. To date, it was perhaps one of his favorite memories.

Harry stood in the same spot for nearly an hour, before he finally decided it was time to find his way home on his own. At this point, Harry knew that he was going to be in tremendous trouble, and the thought made his lower lip tremble slightly. He had been hoping that someone visiting the gardens would find him if he stayed in the same spot long enough, but he was now beginning to realize that nobody was going to come. Harry knew that wandering in a random direction was a sure way to get himself lost, but since he was already lost, Harry figured he couldn't get himself in any worse of a situation than he already was.

Besides, Harry was hungry! He was almost certain that dinner time had already come and gone, despite how light it was outside still. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't eaten anything since the small piece of toast he had gobbled down that morning before school.

With that thought in mind, Harry, after a moment of hesitation set off in a completely random direction, hoping to at least find his way out of the seeming labyrinth of gardens.

Harry walked for what felt like miles, always following the same winding pathway. Sometimes, another path would seem to split from the main one, but Harry always remained on what he could only assume was the main one. His feet began to ache, after a while, but like his tired muscles and scraped up hands and knees from his fall, Harry ignored them and continued to trudge along.

Nearly an hour passed when Harry finally came to the end of the pathway. However, to his further confusion, Harry found that the pathway didn't end at an exit, instead, it had led him to a grand tree. Encircling the tree from all sides, other similar pathways to the one he currently stood also came to an end at the tree.

Coming to a halt, Harry heaved a sigh of frustration. Now what was he supposed to do? All that walking was for nothing. He still hadn't seen a single soul during his hours spent in the garden, and he was beginning to think that maybe the park was abandoned. He quickly shook that thought from his head however, as the gardens were simply too well kept to have been truly abandoned.

And Harry felt that he, above anyone would know. After all, one of his most common chores was maintaining his Aunt Petunia's gardens. It was never a chore he minded that much. He took pride in how well kept they were. How the neighbors always complimented Aunt Petunia for their beauty without realizing that it hadn't been her hard work that made them possible.

Truly, the gardens here were a masterpiece. Had Harry not been so desperate to get home as soon as possible so as not to worsen his punishment, he would have really enjoyed the place. He had never seen such a beautiful and extensive garden, and the lack of any weeds was incredibly impressive to the boy. Everything— every rock, every twig, every plant— was in it's place. One only had to look at the apple tree and the area surrounding it to see that.

'Wait…' Harry backtracked in his head, focusing his attention on the tree in front of him once more, 'Apple tree?'

Sure enough, that was exactly what it was, though Harry was certain he had never laid eyes on that particular variety of apple before. Hanging heavily from the tree, the apples were a bright yellow, with an almost golden sheen to them. But in that moment, Harry found he could care less about what type they were, his relief at potentially quashing his hunger made sure of that.

Now, Harry was pretty sure it was considered bad manners to pick fruit of off other peoples trees without permission. Yet, with how hungry he currently was, and the vast amount of ripe fruit the tree currently bared, Harry was pretty sure that whoever owned the beautiful tree wouldn't care if a single apple went missing.

Or two.

Carefully, Harry made his way to the tree. Standing at the trunk, Harry was unsurprised to find that the tree was very large and most likely very old. The tree's trunk was also very straight and had very few handholds for easy climbing. Luckily for Harry, he had had a lot of experience climbing trees.

Mostly to get away from Dudley.

This tree would hardly be the most difficult he had ever climbed.

With that in mind, Harry took a deep breath and started to make his way scaling up the trunk. It was slow going, but pretty soon, Harry was within reach of an apple. Reaching out his hand, Harry carefully picked it from the tree and brought it close to his chest. Cautiously, Harry made his way back down the tree with his prize.

Once he had reached the bottom, Harry sat down on the soft ground, his back against the tree's trunk and studied the apple.

Despite what he had thought before, Harry had to acknowledge that the apple really wasn't yellow at all. Shifting the apple in his hand, he could see the light shift on its surface, making the golden apple look more like an intricately carved golden paperweight than a fruit.

For a brief moment, Harry pondered whether this was all some sort of elaborate trick, and that the apple was actually fake. He could just see his relatives jumping out from behind one of the plants, laughing that he had fallen for it when he finally did attempt to bite into the fruit.

He brought the apple to his nose suspiciously and sniffed.

No, it was definitely a fruit. Although, Harry couldn't really say that the apple smelled like a normal apple. More like an overly ripe pineapple if Harry had to compare it's smell to something. Except, that wasn't quite right either.

