It was now Saturday, it had been a day and a half since the boys had gone into Dahlia's mind and they showed no sign of waking up. All three had been given potions for sustenance and extra to help their healing process. Other potions for strength were given to Jörmungandr and assistant healers did exercises with his legs, hoping to regain strength for when he woke up. Dahlia had been given multiple remedies and antidotes for the poison and to speed along the process of her healing. The stab wound was already healed, only a scar showing but it was still red showing it had been done recently. The blackness that covered most of her chest, however, that was controlled by using a specific flower petal from the mountains on Niflheim, was now gone after having been covered in them. There seemed to be no side effects of the boys entering Dahlia's mind and no effects from how long they had been in there so far but Saida worried about the repercussions that could happen to their own minds. She was worried that they might lose themselves in Dahlia's mind if they couldn't find her.

Hela and Loki hadn't slept; they had stayed by the bedside, hoping for any sign that they would awaken soon. That was until someone entered the tent and Hela expected to see one of her guards who was guarding it but by surprise, it was Violet Evans.

"Violet," Hela said standing, as did Loki.

Violet walked over to her and hugged her as she asked, "how are they doing?"

Jonathan then ran in, just as Falcon did, and said breathlessly, "they made me bring them". Violet pulled out of the hug to look at Death sternly while she kept her hand on Hela's arm.

"Let me translate," Jonathan said, giving Death a breather. "My dear wife here hated being on Niflheim while all of this was happening, so she gathered the help of Eileen, Godric, Rowena and Helga. Need I explain more? You know how crazy Eileen and Violet are when they put their minds to it. Held a knife to his," gestured to Death, "neck when he appeared in the castle, made him bring us over. The other four are getting settled".

They all looked to Violet as she shrugged and said, "my granddaughter is hurt, what did you expect me to do?"

Hela answered quickly, "I was going to bring you over, I just...you didn't die too long ago, I don't know how long your souls will be able to stay".

It was basic biology of souls from Niflheim. The longer they stayed dead, the longer they could stay on the realm in which they came from. For souls such as the founders, they could stay for years before being on Midgard had an effect on them. For souls such as Violet, Jonathan and Eileen, their bodies had decomposed because of the length of time they had been dead but they had immediate relatives who were still alive, children and grandchildren, which caused their souls to still have a strong physical mark on the world. No souls as young as theirs had come to Midgard before, it was why Hela always took Lily and Dahlia to see them on Niflheim. Their souls would be as they were, happy, but would soon become sad and cold. Their souls would become weak, not belonging there. It was why the ghosts at Hogwarts didn't have a physical form. Their souls couldn't handle being whole on Midgardian ground.

"Pish posh," Violet said swatting her hand. She then looked to Loki across the bed who had his head down, ashamed. "Loki".

Violet then walked around the bed, Jonathan following her to stand near Loki. "Mr and Mrs Evans," he said.

"Look at us, Loki," Violet said firmly.

Loki finally looked up to them, trying to keep the tears at bay at the fact that Violet looked so much like Lily. How looking at both of them, brought back the guilt of not being able to protect their daughter. He assumed that they hated him, but his assumption was wrong.

Violet quickly wrapped her arms around him and they both let the tears fall for the loss that they had suffered. Both not being able to be there for the other when they lost someone who was so important to the both of them. "I'm sorry" Loki said, almost whimpering, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect her. I'm sorry. I gave you my word".

"You gave us your word that you would protect her, yes," Jonathan said, "but you also gave your word that you would make her happy, and you did. No matter how short that time was, you gave her a daughter, you made her smile far greater than I, we, ever could. Yes, Lily is gone but she lives within us all. She lives within Dahlia".

Violet pulled away from Loki, just enough to see his face, and wiped the few tears away that he let slip, "you listen to me, Loki. You are still our family, I don't care what's happened. You, Hela and those boys are our family, even though Lily isn't here. Yes, you may have planned for us all to be a family with her here, but she'd still want us all to be happy. Do you understand?" He nodded and then she said much happier, "now, are you going to tell me how they are or keep us in suspense? We've been watching so we know most of it".

