The Daughter

Caia had stayed with them after that, but in a room on the floor below. She fit well with the large group, being a source of (patient) information on the magical world for Tony and also Bruce, both of whom were extremely curious about it. Natasha and Clint had drilled her for information on potential threats to expand on S.H.I.E.L.D's database and files and she was more than happy to spar with them. She was also able to spar with Thor, Loki and Steve, her strength being above that of a normal humans meaning she was able to hold her own against them. She was also able to offer Steve contacts to people she knew that had been alive during the second world war who he may have crossed paths with and not realised their supernatural nature. All of the adults there noticed her and Loki growing closer, and so did Kysa, who decided to put locking them in a room together to one side for now, seeing as they were making good progress on their own. And Kysa herself had grown more and more attached to Caia as September drew closer. She seriously hoped that she wouldn’t just leave after Kysa went to Hogwarts. She really was falling into seeing the Kitsune woman as a mother figure. Which was why, the night before she was due to board the Hogwarts Express, she sat herself down next to Caia.

“Caia?” She asked her, and saw her ear’s twitch towards her, before the blonde turned her violet eyes onto the young girl.

“Yes, Kysa?” She asked.

“You know when I go to Hogwarts, is it alright if I write to you?”

“Sure it is.” Caia replied, smiling at her. “You can write to me at any time you want.”

Kysa grinned and hugged Caia around the waist. “Thank you.”

“Any time. Now, seeing as there’s no one else hogging the TV, how about we put a film on?”

“Yeah.” Kysa said, before she hopped up. She had soon put on ‘The Golden Compass’ and it soon ended up that, when Aaric and Amdis joined them, the three children fell asleep, Kysa leaning against Caia, Amdis curled into Kysa’s side, and Aaric somehow hugging both his little sister and his cousin.

Loki grinned at the sight. “You are good with them, you know.”

“I have a large family, and loads of little cousins. How to handle kids kind of becomes second nature after a while.” She looked down at the three. “Help me unwind them. We should get them to bed.”

“Hang on. I will go get Thor and Jane. Otherwise we will have to leave one of them here for a few minutes. Then Norns help us if they wake up when there is no adult to supervise.”

“Don’t tell me that the god of mischief is afraid of a couple of children.”

“You have not been there while they have grown up. Trust me. You need to watch them carefully most of the time.”

“Or next thing you know they’re sneaking out?” Caia teased.

“Exactly.” Soon, he had Thor and Jane, and they were unwinding the children and carrying them to their rooms, where they put them to bed.

Caia watched from the door as Loki tucked Kysa into bed, and kissed her forehead, right on top of the curious lightning shaped scar. He was definitely a very good father, adoptive or no.

“How did she get that scar?” Caia asked, when he’d closed the door behind himself.

“I do not know. It was there when I saw her for the first time, so however it happened, it happened in Sigyn’s care.” He shook his head as they sat by the bar. Their tones were low, so the others wouldn’t hear their conversation. “I am not even sure I am doing the right thing by sending her into Sigyn’s reach.”

“You don’t need to worry about losing your daughter Loki. Trust me; she’s too much of a daddy’s girl for that. But I think this might be good for her. I haven’t known any of you for long, but I think this will give her a chance to grow on her own. It’ll give her a chance to stand on her own without you or the rest of her family hovering over her.”

“Hover? I do-”

“Yes you do. You’re very protective of her. Admit it. Given the chance you’d probably go to Hogwarts with her, wouldn’t you?”

“There might be problems there- especially with the Potters.”

“Exactly my point. You’d jump at the chance to be able to go there and keep an eye on her, and if you did, she’d know you were there to watch out for her. She wouldn’t learn what it was like to be without you or someone from her family for extended periods of time. And that is something everyone needs to learn at some point.”

He sighed. “You are right. I just never stopped being protective of her.”

“No parent- or at least no good parent- stops being protective of their child to some extent. You just need to get used to the idea that she’s starting to grow up now.”

“She is still just a child.”

“Not for long. Soon, you’ll have a teenager on your hands. Mood swings, boys and all.”

“The first one I can deal with- the second is a completely different story. Any boy comes near her and they will wish they were food for Fenrir.”

She shook her head, smiling softly. “They all say that- and most of the time end up walking their daughter down the aisle.”

He shook his head. “Not for another century at least.”

“She may surprise you.”

The next morning, Kysa woke early again. Not trying to be quiet, she ran into her dad’s room, jumped on the bed, waking him up, jumped off the bed, and ran back out of the room to get ready for the day ahead. Loki blinked at the wide open door that the blur had just disappeared through. He was sure it had been Kysa…

Kysa grabbed her school shirt and skirt deciding that it looked normal enough to pass in the ordinary mortal world. No one would look at her twice- unless they noticed that Tony was there too. But then they’d just be looking at Tony, so it didn’t really matter. She packed the last remaining things that had been left out of her trunk, and was ready. When she’d dragged her trunk outside, she saw the others were now waking up. However, Thor had just come in, and had a ball of fur in his hands.

“What’s that father?” Aaric asked.

“A gift for Kysa from your grandparents.” He smiled widely as he handed over the small black leopard cub (or that was what it seemed to be, but she could sense its magic) to Kysa. “She will make a good familiar for you.”

“Oh she’s so cute! I have to write them a letter saying thank you!” So, while she was waiting for the others to be ready to go down to breakfast, she wrote a thank you letter to her grandparents, the cub curled on her lap.

At breakfast, she placed the cub on the space between her and Aaric and gave it a small plate with meat on and a bowl of water. She was still trying to decide on the name for the cat, but by the time they had all finished breakfast, she had settled on Rhan.

