A/N The poll regarding pairing is still open on my profile. The results keep being... indecisive.

Mischief to Manage - Chapter 14

Paying Due

While most of the teachers stared at what was in front of them, professor Vector examined the troll. "Headmaster! Look!" She pointed at the gaping hole in the troll's chest. It was almost a foot in diameter and edges were burned completely. She then looked around and saw a burn mark on the wall. Others followed her gaze and McGonagall gasped. The wall was damaged to the point when one could see stars outside.

"I just… protected a friend…" Harry said before passing out.

Harry slowly opened his eyes, only to be blinded by bright light entering through high windows. Blinking several times to readjust to it, he tried to remember what happened. He could clearly recall the troll, him saving Draco's life, and then pushing magic through the wand. Then Harry briefly remembered muttering something and then blackness.

Once his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was apparently in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. It was early morning, so he had to be here at least for a night.

"How are you feeling, my little trickster?" A soft voice asked next to him.

"Dad!" Harry's head snapped to where the voice came from. He wanted to leap and hug his father, having missed him for the last two months. Surprisingly, he found himself unable to leave the bed.

"I'm here, Harry." Seeing the expression of worry on his son's face, Loki smiled. "I put a strong Notice-me-not spell on myself and froze the alarm spells on you for the time being."

"I missed you dad."

"So did I, my little trickster. So did I." Loki leaned to hug his son. After a brief period of pleasant silence, Harry started speaking again.

"I think I killed a troll yesterday…"

"It was actually three days ago." Loki corrected him. "And yes, you did. But you also saved your friend and probably several other fellow snakes."

"But… will his troll mother not be sad?" Harry asked with all the innocence of an eleven-year-old child.

"She might, but in the end, it was the right thing to do. He wanted to hurt others. Maybe you could've stunned him, maybe not. Haraldr. I want you to remember that in some situations, it's you or them. Don't feel bad for living."

Loki remembered when Salazar gave him pretty much the same speech after Loki was forced to kill a group of mortals that tried to burn a muggle-born boy. Granted, he was a son of a sorceress, but taking it out on an innocent child was wrong. That was one of the major spats he had with his former mentor. At least Loki made his first kill when he was already nineteen.

Loki suppressed the need to take Harry away from the school. The marauders agreed that it was for the best that his son attended Hogwarts. Isolating the kid would only harm him in the long run. The fact Harry already made good friends with Neville and Draco was precious.

"Is Draco okay?" As if Harry was reading his thoughts, the boy asked about his friend.

"Yes. He was very shaken after the debacle, but physically he is okay. There is only one minor problem… Do you remember how we discussed how Grimbat owes me a life-debt?"

"Yeah. You saved him from Uncle Moony after one of the meaney pranks"

"Exactly. But there is more to life-debts than just tradition. In some cases, they are recognized by very magic. They are also very dangerous."

Harry gulped. "Is Draco in danger?"

"For now not, but his father asked to meet you tomorrow, that is Friday, evening."

"Sure. As long as I am let out. But dad… I kinda… I had to use the other magic" The younger Asgardian did not want to speak the true name in fear of accidentally revealing too much.

"It was in defense of your friend. When I saved Grimbat, I did use the other magic too. You have nothing to worry about. By now the famed Hogwarts' rumor mill already made twenty stories from how you wrestled the troll to how you caused a bolt of lightning to strike from a clear sky to obliterate the foul beast. They almost make you look like the oaf of my brother Thor."

They both chuckled. Whenever Harry had had a nightmare, Loki told him a story about Thor. And for sure they did not paint the god of thunder in a good light.

"So I just neither confirm, nor deny anything and let it die down?"

"Not even your housemates understand what happened. But couldn't you've made the flame green? It would match the robes!" Loki continued to joke. He saw his son brighten up.

"I did consider making it pink, but it would be too humiliating for the mean troll." Harry's mood immediately improved.

"Good. Did I tell you about this one time your Uncle had to dress in Wedding Dress to get his hammer back? You see, it was…" And Loki devolved into telling his son another humiliating story about Thor.

