Loki was not a hyperactive man. Even when anxious, few though those times were, he did not pace, or fidget. Instead, he often remained seated, the very image of calm and poise. Now, however, as he sat at a table in the Avenger's living area, he seemed as if carved from stone, a silent and imperious statue overlooking everything. Natasha Romanov, the only one of his teammates not in a consummate panic, found herself shivering as she watched him carefully.

It had been several hours since the Avengers, most still sleeping in the early morning, were woken by a panicked shout from Stark. Hariel, the daughter of Loki and newest resident of the Tower, was missing, with only an open window and a small, handwritten note as evidence. The note itself was short, a simple message stating the child's intent for a walk and to return shortly, but considering both the Avenger's and Hariel's reputations, few were inclined to believe she had actually left it herself. As time wore on, and no sign of the missing girl came, the sentiment grew even further.

Natasha grimaced silently as she thought of that. The idea that someone could sneak into Avenger's Tower undetected and make off with Loki's daughter was not a welcome one. The god of magic had warded the place to Hel and back, by his own count, and Tony's technological security outmatched that of even Shield's most secure installations. The only sign of a break-in at all was a simple short circuit of Hariel's window latch, which had been quickly determined to be caused by a side effect of then there was the child herself to consider.

Natasha hadn't spoken with the child much yet, for various reasons. One was that she had only remained at the Tower for a day and a half before disappearing. In that time Hariel talked with no one beside her own father and Stark, who appeared to have taken responsibility for 'culturing' the girl. Yet despite her distance, Natasha had watched Harry closely, and what she saw… disturbed her.

There was something broken about Hariel Potter, subtle though it may be. Natasha had observed how she seemed to flinch every time someone spoke to her, or Tony reached out a hand. The girl moved around the Tower with a caution reminescent of servitude, and unless directly engaged in conversation remained silent. It was almost as if she were afraid to be noticed. And her eyes… Natasha recognized the girl's eyes. Not their shape, or color, distinctive though they were, but their spirit, of ancient pain and the determination to survive no matter how hard the world had tried to grind her soul to dust. Natasha saw them every time she looked in the mirror. And now, with the child missing, presumed taken by those who would wish her harm… Natasha felt something cold and deadly coil in her stomach. Then she looked at Loki.

The sight of the ancient god instantly made Natasha's bowels loosen, and her anger shrink. It was still there, of course, but the Shield agent knew without a doubt whatever she felt paled in comparison to Loki. Rage, ice cold and sharper than the bite of the void, radiated from him in a terrifying aura, even as he sat amongst the frantic Avenger's each of their own doing everything they could to find the missing Hariel. Tony was consulting with Jarvis, using his vast array of contacts and technology to hunt across the city, Thor was gone to Asgard looking to borrow the Watcher Heimdall's eyes, Steve paced and checked the clock before looking back at Loki himself, and Bruce sat on the floor in a criss-cross position with his eyes closed as he shook in an attempt to stop from going green. Clint had left to contact Fury. And Natasha sat in her seat, silent while green eyes scanned them all sharply and kept watch.

It was strange, really, just how worked up the Avenger's had gotten over Hariel. None but Tony had interacted with the girl closely, yet Natasha could see the clear tension and worry in Steve's every movement, and Bruce's eyes flashing green were a clear enough sign. Thor and Loki were understandable-they were her father and uncle, after all- and Stark, who had a surprisingly soft heart once one got to know him, had clearly been impressed upon by Harry, but the rest had no real connection. Yet here they were, each ready to tear apart the city of New York to find her.

Natasha tensed suddenly as a sharp click rang throughout the tower, quiet enough that if not for every one still in the room having superhuman senses, it might have gone unnoticed. She looked at Loki, and both their eyes narrowed. That had come from Hariel's room, which meant it had to be the window they had carelessly left open. The agent swept her gaze across the room, and silently the others prepared themselves. Steve moved to stand by the entrance, lacking his shield but Natasha knew he was plenty deadly regardless. Bruce, snapping open his eyes to show them glowing a solid green, simply stood, ready to shift at a moment's notice. Loki, for his part, remained where he was, though his poisonous gaze rested upon the entrance and Natasha could feel the air sharpen as he gathered magical energy for an attack. The redhead herself shifted where she sat and flipped a knife from under her seat's cushion, one of many she had hidden around the Tower, and Tony grabbed a spare repulsor that was lying around, aiming it carefully. There came a short muttering, as if the intruder was talking to someone, and then with an astounding lack of caution, they walked through the door.