"They're doing fine, physically," Loki said, "the boys had to go into her mind to save her but we're hoping they return soon. If not, the next plan is to go in and find all three of them".

"Are you okay?" Loki heard someone ask quietly and looked to see Falcon stood rather close to his daughter. They were both looking at each other, as if their eyes answered the question. That and the fact that he saw them glance to each others lips. Their hands were only centimetres apart from one another and he got the feeling that if he wasn't there, there would be no space between them whatsoever.

Loki turned away from Lily's parents and asked almost threateningly that seemed to snap both parties out of their own personal bubble, "is there something I should know about the two of you?" This caused both heads to snap up and both took a step away from each other, now wasn't the time to answer.

Hela opened her mouth to give some excuse but thank the gods, her brothers shot up in the moment, their hands still linked to their sister as they breathed heavily. Fenrir looked to their father, ignoring the two strangers for a moment and said, "her mother's death. She had to see her mother's death".

The strange woman gasped while the man took her into his arms. It was then that Dahlia shot up and screamed, her hands omitting her purple magic where her brothers had to let go and all glass bottles, vases and ink pots around the tent shattered as she screamed. It only lasted a moment as Dahlia quickly got control but then she cried. She saw her father, Fenrir moved quickly so his father could get to her, and even Hela helped Jörmungandr stand and he was shocked at the strength he now had. Loki took his youngest into his arms as she cried.

"It's you," she cried, "it's really you".

"I'm here, I'm here," he kissed her head and squeezed her tightly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry you had to watch what happened to your mother".

"Make me forget...please, daddy, make me forget," Dahlia cried heavily begging to forget.

"I can't," he soothed as he stroked her hair, "I can't I'm so sorry".

"She stood in front of my crib," Dahlia mumbled quietly, "he told her to move, he wasn't going to kill her. But she wouldn't, she begged him not to kill me".

"Look at me," Loki said pulling away, just to grab her face gently so she would see the sincerity in his eyes as he said, "you are not the cause of your mother's death. He is. Voldemort. He and he alone killed your mother...and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to protect you both before but I'm here now and I will not let him harm you again".

A moment of silence passed between them before Dahlia took a deep breath, banishing the tears away as she bit her lip and said, "you don't know".

She began to move away from her father and he hated it. It wasn't just that, however, that concerned him, it was the fact that Hela sat down on the bed and looked away from him. It was the fact that Falcon took a few steps back and looked to the ground regretfully. "Know what?" Loki asked, "your sister told me everything while you were recovering".

Hela shook her head and said, "not that".

"I..." Dahlia started, "I have to die".

"You most certainly do not," Violet snapped.

"I said I'd save you," Hela said angrily as she turned on the bed to look at her sister, "I will not let you die for this stupid wizarding war, it's already took someone I love, I will not let it take another. I told you, I thought I found a way, just give me time".

"Time for what?" Loki snapped as he stood which made Dahlia and Hela flinch as they never heard him like that.

Neither girl could answer but Hela looked at Falcon pleadingly, so he answered, "Voldemort cannot die. If you were to leave now and stab him through the heart, tear off his head and burn him to ashes, he would simply come back".

"Impossible," Jörmungandr said.

"Who are you?" Fenrir asked.

"I am Death," he answered simply, "I collect the souls for Niflheim. Voldemort is scared of me, of us," he gestured between himself and Hela, "more than anything. In his search for immortality, he found a way to split his very soul and place it into objects. This has only been done once before and the man who created it will never see anything outside of Mareritt. We think Voldemort split his soul into seven pieces and placed them into objects. This means that when he dies, he can return. It may take him time but he will return".

"What does this have to do with my granddaughter?" Jonathan asked.

An uncomfortable moment of silence passed and Loki put it together, "she is one".

Falcon nodded, "it is our belief that splitting the soul six times, like he did, made his soul unstable. That night in Godric's Hollow, when Dahlia destroyed him, a piece of his soul went into her, making her his seventh horcrux".

