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The Mysterious Rune
Harry Potter spent most of his day lately keeping tabs on Lucius Malfoy. The man had been redeemed since the end of the war but that did not give Harry cause to trust him. It seemed his instincts had been correct. Ron and Ginny had come to him not two months ago with whispers of Malfoy’s upcoming bid for Minister for Magic. As Kingsley Shacklebolt was currently the Minister for Magic, the trio had tried to warn the ex-Auror, but he would not hear of it. Ginny had taken the dismissal the hardest and had been seen surreptitiously following Malfoy around the Ministry. She had been overjoyed at breakfast upon receiving a magical memo from her receptionist and had not been seen since.
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Ginny Weasley was excited to hear that her team of archeologists had found an ancient artifact near Stonehenge dating back to the ancient Vikings. She hurried down to the new Ancient Artifacts department in the lower levels of the Ministry of Magic. Her team surrounded the relic, efficiently working to decode its many runes. The various symbols on the granite tablet were mysterious enough, but the mark on the bottom right corner caught her eye. Searching through her notes for any references to the unknown symbol, Ginny found mention of the Norse God of Mischief, Loki. She had a good feeling about this.
Ginny and the Archeologists carefully and diligently worked on the tablet until the runes began to glow a blood red. Stumbling away from the table, the Archeologists realized one of their own had not moved. Smirking at them through her curtain of auburn hair, Ginny removed her bloody hand from the edge of the tablet, wiping it clean on her cloak as a portal opened behind her.
Being summoned to a room of trembling Midgardians did not amuse Loki. His irritation grew when he recognized the lost tablet before them. He considered how he would make Thor pay for losing the damned thing. It took a moment for Loki to notice that one of them was not shaking but staring curiously up at him. He could sense her power and knew what she was. What they all were. Approaching the attractive little witch, Loki wondered briefly if this was a trap, but dismissed the thought. They were mortals, what threat could they possibly pose to him?
“And you are?” Loki did not think the red-haired witch was properly frightened by him.
“Ginny Weasley,” she said, happy her voice did not waiver. She needed to be strong.
“Why do you have that?” Loki waved to the rune.
Ginny took a deep breath and inhaled his cologne. He smelled divine, like old parchment, reminding her of her time in school brewing Amortentia with Hermione. Clearing her throat, she turned to her team.
“You lot are dismissed. I’ll handle this.”
The five members of her team gathered their belongings and hurried out the door, leaving her alone with the pale god. Flicking her wand at the door, she locked it behind them. Facing Loki once more, Ginny considered his question.
“At the moment, our government is in chaos. They don’t know what to do with the discovery of these tablets. The current Minister for Magic is not well liked, he was too lenient with the families of the Death Eaters in my opinion. We found your tablet and I thought you might be able to help.” Pushing her hair from her face, Ginny monitored his expression as he pondered her words. She could feel the heat radiating from him as he leaned close to her.
“And what’s in it for me?” he purred, his breath like silk against the shell of her ear. He eyed her up and down, feeling the tug of the blood bond she had created between them. “Witch, you don’t know what you’ve started, do you? Mother will like you, I think.” Loki had the sudden urge to bring the girl and the tablet back to Asgard.
“Our world is trying to reform after the war. We are in desperate need of new leadership, and I should think an ancient prince would do quite nicely.” Her voice trailed off as she reached for her wand and sent a message by Patronus to Ron. She could feel the pull of the bond as well, and she did not resist it. “Did I do this?” she murmured, inching towards him.
“Creating a blood bond with a god is a dark, ancient type of magic my dear.” Loki fought to keep his mind clear amidst the sweet aroma of… was that daisies... as he drew nearer. Ginny sighed at his close proximity. She glanced at the tablet again and wondered if she could pull this off.
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Harry and Ron were enjoying their lunch in the aviary when Ginny’s horse pranced towards them. Her voice echoed softly when the silver creature stopped beside their table.
