As Dahlia left the potion masters office, she closed the door as quietly as possible, so the noise of the door didn't echo across the dreary dungeons. With the door closed, she leaned against it and sighed as she closed her eyes, thankful that one thing was off her list. She turned her head to the side and opened her eyes to see Akio looking forward. As if he sensed her stare, he looked to her and gave a single nod, which she returned, before he gestured down the corridor to the stairs. Pushing herself off the door, she gave him a small smile before she walked to the stairs with him following behind.

Walking up the stairs from the dungeons, they only made it half way up before Dahlia stopped as she saw someone coming down the other side. The boy's platinum blonde hair standing out, even in the dungeons torch lights. He seemed to spot her at the same time as he stopped for a moment before walking slowly down the stairs. He almost reached her when he said, "Potter, what're you doing down here?"

"It's Lokidottir, Malfoy, and it doesn't matter. Don't you have charms?"

Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes, "forgot my book". He then glanced quickly to Akio.

Dahlia noticed and turned to the soldier and said, "kná yðr gefa sty einn bil?" (can you give us a moment?)

Akio looked between Draco and Dahlia for a moment before he said, "hann ir harfullr hōs myrkr". (He is surrounded by darkness).

"Thær ir eigi hann, thær ir hans faðir. iak munu ná reisiligr". (That's not him, that's his father. I will be fine).

Glancing between them one last time, he gave a single nod and walked past the princess and the Slytherin. Dahlia watched him leave but knew he would only go to the top of the stairs, so he couldn't understand what was being said but could still watch the scene. As he walked away, Dahlia turned to Draco who took a step down and looked between the two, confused.

"We were talking in Norse," she answered, knowing just what he was thinking. He then settled on looking at her as she said, "you haven't made any comments about my heritage or what my father has done. I thought you'd be first in line".

He gave a small smirk and said, "I'm a Slytherin, self-preservation is one of our traits".

She gave a slight tilt of the head as she said, "true but I know Slytherin is ashamed of what his house has become. Yes, Slytherin is on Niflheim, the realm my sister is Queen of". Draco looked at her in disbelief before he turned to walk down the stairs. He only managed a few steps before Dahlia stopped him, "Draco".

He turned instantly, never having heard her say his name before as it was always Malfoy.

"Don't do it. I know your dad's a Death Eater, he was there at the resurrection of Voldemort, and I know your dad is still working for him. It wouldn't surprise me since the break out of your aunt, that they're both at your house".

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Draco snapped loudly.

Shaking her head, she said, "no one understands until it is too late. Until they're dead. Niflheim is not like Thor taught it, there're two parts. Lykke, the part of Niflheim that is good, and everyone is happy, and they live their afterlife how they want. The other part, Mareritt...it is darkness and pain and torture. The literal translation means nightmare".

Draco's mouth was slightly open, and he looked to the ground for a moment before looking back up. He was clearly nervous, and a hint of fear was in his eyes, but he tried to mask that up with his pureblood Slytherin façade.

"Draco," she said and took a couple of steps down, so they weren't that far from one another. She continued, "you're a child, one from a Death Eater family but a child nonetheless. Any Death Eater, anyone loyal to Voldemort, will go to Mareritt. They will die and be tortured for eternity. You may think a body can only take so much but your soul, that can take so much more...Draco, your dad has already secured his place in Mareritt, maybe he can change his punishment so one day he can be released but he has condemned himself. Don't let him or anyone else drag you down with them".

"You don't understand," Draco said defensively.

"I understand more than anyone. In the last war, kids as young as us took the mark and died and they're condemned forever. It doesn't matter that they're young, all that matters were that they entered Niflheim with Voldemort's mark...don't do it. If they say you must get the mark, don't take it. Run. You have a chance".

Draco shook his head and walked down the rest of the stairs to the Slytherin common room and Dahlia tried one last time to get through to him.

She said loudly, "REMEMBER, A WIZARD MAY HAVE A LONG LIFESPAN, EVEN WITH THE HELP OF MAGIC, BUT EVERYONE DIES. YOU HAVE THE REST OF ETERNITY AFTER THAT".