They all looked to Dahlia and she placed her fingertips on her scar for a moment before she said, "secret weapon. He doesn't know, only we know, it's why I had to let him possess me. I had to keep certain memories safe. If we find all of them and destroy all of them, he can be killed".

"And we will," Hela said, "but that will not be your end".

"I wish to talk to Dahlia alone," Loki said and it took a few moments of awkward silence for anyone to listen. All the boys left first, then Jonathan, Hela and Violet. The grandmother hesitating, not wanting to leave her granddaughter for fear that she would lose her again.

When the tent was empty, Loki and Dahlia sat in silence for minutes. Loki was looking down to the floor while Dahlia fidgeted and played with her fingers on her lap. Dahlia couldn't stand the silence for long, she never could as her mind would wonder, and she began to think of the worst possible scenarios. She coughed and said, "if you don't wanna see me anymore, if you don't want me as a daughter, I completely understand-"

Loki's head immediately snapped up and he turned his body on the bed so he could face her and said, "why would I? Fenrir can tear a man to pieces, Jörmungandr can devour them whole. Your sister can kill a man with her touch, all three have a prophecy to destroy the universe and I haven't abandoned them. Why would I abandon you?"

Dahlia's bottom lip trembled at the very thought of him leaving her, but she bit her lip tightly, holding back the tears, wanting to be strong before she said, "because none of them are the reason the woman you love died. None of them have a piece of Voldemort inside of them. The memories I have of us, the memories of us in the dream world, I can live with them if you walk away. I can remember the good...what I won't be able to live with is if I have to see you every day, if I have to see the look of hate and disgust in your eyes. Please, dad".

Loki stood, and Dahlia immediately closed her eyes tightly, waiting for him to leave. What she didn't expect was for arms to go around her waist and under her legs as her father picked her up. She opened her eyes just as he sat back down with Dahlia on his lap and held his arms around her tightly as he said sternly, "I will not abandon you. Do you understand?" Dahlia nodded against his chest as she clung to his shirt and the floodgates finally opened with tears streaming down her cheeks. He then placed two fingers under her chin and lifted it. They both looked into each other's eyes, and he said "my eyes will never show hate or disgust towards any of my children, I swear to you. I know my words mean nothing to you right now, but I love you, Dahlia. I swear on my magic, my being, my soul that that will never change".

She tucked her head under his chin and held his clothes even tighter than before and said, "I love you too, dad," and for the first time since she woke up, she smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the family reunited, Hela introduced the boys to the Evans' while Falcon left to collect souls but not before her brothers glared at him, as if they suspected something was going on between their little sister and Death, or if it was just that they didn't like men being around her. Hela only hoped that her sister would keep her promise, that she wouldn't say anything, and maybe she could persuade her brothers and above all else her father that her feelings for Falcon and his feelings for her were real. She did, however, sense that it wouldn't be long before something bad happened considering everything was going well so far. And Hela was right, something did happen. Asgardians happened.

They left the tent for only minutes before they saw the light of the Bifrost. No one needed to inform them of their arrival as the three siblings and the Evans' began to walk through the camp, soldiers and citizens of Niflheim looking between them and the direction that the Asgardians had landed. Many were receiving their weapons as if expecting a battle but as Hela and the others walked through the camp, she gestured for everyone to calm down.

Reaching the entrance into the camp, just as Hela expected, Akio was stood at the entrance with a group of soldiers, stopping the Asgardians from entering. They had built a human wall, if that's what could describe the soldiers from different realms, across the entrance. Odin, Frigga, Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three all stood outside of the camp and didn't seem to fight to enter. They just waited patiently and it infuriated Hela, knowing that they were being smug. Knowing that they had to cooperate and go along with the deal. Oh, how much she wished she could rip their heads off for what they did to her family.

Approaching the entrance, she gestured for Akio to step aside and he nodded to the soldiers and they parted ways. Odin immediately said, "where is your father? The time has come".