After some time in Hospital Wing, Loki finally had to leave and deal with some other matters, promising to meet his son again later that day. When he was by the doors, he unfroze the monitoring charms, suddenly causing Madame Pomfrey to run out of her office almost screaming. In the hindsight, lifting the freeze so suddenly was not the smartest choice. For the old matron, all of Harry's vitals suddenly spiked. Oh well, mistakes happen.

Next, the Asgardian let go of his more cheery side, allowing the scowl to form on his face. After strengthening the notice-me-not charm, he strode through the castle. While nobody knew he was there, everyone immediately stepped out of his way. Some, more sensitive to magic, felt as if a very powerful wave of unbridled energy traveled through the school. He walked directly to the gargoyle doors. The creature could perceive through his enchantment, but the moment it saw his expression, the doors opened faster than one could say 'Now!'.

As Loki entered the office, he let go of his magic. The room was filled with chilly air as all fire in the room turned eerie green and the window seemed to suddenly be clouded.

"You have exactly twenty seconds to explain how the troll got into the castle. Starting now!" He shouted at Dumbledore, who sat in his office chair.

While on the outside, Headmaster appeared only slightly worried, inside he was sweating. Last time he saw Loki this angry, it could very well cost him his life. Dumbledore was not a fool to expect to be able to defeat a full-fledged Asgardian. Especially not if he was relatively speaking eight centuries behind in his magical studies.

"We… we keep a troll on the grounds as a guardian… This one must've been looking for his tribemate…" He answered with a bit of faux confidence.

"A guardian?" Loki asked with an undertone of sarcasm. "Please don't tell me this has something to do with the third-floor corridor."

"You know that Hogwarts is the safest place in the world James."

"Was. Was the safest place in the world up until you decided to abuse this. In my understanding, you excluded a specific troll from the wards, forgetting that each tribe of them has identical magical signature since they are closer to fungus than mammals?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I can assure you this will not happen again. I already put a ring of wards that would stop any troll from crossing it. You have nothing more to worry."

"Besides the fact that you told a school full of impressionable kids that they are absolutely not to go to the third-floor corridor? Without giving any explanation? As in 'don't do it because I say so'?" Loki gave him an irritated glare. Dumbledore had to work hard to clammer on his occlumency not to wither under it. Loki could be scary when he wanted to be.

"James, I understand your concern, but I can guarantee that I have everything under control."

The Asgardian looked like he wanted to say something, but at the last minute changed his mind. "For your sake, I hope you do." He finally threatened before leaving without as much as 'goodbye'.

Dumbledore slumped back into his chair. He wondered if he should perhaps go after Loki and try to placate him some more but ultimately chose to let it go. In a few months time, the new wards would take hold and Hogwarts would be the safest place in the world again. Especially from a certain group that specialized in giving him a headache.

With Dumbledore properly scared, Loki was about to disappear from school entirely but chose to actually check one more thing. With the notice-me-not reapplied, he moved toward the third-floor corridor.

As soon as he opened the doors he scowled. He did it with basic Alohomora and there wasn't even a most basic alert ward that would inform the teachers that someone did enter toward their 'gruesome and painful death'. They couldn't even collect the bodies fast enough. Then again, when he saw a Cerberus ready to jump at him he guessed that there wouldn't be bodies anyway. Well, except the beast was not close enough to attack him before he had a chance to turn and run.

"Maybe Dumbledore is not as dumb as his name suggests…" He mused loudly. He then waved his hand and summoned the illusion of an opera choir. Sirius received tickets for the show but was entirely not interested and he already had a date with Bones planned that day. So Loki, disguised as Sirius, had the pleasure of watching the show that was based on "The Warlock's Hairy Heart". In his opinion, they made it too much of a sappy romance, but it was still nice and he could appreciate the artistic value unlike some.

After the Cerberus was dealt with, Loki jumped into the trapdoor, easily slowing his fall without as much as breaking a sweat. So far he didn't use any magic beyond the second year, which was appalling to him. Especially if the traps down the road would get more dangerous.

The Devil Snares burned in green flames within seconds of when he touched down, not leaving as much as a trace of them being there.

In the next room, there were many floating keys. Loki was surprised that Alohomora didn't work this time. Except a mildly-strong blasting curse did more than an exemplary job, leaving a gaping hole in place of the doors.

