Heimdall Castle

[Freya Heimdall]

Freya stepped off train at the station near her family's home. While she could have apparated to within feet of her home, she prefered the quiet and restful ride on the train. It helped her decompress from the last few strange months at Hogwarts.

She looked around and spotted her father waiting for her. He was holding the hand of a young boy. Her son. He was the spitting image of his father when he was young. Blonde hair, big, bright blue eyes and a smile to melt any mother's heart. A butterfly in her stomach started to flutter as she rushed toward them. It had been months since she'd seen them and she suddenly realised how much she had missed them.

As she scooped Njord up in her arms and buried her face in his neck she said "Hi Dad, how are you?" catching some of her son's hair in her mouth. "And look at you...." she put her son down. "You've grown....when did you get so big?" A tiny tear formed in her eye. She was so glad to be home, if only for a visit.

 

[Wayland Heimdall]

"Hello, darling. We are all doing very well." He gave his daughter a hug and ruffled the hair on the young boys head. "How was your ride in?" He led them to horse drawn sleigh as he spoke. It had been winter for a while in Iceland and there was lots of snow everywhere. The air was crisp and cold but the sun shone bright and left a sparkle everywhere you looked.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

The horses pawed the ground as Freya's luggage was loaded into the back and everyone climbed in and snuggled under the fur blanket to keep warm. Freya put her arms around her son and pulled him close as she spoke to her father.

"The trip was long but peaceful. I really do need a rest after such an eventful term. I haven't even started teaching yet but am already exhausted from all the work." She laughed as she spoke. While she was tired from the past term, she had really enjoyed herself and would relay her stories to her family after they got home. She was really anxious to see her mother.

They rode through the country side in peaceful quiet. All that could be heard was the snorting horse and the crunching of snow under his hooves. After a few minutes the silence was broken by Freya. "So how is mum?"

 

[Wayland Heimdall]

Almost startled by the sound of Freya's voice he smiled at her with a twinkle in his eye. "Well you know your mother. She has been fretting for a week getting ready for you to come." Wayland liked to imagine a day when his daughter and her mother would be close but that always seemed to be a pipe dream. His role in the family always seemed to be peacemaker and he hoped this visit from Freya could be calm and without fireworks.

 

[Njord Aesir]

Before his mom could express her disbelieve at his grandma being excited about her arrival, Njord interrupted the grown ups with questions of his own.

"Mum, What were the kids like at school?" Njord had been living with his grandparents for so long and living up at the castle without other children around that he was anxious for any talk of people his own age. He was also hoping his mother would discuss his entrance to Hogwarts New Zealand next year. He really wanted to be around other kids and his mother on a more regular basis.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

"Oh sweetie." Freya said kissing his head. "The students are quite wonderful. Perhaps a little mischievious at times but over all pretty good." She wondered if she should tell him about being attacked with nosebleed nougat the evening of the halloween feast. Perhaps not, she wasn't sure how he would react if he thought his mum might be in danger, even slightly.

Her son had grown up without a father and while he was never told the circumstances surrounding his father's death, she felt he already knew some of it. They travelled along for another 15minutes. Rounding a very large bend, the castle came into view. Freya's home was a large classic castle with more rooms then anyone would need. Her family had lived in the castle for generations. Her distant relative, Gustav Heimdall the Great built it in the 14th century for the love his life.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Freya got more butterflies as they approached the main entrance of the castle. She knew her mother would be waiting there with her arms folded and her usual disapproving scowl on her face. Nothing Freya did was ever good enough for her mother. Everything she did was wrong in her mother's eyes. As much as she was glad to be home, she would have prefered it to be just her father and her son.

As predicted, Nanna Heimdall was waiting at the front entrance with a couple of butlers to carry the luggage and packages into the house that Freya had brought.
"Hello mother." Freya said, giving polite pecks on each cheek to her mother.

 

[Nanna Heimdall]

"Hello dear." Her mother said coldly to her daughter. Accepting the tiny kisses from her only child, "You've let your hair grow....shame, it looks so nice short."

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Whether that was an insult or a compliment on her previous look, Freya could never tell. "Yes mother, I like it longer....I'm sorry if you don't." Freya constantly felt 12yrs old everytime she was around her mother. She was a grown woman with a child of her own and still her mother made her feel like an incompetent child everytime they were together.

 

[Nanna Heimdall]

Nanna ignored her daughter's remark and directed her staff to put the luggage in Freya's old room. Once they were gone, the family headed inside to the drawing room where a fire was aglow and the room was cozy.