"Uh, hi?" As Hariel Potter stood in the doorway, waving sheepishly at the various Avengers scattered about the room ready to kill her, Natasha couldn't help but laugh quietly. Instantly, every eye in the room snapped to look at her, and she stopped, though a smirk remained on her face.

"Well, well." Natasha laughed again as she saw the terrified look on Harry's face. It seemed the girl recognized that her disappearance hadn't exactly gone unnoticed. Even as the redhead felt her tension easing, amusement rose to take its place. "You seem to have caused quite a stir, kid." Seemingly unbidden, Hariel's eyes slid over to Loki, who remained looking as if he had been carved from stone, and gulped.

"I, uh, left a note." This time, it was Tony who laughed, weak as it was.

"Yeah, we found it. And then automatically assumed it was a trick left by a kidnapper to slow us down, like any reasonable adult would do." That shocked the girl from her reaction, features shifting from surprise, to disbelief, and finally, to anger.

"Right," Harry drawled, shooting the inventor a dirty glare as she forgot her fear, "Because it is entirely reasonable that someone kidnapped me from right underneath the Avengers' noses." Natasha smiled from where she sat, amused by the snarky answer. Stark's resulting pout didn't help any as he started to look like a kicked dog. Before either of the two could say anything, however, they were cut off as Loki finally spoke.

"Hariel." The word was quiet, but with an edge that could cut through palladium, and instantly the fear returned to Harry's face, sending a surge of pity through Natasha. "Would you be so kind as to ask your guests to remove themselves from hiding? It is rude to speak while invisible." For a long second, everybody was silent as they stared between the two Asgardians. Then Hariel, whose eyebrow had raised with surprise, turned to the apparently empty spot behind her, jerking her head. A moment later, two teenagers simply appeared as if they had lifted a veil. In fact, Natasha noticed the girl of them rolling a bundle of cloth up carefully.

"Hey." The taller of the two, a boy with wavy black hair and sea-green eyes waved in greeting, looking surprisingly comfortable in the Avenger's presence. Even his friend, a young woman who looked almost a year older than Harry with a bushy mane of brown hair, chocolate-warm eyes, and a bookish demeanor, looked incredibly nervous, though that might have had something to do with being caught sneaking into the Tower.

Again, there was a long moment of silence as all the Avenger's bar Loki finally recognized that this was not a moment to simply stare in surprise and burst into a clamor of confused yelling and talking. Natasha restrained herself, but only just, as even her own curiosity at both the two teenager's method of stealth and their identities burned in her thoughts. Even so, it was a long while as noise filled the air until Hariel and her apparent friends were left standing in the middle of the room, looking utterly confused.

"Quiet!" Natasha finally barked, taking pity on the teens. Instantly, her teammates fell silent, staring at her in surprise. She swept an imperious gaze around the room, before finally settling on Loki, who was giving her a thankful smile. "It looks like Loki has a lot to talk about with Harry and her friends. Why don't we give them some space." There was a moment as both Steve and Tony looked like they were about to protest, but a withering glare stopped that, and both men shut their mouths. Bruce simply gave her a curious gaze, his head tilted slightly as green flashed in his eyes, and walked towards the nearest exit. After another second, the other two followed suit, with Natasha close behind. Just before exiting, however, she paused, looking back. Loki gave her a grateful nod, and even Hariel smiled weakly and waved. The redhead nodded back, before stepping through the door and leaving them to their conversation.

XXX

It wasn't long until Harry, Hermione, and Percy were all seated around the room, each staring apprehensively at the asgardian god who still sat unmoving at the table. For nearly a minute, no one moved, each staring at each other until, finally, Loki broke the silence with a sigh.

"What am I going to do with you, Hariel?" there was something in that sentence, a sort of sardonic wryness that brought a smile to the girl's face. She shrugged lightly.

"Not ground me?" her sheepish grin seemed to amuse her father, as Loki smiled softly, shaking his head.

"Perhaps I should. Unless, of course, I misunderstood human culture and sneaking out of the house is not a punishable offense." Hariel blinked at that, because, really, she wouldn't know, at least in regards to a normal household. She had always been careful, in previous instances, to avoid the Dursley's notice, but that was more out of fear that anything she did would be punished. It seemed, however, that her little stunt had caused quite some distress to her father.

"I… wouldn't know." Harry said slowly, and instantly the amusement disappeared from Loki's eyes, replaced by a familiar anger.