Loki didn't even break the stride when he miniaturized the chessboard and walked into the next room. The troll ended up dead, consumed by green flames much like devil snares. If the Asgardian remembered correctly, basic fire-starting charm was the first-year spell. After a brief thought, Devil snares would serve as a nice cushion and he studied them in his first year. He was sure one of the keys was the correct one and a chess game could be won regardless of age. This had to be a joke on Dumbledore's part, or some kind of hidden game to see which student actually listens carefully during lessons.

After the troll, there was a chamber with some potion vials. As soon as he entered, purple and blue flames blocked both doors. Loki resisted the urge to laugh.

"A logical riddle? Well, any 'Claw would solve this with one eye closed. They need to do this every time they enter their tower. Come on! Where is the challenge?" Then, Loki analyzed the blue flames and actually laughed. "Protego Diabolica? So that's the whole secret? Anyone with the right intention can pass? Pathetic."

Not bothering to even touch the riddle, Loki dispelled the powerful charm and entered the last chamber. In the middle of a large chamber stood a single mirror. It had clawed feet and a gold frame inscribed with the phrase "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." This one confused Loki. He never before encountered anything like this and was actually worried. He heard about the Mirror Dimension and how it could easily serve as a prison for those without means to leave it.

As he carefully approached the Mirror, he dared to look into it. He was prepared for some clever trap, but not what he saw. Instead of his reflection, there was him, Lily, and Harry standing side by side. Behind him, he could also see Charlus and Dorea waving. Next to Harry, there was another girl, with fiery red hair and his stormy gray eyes. They were all smiling and waving to him. The Lily in the mirror even leaned over and kissed the mirror Loki. It was like all his dreams came true. He had a family, parents that supported him and Harry was smiling. There was no darkness in his eyes. His beautiful Haraldr was safe. And there was another girl that seemed to be his daughter. His dream of a family. His greatest, most sacred wish.

He had no idea how long he spent staring at the image, adding the story to the picture. In the back of his head, there was this nagging voice that kept reminding him that this was not real. At first, it was near-silent. Then, slowly, it got louder and louder until finally, he couldn't ignore it any longer. Angry, he closed his eyes for a moment, clearing his mind. He sensed the powerful compulsion spell put on the mirror. Whoever started to look at it would have hart time stopping. It was a curse. A very powerful and addictive one. The mirror was an extremely dark object.

"So that's what you want to hide, Dumbledore?" He asked, not even bothering to open his eyes, much less look over his shoulder."

"James." The headmaster stood in the entrance to the chamber. "I am impressed with how you dealt with the traps. I must say…"

"Save it, Albus. Any semi-competent first-year can pass your traps if he just uses that gray matter they call a brain." He waved the headmaster. "Now what are you really hiding here?"

"I am not sure what you mean?"

"This is a class one dark object. Possession of one means a life sentence in Azkaban. Hiding one in school full of children behind a set of traps that can be easily defeated by a first-year would mean a kiss. We both know you are not an idiot, so this is only another trap. Previous ones served only to lure the thief into a false sense of security." Loki turned and glared daggers at Dumbledore.

"You are indeed quite perceptive, James."

"Stop with calling me James!" Loki shouted. "James died with my Lily Flower!"

"Please, forgive me. I am just… I am used to that name."

"Don't play your games with me, old fool. I can still show up before Wizengamot and ruin you. Recovery from being cursed can take a long time. You can ask Longbottoms." The Asgardian threatened. "I will even present a witness in the form of Lord Black. Sirius has been gathering the support of unaligned for years now. How much popularity would our faction get if I suddenly turned up alive and well?" Seeing Dumbledore not convinced of his threat, Loki scowled. "Just because for now shadows serve me better than spotlight doesn't mean it won't change. Tread carefully, headmaster."

The warning was clear. Loki was ready to go public to foil Dumbledore's plan. He didn't want to but would do it anyway. Still scowling, Loki turned his back to the headmaster and instead started to slowly unweave the newer enchantments on the dark object. He found dozens upon dozens of complicated spells, including a modified Fidelius Charm. Had he just used Fidelius, he would probably never be able to unravel the secret. But there was a flaw in the design that allowed him to cancel everything in a chain reaction. When he removed the spell that created an artificial soul, the Fidelius failed with no place to hide the secret. And as nobody knew the secret, there would be no new secret keepers.

