Disclaimer: We own nothing!

Chapter 8

Jade sighed to herself. She was nearly nine, and her dad had still not proposed to Pepper! Was she going to have to lock them in a room together with a ring or something? That was sounding like a good idea to the nearly nine year old.

Jade heard the sound of her dad and Pepper coming into the house laughing. Jade frowned. They were early. They were never this early coming back from a date. She was about to make herself scarce, just in case she saw something mentally scaring, when they entered the living room.

"Jade!" Tony said happily. "We have some great news to tell you!"

"What's that?" She asked wearily. Good news could be anything...

"Your father finally plucked up the courage and proposed." Pepper said smiling. "We're getting married!"

"Finally! I've been waiting for this to happen since I was seven!" She said, jumping up, and running over, hugging both of them at the same time.

Tony lifted her up, laughing and she found herself being hugged by the both of them. This was amazing!

Jade looked at Pepper. "Does this mean I can call you mummy now?"

Pepper tightened her hold on Jade. "Of course you can sweetheart!" she said, her smile widening.

Jade grinned. Her birthday had just come early!

Jade was out on the grounds, sitting under one of the trees, her back to it, so she was looking towards the wall and over that, the hills. It had been two days since her daddy and mummy had come home, and told her they were getting married. And she was still on a high.

She heard someone sit down beside her, and looked round to see Loki.

"Loki!" She said happily, before hugging him.

He laughed, and ruffled her hair. "Hello Jade. I can't stop long; I just came to see how you were doing. Made any progress with the dream walking?"

Loki called it that because not only could her spirit leave her body and visit other places, but also she found herself in the dreams of others.

"I've managed to will myself to a couple of places. I think I shocked Thor when I ended up in Asguard!"

Loki laughed, before sobering. "I trust you haven't told him that I have been helping you with your talent?"

She shook her head. "I said I was working on it on my own." She said. He'd been coming to see her since they'd first met her, but secretly. He didn't know how his brother would react. Well, he did, he just didn't admit it to Jade.

Loki nodded. "Good. So, how are you doing?"

"Great! Daddy finally proposed to Pepper, and now, I can call her mummy!"

Loki smiled at the girl he'd taken under his wing. He knew that she'd wanted to call the mortal woman mother for years. For her to get that would make her happy beyond belief.

At first, he'd just wanted to find out how she could dream walk, but he'd found no reason for it. Instead, he'd discovered that she was a natural prankster, and loved mischief. He had fun teaching her what he knew. Plus, he was pretty sure that she was a witch who was of extreme importance. With her, he'd be able to have fun causing all sorts of trouble for both sides of the war in Britain. Plus, when Thor and the mortals he now worked alongside finally found out he'd been teaching Jade on the sly, their expressions and reactions should be priceless! Perhaps Thor's would be even funnier than the time he'd told him that to get Mjollnir back from Thrym he'd have to dress in one of Freyja's gowns and a veil to fool the giant…

He stood. "Well, Jade, I had better go. I'll see you soon, little one."

"Bye Loki!" She said, smiling.

Loki grinned, before disappearing.

Eleven year old Jade looked up from her computer as her mum entered the room. "Jade, there's someone here to see you." Pepper said to her adopted daughter.

"Who?"

"A Professor McGonagall. She says she's from the British school of Magic, Hogwarts."

"The school my birth mother went to?"

"Yes." Pepper said.

"May as well here what she has to say." Jade said, standing up, and walking away from her computer and out of her room, besides her mum.

In the living room, she saw a stern looking woman whose hair was pulled into a tight bun. Her dad was sitting opposite her, so Jade and Pepper joined him on the sofa.

"Hello Professor." She said. She was no longer shy around strangers, due to a lot of hard work from the large number who cared for her.

"Hello Jade. I must say, you've grown a lot since I last saw you."

"We've met?"

"When you were one." McGonagall said. "You look amazingly like your mother, but I can't seem to see much of James…"

"That would be because she is my daughter biologically." Tony said. "I met Lily when she came over on a scholarship. She excelled quickly, and we ended up working together closely, and becoming close friends. The night before she left, we got drunk… I don't think I need to go further. But James did adopt Jade as his daughter when she was born, so… I don't think he was too pissed after a while."

"I- can't believe it." McGonagall said, stunned. "How… Oh, and you were left with those terrible muggles when Lily and James were killed!" she seemed to be fuming, but then she calmed. "Well, that doesn't matter now. I had better get back to why I am here."

"Yes, why are you here?" Tony asked.

"To offer Jade a place at Hogwarts, of course!" McGonagall said.

A/N: Sorry for the time jump, but the plot needs moving along. So, what do you think? Review please!