Getting impatient, and deciding that whatever it was, it was in fact edible, Harry took a bite.

The apple's flavor was intense, and nothing like Harry had ever tasted before in his life. Far to sweet to be a normal fruit, Harry was instead reminded of one of Dudley's overly sugary candies. Harry's eyebrows furrowed as he chewed slowly, his hunger had been forgotten as he tried to make sense of the new sensations he felt in his mouth. There was an odd warmth to the flavor that grew more intense the longer Harry chewed. It was almost as if the fruit had been cooked, and as Harry finally swallowed his mouthful, the warmth spread to the rest of his body.

Harry took another bite.

This time, the warmth was already there as soon as the apple touched his lips. As the warmth continued to spread through his body, Harry offhandedly noticed that all the aches and pains that he had been feeling earlier were curiously absent. In fact, he felt better than he could ever remember feeling. His eyelids felt heavy as he finally swallowed.

Harry took a third bite.

Shifting to get a bit more comfortable, Harry chewed slowly on the unnaturally sweet fruit. With a content sigh, Harry curled up against the tree, feeling warmer and safer than he had in a very long time. A small smile appeared on his lips as his eyes shuttered closed. It wasn't long after that that the little boy was fast asleep.

As Harry finally lost consciousness, the golden apple fell from his limp hand, rolling a small distance away.

~x~

Loki Laufeyson was so close to his present objective. Always the planner, the trickster god had actually started plotting his current scheme the moment Thor and his muggle woman had released him from his prison.

The plan had been simple really. All he really had to do was fake his death at one point before returning to Asgard through one of his secret pathways. To succeed, he simply had to ensure that the magical bindings Thor had placed on him during their escape were removed and wait for a suitable moment for him to fake his death. Getting the chance to 'die' after protecting Thor had just been the cream of the crop. Really, it was one of the most basic schemes he had ever concocted, and he was almost disappointed with how simple it had been.

Of course, after all the bad luck he had had lately, he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

At the current moment, Loki was approaching the palace from the back side. The next phase of his scheme involved removing Odin from the throne and taking his place without anyone becoming aware of the switch. Normally, this would be impossible, however, Loki was well aware of the fact that the Allfather was nearing the time of year when he would be required to enter the Odinsleep. He also figured, that due to the grief caused by the recent death of Frigga, Odin would be too busy mourning to successfully fend off an attack.

The thought of his mother made Loki pause slightly. Odin might have been mourning, but Loki was pretty sure than no one missed her as much as Loki himself did, even if he would never admit it.

He could remember as a young child how she used to take him on walks through these very gardens he was now using to sneak back into the palace. She was always the one he went to when he was upset, especially when Thor was too busy with his older friends to pay any mind to his little brother— adopted brother! He would come running to her, and despite his barely controlled tears that were not warrior like in the least, she would take his hand and lead him into the privacy of the gardens to speak softly to him, and above all, listen.

Taking a deep breath, Loki shook his head to get his thoughts back on the matter at hand. Shielding himself from Heimdall's view, Loki slowly wound his way through the beautiful gardens. Not for the first time, he thanked the norms for his ability to pass undetected in between realms, and for an entrance that was hidden in the back corner of the gardens. Otherwise, he was certain that his current objective would be impossible.

He was so close too! A few more turns and he would have reached the central point of the gardens: the sacred Tree of Idunn. From there, it was a straight shot to the palace. He was moderately surprised that he had not yet run into any of the gardeners that typically tended to the gardens. It wouldn't have been a problem of course, they would never even know he was there due to his magic hiding him, but it did make his life easier. Until he seized control of Asgard, he was trying to keep his magic usage to a minimum, so as not to attract any attention with his magical signature.

Cautiously, Loki followed the path that would carry him towards the Tree of Idunn.

It had been so long since he had laid eyes on the tree and its legendary apples. Not many people knew, but the Aesir were born with the same lifespan's as the humans of Midgard. It was only due to the consumption of the apple's that their lives were so dramatically prolonged. All the different civilizations of the nine realms had ways of prolonging their lives, bar those from Alfheim, who were the true immortals. The Vanir of Vanaheim had a similar tree on their own world too. Actually, the Asgardian Tree of Idunn was brought over from Vanaheim by the lady Idunn during the early years of Bor's reign. Bor had hailed from Vanaheim himself originally, and was a childhood friend of Idunn.