"No, you wouldn't." There was a slight shift to the side, and Hariel glanced over to see Hermione biting her lip. On the other side, Percy's brow was furrowed as he looked back and forth between them, and she could only hope that they kept their questions to themselves. She didn't particularly feel like explaining the Dursleys at the moment, even to 'Mione, who knew some of it already. Hell, Loki had hardly seen the worst of it, and she would like to keep it that way.

"I must admit, Hariel, that I have little idea what to do." Harry was drawn back to the conversation as Loki spoke, his gaze sweeping over the teenagers. "I have been a father before, but that was a long time ago, and for only brief periods. I possess little experience in raising a young woman like yourself." It was Hariel's turn to react, raising an eyebrow at the words. She han't known she had siblings, even dead ones. But that wasn't important at the moment, so she pushed the thoughts aside. Before she could speak up, though, Loki continued, throwing her off-guard. "Your punishment, if any, can wait, however. First, perhaps you should explain why you felt it necessary to bring two Olympian demigods to the tower, and who they are."

Harry was shocked at Loki's words. He knew they were Olympians? But how, and why did he care? Before she could muddle through her thoughts, Percy spoke for her, extending a hand.

"I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. We're here on a diplomatic mission, and your daughter is our escort." To his credit, Loki didn't even hesitate as he took the demigod's hand and shook it firmly.

"I know your godly parent, Mr. Jackson. You practically reek of the sea and its power. And you, Miss.…" Hermione, who appeared to be surprised when Loki turned to her with a courtly bow and outstretched hand, practically squeaked. When, after several seconds, it became apparent that he was waiting for an answer, the bushy-haired witch carefully took it, speaking softly.

"Her-hermione, your grace. Hermione Granger." The prince of Asgard raised an amused eyebrow at the formal address, even as he raised her hand to his lips. Harry, torn between horror and humor at the gesture and Hermione's terrified expression, found herself wishing she had a camera.

"Miss Granger, then. You must be a daughter of Hecate. It is rare one meets another blessed by magic itself, and I would be remiss to forget the sensation." Hermione blushed at the back-handed compliment, drawing Hariel's laughter. Even when the bushy-haired witch turned to glare at her best friend, she just shrugged nonchalantly.

"What? He's got a point." She said with a playful smirk, one Harry knew her friend could never resist. Finally, Hermione sighed, shaking her head.

"Harry, I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't laugh at me in front of Loki, for Merlin's sake." The girl in question simply raised an eyebrow, before glancing over at the man who was watching them in amusement.

"You do realise he's my father, right? It was pretty much inevitable." Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but at the last second seemed to think better of it, turning away resolutely. Again, Hariel laughed at her victory, before turning back to Loki. "Anyways, where were we, Dad?" The asgardian smiled, leaning reclining back into his seat.

"I was about to ask by what Mister Jackson meant by diplomatic mission. As far as I am aware, Olympus and Asgard have had no contact for the last millennia or so, and do not intend to change that." Unbidden, Hariel winced, making Loki's gaze sharpen upon her. "Hariel," He said quietly, his voice cold. "What did you do?"

"It's totally not my fault!" HArry started, before shrinking as her father's eyes seemed to flare with an emerald fire. "Okay, maybe it is. But i swear I didn't know I was walking into a camp for half-bloods when I went to see Hermione. I thought it was just a summer camp!" For a moment there was silence as Loki's stare continued to bore into her, and with every second she shrunk further and further into her seat until she was practically buried in it. Finally, the prince spoke in a voice colder than ice.

"You willingly walked into Olympian territory without warning, breaking the ancient treaty between our people?" Hariel, gripped by a sudden, overwhelming sense of disappointment, found she couldn't speak as the words seemed to become stuck in her throat. She had seen Loki angry, when her expulsion letter came, but this… she felt as if she were standing in the center of a raging blizzard, with all its terrible might weighing down in judgement. She swallowed heavily.

"I didn't know." Even to her, the words sounded weak, and she could tell they didn't satisfy Loki as he continued to silently seethe at her. It was only when Percy, a stark determination etched on his face, stepped forward that the weight of his stare shifted and she could breathe once again.

"Loki Odinson." he said, formality coating every word in a way that seemed oddly fitting. "Your daughter has made a mistake, but one done in ignorance. Please, don't judge her for it. We are here to prevent war, not start it." There was silence as Loki looked at him, a blistering cold consideration in his stare. Harry found herself amazed as the son of Poseidon didn't even flinch, his sea-green gaze meeting Loki's without fear.

"And how," The asgardian prince finally said, with only slightly less of a chill edge to his words, "do you intend to do that, Mr. Jackson?" Percy narrowed his eyes at the question, but it was Hermione who answered, voice quiet as she tried not to meet Loki's eyes.

