The Daughter

Loki entered the hospital wing and immediately spotted the cordoned off area. None of the other beds were occupied so he walked towards it and stepped behind the screens.

“Reindeer Games, there you are!” Tony said.

Loki paid him no mind, however. His daughter looked as ill as Aaric and Amdis had when they had been deep into the illness. He moved forward and placed his hand on Kysa’s forehead, sending out some magic to check her status, before changing it to channel some strength into her along with some healing spells.

“She hasn’t woken up since this morning. Lily Potter came in, and Kysa tried to get up when telling her that she wasn’t her daughter.” Caia said. “It took quite a bit of energy from her.”

Loki nodded. “She is getting worse quickly. I need to get started on the potion to help her recover. You have done well by keeping her cool. If I could ask you to continue to do so?”

“Of course. And we’ll keep an eye on her too.” Caia nodded.

“You go get started.” Tony waved a hand. “We’ll man the fort.”

“Need any help?” Bruce asked.

“I think I can manage Doctor Banner.” Loki said. He worked on the potion in the corner of the room, where he could still keep an eye on what was happening, but where the fumes and the heat from the potion wouldn’t affect Kysa.

The potion was nearly finished several hours later when Lily Potter entered the hospital wing. “You!” She hissed at Loki. “You attacked my husband.”

“It was his own fault. You should know how I am, Lily. If someone threatens those I care about, I do something about it.”

“James would never threaten Kysa.”

“But he would try and take my place as her father.” Loki said. “I would leave, if I were you. I am seriously contemplating pulling her out of Hogwarts. There are plenty of other schools after all. That you were planning on keeping me unaware of this means I am leaning on that option. You could have killed my daughter. Except she has some excellent friends.”

Lily paled and her eyes widened slightly, before she composed herself and nodded, before leaving. If he pulled Kysa out of Hogwarts, that would see any chance they had of making a relationship of parent/daughter with Kysa blasted to smithereens.

Loki administered the potion and re-cooled the sheets. “Now all we can do is wait.” He said.

“Wouldn’t you be able to keep her cooler?” Tony asked. “You know, if you went all blue.”

Loki simply raised an eyebrow at the way Tony said it. “Once again, Stark, you prove you cannot be subtle.”

“Oh you know what I mean!” Tony huffed.

“A child would know what you meant.” But, he did note that it was a very good idea. They watched as his skin turned blue and eyes became red, markings appearing on his face. Loki sat on the bed alongside Kysa and pulled her into a hug. The contact caused her skin to become blue as well, but a far lighter colour, with less prominent markings, highlighting the fact that she was only half Jotun.

They were undisturbed for a while, until Tony said, “Jeez, where do you go to get food in this place?”

All of a sudden, several small creatures appeared, carrying trays laden with dishes.

“Good service.” Was all Tony could say, stunned.

“They’re House Elves, Tony. Hogwarts probably has the largest contingent here, to cook clean and look after the castle.” Caia explained. He nodded in acceptance and they all accepted the food supplied.

Two days later, Kysa woke up, feeling groggy and her limbs feeling heavy. “Daddy?” She asked blearily.

Loki let out a small sigh of relief that she had woken up, having returned to his usual, pale form a few hours beforehand. He had given her several doses of the healing potion and been sure to keep her cool, but that was as much as he really could do. It was up to her to get better. But if she had woken up, then she would be fine.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Aching.” She mumbled, curling into him. “How long have you been here?”

“Two days. You were asleep the whole time.” He answered her. “Tony was here too, but had to return to New York. Bruce and Caia are still here, however.”

“How are Aaric and Amdis?” She asked.

“They are well. You should not worry about them, when you need to recover yourself.”

“The Potter’s haven’t come in, have they?”

“Lily Potter came in once. She is staying away, however. All it took was threatening to pull you out of Hogwarts, and enrolling you in another school.”

She yawned. “That’s good.” She said, closing her eyes.

“Do not fall asleep yet. You need another dose of the potion, just to be on the safe side, now you have woken up.”

She nodded and forced her eyes to remain open as he grabbed a vial from the bedside table. Loki helped her drink it and she grimaced at the taste. “Can I go back to sleep now daddy?” She asked.

