Closing the door and locking it after he placed a ward on it to prevent it from being opened easily by anyone Loki stepped inside his fortune-telling section in the room.
Once inside, Loki looked out the window at the school grounds.
Harry was walking like he was in a trance, taking step by step on his own as he moved towards the Whomping Willow.
The sun was setting, casting an orange fiery glow over the entire tree.
Loki waited by the window, watching as Harry slipped under its roots.
The marauder's map open on his table showed Loki the names of the several other characters rushing behind Harry.
Dumbledore was the first to arrive at the tree as he stepped under the roots and followed behind Harry.
Seeing him enter, Loki smirked.
'Looks like he's freaking out.'
'I guess, I'll know exactly how he's feeling soon enough.'
Waiting a little more, Loki saw Hermione rushing towards the Whomping Willow along with Ron, and Lupin.
Soon Loki ruffled his hair and put on a worried frown on his face to appear scared. He then pulled out the flute that Snape had given him and blew on it.
There was no change in his surroundings for a moment, but immediately after a sharp tear opened up beside him from which a dark bony and furry hand emerged, its nails sharp like knives.
Appearing scared, Loki spoke with a soft trembling voice.
"Could you deliver this letter to Professor Snape, please? It's urgent!"
The hand of the invisible creature moved nimbly, picking up the letter in Loki's hands with its nails.
Its large dark yellow eyes looked out of the tear in the fabric of space, right at Loki for a few seconds, before vanishing.
A little later, after the sun had fully set, Loki saw Snape and himself following everyone into the roots of the tree.
A soft smile emerged on Loki's face as he watched the events proceed and his previous fear-filled face vanished like smoke from incense in the wind.
In the soft darkness of the recent sunset and pink sky, Loki left from the window side and patiently performed the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth Ritual.
Loki pulled out a simple potion he'd brewed inside the Sefirah castle over the last month. Loki looked at the small vial of molten gold liquid and stared at it with a little apprehension.
'This is it huh…'
The vial contained a potion that was still incomplete, but Loki was willing to consume it anyway, not because he wanted to fall sick or something, but because he had to rush to make this incomplete potion that would enhance a single aspect of his abilities.
Uncorking the vial, Loki quickly drank the entire potion in a single gulp, before closing his eyes and crewing the effects.
A few minutes ago, a little before Harry Potter entered the roots of the Whomping Willow.
'What's happening!?' Harry exclaimed inside his head as he watched from his eyes his body move unnaturally and beyond his control.
No matter how hard he tried to resist, he couldn't regain control over his body.
He tried shouting for help, making even the smallest twitch on his body yet he couldn't move.
'Did someone use the imperious curse on me!?'
'Was it Sirius Black!?'
'Is he going to kill me just like how he killed my parents!?'
'Where is he taking me!?'
Although Harry was fuming on the inside, externally, he looked totally normal, his body marched with steady steps, passing by Hagrid's hut without even a single call escaping him, alerting Hagrid for help.
Soon Harry recognised he was stepping towards the Whomping Willow causing him to feel a little fear.
'I remember Fred and George telling me this was one way out of Hogwarts, but it was blocked because of the Whomping Willow.'
'Does Sirius Black know of this secret passageway?'
'Where am I being taken?'
'Will Headmaster Dumbledore be able to find me!?'
'Is this all happening because of that coin?'
The Whomping Willow did not attack Harry as he expected it to. It looked like it was asleep, uncaring for anyone who was using the passageway underneath it.
Harry's body walked through the roots of the tree and descended into the depths of the secret pathway that seemed to stretch beyond them.
The walk for the next fifteen minutes was dark and uncomfortable, Harry could barely see anything inside the tunnel as he tried his best to make out the faint outlines of whatever was in front of him.
Soon Harry saw a faint glimmer of light in the distance and within moments he arrived by its side.
A bright torch was on fire and lit up the surroundings under the roots where Harry found himself looking at a beautiful young girl who had a bloated abdomen and looked like she was pregnant.
Yet she appeared extremely delicate and beautiful, like a flower dancing in the wind. Harry lost his mind simply by looking at her, without recognising it himself.
Her hair reached her ankles and appeared perfectly silky like streams of clear water running across stones. Her hands looked delicate and the fiery flames painted her cheeks with an almost reddish blush.
The girl's hands trembled slightly as they brushed over her belly while she looked at it with a mesmerising smile.
Had Loki been here, he would've recognised the girl as Mary Jackson. She wasn't this pretty when he'd first seen her, but her facial structure was indiscernibly the same.
But what was distinctly different from her usual self right now was the unique way with which she carried herself. She looked proud. Her shoulders were soft but squared and she stood as if there was nothing that could realistically harm her.
There was a maddened look in her eyes as if she were waiting in anticipation for the fruition of something that would happen soon. Something she had painstakingly prepared for a long while.
The entire area was covered in what looked like spider webs which made Harry think that no one had bothered to ever come down here. Making him feel exceedingly eerie.
'Will I be killed here and no one will ever know?'
The flames on the torch flickered and the shadows danced.
A sweet smell invaded Harry's nose as the girl walked closer to him. It felt sedating, and comforting, yet something about her made Harry feel afraid.