"No one except us and our camp instructor Chiron knows Harry was there, sir." As soon as the witch started talking, his gaze shifted to her, and Hermione shrunk much like Harry had under its withering weight. The younger woman, however, had been emboldened by her friend's defence, and spoke up, tempting her father to look back at her.

"We want to renegotiate the treaties, Dad. If they change before anyone figures out I was there, and it looks like Olympus decided it themselves…" she trailed off as Loki's face seemed to soften. It was only a little, like the difference between steel and iron, but no longer did he seem quite so angry, even as he finished Hariel's thought for her.

"Then there will be no transgression, and peace remains. It may work. With Asgard's reentrance into midgardian politics, such a move would make sense." Finally, after a long, long moment of silence as Loki seemed to contemplate the three demigods, he sighed, all of his anger vanishing in an instant. In its place was left a weariness that seemed to hang over him like a cloud. "Why must things always be so complicated?" There wasn't an answer, until a sudden giggle disturbed the heavy silence. Every eye was drawn slowly to Hermione, who held a hand in front of her mouth in surprise.

"I… well," She said, shying away from the stares. When not a single one seemed likely to look away, she finally, continuing. "It's just that this sort of thing always happens around Harry. She practically invented the word complicated." As Loki and Percy bnoth glanced at the dark-haired witch to confirm this, Hariel found she could only shrug, and answer few words in answers.

"Potter luck. It's a gift."

XXX

As Loki observed the disturbingly normal house, he couldn't help but wonder just how he ended up in this position. It had not taken long, after Hariel's rather blaise comment, for a series of logistics to be worked out. Requesting an audience with the All-Father, no matter how important, was not something done easily, and certainly not quickly if it were to retain any sort of discretion. So it was decided-after asking permission from Stark, who seemed ecstatic to meet Hariel's friends for the express purpose of extracting blackmail material- that the two Olympian demigods would reside within the Tower for several days as Loki worked to earn a meeting for the teenage diplomats. It wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to, as it would also mean introducing Hariel to his father, something that had icy fear clenching his heart. Odin had never been fond of Loki's children, and in time locked each and every one of them away. While the Asgardian prince might hope Odin wouldn't risk Loki's return to insanity by treating Harry similarly, there was no guarantee to anything of the sort. But, as worrying as that was, it had no bearing on his current mission.

It had come to Loki's attention, shortly after his daughter's rather climactic return to the Avenger's Tower, that Hariel had left many of her possessions in the care of her relatives when fleeing England with him. When asked if she would like to retrieve them, however, she became coldly dismissive.

"I have no wish to return to that place for a few books and quills." She had said, green eyes flashing with simmering hatred. "If you really care so much you can go yourself. The Dursley's keep most of my things in the cupboard under the stairs, and the rest are hidden under a loose floorboard in the second-right bedroom." Suffice it to say, Loki was curious at the answer. Surely, his daughter wasn't treated so horribly she would leave all her possessions behind simply to avoid a house? He had been aware her relatives treated her in an unsavory manner, especially that overweight cousin, but what little he had observed didn't deserve such a reaction. And so here he was, standing at the edge of Number Four Privet Drive's walk, with a furrowed brow. Unable to discover anything in particular from its outside beyond a mostly immaculate garden that seemed to have suffered over the past few days, he started towards the door.

It was a surreal sensation for the god as he rung the doorbell, and settled back onto his heels to wait. It wasn't long, however, before the door was answered by a harried woman that he vaguely recognized as hariel's rather horse-ish aunt.

"Whatever you're selling we- Ah! Hello. My apologies, what may I help you with?" Loki raised an amused eyebrow at the sudden shift in tone when Petunia Dursley went from annoyed to overly cheerful, even while revulsion coiled in his gut as she raked her eyes up his long, lithe form hungrily.

"Good Morning." The god of lies said, struggling to force the words out of his teeth. This woman seemed highly unpleasant from her batting eyelashes and obviously fake smile to the nasty gleam in her plain brown eyes. "I am here on behalf of Hariel Potter." In an instant, Petunia straightened, her smile disappearing to be replaced by a furious glare.

"Oh, what's the little freak done now? I swear, if she's gotten herself arrested I'll-"

"Freak?" Loki suddenly cut in, voice frozen as he suddenly peered down his nose at the woman. Even with her disturbingly long neck he was taller, his Asgardian height giving the man an advantage. The word burned in his mind, a ringing death-knell for what little consideration he had possessed a moment previously. "What do you mean by that?" Surprisingly, Petunia didn't seem to notice the ice in his tone as she tsked disgustedly.

