Heimdall Castle

[Freya Heimdall]

Freya sat by the fireplace reading the latest edition of Runes Monthly. It hadn't peaked her interest though and she found her mind wandering. She took out the last note she had received regarding her murdering the death eater and examined it carefully. The same questions ran over in her mind again and again. Who wrote these notes? What did they want from her? Why were they trying to scare her?

She had been home several days already but had yet to find time to speak to her father about it. He was the only one she could talk to about this, as the other men involved were certainly not her friends. She hoped she would be able to see her father soon after he arrived back from Sweden tomorrow.

 

[Njord Aesir]

Several days later, in the kitchen at the great house, Njord found his mother sitting alone drinking peppermint tea. "Mother, can we talk?"

He watched her put down her paper and put her hands in her lap. "Of course," she said.

Taking a deep breath Njord began, "Mother, I don't want to go back to New Zealand after the holidays. I hate it there. I have no friends and I miss the ones I made in Scotland." Njord took another breath and continued, "I want to go to Scotland with Alice when this holiday is over. Please!"

It was true. Njord had not been able to make any friends while he was at school and he had had so many in Scotland. The people were so different. There were so many cliques that he just didn't find anyone he could connect with or who had anything in common with him.

He watched his mother's face as he spoken. When it was over she sipped her tea and told him that she would think about it. He saw the hurt in her eyes when he said he hated it and while he didn't want to upset her, he really didn't want to spend another minute friendless and jealous of all the other people he found walking in groups and talking or joking.

He bowed his head as his mother dismissed him and hoped that she would understand and send him back to Scotland.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Freya spent the next few days pondering what Njord had asked. She understood that he was having problems making friends. She herself felt detached from the other Professors and had never really bonded with anyone. She occasionally wondered now that her journey to find Tyr's killer was over, what her purpose was anymore. She had come to New Zealand looking for something. She found it and now there was nothing tying her there any longer. She didn't have to work, her family was wealthy enough and she would much rather spend her time wandering the world, excavating new found archaeological sites. This was something she might not be able to decide on in the time she had for holiday. Perhaps Njord would compromise, she thought to herself. Perhaps they could both stick it out for one more semester and decide over the summer holidays what they would do.

 

[Freya Heimdall]

Things at home were not going as Freya had planned. She wanted to speak to her father about the black mailer but he had to take an emergency trip to Sweden to help out a family friend. Her mother was no help, she had no idea what Freya had been up to the past 10yrs. And now Njord was begging not to go back to New Zealand.
The only bright side to the whole trip home was the friend he brought with him. She was a delightful girl who had a keen interest in Runes and Freya had spent several hours chatting with her about them and the history. She had even expressed an interest in teaching them when she graduated from Hogwarts Scotland. It had turned out she attended New Zealand for a year or two but sadly Freya did not recognize her.

As she sat in the drawing room that rainy Sunday afternoon thinking about all that she had accomplished this year so far and what she had to look forward to, a tear ran down her face. In her hand was the last picture of her husband, taken just days before his murder.

He had been the love of her life and he was taken from her. Never again would she feel the warmth of his hand in hers or the sweet smell of his neck when they embraced. She missed him so terribly. She wanted so much to have one last kiss. But that was never to be. This sadness was more then she could bare sometimes and while he had been gone so many years, time did not heal this wound. If only she knew what would, she would gladly do it. A spell, a charm, a potion, something to take away the hurt, but there was nothing.

 

[Njord Aesir]

Njord opened the lid of his trunk and began to toss items into it, rather roughly. His mother had told him that he needed to try one more semester, finish out the year and then see if things didn't change. When he had asked if after that he could go back to school with Alice, she said nothing. Which Njord knew meant no.
Why the blazes won't she let me go back to my own school. Njord stomped around his room some more slamming cupboards and drawers. For my own good, she says, what does she know about what's good for me. It's not like she raised me! Njord dumped the final things he needed into his truck and slammed the lid closed. He hoped his mother would hear him. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs and cry but Alice was just down the hall and he didn't want her to hear him cry. Anger was okay but not crying. Boys don't cry, according to his grandfather, and his grandfather knew better then anyone about what real men did. If my father were here, he sniffed He'd let me go to whatever school I wanted! I know he would. Not knowing his father Njord always made him out to be his hero. He could make him do or say anything he wanted because to him, his father was all in his head. A figment of his imagination. He had a father but when he died Njord was too little to remember anything about him. His pictures always showed a strong handsome man, with a bright smile. Njord knew, or rather believed that the man in the pictures would always support him and let him do whatever he wanted! Why does my life suck so much! was his final comment as he walked out of his room and slammed the door one last time for good measure!