“Ron, I’ve found something big. I can’t tell you what it is yet, but I will be gone for a while.” The horse vanished and Harry’s fork clattered onto his plate, forgotten. His face drained of color, Harry grabbed Ron’s hand and they ran to the Archeology department.
Muttering a quick Alohomora, Harry unlocked the door to Ginny’s lab, but found it empty. He swore as Ron looked frantically around the room for any sign of his sister, his unfinished lunch forgotten. Noticing the ancient tablet, Harry made to lift it from its stand, pulling back sharply as it burned him. He remembered that Ginny had been researching the old Norse Gods. It seemed as though she had found them.
“Where’s Ginny?” Ron was pale.
“I don’t know,” Harry said softly. “I hope she’s okay.” When he turned to look at the tablet again, it was gone.
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“Welcome to my home.” Ginny released Loki’s arm when they Apparated into her flat. He looked curiously around her living room and she was glad she had tidied up before leaving for work that morning.
“It is very small,” Loki muttered. If they were to be bound forever, he certainly would not be staying here.
“I don’t need much space, I live alone,” Ginny said defensively. She shrugged. “It suits me.”
“I will assume you do not have servants then?” Ginny rolled her eyes. Loki looked extremely relaxed in her worn-down recliner.
“I do not have servants, no. I have no need for another creature to look after me, I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself.”
“Then I expect you shall have to make me a drink.” The demanding tone grated on Ginny’s nerves, but she needed his help, so she smiled and went to the kitchen to make them something to drink. Finding a bottle of muggle rum in her cabinet, she poured them both a generous amount and left the bottle on the counter. She hoped he was an amenable drunk.
“This is all I have,” she apologized, handing Loki the glass of amber liquor. He took a sip and raised his eyebrows.
“I’m beginning to like this world.” Taking another sip, he grinned at Ginny. “We have nothing like this on Asgard. It is sweeter than mead, but not quite so sweet as wine.”
“Our wine can be sweet, dry, or somewhere in between. This is much stronger than wine.” She smiled and took a sip of her own drink as he tipped his glass back, finishing the rum in one swallow. Ginny had bet on Loki having never tasted muggle rum before, and it seemed she had been correct. He hadn’t noticed the slightly bitter taste of the potion she had slipped him.
“Here, let me refill that for you.” Taking the glass from his hand, Ginny felt a shock run through her fingers and up her arm. Her eyes flew to his in alarm to find him smirking at her.
“Don’t be frightened my dear, that’s just the blood bond. When you served me something from your home, the bond grew stronger,” Loki said softly, keeping his gray eyes on her pretty green ones. He rose from the chair to tower over her. Taking both glasses from Ginny, Loki poured out two fingers for the pretty witch and filled his own glass to the brim. He would have to ask her to get more of this delightful drink.
“What does the blood bond do?” Ginny asked when he placed her glass in her hand.
“It binds you to me forever.” Loki didn’t notice the flash of dark amusement in Ginny’s eyes as he took a large sip of rum. “You can feel something inside pulling you to me, yes?”
“Mmm I do feel something,” Ginny breathed with a laugh. Smiling at him, she placed her glass on the table and got to her feet, walking slowly towards where he lounged. Perching on the arm of the recliner, Ginny brushed her fingers across his shoulder to the back of his neck. His teeth flashed in a feral grin before he tugged her onto his lap and snaked an arm around her waist.
“Little witch, I hope you know what you’ve started.” Loki tugged the hem of her shirt from the waistband of her black skirt.
Ginny took his hands in hers before he could lift the blouse over her head. Matching his heated stare, she leaned into him, stopping just before their lips could touch. She could feel his breath on her face and had to contain her smile when his gaze dipped to her mouth. This time, Loki was the one to lean in, initiating their first kiss. He had closed his eyes when they touched so he did not see the gleam in Ginny’s eyes, nor did he understand what was happening when he began to feel lightheaded.