"She's a demon-child, I swear. Always smoking and drinking, the delinquet. I imagine it runs in the blood- Ghrk!" The woman was cut off suddenly as she found herself slammed back into the doorjamb, one of Loki's hands clutched around her neck in a vise-like grip. She choked under it, staring at his suddenly enraged face with wide eyes.

"You will not speak of my daughter that way." The words, somehow, came out evenly, sharp enough to cut adamantine, and as he spoke them, Loki allowed the first illusion he had ever cast to fade away. Slowly, his skin paled and rippled, until it was the icy blue of frost giants, and his eyes glowed blood red. Petunia's eyes widened even more, and the hand that had been scrabbling at her throat in an attempt to loosens Loki's grip froze in shock. He sneered at the expression, a sick pleasure rising up in his stomach. With a flick of his wrist, the Asgardian-Jotun threw her down the hall just behind her front door and all the way through the house until she crashed against the back wall. There was a sickening crunch, but Loki spared her only a glance to ensure the woman wasn't dead. Then he stepped over the threshold and walked slowly to the cupboard. Once in front of it, he paused, his rage fading to be replaced by fear. He didn't know what he would see behind that door, but something told him it wouldn't be pleasant.

The cupboard opened with a creak, the lock dangling from where Loki had been forced to rip it out. What the prince saw there, however, was nowhere near as peaceful, and in an instant Loki's rage had returned. Hariel's possessions were there, just as promised, but beyond that he could also see the remnants of what looked like bedding. This… this had been Harry's bed, at one point. He could feel the girl's magic, deeper and heavier than her items should warrant, hanging about the cupboard like a thick veil. He didn't no how long ago, but she lived in this cupboard, like a penned animal.

In an instant, the items were gone, magically teleported to the Avenger's Tower's living room. Ordinarily, Loki would have sent them to Hariel's room, but he was in no mood for subtlety. The Asgardian-Jotun turned slowly to look at his daughter's aunt. She lay on the floor haphazardly, an arm and leg bent at odd angles and her eyes shut with unconsciousness, Loki took a step towards the broken form, which he could hear still breathed, but stopped when something piqued his hearing. The next instant, he whirled to catch the bat which had been descending towards his head.

Dudley Dursley was almost nothing like his mother, a small and obscured part of Loki's mind mused as he tore the makeshift weapon from Dudley's grasp and planted a foot on the boy's sternum. Even with nearly as much girth and weight as his whale of a father, the teen went flying, crashing into the kitchen and bowling over a table set in its center. Loki's lips tilted upwards at the sight of him flipping end over end, before settling in the broken ruins. He took a step forward, before pausing. As a click sounded so quietly that Loki would have missed it had he not been human, the god crouched, allowing Vernon's bullet to go flying over his head, ironically slamming into the man's own son's arm with a loud crack. Loki turned to face Vernon where he stood on the stairs, his face now set in an amused scowl. The fat man's jowls trembled as he suddenly found himself staring down an angry god of Magic.

"Ah, Vernon Dursley. Just who I wanted to see." With a simple spell, Loki dragged Vernon off the stairs to crash in a heap at his feet, smiling cruelly downwards as the man then struggled to lift himself. A calm foot on his back stopped that, and again Loki spoke.

"You see, Mr. Dursley, my name is Loki Odinson. Of course, I'm sure you noticed that; I am quite famous." There came a whimper, a shift, and Loki shoved downwards. The crunch of Vernon's nose against the floor was oddly satisfying. "Something you might not know, however, is that Hariel Potter is, in fact, my daughter. I only learned this recently, of course. Otherwise, there is no reason she would be living in this pit of monstrosity." Again, there came a whimper, but this time Vernon didn't try to move. Loki found he was disappointed.

"Now, I don't want to waste more breath than necessary on you pitiful excuses for sentience, so I will say this once. If I find even a single scar on my child that can in any way be traced back to you, I will return to this house. And when I do, your worst nightmare will be nothing compared to the horrors I visit upon you. Is that understood?" Loki took the deathly silence to mean acquiescence, and with a final shove, he stepped over and off the fat man beneath him before stalking out the door. At the curb he paused, glancing backwards. Then with a wave of his hand, every window in the building exploded outwards. By the time the glass had settled, he was gone, dissolved as if into the very wind.

XXX

Well, that was fun, and now my index finger is yelling at me, so I'll leave this here. Don't forget to Read, Review, and enjoy what's left of your Halloween!

Also, this is why we don't let Loki go to the Dursley's alone. Shame on you, Harry.