He then disappeared from view, and Dahlia sighed, trying to help people was draining and she knew so many young people would make the wrong decisions under pressure from peers or relatives. She turned on the stairs and walked back up and like before, Akio gave her a single nod and for a moment, she thought she saw his lips curve slightly, but she shook it off as she found it very unlikely that Akio would smile, least of all at her trying to help a child on the opposite side of the war.

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

Dahlia never expected Asgardians to be at Hogwarts. She expected to see Thor walking around the castle and she knew that even with a spell around the camp to shield Heimdall's view, she knew that he would be keeping a close eye on Hogwarts. She was already late back to the camp for studying but not too late that she couldn't come up with the excuse that she got talking to her friends and walked them to class. Still, it wasn't two hours since she left but it was close, and they would know everyone would have gone to lessons already. Walking back to the camp, she left the castle through her usual way in and out of the castle to the camp, through the middle courtyard then through the greenhouses before taking the pathway through that led to the greenland where the camp was.

Everything was normal, students looking at her in fear, in disgust, and a few in wonder, but what she didn't expect when she walked through the greenhouse was a known figure standing at the exit leading to the outside of the castle. Dahlia froze as she saw the blonde-haired, golden-dressed Asgardian Queen leaning against the stone frame as it seemed she was looking down on the camp. Akio perceived her as a threat, like many Niflheim's did when it came to an Asgardian, and he was also aware that it was Queen Frigga that taught the Lord Loki his magic and how to fight, you couldn't question his sorcerer magic. He was known as the greatest sorcerer in the nine realms for a reason. He brought his sword out from his waist and Dahlia gave him a slight shake of the head, but he didn't put his sword away, he kept it close as Dahlia approached, followed by Akio, and said, "what are you doing?"

Frigga didn't jump or flinch like Dahlia expected her to do when most people are surprised by another's presence. The Queen simply said, "watching from a distance". She then turned her head and Dahlia saw a small smile gracing her lips but kept her distance, "Hello, Dahlia. It's a pleasure to meet you formally, we haven't spoken".

"That's not my fault," Dahlia said as she shook her head, "blame that husband and son of yours".

"Yes," Frigga said as she glanced down for a moment as she turned to face Dahlia fully and added, "they could have handled the situation better".

"They could have handled a lot of things better," Dahlia said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Frigga could see the resilience and strong will already in the young girl and it reminded her so much of when Loki was a child that she couldn't help but keep the small smile on her face, even when it came to matters of her husband and eldest son. "Can we talk?" she asked.

Dahlia hesitated for a moment, but Akio leaned close and said quietly, "I advise against this".

Dahlia, looking between them, said, "there's a soul contract in place, she can't harm me. We'll talk".

Dahlia turned, and it was clear to Frigga that she wanted to be followed so she did. Going back into the middle courtyard, Akio stayed at the entrance, so he couldn't hear while Dahlia made her way to the fountain and sat down. Frigga joined her after looking cautiously at Akio.

"He's just as cautious as you, maybe even more so," Dahlia said as she sat, placing her hands on her lap and sat straight. "He's been assigned to protect me and since I went missing, you could say he's gone a little overboard. He trusts very few".

"I would never harm you," Frigga said with a slight shake of the head.

Dahlia stifled a laugh as she said, "I bet you told the same things to my brothers and sister. That you'd never harm them, that you would love them, protect them, keep them safe always, and look how that turned out".

Frigga wanted to argue but she had done that so many times, she was tired of defending herself. Maybe it was easier for them to think she had something to do with everything that happened and try to rebuild relationships with her family than argue her innocence. She glanced quickly over her shoulder at the castle and said, "it's a beautiful castle, I remember coming here when it was first built and filled with magic. Do you like it here?"

"For a time," Dahlia answered, "it's hard to truly like a place when I know everyone around me is lying or trying to kill me".

"You father wouldn't let that happen," Frigga said certainly.

"I know," Dahlia said immediately, without a moment of hesitation. "Do you love my father?" she asked bluntly.