Loki didn't know how the Jötnar prolonged their own lives, however he figured it had to be similar to that of the golden apples of Idunn. While Loki was technically a Frost Giant himself, he had gone through the Asgardian's ceremony for prolonged life.

A child of Asgard received a golden apple once they had reached their tenth year of life. Due to the rarity of children born on Asgard, any child coming of age to receive their apple was cause for a huge celebration for all of Asgard. Once the apple was consumed, an Asgardian's aging was slowed down dramatically. On average, the Aesir aged only a single year for almost every two centuries of Midgardian life. This was why no child under the age of 10 was allowed one. By 10, an Asgardian child was considered old enough to enter an apprenticeship and protect themselves from danger if necessary.

The Aesir were not considered adults until they reached their 1800th year. That was also the time when an Asgardian exited their apprenticeship or received warrior status. At just over 1900 years old, Loki himself was naturally considered an adult, albeit a very young one. He also, due to his status as a Prince, had not technically been any particular Master's apprentice. Like Thor, Loki received lessons in many different disciplines. Of course, that came alongside the warrior training expected of a prince, much to his chagrin.

Loki was an excellent warrior, as was expected, however he would never enjoy the rush of battle like Thor did. Diplomacy and magic were far more enjoyable for the dark haired prince.

Finally turning the corner, the Tree of Idunn came into view. Loki paused for a moment to take the sight in. As usual, it's lush branches sagged under the weight of it's priceless golden apples. The whole tree seemed to glow from the late evening's sun reflecting light off the apples that were only partly hidden in the tree's autumn coloured leaves. The only portion of the tree that was not a splendid gold was the tree's rich brown bark.

Loki let his eyes trail down the tree's trunk until it reached it's roots. Loki then frowned.

'…Is that a person lying at the tree's base?'

Forehead creasing in confusion, Loki stepped closer to the tree in curiosity. While the gardeners were responsible for the Tree of Idunn, they were not under any circumstances allowed to simply relax near the tree. No person, with the exception of the royal family were allowed such a privilege.

As he drew nearer to the tree, a few things became apparent. The first, was that the figure was most definitely not a gardener because the figure leaning against the tree was almost certainly a child. He briefly considered that the child was one of the gardeners' apprentices, however quickly disregarded the thought. The child was far too small to be given tasks involving the Tree of Idunn, let alone being left unescorted with it.

The second thing Loki noticed was the abhorred state that the child was dressed in. His upper lip curled back in disgust as he further considered the little boy's clothes. Unlike anything Loki had ever seen in Asgard, the child seemed to be wrapped in something more akin to loose rags than actual clothes.

Loki came to a halt directly in front of the slumbering child. Upon closer inspection, the Prince was struck with the realization that the child was far younger than he had originally assumed, appearing to only be 6 or 7 years of age.

He also couldn't help but ponder the child's hair color. Very few native Asgardians had hair as black as his. The golden blond locks of his not brother was the dominant gene. As a child, Loki had always assumed that his own dark hair had been due to his mother originating from Vanaheim.

Gently, Loki reached down and brushed the boy's hair from his overly warm forehead. His eyes immediately went to the jagged scar that disfigured the otherwise smooth skin of the child's forehead. He supposed that that was another thing he could add to the list of growing concerns he had for the boy. While Loki was no medic, even he knew that a curse scar such as that should not be left untreated.

Heaving a deep breath, Loki tore his gaze away from the child and glanced at his feet. He was at a loss for what to do. He couldn't in his right mind— and hadn't that been a questionable subject as of late— leave the child alone now that he had discovered him. On the other hand however, he was unsure as to how his scheme would be affected should he try and take the child with him on his confrontation with the Allfather. Suddenly Loki's eyes focused on the shimmer of gold that sat innocently on the ground beside the boy and his internal argument instantly fled from his mind.

'Wait. Is that a..?'

"Oh you stupid, stupid boy." Loki breathed, as he stared at the partially eaten apple that lay at his feet.

It was not uncommon for a child under 10 to wish to acquire their apple before reaching their tenth year of life. This was truly only wishful thinking however, as no child had ever been able to get their hands on an apple before their time, at least, not as far as Loki was aware. Loki couldn't help but wonder how this particular child managed to slip past the guards that lined the palace and gardens.

Well, it didn't matter now. The child was now not likely to reach the normal size of an Aesir old enough to become apprenticed for a couple centuries. Instead of growing up quicker, as Loki was sure the boy intended, the child would now be stuck in a sort of limbo as he waited the centuries necessary before he could receive an apprenticeship.