Polite conversation ensued while refreshments were handed out to all. Freya sipped her pumpkin juice and snuggled some more with her son. Sadly the domestic contentment was disturbed by Nanna. "So...are you still hung up on teaching as your career, or have you come to your senses yet?"

 

[Freya Heimdall]

"Oh mother, for goodness sake, I've been here all of 10minutes, can you please hold off on your criticisms until after I've settled in." Freya knew it was coming but would have liked to have enjoyed a few moments of peace before getting into the many things that disappointed her mother.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Several days later, Freya entered the drawing room with a book she wanted to read. Njord had gone for a ride on his horse around the grounds, so Freya only found her mother and father in there chatting quietly.

"Hello." She said as she sat on a chair near the fire. Castles were nice but drafty and damp in the winter. A fire was constantly buring in the main rooms to keep it warm and cozy. "I hope I'm not disturbing. I just thought I'd do some reading."

Settling down in the chair, she opened her book. Sadly she didn't get far into it when her mother spoke up.

 

[Nanna Heimdall]

"There is something your father and I would like to discuss with you, darling." Nanna Heimdall was usually fairly transparent in her language. This comment meant that there was something she was going to tell Freya and she would fully expect her daughter to comply without question.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Freya placed her book on the table beside her and put her hands in her lap. She looked at her parents and replied, "Yes, what is it?" She knew full well what the subject would be. Njord.

 

[Nanna Heimdall]

"My dear, your father and I would like to have Njord tutored at home next year. We don't feel he should be at Hogwarts with you. He would be much safer at home here."
And there it was. Nanna had stated it more as a fact then a question or a suggestion. And Freya could be assured that a tutor had already been found and hired and would probably already have a visit scheduled for just after Freya left.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Freya would have looked astonished, if she had been surprised by her mothers comment but alas this was not a surprise.

"Mother, I don't think that is really up to you. I'm his mother and I'll be at the school to protect him if something should happen. Besides, Hogwarts is most likely a lot safer then this old castle."

Freya folded her arms and took a stance that was close to that of a 12yr old. Her lip pouted slightly but she was determined that her mother would not win this developing argument.

 

[Nanna Heimdall]

"Well my dear, I think it is more up to me then you realize. Your father and I have been raising Njord while you traipse all over the world doing research and I think we know what is better for him then you do."

Nanna's voice raised slightly and took on an angry tone. It was true that they had been looking after Njord. But Nanna had no idea what her daughter had really been up to over the past few years with her research.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Nanna's comment cut Freya to the quick. She knew her duties as a mother had lapsed in the past few years but it wasn't because she was spending her time researaching runes as her parents had thought.

"Mother you have no idea what I've been doing these past few years. And I think as his mother, I know better what is in Njords best interest." Freya got up and walked around the room. With her back to her parents a tear slid down her cheek. Forcefully wiping it away, she turned to her parents, "Njord, will be going to Hogwarts with me next year and that is that!" The words spat out of her mouth and she turned and stomped out of the room.

 

[Wayland Heimdall]

Taking a sip of his drink and turning to his wife, Wayland calmly stated, "Well...that didn't go very well now, did it?" He stood up from the sofa they had been sitting on and crossed the room to the sideboard to pour another drink.

 

[Nanna Heimdall]

"Well how could it? You were no bloody help." Nanna crossed her arms in a very similar way to her daughters. "And what did she mean about what she had been doing in the last few years? She's been doing research hasn't she?"

 

[Wayland Heimdall]

Wayland knew full well what his daughter had been doing but was not about to share that knowledge with his wife. Things were heated enough right now with Njord's up bringing. Adding Freya's exploints over the last few years would really not be a good idea. Nanna would never understand Freya's unrelenting need to know who killed her husband and the father of her child. Wayland didn't like the dangerousness of it, but could understand her feelings.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

The holiday's had finally come to an end. While she enjoyed spending time with her son and father, the interaction with her mother was not at all pleasant. As she made her way to the train station alone she thought about the conversation she had had with her parents about Njord. She needed him to be with her finally and she knew keeping him cooped up in the castle, while probably safe was not the best thing for him mentally. He needed to be around other children and learning to interact and learn with his peers. She also knew the battle with her mother was not over yet. Her mother was just as strong willed as she was and she knew Nanna would not let it go. But there was plenty of time to deal with that.

Freya's main concern now as trying to find the man who killed her husband. Her search had finally led her to the last man in the long list of death eaters who was responsible for his death. If only she could figure out who he was. She only had a name and a location. Beyond that her search had hit a brick wall. She may need to seek help but that was against her character to do that. She would find him eventually, and he would pay for what he did. Just like the others.