Frigga frowned for a moment, as if the question was a foolish one and responded, "of course I do, with all my heart, he's my son".

"Then how did you never notice the pain my father felt? Why did you let his children be taken? Why let him suffer?"

"Dahlia," Frigga said as she reached for the young girl's hands, but Dahlia pulled her hands away and glanced quickly to Akio and Frigga got the message. No touching. She pulled her hands back and said, "Dahlia, I never wanted any of this. I wanted my family to be happy and together".

"Do you know what finally pushed my father over the edge?" Dahlia asked but didn't want an answer as she gave it, "it wasn't the fact that he lived in the shadows of Thor his whole life, he was used to it. It wasn't the fact you took my father's children from him, he lived with that for more than a thousand years, but it added to the cracks and began the insanity. It wasn't the fact that you lied to him his whole life, yes, he was told stories of Jotuns being monsters but if he had your love, if he was treated the same as Thor, he could have handled that. It wasn't the fact that my father lost the only woman he loved and believed his baby daughter to be dead, where for a thousand years he clung to the hope of having his children back with him, knowing they were alive somewhere. Did you know my mother died and he believed I died, then not even weeks later the truth of his heritage was discovered?"

With tears in her eyes, Frigga looked down. She knew, she knew the date Lily had died and remembered it wasn't long later that his heritage was discovered and in her thousands of years' worth of life, she couldn't comprehend how her son must have felt.

"Even how close the dates were, it didn't break him. It just added to the cracks that you and your family built...it was when he was hanging off the Bifrost, after almost destroying Jotunheim. He was hanging on and told Odin that he did it for all of them, but Odin told him no. It was that moment, it was that single moment that my father lost all hope. All hope of being accepted, all hope of Odin giving his children back, all hope of finding the boys, gone. That 'no' didn't just represent what my father was doing, it represented my father's entire being...that 'no' was the final crack that destroyed him".

"Why are you telling me this?" Frigga asked as she looked back up to Dahlia and Dahlia saw the tears on her cheeks.

Dahlia bit the inside of her lip and took a deep breath, not wanting to seem weak in front of the Queen of Asgard and then answered, "because you already know it. People may have told you before but if they haven't, it's been eating away at the back of your mind. It's time people accepted the parts they played in my father's insanity and not treat him as if he is the villain, as if it's all his fault".

"You're back together now-" Frigga started but was interrupted.

"That doesn't matter. Imagine a plate, now imagine it smashing and having to put it back together again by hand. It goes back together but the cracks are still there and there are small tiny fragments that forever remain missing. That's my father. He puts on a brave face and a smile and loves us with everything he has but we can see it. At times when he doesn't think we see, we see him looking off into the distance or looking at something intensely that you know he's lost in his own mind...when my father fell from the Bifrost, Hela knew he wasn't dead, but she felt it. She says it was like cold water was thrown over her and that she tried to find him but couldn't. Did you feel him fall?"

Frigga slowly nodded, "we may not be blood, but I taught him magic. Our connection may not be as strong as yours and Hela's with your father, but it is still strong. I did not have, however, the luxury of knowing your father was still alive. I feared him dead, I mourned him and then he appeared on Midgard..." Frigga wiped her tears away and then reached for Dahlia's hand, this time she didn't move it and Dahlia didn't look to Akio. Both just stared into each other's eyes with quick glances down at their joined hands as Frigga said, "Dahlia, he, you, your siblings may never forgive me for the parts I played, but I do love you all".

Dahlia could see the honesty in her eyes, could see the raw emotion that the Queen felt, and Dahlia couldn't help but look down at the joint hands as Frigga was rubbing circles with her thumb on Dahlia's hand. It was then that she sighed and look back up and said truthfully, "the Avengers, minus Thor, I can forgive for helping put my father away. They were simply protecting their realm and they didn't know the full story. Odin, I will never forgive what he has done to my father and siblings, same with the other Asgardians. Fenrir is scarred for life from torture done by them, Jora hurt because of his banishment and Hela, she may have created a world worth living on but the day she was thrown into the Bifrost still haunts her. Thor, I will never forgive as he held my father back. He may have wanted to be like Odin, may have changed because of Jane and his own child now, but it doesn't change what he did. Deep down, he'd still follow his father and he showed that when he tried to drag me to Asgard...you, however".