After breakfast, her dad took her to one side and pulled out a box. “Keep it on at all times. If something happens, it will alert me.”

“What do you mean, ‘if something happens’?”

“I do not trust the Potters. They will try something. If they try to take you somewhere against your will, no matter what wards they put you behind, I will be able to find you. I know you were worried about it too, so this will ease both our worries. And, no matter what happens, it will also serve as a reminder to you that you will always be my daughter.”

She opened the box to see a gold Oroborous snake bracelet with emerald eyes. She put it on and hugged him. “Thank you dad.”

“It is alright.” He said, hugging her back. “Now, come on, if I am not mistaken, the taxis are here.”

The trip to the train station was uneventful. Thankfully, Caia knew how to access the platform and had told them how to get on to it, and was accompanying them too.

The non magicals had to be accompanied by those with some form of magic however, so Caia and the family from Asgard dispersed among the others and guided them through.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was packed with people. Bright colours were everywhere and so was the noise of the hustle and bustle of both people and animals. Rhan was in a cat carrier that had been conjured for her and was beginning to mewl in protest at her accommodations. Kysa wanted to get her familiar out, but knew it would have to wait until she was on the train. Rhan could raise a few eyebrows and attract attention if people realised what she was.

She hugged her cousins first, and Amdis started to cry. “I don’t want you to go!”

“I’ll be back for Yule, I promise.” Kysa told her cousin. “And I’ll write all the time and tell you all about it. It’ll fly by, and seem as if I haven’t been gone that long at all.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Take care of yourself cousin!” Aaric said, hugging her tightly.

“I will.” She grinned at him.

“Be good. Have fun, and do not be afraid to show that you have the strength of the Ӕsir if anyone tries to give you any trouble.” Thor said.

“I won’t Uncle Thor.” She said, before hugging him and then her Aunt Jane. She then hugged the other Avengers and Pepper, before she hugged Caia.

“Remember what I said. You can write any time you want.” Caia said.

“I’ll remember Caia.”

“Good.” Caia smiled and ruffled Kysa’s hair.

Kysa flattened her hair back down, before throwing herself at her father for one final hug before she left.

“Be careful.” He told her quietly as he hugged her. “And make sure you do well in your studies. But have fun. And if you have any problems, even something trivial, write. If not to me, to someone else who could help, even if it is just to listen to you rant.”

Kysa nodded. “I’m going to miss you dad.”

“And I you, little one. And if I hear even one whisper that any boy has approached you in any way that is more than friendly, I will be there before anyone has the chance to warn him to run.”

“Then I won’t write about any boyfriends in a letter then.” She said, smiling, knowing that it would irk him no end.

“Do not make me rethink this option. I am sure we could find you a private tutor.”

“Oh fine. No boyfriends. I get it. I’m too young anyway.” She scrunched up her nose.

“Exactly. Now, I think you should go find a compartment.” Just as he said it, the whistle blew. He helped her onto the train and Thor picked up her trunk and placed it next to her. “Write tomorrow so we know you got there safe. Either Hugin or Munin should be there to take your letter. If you use an owl-”

“And you’re home in Asgard, you’ll never get the letter. I know. Midgardian owls, even the magical ones, can’t cross to Asgard. You’ve told me about a hundred times already dad.”

He nodded, smiling slightly. Kysa closed the door, just in time, and the train began to pull out of the station. When she could no longer see them, she grabbed her trunk and began searching for a compartment. She found Hermione sitting in one on her own. She opened the door, smiling. “Mind if I sit here?” She asked.

Hermione looked up from a book on Runes and smiled. “Kysa! Of course, go ahead!” With ease, Kysa placed her trunk on the rack, and then sat down, before letting Rhan out of her carrier, and banishing it.

“Is that a leopard?”

“Yes. Her name’s Rhan. She’s a gift off my grandparents. She’s my familiar.”

“Is she a true familiar?”

“Not yet. The bond still hasn’t completed. It will be by tomorrow morning though. It needs twenty four hours.”

“Oh I see. That information wasn’t included in the chapter I found on it… so, what house do you think you will be in?”

“I’m not sure. But, I’m pretty sure that I can rule out Gryffindor. While I’m no coward, bravery isn’t a domineering trait. I follow my father, not my uncle. And I know, while my dad said that he doesn’t care, I don’t think he’d be entirely happy if I was a Gryffindor. I heard him muttering a couple of times about reckless idiots with nothing but the glory of battle on their minds. What about you?”

“I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad.” Hermione said. “With the way I read, and all.”

Kysa nodded. “Yes. There is that. But, I guess we will just have to wait and see. Now, I’m sure you’ve had plenty of time to come up with a list of questions to interrogate me with since we met in Diagon Alley.”

“As a matter of fact, I have.” Hermione began.

And so, the train journey passed. When the food trolley came along, they bought some snacks to keep them going, but other than that, they were uninterrupted as they got to know each other and Hermione got to learn about the truth behind the myths. It was dark by the time the train pulled up in Hogsmede station, and the two first years, who had their full uniform on now, got off the train with all the other students. Rhan was in Kysa’s arms, mewling in response to the sounds of the other animals this time. Then, they saw a giant of a man looming, and Kysa tensed, thinking he may have been one of the Jotuns, but he looked nothing like them, and he was calling;

“Firs’ years over ‘ere! Firs’ years to me!” And the older students weren’t batting an eye, so she relaxed slightly. The giant led them to boats and she and Hermione ended up sharing with a chubby boy and an Irish boy who introduced themselves as Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan. And then they got their first look at Hogwarts.