The crushing darkness was pierced with sound. Loki's innate sense of hearing could make out voices above his head. He couldn't get enough air in his lungs, and his cry for help soon turned into a pained gurgle.

He heard a booming voice from above, "-oki ….here!" Thor. Thor was going to rescue him from this abyss. A warm tear streaked down his face at that thought.

It seemed like it had been hours since the collapse before there was more noise, more shifting rubble. At last, a stream of light punctured the darkness, making Loki wince. His brother's voice was much closer now. He felt the debris being carefully shifted off of him.

"Easy, Loki." Cap's voice reassured him

"Brother, we're here." Thor called with a hand on the Trickster's shoulder.

Loki could feel the burden of brick and mortar off of his battered body, the weight was lifting with each piece. He was being freed, slowly but surely. There were hands all around him carefully moving up and away from the collapse.

In his last moments of consciousness, Loki could feel the icy flakes of snow brush his skin as he looked up into the gray overcast sky.

Wakefulness brought pain throughout his body Peeling his eyes open, he could see only brightness making him squeeze his eyes shut. He could hear an incessant beeping close to him, but could not discern where it was. Every part of him was heavy. Pain coursed through his body as he tried to hold onto consciousness. The scent of roses and sunshine anchored him.

"M-móðir." He husked.

A warm hand squeezed his, channels of warmth and magic seeping up his arm. As Loki's vision cleared, the figure of his mother came into full view. She wore a comforting smile, though her eyes were filled with tears. "Oh, my dear." She kissed his forehead. "Do you remember what happened?"

In the dim haze of his mind, he remembered a battle. The Saurians, being tricked into a building that ultimately was booby trapped for him. He had closed the portal with his magic.

As if reading his mind, Frigga nodded. "Yes, my darling. It was quite brave, if not a little foolhardy You are much too clever for your own good. " She sighed, "But I suppose it had to be done. The Saurians were quite cunning, and it only took the portal closing for your team-mates to defeat them."

He tried to move his neck to look at her, but found that a collar had been placed around it to keep him from moving his neck. Loki winced as fear creeped over him and unpleasant memories sprung forth.

"Shhhh, Loki. You are alright, It's just to keep your neck still; you had a concussion. The doctors told me that your injuries were numerous and it took 10 hours to address all of them. Thor asked me to come to Midgard when he realized that your magic was not healing you. I am endeavouring to spark it back into working."

"H-how are the others?" he rasped.

She smiled and helped Loki sit up enough to drink some water. "They're all alright, quite concerned about your condition once they pulled you from the rubble. All of them are relieved that you're going to be finet." She ran a gentle hand on his cheek, a frown clouding her pleasant expression. " I can feel your discomfort despite the medications you were given." She nodded to the I.V. in his hand. Frigga pushed some energy pulses under Loki's skin, making him sigh in relief as the pain melted away and the blankets became warm and comfortable.

"Get some rest, my darling, and know that you are safe here." She whispered.

His eyes closed of their own accord. Loki soon slept peacefully without fear of the encroaching darkness.

Unfortunately, it was quite some time before Loki had even began to recover. He slept most of the first two days. By the third day, he was awake long enough to eat a little, but not much of anything else. Thor was doting was almost to an annoying fault, but he was glad that his brother understood his message on that terrible day. Bruce, and an older thin lady called Doctor Peters visited the most often to see Loki's physical improvement. Natasha was reading from "Deathly Hallows" even though he had read it already. On the third day, he was de-briefed by Steve and an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in regards to the mission. When Loki could eat more solid foods, Clint made omelettes for him. Even Tony started to be interested in his magic and soon, Loki was explaining magic based technology on Asgard.

Nearly five days after waking, Loki was able to get out of bed, thanks in part to his mother's magical healing. Thor seemed to be in excited spirits and it took him a little by surprise, "Come brother, we have a surprise for you that we've been waiting to reveal for weeks now!"

Loki's walking pace was slow even with Thor at his side for support. He slumped against the Thunderer as they boarded the elevator to the common area, cursing inwardly at his weakness. "It's okay to need help, brother." Thor said gently.

As the doors opened, Loki's eyes widened at the sight. The walls were covered in the gray brick wallpaper complete with portraits of various wizards. Floating candles hovered several inches below the ceiling, though they were not real. The four houses' banners were hung on an opposite wall. The usually tall Christmas tree was decked out in garland and bulbs colors of the four houses, and ones that were the nine and three quarters a long table were cupcakes, chocolate frogs and handmade golden snitches made with candies. To the right of them was an emerald three tier cake topped with white and emblazoned with the Slytherin crest and a wand with the number 21 on top of it. It did make him chuckle, as one night while watching the films, they all had a discussion as to which house they would belong to in Hogwarts.

"Loki's definitely a Slytherin." Tony had said between drinks. "He's got all the characteristics:

ambitious, shrewd, cunning, strong leaders, and achievement-oriented. They also have highly developed senses of self-preservation.

"I would place you in that category as well, Stark." Loki countered.

"Nah, I may have started out as a Slytherin, but I'm more of a Ravenclaw now."

Around him, the Avengers were wearing their regular clothes, though each had on the black robes of Harry Potter and scarfs. Tony and Bruce had Ravenclaw scarves, Clint had a Hufflepuff, Natasha had a Slytherin one, and Steve wore one that was to Thor for some explanation, he noted that he now wore a Gryffindor scarf. Even his mother wore the red and gold of Gryffindor.

"Happy Birthday Loki!" They all said together with varying ranges of enthusiasm. Thor lead him to the table where Clint lit the candles on the top. They all sang "Happy Birthday to You" while Loki looked a little embarrassed, but pleased nonetheless.

"Make a wish, Loki! Thor boomed with a grin on his face.

"I know how that, you oaf." Loki said, trying to sound exasperated, but smiling all the while.

Please allow me this way of life to remain for a while. These people are truly my friends. He closed his eyes and blew out the candles to a round of applause.

After they had finished devouring the cake and most of the sweets, Natasha placed a huge trunk in front of him. It took Loki a moment to realize that it was a Hogwarts trunk with the initials " L" and "O"on one side.

"Oh wait," Clinted grinned, fishing an envelope from his 'robe', which he handed over. It read

Loki Odinson

3rd room on the left

84th floor

Avengers Tower

New York City, New York

Loki carefully opened the envelope and chuckled at the acceptance letter from helped him open the trunk which had brown paper also with a Hogwarts seal that he also carefully broke. Beneath it was a replica Severus Snape wand (Loki's favorite character) and all the things in it that reflected Slytherin house. They included a knitted hat and gloves, a bookmark with a crest and another that looked like a Slytherin scarf. There was also a Slytherin Journal and silver plated green and silver pen among other things. Frigga helped Loki put his own scarf around his neck and helped him into a robe like the others. They all crowded over when Natasha announced "Picture!" and used her phone to capture the moment.

Bruce cut in, "Isn't there you wanted to say, Steve."

The leader of the Avengers nodded, then turned to Loki. "On behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, I am authorized to grant you full membership to the Avengers.."

"Thank you." Loki whispered revelantly, and he meant every word that he said next. "I am glad to have you in my life and that I have chosen this path. I will be the best teammate that I can from now on."

THE END

So that's the end, folks! I hope you've enjoyed reading this fic as much as I have been writing for it. I may do a sequel in the future that takes place fater Ragnarok that involves day to day life on Earth.

Also, Happy Belated Birthday to Loki who's birthday was on Dec 17th!