Rise of Twilight

Chapter One

Loki was furious. Once again, he had used his magic to get Thor and his friends out of a mess they had caused, and again he was scorned for it. Father uses magic too, he railed. Yet he's not mocked for it! Part of the problem, he knew, was his gender. If he was female, no one would care, and his use of magic would actually be encouraged. Not for the first time, he wondered if staying on Asgard was the best option for him. But if he left, where would he go?

Suddenly, he remembered Midgard's magical communities. The last time he had visited them, he had been a young Irish wizard named Salazar Slytherin. A small smile danced on his lips as he recalled building Hogwarts alongside Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw (Who had been his wife, Sigyn). Perhaps it is time to see how my school is doing, he mused. Of course, if I go, I would have to be a first year so I can truly see how much it has changed, which means… Ugh. I am too old to ask for Mother's permission to go to another Realm. At the same time, now that the idea had struck him, Loki couldn't just let it go. Sighing heavily, the Trickster rose from his bed and began to trudge towards Frigga's chambers.

He shouldn't have worried about the Queen's response. As soon as she heard Midgard and magic in the same sentence, she was heading to the library as fast as she could. He watched her leave in amusement, but refused to get up from the chair he had claimed when he walked in. It was rather comfortable, and he was exhausted from using so much magic in one day. He toyed with calling a servant to bring him some food, but then decided not to. Sleep sounded better, anyway.

When he opened his eyes, he was extremely confused as to why he was on the floor. In addition, he could hear Eir in the background, and he knew that she hadn't been there when he fell asleep.

"Loki? Do you know what happened?" she asked as soon as she noticed that he was awake.

"I… Fell asleep, didn't I?" he inquired.

"No, my prince. Your seizing happened again," the Healer informed him softly.

"Wearing amulet," he mumbled in response.

"I am sure you are, but was it damaged at all recently?"

Oh. Now that he thought about it, a Fire Giant had thrown a fireball at him during the quest. He had narrowly avoided being burned, but his tunic had been ruined to the point where he had to remove it. And his amulet had looked rather singed when he looked at it that night…

Finally, he nodded, and Eir sighed. Rising to her feet, the Healer strode to the door and murmured to one of the guards outside. Loki idly wondered what she said for a moment, but then he dismissed it as unimportant. He was feeling rather tired all of a sudden, and as he heard Eir telling him that the guard was getting a new amulet for him, his eyes drifted shut. The last thing he heard was, "Oh, Norns, not again."

When he woke up, he was irritated to see Thor's face barely an inch from his. At the same time, he realized that he was lying in a bed that he knew was in the Healing Rooms. But he had been in Mother's chambers, so why-

"Brother! You are awake!" Thor boomed. Loki hissed at him in a silent warning to lower his voice, and Thor continued in a normal volume, "I was worried when Mother told me that the healers were placing you in an artificial sleep. Why did you not tell me about your amulet being damaged?"

"How long was I asleep?" Loki asked, choosing instead to focus on what he felt was the important issue. Thor huffed, clearly not buying the attempt at misdirection, but still dutifully informing the younger prince that he had been sleeping for a week. At that, Loki's eyes nearly bulged out of his head and he silently mouthed 'a week'.

"Thor," Frigga chided gently as the Thunderer opened his mouth, "Your brother and I have things to discuss, and I believe you promised to spar with Sif?"

"Aye, that I did," Thor laughed. Clapping Loki on the shoulder, he beamed, "But don't think this conversation is over, little brother."

"Joy," Loki groaned. He waited until Thor left to turn to his mother with wide, expectant eyes and a chirped, "Yes, Mother?"

With a soft smile, Frigga told him about the spell she had discovered while he was unconscious. Apparently, it would de-age the one it was cast upon, but only to the point the caster wanted. In addition, it could last for as long as the caster desired, and if it was kept on for long periods of time, would adjust the age accordingly. Because of this, the Queen explained, she would teach it to Loki, as he was the one wanting to experience Hogwarts. However, she would still go with him since it would seem suspicious if a child was to show up in the mortal world without a parent or guardian.

"And finally," she concluded, "I will place a charm on your amulet that allows me to know if something happens to it."

Loki didn't even bother protesting this. Frigga would put it on whether or not he wanted her to, and besides, he had to admit that it would be useful. He knew that children could get into all sorts of mischief, and it would be far too easy to damage his amulet. If Mother could know if it was destroyed, then he could get a new one faster.

"I see no problem with that," he finally admitted. "When can we go?"

"In a week. Midgard has most likely changed since the last time we were there, and I would like to appear as no more than any other citizen of that Realm," she told him.

Loki scowled slightly, but agreed with her assessment. And a week later, Logan Borison and his mother moved into Cokesworth, England as next-door neighbors to the Evans family. Even Frigga with her gift of Sight couldn't have predicted the changes that this simple decision would have on the Wizarding World…