All of it took Loki less than three minutes. He knew that it was largely due to his training and High Magic in his veins. Weaving spells from primal elements was the basic principle of High Magic. Every time one wanted to use this great power, one had to create the desired spell effect from null.

When the last spell finally failed, a peculiar red stone fell from the mirror right into Asgardian's waiting hand.

"That's interesting." Loki mused. It was a small, dark red stone that seemed to be only in a semi-steady state. He could feel the power, unlike almost anything he'd ever seen. The only thing that could compare was Tesseract that his father hid centuries ago.

"Loki! I must insist you hand it back this instant. It's inc…"

"Philosopher's Stone. Or Sorcerer's stone if you've studied history." Loki shut him off. "It's not yours. Flammel's?"

"Yes." Dumbledore sighed in defeat.

"So do they know you've been using their most prized possession as a bait?" Loki asked with an evil grin on his face.

"Nicholas and I go way back," Dumbledore explained. "I was his apprentice in both transfiguration and alchemy."

"Fine. I will be returning it anyway. Make sure this place is no longer a threat to the students. Put real traps on the way if you must. But I warn you. The moment my son or any of his friends get hurt, I will be coming for you. If I must, I will bring the castle down to get you."

"Ja… Loki! You must see reason. If anyone…"

"Nobody will learn anything about what happened here today. Nobody but the two of us and Haraldr knows I was even in the castle. And he knows that some secrets must be kept to oneself."

"yes, but…"

"Don't bother, old man. You can say nothing that will convince me that this," he tossed the stone from one hand to another, "needs to stay in here. Just ensure that whoever gets to this point is trapped. Make it a real challenge so they don't expect it."

Before Dumbledore had any chance to answer, Loki disappeared in a burst of green flames, taking the stone with him.

The Headmaster sighed again. He was getting old.

After Madame Pomfrey finally gave Harry a clean bill of health, he was finally let out of the hospital wing. She didn't want to believe anything he said. Total magical exhaustion, as he learned, could easily lead to death as wizards used magic to optimize their body processes and without magic, they were vulnerable to many things that they normally ignored. Harry had a hard time keeping from her that he was not exactly a wizard in the exact definition of the word. He was really happy that his father's spell held strong and medi-witch didn't get any strange reading.

Outside, there was already Neville waiting for him. "You are alive!"

"Don't be so surprised Nev. You would need more than just a troll to get rid of me." Harry joked, being in a much better mood than when he first woke up. He didn't realize exactly how much he missed his father before they reunited in the morning.

"Prat!" Longbottom smacked him in the shoulder. Harry decided to prank his friend some more and acted like he almost collapsed. Instantly, Neville started to apologize profoundly until he heard a snicker from his friend. "That's not funny!" The comment made Harry laugh.

"It kinda is…" Seeing his friend's serious glare, Potter stopped himself. "Fine. What's the status?"

"Eh, people are still talking. There are some really ridiculous tales from you having a stroke of luck and banishing troll's club into his head to using Fiendfyre to obliterate the enemy of newest dark lord among us."

"The last one is Weasley?" Harry guessed. Neville could only nod affirmatively. "Damn. I hoped to keep my dark secret a little longer." The two friends started to laugh at that comment.

"There is also Draco. He… distanced himself from other Slytherins who mock him for being worse than a half-blood. They keep reminding him that he should've been the one that defeated the troll to show 'upstart half-blood filth' his place." Seeing scowl forming on Harry's face, Neville quickly raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just repeating what I heard."

"Don't worry. I will sort this out. Want to prank Weasley today?"

"Sure, but what's the plan?"

"I was thinking of turning his hair green and silver."

"We won't get in trouble?"

"Will you babble?"

"Nope."

"Then no trouble at all." Harry grinned.

As it was after classes already, they had a whole afternoon to plan something properly. In the end, They agreed on green hair with silver 'T' pattern on top. Then, it was just the case of practice. Neville would be the one to cast the spell as Harry could chance his hair back without trouble. The spell itself was really simple and could easily be dispelled with a basic Finite.