Loki could only wonder how the kid's parents would react to that realization. Then again, Loki figured that if the child was dressed as he was, they probably didn't care for him much in the first place.

Loki narrowed his eyes at the thought.

While Loki couldn't say that his privileged childhood was not happy, he was always aware that he was not an equal to Thor. Especially as they grew older, Thor's aura seemed to grow brighter and Loki, simply not as brilliant, fell into his brother's shadows. That was one of the reasons that Loki became so mischievous in the first place. He had always enjoyed making people laugh, however as he grew older, playing tricks was the only way that he could pull attention from Thor and onto himself. As time passed and his tricks became old and what was expected, Loki had been forced to go to more and more extremes in order to achieve the same results. More often than naught, he wondered whether the punishments were worth the attention.

Looking back on his deeds prior to his fall from the Bifrost, Loki now realized that his actions in part were driven by his desperation to prove himself worthy to the Allfather. To show that he was just as good as Thor— perhaps better even— once and for all. That desperation had simply increased tenfold with the awareness of the monster he truly was.

That being said, if the child had felt so desperate to eat an apple before his time as a last ditch effort to achieve his parent's notice, Loki simply couldn't remain idle.

Crouching down, Loki carefully maneuvered the child so that he could lift him up in his arms. The prince frowned again as he moved to stand back up. The child was far lighter than he had expected given his assumed age. With a shake of his head, Loki banished the worry he felt for the child and proceeded to make his way towards the palace.

Stepping through the palace, Loki was again taken by surprise by the lack of guards and figures of the court mingling about. The halls were unusually empty, and despite making his descent towards the throne room that much easier, it was putting Loki on edge.

He finally made it to the throne room's entrance where he was again not faced with a single guard. Hesitating slightly, Loki finally stepped forward, still clutching the child to his chest. The only sound that could be heard were the muted echoes of his own steps as he made his way towards the throne.

As he had expected, the Allfather sat on the throne alone and appearing tired. His current state making him appear far older than he was in reality. As soon as he came into view, the Allfather's eyes focused in on Loki.

'He has been expecting me.' Loki realized. At least that explained the lack of gardeners and guards.

"Loki." The Allfather acknowledged, "I had a feeling I'd be seeing you soon, although, I had not expected you to come bearing a child."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "He was in the gardens." Loki said dismissively, intending to leave out the detail's regarding the child's recent deed. "I simply couldn't leave him unattended."

"Of course." The king agreed dismissively, however not before taking another intrigued look at the boy. Loki felt his arms tighten around his small burden.

"I assume you are here to unseat me from the throne?" Odin continued, his tone conversational. Loki narrowed his eyes, but didn't speak which Odin seemed to take as an affirmation. "And what are you planing to do with the boy? Surely you don't think you can rule Asgard while maintaining my image and raise that child— which we both know will have special requirements— all without help?"

"What makes you think I intend to keep the child?" Loki asked snidely.

Odin merely smiled.

Growing angry at the mind games being played against him, Loki stalked forward until he stood directly in front of the Allfather's throne. "The child is of no importance to me." he bit out. "I was merely removing it from the gardens. Once I have assumed the throne, I will prove once and for all that I am capable of leading Asgard."

Odin's smile merely grew a touch more pronounced and the skin around his eyes crinkled. "I have no doubt you could. Truly though, have you not noticed? Tell me Loki, who does the child remind you of?"

Loki blinked in bewilderment before finally dropping his gaze to the sleeping child still nestled in his arms.

"…Me." Loki muttered before quickly continuing, "But I'm not— He can't be— I don't have any children."

"Are you certain of that, Loki?" Odin asked softly.

Loki quickly brought his eyes back up to meet the Allfather's stare directly before answering. "Yes! Despite those stupid Midgardian fables, I do not have any children. I wouldn't lie about something like that!"

Odin turned his gaze off to the side, his brows slightly furrowed in thought. "I had thought that prompting you would perhaps jog your memory… Alas, it seems that the spell I placed on you not too long ago was a bit stronger than I had intended. Of course, I had never thought that I would need to break it."

"Just what are you suggesting?" Loki asked cautiously.

Odin took a few moments before responding. "Just over three decades ago, when you turned your brother into a frog during the feast we threw for the Vanir diplomates—"

Loki snorted softly at the reminder. It had been rather spontaneous on his part, but Loki had recently been studying seidr that would allow one to temporarily transform another into a new form and he had been dying to test it. Besides, Thor had truly been getting on his last nerves with his constant boasting and the few belittling comments he slipped in— possibly not on purpose, given his arrogant nature— about Loki.