"Hello, young man. I've been waiting for you." The girl said caressing Harry's face slowly.
Although the girl with a seductive smile should've made Harry feel comfortable and safe, he felt nothing but pure unadulterated fear when he felt her ice-cold hands touch him.
She looked into Harry's eyes and appeared to be looking into something much deeper than just his eyes. She seemed to be peering into his soul.
Harry tried to scream and kick around in his mind to escape from the clutches of the girl in front of him, but all his attempts went wasted since he wasn't able to control his body.
Suddenly the girl who was cuddling his face froze and a prominent frown appeared on her face.
"You. It's not you! You were not the boy that I was supposed to gain."
Suddenly the girl looked at her stomach and then cursed at the baby inside, "This is not what you promised! You said he was destined to be connected with 'Him'!!! You said he was 'His' blessed!! You said I would be able to prevent 'Him' from returning!!"
The girl was turning more and more frantic with each statement she uttered.
"What do you mean you hadn't anticipated this!? I spent an entire year searching for 'Them' so that I could get my hands on 'His' blessed!"
The girl suddenly in a fit of anger started to slam her fist into her own stomach.
*THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP*
"Bad!! Bad!!! Bad baby!!!!!"
Harry was certain he could hear the whimpering of a child from inside the girl's body, but although a part of him was shocked, appalled and even more afraid, since he couldn't comprehend which girl would beat her own baby, most of him was supportive of the girl and her actions.
He felt like whatever she did was meant to be done.
He felt like she was the only thing that was right with the world.
"And you!!! Who are you!!! What do you have to do with him!!??" The girl looked at Harry with a fierce frown on her face.
Harry suddenly felt like his heart had frozen and shattered when he looked at the beautiful girl frowning while looking at him as if he'd broken the heart of an inconsolable young maiden. He felt worse than a bum who'd taken advantage of his wife's money to gamble some more.
However, Harry suddenly felt reprieve. All of a sudden he felt like the girl in front of him was no longer as pretty as before, returning the control over his thoughts back to him-
"That will be enough." A sudden voice distracted her and made Harry mentally *sigh* in an excited relief.
'Professor Dumbledore!!'
"Oh? This boy is worth enough to bring you out of your shell Albus?" The girl said with a polite smile, her eyes glimmering with mischief as she reevaluated Harry standing in front of her.
"Maybe, I should make this boy mine then?" The girl asked as she looked at Dumbledore, giving him a coy smile.
"Believe me when I say this will not end well for you.", Dumbledore warned as a feeling of suppression spread from his body causing Harry to feel lightheaded.
"Oh? You are willing to go to such an extent?" The girl said, her smile deepening.
"You've only been able to stay hidden here because you remain on no side, it would do best if you remembered this fact."
"Are you threatening me, Albus? After all I've done for you? After I worked tirelessly to help you bait out the boy who you desire to meet so much?" The girl asked with a sickening smile after she pretended to feel shocked.
Dumbledore's eyes glimmered dangerously as he looked at the girl.
"How I wish you were really here."
"Oh? Why's that? Has my charm finally started to affect you too?" The girl asked with a cruel smile. "Like it did your lover all the times before?"
Dumbledore turned silent, but his lips turned thin.
It was the first time since he'd known Dumbledore had Harry seen him angry. He could practically feel the hostility being radiated off of him. And it made him all the more worried to be close to the girl he was standing with as if he'd be caught in their crossfire.
But Dumbledore managed to control his anger quite well since he asked a simple question once again.
"The founders won't help you. But I can. You should know by now how stubborn they are about their ways."
"He~Hehe~He~ I know what I'm doing Albus. At least I'm not like you who was abandoned like an orphan. Oh?!"
Suddenly two more students, Ron and Hermione, walked into the area along with Professor Lupin but surprisingly they ignored Dumbledore, Harry and the strange girl as if they didn't exist at all and continued walking deeper into the tunnel.
After which Snape and Loki rushed into the darkness of the tunnels, similarly ignoring everyone present there.
"Looks like there are a lot of people worried about this boy….it makes me want to take him for myself even more."
"It is my protection that keeps you hidden from 'Her'." Dumbledore said with a certain finality.
"Is that a threat Albus? Are you really willing to compromise the future because of a single boy?" The girl asked in a fierce tone. Her face held a deep prominent frown and her hands clenched into fists.
"Just a reminder."
The girl's frown suddenly turned into an amusing smile as she spoke softly, "So much for your act of being the white lord…I guess darkness is the only thing that's eternal. Why don't the two of you join hands then? Aren't you becoming similar?" the girl said placing her hand on her bloated stomach.
"I mean…what do you think is faster? Me giving birth, or me losing control? 'He' is quite eager to meet you I think. 'He' hasn't been able to remain quiet ever since I told 'Him' that you need our help for your little project. Don't you Albus…aren't you planning to overthrow the founders too? Betraying them like they betrayed you?"
Albus and the girl stared at each other for quite a while before a sudden voice interrupted them both.
"Cheek~!! Who would've guessed it'd be the man-turned-girl, that was hiding behind the old man like a rat all this time."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N : Join my Patreon (p@treon.com/hooin_kyoma_au) to read 20 chapters ahead for just $3.