"I still don't get it. How is it that you do everything perfectly and yet achieve minimal results…" Harry complained after he walked Neville step by step through the spell.

"Maybe I'm just above squib like they say after all…" The boy shrunk a bit.

"And I am a Swedish Princess." Harry retorted. "You are definitely powerful. You managed the spell on the train on the first try."

"That was with this special wand of yours."

"Wand!" Harry shouted. Suddenly, he was enlightened about what the problem was. He snatched the wand Neville was using and gave it a flick. He didn't push any of his magic, but he also didn't hold back. He felt a bit of a tug on his power, but nothing happened. He could wave a stick and achieve more.

"Is… something wrong?"

"I've seen freshly-cut branches have more magic than this. It's either extremely inflexible wand that is still loyal to the previous owner or it has no core inside…"

"It was my father's," Neville explained. "Grandma said that I would honor his memory by using his wand. He was an incredibly powerful wizard. One of the best Aurors they had during the war."

"Is Neville. He is an incredibly powerful wizard. As long as he wasn't kissed by dementor or actually killed, he is a powerful wizard. His wand is still loyal to him and as such, you can't win its allegiance."

"But… Gran said…"

"Your Gran is a lovely woman, but not an authority on wands." Harry retorted.

"And you are?"

"Nope."

"Then…"

"But if I feel like a wand is no more than a stick, there must be something wrong with it. Besides, which of us two killed the troll?"

"Debatable. I didn't end up in the hospital wing."

"Broom accident?"

"It was one time and it doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"Because the teacher was there with me as another patient."

"Still counts."

"Does not"

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does three."

"What?"

"What?"

And they both erupted into hearty laughter.

At Dinner, Harry lent his wand to Neville so he could prank Weasley. This way, even if they checked his wand for some reason, they would not find anything. And as Harry didn't have his wand with him, he would be clean as well. He didn't need a wand to protect himself. It was useful, but not a requirement.

Potter chose to sit between Draco and Tracy. He had another prank planned for Weasley for the rumors the redhead was spreading. That one would serve a double purpose of moving the focus of rumor mill away from the troll and onto less important matters.

"Hi cuz. How's it goin'?" He asked as he took place next to Malfoy.

"I live, so there is that," Draco answered. It was clear he was still down after what was happening.

"Are you a Slytherin or nor?" Harry asked sharply. "If something is causing a problem, move it." Draco raised his head and stared at his cousin. "Watch and learn."

Harry turned toward Tracy. After hearing that Ron Weasley separated from the group to look for the muggle-born girl he strongly insulted earlier that day, a plan formed that would work quite nicely.

"Trace. Did you hear about Weasley?" He started, immediately getting the attention of the rising gossip queen.

"No. Do you have something interesting?"

"Of course I do. I learned from my Gryffindor sources that during troll accident he sneaked away from the crowd to look for Granger." He grinned. "He did insult her pretty badly earlier that day. You know, in the way that most immature boys act to attract girl's attention. He must be really over his head for her if he is acting so early on it." The two Slytherins grinned at one another.

"Of course Potter, but I will want something more for this." She smiled innocently.

"And that is?"

"How did you defeat that Troll. I only saw some purple fire. What was that."

"Off the record." Harry's face hardened.

"Of course. This is for my own curiosity. If you would be willing to teach me this maybe…" She trailed off.

"No can do. It was very much a burst of accidental magic really. I just pointed my and pushed pure magic through the wand." He explained.

"You're kidding me?" She exclaimed surprised. "Everyone knows trolls are resistant to magic. It had to be something more."

"If it was, I have no idea how to even recreate it." He gave her a half-truth. He didn't know how to make such vortex, but he could summon the flames of pure magic.

"Fine. The Weasley news is anything true?"

"Well, he and Granger were missing from the common room when they checked the attendance. And now look how close the two of them seem to be." He pointed to Weasley. Neville, who was watching his friend closely for a bit now took the signal and waved the wand under the table, murmuring the color-changing spell. Suddenly, Ron's hair turned emerald green and had silver 'T' in the middle. There was also a gong sound that got everyone's attention on the pranked Redhead.

"Oh my… Someone pranked him." Harry made a surprised face.