"—yes, I am aware you found it funny. However it was hardly appropriate, given the circumstances." Odin sighed. "Now, do you remember your punishment for that particular offense?"

"You punished me like usual." Loki responded slowly, not comprehending what the older man was getting at, "I was banished to my quarters for a period of time with my magic partially bound… Doomed to boredom."

Odin shook his head. "Except you weren't. Not that time." The Allfather drew a deep breath before he explained. "I had given you the same punishment so many times before that I did realize that it wasn't working. As you say, it primarily made you bored. And boredom was one of the very things that has caused you to act out."

Loki opened his mouth to argue, however Odin stopped him with a mild glare.

"Don't get me wrong, Loki, I am well aware that your tricks rarely brought any real harm to anyone, and that's why I rarely felt the need to truly punish you. Nevertheless, with that last act, I found myself at a crossroad. Despite what you might think, I do see you as a son to me, and a prince of Asgard. And I needed you to act like one, and not like a mischievous little boy always trying to show up his elder brother… So that's why I decided to send you to Midgard."

"…What?" Loki breathed, his eyes growing wide.

"I sent you to Midgard." Odin reiterated calmly. "Not like Thor, but as a mortal babe. I gave you a completely clean slate. The parents were magical, but could have no children of their own. It was easy to edit their memories some so that you could have a happy childhood with parents who loved you and no siblings you had to compete with. You were quite happy I believe, and grew into a great young lad. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and a war was threatening to tear the world I had placed you in apart. Eventually, it did."

"So I take it I died?" Loki asked bluntly.

"You did." the Allfather admitted, "Far younger than I had expected too. You were just a little older than the human equivalent to your true age. As soon as you were killed there, you reappeared here, as per the conditions I set upon your particular banishment… But we are getting off topic. Before you died, you married and the two of you conceived a child. She died at the same time you did, and I had thought that the child perished too. It seems I was mistaken."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?!" Loki demanded, reeling from the new information he had been given.

"Because no one knew." Odin stated plainly. "I didn't even tell your mother, and even forbid her from visiting you. Everyone assumed you to be simply locked in your quarters as you usually were."

Loki opened his mouth before closing it again and glanced back down at the boy still held tightly in his hands. "So you are telling me that this boy is my—" He swallowed thickly as the last word stuck in his throat.

"Your son." Odin confirmed when Loki failed to finish his sentence. "I am not certain as to what means he used to come here, but I am quite confident of his parentage."

Loki took a steadying breath and switched topics. "If all of that is true, then why don't I remember?"

Odin sighed. "Because you were devastated upon your return. As your father, I couldn't let you live with such despair when I knew there was something I could do about it and that it was my fault you held such horrific memories in the first place."

"And you cannot return my memories to me?"

"I am afraid not." the Allfather noted sadly, "The memories are gone, not merely blocked. With you being as gifted at magic as you are, I could not chance the likelihood that you would find the block and unknowingly release the memories. I had hoped that I could jog your memories and they might return on their own, but I'm afraid that since they didn't, there is nothing we can do."

"What do I do with him?" Loki questioned weakly after a moment. Nobody needed to ask what he was referring to.

"He is your child, Loki. Raise him. Teach him. Love him." Odin answered simply.

Loki scoffed. "I hardly think I am father material. The boy would be better off with someone else."

"Perhaps not." Odin disagreed. "You won't know what sort of father you will be until you've tried."

Loki quirked an eyebrow at the man who had raised him and smiled bitterly. "I don't even know his name."

"The name you gave him on Midgard was Harry James, of the Noble House of Potter."

Loki wrinkled his nose in dislike. "How… utterly Midgardian."

"Indeed it is." Odin sounded amused. "Perhaps something more Asgardian would be better?"

Loki narrowed his eyes at the hint but appeared to be thinking seriously about the question. "Haraldr is far better than Harry," he mused finally; hesitantly, "and if the boy is to have a second name… then Magnus. Haraldr Magnus… son of Loki."

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AN: Let me know what you think so far, and please don't forget to review!

The edited timeline for those who wish it:

I am going off of the year's the movies were released as my base and moving the Harry Potter Universe to conform to the movies.

2003 Harry was born

2004 Potters 'die'

2011 events of Thor

2012 Loki attacked Midgard

2013 Story starts

Till next time!

~Dawn