The drawing of circles that Frigga was doing suddenly stopped and her grip on Dahlia's hand tightened, as if Dahlia was going to move her hand and she would never get to see the young girl again. She clung to the young girl as if Dahlia was the link to getting her family back and, in a way,, she was. If Dahlia wanted nothing to do with Frigga, Loki would respect her wishes and wouldn't let Frigga anywhere near her and Loki wasn't likely to leave Dahlia to see the woman who raised him. He made it clear that he wouldn't leave his children again and how protective he was. The same could be said for the other children too, the children who felt Frigga's love for hundreds of years but then felt her betrayal when she couldn't stop them from being sent away.

"Fen told us you tried to free him, at the beginning," Dahlia said softly for once in the conversation, she smiled and continued, "I don't think Hela was very happy when she heard it, I think she preferred to think of you all as evil. Dad still loves you. When he would tell me stories, he would slip up on your name and call you mother sometimes. I don't think it's because he doesn't know who his birth mother is but because of the way you love him. Do you know who she is?" Dahlia asked curiously.

"No," Frigga said with a shake of her head, "Laufey had no wife and so it was assumed your father was...well..."

"A bastard," Dahlia said simply. "It's okay, you don't need to mind your language. I may be a baby to everyone but students in these halls tend to say a lot worse".

Frigga let off a small laugh while Dahlia smiled.

"He does love you, he may not trust you completely, but he does love you and I think deep down, the others do as well, they're just too hurt to realise it. If you're telling the truth, that you do care for us-"

"I do," Frigga interrupted.

"Then maybe you deserve a second chance. That's coming from me though, a second chance from me but if the others don't want you a part of their lives, then I won't as I won't let an Asgardian divide my family again. I don't trust you, but I believe that you deserve another chance".

Frigga's smile was so wide, Dahlia couldn't think it could get any bigger. Frigga then asked, "can I hug you?"

Shocked, Dahlia didn't know what to say as she didn't like people she didn't trust touching her and thankfully, they were interrupted. "Dahlia Lokidottir, what did we say about time?" the stern voice said and made Dahlia jump to stand and look to the entrance where Akio was stood. He could see her grandmother was walking into the courtyard.

Dahlia glanced to the clock tower as her grandmother walked towards her and then looked back and said, "I've got thirty more seconds until the two-hour time mark". Violet stood with a stern look on her face, looking down at her granddaughter with her arms folded. Dahlia bit her lip nervously and said weakly, "smart remarks not necessary".

"Exactly," Violet put her arms down but gestured to Dahlia to come closer, "you may have to check in every two hours, but your friends were in class an hour ago. Studying has begun".

Violet then glanced to Frigga, who began to stand, and Dahlia said, "Queen Frigga, this is my grandmother, Violet Evans".

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Frigga said with a small smile but was met with an icy cold look from the Evans woman.

"Dahlia, back to camp. Your father is worried," Violet said as Dahlia looked between the two women and could see the clear hostility.

"Grandma, I-" Dahlia started but was interrupted.

"Now, Dahlia," Violet said sternly, and Dahlia sent a quick look to Frigga before she left with Akio following behind her.

"I'm sorry I kept her from her studies, I was unaware-" Frigga started but was interrupted.

"You are unaware of a lot of things and for good reason," Violet said as if she wasn't speaking to a Queen but just an ordinary person that she disliked, "I would prefer that you spoke to granddaughter when someone else from family is present".

"You dislike me, that is clear".

"You think?" Violet asked sarcastically, "I would never hate someone that believed in a prophecy more than the people she considered family. That believed children were the cause of such destruction and that lied to one son his entire life and let him hear stories of monsters which turned out to be his own race. Why would I hate someone like that?"

"I do not plead innocence in that but-"