Draco watched the exchange between Tracy and Harry with interest. Then, he noted how Weasley's hair changed and couldn't help but smile. Both boys quickly finished their dinner and got up. Neville was also moving from his table. As they were exiting the Great Hall, Harry patted Dracon on the back. "Don't worry cuz. I got your back."

On the next day, classes passed without much trouble. Everyone left Draco alone with Potter nearby. Nobody wanted to mess with the famed Trollslayer. And by lunch school was already focused on newer gossip, that is Weasley's crush on the Granger girl. Harry felt kinda bad about her being an accidental victim of his prank, but he had no way of doing anything about it now.

In the evening, Harry and Draco were summoned to Professor Snape's office. As they arrived, the stern teacher and Slytherin's head of house let them inside. There, they were met by irritated Lucius Malfoy and Smug-looking Sirius Black.

"Draco." Lucius acknowledged his son with a nod of his head, to which the Malfoy heir responded with a customary bow.

"Harry!" Sirius greeted his godson with a smile. The boy also smiled widely.

"If that's all…" Severus was about to vacant the office when Lucius stopped him.

"Actually, I would appreciate it if you reminded here as… impartial mediator." The smile on Lucius' face suggested that he expected Snape to be anything but. If only he knew where man's loyalties really laid.

"As you wish, sir. That is if Lord Black has nothing against it." Snape played his role perfectly and sneered at his pseudo-friend.

"No problem at all." Sirius tried to stay cordial. While it looked like he had a problem keeping his anger, it was in fact laugher that he had to stop. Lucius was playing right into their trap.

"I will make it short. I have here a marriage contract to both the Greengrass Girls that I won in honor duel against Roland Greengrass. I am willing to offer it as a due repayment of the life debt that formed when you saved my son." He looked Harry in the eyes. The boy looked surprised.

"I thought Draco was already betrothed to Heiress Parkinson" Harry quipped.

"He is, that is why I am offering the contract as customary repayment. A life for a life." Malfoy kept his face emotionless, which meant he tried to control his anger. Apparently for a pureblood lord, having an heir in debt to someone of lower blood status was some kind of insult. Harry would surely play on it a bit.

"But is that the only way to repay the life debt? I only started studying magical theory and my previous studies focused on much more immediate matters like the functioning of Noble and Most Ancient House to which I am heir apparent." This way, Harry reminded Lucius that his social standing would be higher than his once he attained the age of majority.

"Maybe I will explain." Severus intercepted the question before Lucius had a chance. "Life Debt is a form of powerful magical bond that forms between two wizards when one saves the life of another. They are incredibly rare because of conditions that must be met."

"And that condition being?" Harry asked curiously.

"The intention of savior must be pure, that is he mustn't expect any reward for saving a life. There must be no outside compulsion. Saving life must also not be a responsibility. That is the reason Aurors and Healers are never owed life debts. You also can't be the cause of the life-threatening situation that would lead to it. Finally, life would need to be forfeit without the intervention of another wizard. In simple terms, a wizard would need to have no other way of surviving save by the actions of another wizard Close Familial ties also cancel the debt. That's why it doesn't form between parents and children or grandparents and grandchildren. Usually, it's within two jumps on the family tree. It is the reason why a marriage contract cancels the debt."

"But if the contract is not for the member of that person's family?" Potter asked a bit confused.

"Normally, yes, that would prevent solving the debt. Except since the contract was won in the honor duel, it was a payment for survival, thus being a form of transferring the life-debt."

"So you are saying this is the only way?" Harry laughed.

"Of course no pup." Sirius grinned at the two others. "They are trying to distract you from the main way of repaying the contract, tempting you with a beautiful wife. If Penelope is anything to go by." He chuckled.

"But why two?"

"You could keep second as a mistress or use the contract to form an alliance with another family." Seeing the boy grimace at word mistress Sirius nodded understanding. "It's an old practice. And rare. Practically unknown beyond life-debts these days. Anyway, the main way is a magically enforced loyalty oath."

"Huh?" Harry asked confused. He never heard about them. In the corner of his eyes, he noted that all three other males were not very happy with the fact he learned this information.

"It is a form of less permanent fealty oath. Instead of submitting the whole house permanently, it would function only during Draco's life until either your death or until he repaid the debt. He would be unable to betray or go against you. He would be compelled to follow your lead."