“Now you can.” He said, wrapping his arms round her and running a hand through her hair. “Do not worry about a thing, little one. Just recover.”

It took yet another two days for Kysa to come anywhere near to being well again, but by that time she was able to remain awake for several hours at a time, which reassured Loki that she wouldn’t slip back into the illness.

“We need to talk about your schooling,” Loki said, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing Kysa.

“Are you withdrawing me? I have friends here dad.”

“I am aware of that, which is why, for now, you can stay here. However, the moment I suspect something is wrong, if they try anything, then I will pull you out of this school. Salem, I know, is a day school for most, so you would be able to stay at the tower during week days and travel to school, and come home on the weekends, an option I prefer. But I am willing to allow you to remain with your new friends for now, so long as the Potters do not attempt anything to try and step in as your family.”

“How will you know?”

“Because of me, princess.” Kysa looked round to see Sif entering the ward and grinned.

“Lady Sif!”

The warrior goddess smiled and bowed slightly to her. “I volunteered to come here and keep an eye on things and protect you. I have been told of the attempt they made earlier in the term. They should not do so again with me present.”

“I also have a plan to ensure that, should they decide to get the ministry involved, we will already have an advantage,” Loki said.

“What’s that?”

Loki smiled. “I had to convince your grandfather of course, but it will be worth it,” he told her, before he informed her and Sif of the coming plans.

Loki, Caia and Bruce remained at Hogwarts until Kysa was able to return to classes. Sif had been given quarters next to the Slytherin dormitories and had been given access to the common room so she could come and go as she wished when checking on Kysa.

Before he left however, Loki decided to pay Dumbledore a visit. “How can I help you?” The old mortal asked. He seemed to be a benign grandfather figure, but Loki could see the steel glint in his eyes. This man did not like him at all.

“I am aware that you helped, perhaps even suggested, that the Potter’s give Kysa up,” Loki began.

“Never with the intention that she would not return. Your actions are hurting a family. I implore you to let her go back to her real family.”

“Let her? Kysa does nothing she does not wish to. She wants to remain my daughter, so she does,” He smiled, but there was no humour in it. “And every day I am glad that the Potters can see what they have missed out on. They gave her up, and now they, seemingly, regret it. The attempts of you and the Potter’s to get Kysa to re-join the Potter family have failed so far and if any more are made, they will fail too. Kysa is happy where she is. As my daughter. Should any more of those attempts be made, however, they will never see Kysa again. I will pull her out of this school. Should anything happen to Kysa by your hand, or any others such as the Potters, my family is quite willing to declare blood feuds, which, considering our status, and yours, would quickly escalate into a war. I am sure you do not want that.”

“We never meant to search out war. I was only concerned with the happiness of Kysa and her family.”

“They are not her family. And what you have been trying to do has not helped her happiness. If you were successful, you would be condemning her, not helping her. Stay away from my daughter. She has a family already, and it is not the Potters.” He stood and turned.

“And if she wanted to stay?”

He stopped, hand itching for a knife to bury in the old man. “Should that happen, I would know something had been done to her mind. The first thing I would do was ensure the best healers treated her. And then search out whoever had placed the spell on her.” With that, Loki turned and left the room.

Kysa was waiting for him in the entrance hall, looking worried. When she saw him, she went up and hugged him. She may be better, but she was still building her energy back up. What would have been a flying hug before, was now just a hug. “Is everything going to be alright?”

“It should be. You know, you can leave if you want to.”

“I know. But I want to stay with my friends. I don’t know what the rest of the house would do if I left. Especially to Hermione.”

“It would be easy enough to help them transfer as well.”

Kysa smiled. “It could be harder than you think.”

“I suppose it would,” he said, running a hand through his daughter’s hair. “You will be safe now that Sif is here, as well as your familiar. You simply need to get better.”

“I’m almost there. Strong enough to attend classes at least.”

“If you were not, I would not be leaving.”

“I’m going to miss you dad. I can’t wait for Christmas.”

“It is not that far away now, little one. I will always come if you need me. You are my daughter.”

She smiled up at him.