"He's with his daughter," Hela said holding her head high, not allowing him to speak to her like a child anymore, "is this really necessary now? Our sister has only just woken, she doesn't even know about the deal," she looked to Thor who knew what happened.

"Father," Thor said but Odin immediately put his hand up, silencing him.

"We had an agreement of two days. If Loki fails to comply then he will be returned to the dungeons".

"Do you truly have no compassion?" Violet said taking a step forward. Hela and the boys looked at her in surprise, while Jonathan stayed close to her, knowing just what trouble his wife's mouth could get her into. The Asgardians also looked surprised but Frigga looked more curiously at the grandmother than the others did. Violet continued "No compassion that Loki hasn't seen his daughter since she was a baby, that he believed her dead? He hasn't seen all of his children together for over a thousand years since you banished them or locked them away. Are you really so much of a cold-hearted manipulative bastard that you wouldn't give them more time together?"

The boys gasped as Hela stifled a laugh and Fenrir mumbled to his brother, "I definitely approve of her as family".

The Asgardian soldiers, however, didn't like the fact that a woman and a clear citizen of Niflheim insulted their king and drew their swords. Instantly, Jonathan and Hela moved in front of Violet and the boys moved closer, but Violet was the last one to show fear as she laughed at them and said, "I'm already dead, what are you going to do?"

"Now's not the time, dear," Jonathan said quickly.

"You dare lay a hand on her for speaking the truth," Hela said harshly looking between all of the Asgardians, "and I have the right to attack you. After all, a part of the deal is that we can defend our family".

This confused the Asgardians, but Frigga looked to the two dead members of said family and could see the truth as Hela stood protectively in front of the woman and the boys stood protectively close, ready to fight if the occasion called for it. Frigga remembered the days that they were once like that to her but now all she saw in their eyes was caution, fear and hatred for what the Asgardians would bring. Frigga knew she couldn't bring her family back together as one, she accepted that, but maybe she could make it easier for them. Frigga reached out and placed a hand on Odin's arm before she said quietly to him, "perhaps it is best if we return later. You cannot simply ask them to sign the contract if all of them are not aware of it. Give them more time, please".

Odin considered her words for a moment before he glanced to his once grandchildren and said, "you have two hours and then the contract will be signed, or else".

The seven Asgardians left, Frigga falling behind, wishing not to leave so soon and fortunately for her, she managed to find out who the elderly dead couple were. Violet demanded, "what's your father done?"

The siblings sighed as Fenrir answered, "he made a deal with Odin. We sign a soul-binding contract and promise never to be the cause of any war and he'll give us an apple of Idun for Dahlia".

"A soul-binding contract?" Jonathan questioned, never having heard of one.

"We each sign the contract," Jörmungandr answered, "papa, us, and Dahlia; it keeps our word that we don't start any war unless it is justified, and we never return to Asgard. In return they'll give us an apple of Idun to make Dahlia live as long as we do. Everyone has to agree and if we break our word, our souls are at stake. They'll be destroyed, no Niflheim, no Valhalla, gone".

"WHAT?" Violet shouted, "you're not agreeing to anything, none of you. I'm gonna kill your father," she then stormed away before any of them could stop her.

Fenrir asked nervously as he looked to his siblings and Jonathan, "she's not actually going to kill him, is she?"

Jonathan and Hela glanced to one another as the boys looked to them and Hela answered, "no, but-"

"You're all family," Jonathan said, "Lily and Loki never married but he's our son-in-law and right now it seems like his mother-in-law isn't happy with him".

A moment of silence passed between them before all four of them ran for the royal tent, wanting to stop the crazy mother-in-law before she began shouting. What they didn't see was Frigga looking back at their running forms, a small smile on her face that her son was loved and still being kept in line, even if it wasn't by his mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You tell me what you agreed to right this second, Loki," Violet said as soon as she pulled back the tent and entered, taking in the sight of father and daughter smiling as she sat on his lap and he held her tightly.