"So it's like slavery?"

"Not exactly. He would be mostly free. He would not go against himself. But in some matters, he would be subservient to you. Like Wizengamot votes.

"Still, Draco is my friend. I see him as equal, even if slightly less talented." Harry smiled watching Lucius fight with himself. Lord Malfoy knew that Potter and Black held all the cards and if they wanted, they could paralyze his house. He would be forced to either disown Draco and try for another son or organize an accident for Potter, which would be almost impossible with the amount of protection. He could try and challenge him for an honor duel, but without proper and very public reason it would only hurt him. While only his son owed the life debt, he indirectly saved the whole Slytherin house from danger. Right now even his allies would be reluctant to act against Potter.

"There is one another option that fell out of favor. An oath of secrecy." Severus supplied.

It was a calculated move between Loki, Black, and Snape. They knew that Harry would not accept the loyalty oath and they weren't interested in marrying him off. Especially when they expected that they would offer Parkinson as payment. Draco would gladly be rid of her and Malfoy never wanted this betrothal since he came worse off on it. This way, with Snape suggesting secrecy oath, they would eat the cake without eating it. Malfoy would be done with debt and Draco would be closer to Harry as he would become his closest confidant. The oath would function much like Fidelius charm and enforce keeping things given in secret, secret. Also, their spy Grimbat would earn bonus points for coming up with a suggestion that would (in Lucius' mind) be beneficial to them.

"The Fidelius Oath?" Sirius acted surprised.

"Yes. It would make so Draco would be unable to reveal Potter's secrets without his explicit permission." Snape gave a small smile.

Lucius was still unhappy. When the Dark Lord returned and learned of the oath, he might try and extract the information in some way. Life of his son and heir would be in danger.

"Great then." Lucius put a mask of acceptance. "I will be allowed to sell the Greengrass sisters."

"Sell?" Harry asked. In the dim room full of shadows and light playing tricks, Lord Malfoy did not notice the dangerous glow of Harry's eyes or the scowl that formed on his face.

"Yes. They are of no real use to me except to use as political leverage." Malfoy senior sneered. "I hoped to strike a deal, but I see they really hold no value beyond mistresses. With their age they are worthless and as their father died heirless the seat passed to his brother."

The flames in the room turned purple and eerie chill filled the room. Harry's eyes were now glowing with green light similar to that of Killing Curse. Lucius looked around. An uneasy feeling crept over him as he remembered dementors causing a similar chill.

Before Harry had a chance to do something not exactly legal, Sirius stepped in shielding his godson. This way, Lucius could not see the light in his eyes. Instead, it now looked like it was the Black who caused it in rage.

"This slight against the house of Greengrass and Gareth Greengrass, personal friend to the house of Black can be a reason for severe sanctions against house Malfoy. I demand payment for an affront against a personal friend of Lord Black, else a challenge to an honor duel will be issued."

Lucius scowled, but his eyes betrayed a healthy dose of fear. With power-show like this, he could doubt his skill. Especially since Black spent seven years after war doing Morgana knows what around the world. And even before, he and potter were two of the fiercest duelists in Auror force. Even if very immature ones. He had to play it carefully.

Slowly, Harry got his power under control. He watched with interest, what exactly was going on between two politicians.

"Gareth as Lord Greengrass was a valuable ally of the house of Black during the time of political fervor caused by the demise of Lord Voldemort. The House of Black owes him a debt that I intend on honoring. The insult against daughters of House Greengrass will not be treated lightly. Should compensation offered for public insult in presence of representants of four different houses: Prince, Malfoy, Black, and Potter, be deemed not satisfactory, I will issue a challenge to the Honor Duel."

"Surely, you are exaggerating, Lord Black."

"You tried to bait my Godson, force him given his good nature, into a marriage contract against an unknown girl. Had you been any more forceful I would accuse you of attempted line theft." Sirius growled.

"What do you want of me?" Malfoy asked with a sneer.

"Simple. For that underhanded tactic, you will relent the contract to the girls as a payment for the insult. Then, your son will swear the Fidelius Secrecy Oath."

"That's outrageous! Do you have me for a fool!? Do you have any idea how much this contract is worth!?"

"I will pay you," Harry said suddenly. "One-third of its value. The rest will be considered a discount for the slight against House Greengrass and by proxy house Black."

"Otherwise I will start preparing my dueling coat," Sirius warned.

Lucius was driven into the corner. If he refused, he would need to fight Black. If he accepted, he would be making one of the worst transactions yet. Especially when they learned Roland's brother only held the seat by proxy and Daphne would become Lady Greengrass on her coming of age.

"Clock is ticking and I still have a date this evening. How does Sunday at noon sound?" Sirius asked with a grin that screamed 'I beat you'.

"Fine. I expect the payment to be made by midnight. The contract is yours. Draco," he looked at is heir, "You have my permission to enter into secrecy oath with Haraldr James Potter of Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter." There was a small pulse of magic. Lucius didn't wait for anything else and left the room through the floo.

"I will be dealing with the payment. Lucy-boy thought he was smart because Gringott is closed. He will be surprised when in the morning he sees the payment was already made." He chuckled knowingly on how he played the political savvy. "You will deal with the oath, Snape?"

"Yes…" The potion teacher gave Black one last look of disdain.

"We will discuss the contract over the winter break pup. For now, you just hold it for political reasons. Understood?"

"Ay-yup! Good night Uncle."

"Have fun Pup. Remember the bet."

"I am winning so far." Harry grinned.

"We will see."

With that, Sirius was also gone in the Floo.

"I will now cast the Fidelius Oath. I will then expect you to discuss the secrets in private, where nobody else can overhear." Snape warned them. "Pull out your wands."

Both Harry and Draco held out their foci. Snape ordered them to touch the tips together and provided them with their words. He chanted something in Latin. Slowly, the spell left his wand and started to weave about their extended hand.

"Protego Sacramentum Fidelius" He finished before looking at Draco.

"Arcana Tutum" The blonde boy finished.

"Et ita fieri." Harry supplemented.

The light settled over the two of them.

"The oath took place. Now you just need to declare something a secret and magic will protect him from spilling it."

"Okay. I declare a secret that I now own the marriage contract to the Greengrass sisters." Harry immediately declared. There was a small flash of light. He noted that Draco looked almost… sad. Harry could guess why. "I trust you. I just wanted to check it." Seeing that he didn't convince him, he added. "Cousin. I trust you. The oath was not because I believed you would run and babble my secrets. I just… Not even Neville knows everything."

"Aren't you practically brothers?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I can tell him everything. I could easily be called unspeakable with things I know. I can't speak about it to anyone not in the gist already" He grinned. "And I mean the other unspeakable."

"Fine." Draco huffed. He got past the stupid insecurities and instead was now angry at the lack of trust. He didn't need Potter. He was more important than some stupid half-blood.

Harry was already obvious to Draco's angry thoughts. He was about to leave when he turned to look at the two other occupants. "I'm going to bed. Have a fun evening. I'm sure you want to discuss some other stuff." And with that, he left the room. Draco was a bit surprised. He expected that Potter would demand him to follow his savior like a lost puppy now. That is what he would've done. He shrugged. It only proven that Potter was weak.

A/N Surprise surprise. Lucius makes an appearance and gets surprised by Black. To be honest it only happened because Marauders prepared for it in advance. But it doesn't mean he won't retaliate.

Loki once again flared power at Headmaster. Will it bite him in the rear? Will Headmaster suffer? We shall see.

As for Harry and Loki being prats, that is intentional. They are both powerful, knowledgeable, and good looking. One is overconfident because with his power free there is no one on Midgard that can match him in sheer power. Or is there? The second is just ahead of the curve. Haraldr treats many things with some level of apathy. He does have a hero complex, which will cause him trouble beyond... well, I would say beyond imagination but I actually need to imagine it so yeah... moving on

Draco is starting to drift apart from Harry after he saved his life. Pride be your downfall, youngling. Or something like that. I still need material for several more years. I hope for some more Marauders next, but I just want to finally skip to juicy part. I miss writing long fight scenes full of action, explosions and awesome moves. People aren't always logical. Don't start screaming hur-dur saved life they need to be friends.

Remember to review. It always motivates me to get off the bed and actually write something instead of reading.