Chapter Text
It was late one Saturday night that a man dressed in black made his way down the long, winding driveway of the house known to the residents of Little Hangleton as Riddle Manor.
To anyone watching, the man would have seemed unsightly. His skin, stretched thin over his face and arms was a white that almost glowed in the dark. He had no nose, but instead two slits to serve as nostrils, and his eyes were blood red, flashing through the darkness, in a way that many would describe as ‘demonic’.
And indeed, he was known to the residents of the village as ‘The Demon of Riddle Manor’, who came to haunt it after the previous owners, the Riddle family, were murdered unexpectedly. The parents would tell stories to their children of how the Demon never left the Manor and feasted on the blood of naughty children — that he would come to take the children if they misbehaved.
Those stories served a great purpose, and visitors to the village of Little Hangleton, many of whom were simply passing through, often remarked that they found the children exceptionally polite and well-behaved. It was a point of pride for the small community, even as they feared what the man living in the Manor could do. Rumor among the older generation of the village said that he was a magical wizard trained in black magic, and a vampire, and he killed the Riddle family himself to satisfy an old grudge.
However, that Saturday night was Halloween. The children, dressed as ghosts in bedsheets, or skeletons with bones painted on black shirts, were running between the houses with gleeful shouts, collecting sweets and chocolate, their parents following along behind. And so, no one turned their eyes to the old Manor on the hill, or saw the man, the Demon himself, as he reached the end of the driveway and disappeared into thin air with a small ‘crack’ that was lost to the wind.
The same man appeared on the street of Godric’s Hollow slightly after eleven o’clock. The street was mostly dark — the only light came from the streetlamp at the end of the road and the lights inside a few of the houses — and, unlike Little Hangleton, silent. No children ran along Godric’s Hollow, knocking on doors for sweets long past their bedtime; mostly out of respect for the older residents who lived there, and would very likely be asleep at this time of night.
The man, who was now known to a select few living persons as Tom Riddle, and to the rest of the world by the name he had fashioned for himself: Lord Voldemort, took his time wandering along the street he had seen many, many times before.
But this time would be different; for a house on that street that had not existed before was now very visible.
Lord Voldemort smiled to himself as he walked. His spy had earlier that week finally disclosed the location of the family he had been hunting, and it was time for him to eliminate the threat to his success, as was foretold in the prophecy reported by another spy for the Dark Lord, Severus Snape.
The prophecy, which had come from the mouth of a woman descended from a line of reputable seers, had described a child born at the end of July that would have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort, and he simply could not stand by and allow that prophecy to be fulfilled.
No, he would kill that child, who had to be either the Longbottom boy, or one of the Potter twins. And, judging by the fact the Potters had gone into hiding by the time Lord Voldemort heard the prophecy, it was to be the latter.
For the sake of continuity, as Voldemort told himself, both of the Potter twins would end up dead, and his most loyal follower, Bellatrix Black, would take care of the Longbottom boy with a team of her own choosing. She had declared it would be done tonight; Voldemort would visit Longbottom Manor after his own little mission was over just to make sure things had gone to plan.
And once the threats were nonexistent, he would overthrow the ministry, and take control of Wizarding Britain, followed shortly by the rest of the world.
But for now, he swung open the gate to the Potter house on Godric’s Hollow with a wave of his hand, and continued up the garden path.
With a bang , the front door flew open, his wand slipping into his hand. A shout and the sound of footsteps rang through the house, and then James Potter ran into the hallway, facing Lord Voldemort with a glare and no wand at all.
What a waste of time.
The man was out cold in a second, the red blast of a silent stunning spell having hit him in the chest. The body hit the floor.
Lord Voldemort stepped over Potter’s limp form, and began to climb the stairs, his snakeskin boots sinking into the dark carpet that he couldn’t quite tell the color of, as the hallway lights were off. The hall upstairs held a cabinet at the end, and a few landscape paintings on the walls, and was otherwise bare. There were four doors, all closed, but a small wave of his wand revealed, as he walked past them, that the first three were not the room he was looking for.
The final room was at first glance very obviously a nursery. The walls were painted a light colour and there were little handprint paintings all over the walls. On the far side of the room were two cots, and in front of them stood Lily Potter. She turned around when he entered the room and raised the wand in her hand to point it at his face, fury blazing in her bright green eyes.
At least she was smart enough to face an intruder with her wand in hand , unlike her husband.
But he had no time to deal with over-protective mothers, and stunned her before she could react.
As soon as the body hit the floor, the baby in the left cot began to wail loudly. Her sister sat in silence, regarding Voldemort with a cold stare that seemed unnatural for a child of her age. The first child kept on wailing, but a short look from Voldemort passed her off as an ordinary child; brown hair, brown eyes, obnoxiously loud and annoying. That brat’s cot read ‘Rose Anne Potter’ on the headboard, and the other cot read ‘Ivy Elena Potter’.
Ivy, the quiet child, was quiet for a long moment. She looked down at her unconscious mother once, then back up at Voldemort, before she started giggling.
Was she laughing… at him ?
That was no normal child, Lord Voldemort decided, and raised his wand, preparing for the easiest victory of his life.
The words of the killing curse were whispered, a green light hit Ivy Potter, and then, before he could move, it rebounded to cover the caster in bright, magical energy that burst outwards, shattering the windows in a large gust of wind.
A shard of glass hit Rose on the face, carving a ‘V’ below her eye, just seconds after a curse scar in the shape of a lightning bolt appeared on Ivy’s forehead, where the green light had hit her.
Voldemort screamed in rage and burning pain as he fled Godric’s Hollow.
Minutes later, the leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore, ran into the room with more energy that most would expect of someone of his apparent age. He was followed shortly behind by James Potter, who frantically ran over to the body of his wife to revive her.
Albus had felt a disturbance in the Fidelius wards around the Potter home a short while earlier, as he was the secret keeper. The instruments that monitored the house in question had begun to ring out and make noise almost immediately, cementing his belief in the fact that the house had been attacked, and the wards breached.
As he could not apparate within the school, and had no time to reach the Wardstone to change that, he ran from his office, summoning a broom from his storage cabinet on the way out. He raced through the castle, startling McGonagall and Flitwick greatly, who were patrolling together, and hopped onto the broom as soon as he left through the front doors. From there, he flew quickly down the driveway to the gates at the border of the wards. Dropping his broom to the side in his haste, he apparated to Godric’s Hollow.
The windows had all been shattered, and the street was silent as he ran up the garden and into the house. James was lying at the foot of the stairs. Albus, despite his desperation to see whether the children were alive, woke the man with a spell, informed him of what he knew, and they hurried up to the nursery.
It was in utter disarray. Lily was lying before the cots, which thankfully held two living children.
As James ran to help his wife, Albus stepped up to the cots to examine the twins. Rose caught his eye immediately.
When he leant forward to wipe away the blood dribbling slowly down her face, the cut at once became clear, and he lifted the child into his arms. A cut in the shape of a ‘V’. Surely…
Lily sat up then with a loud gasp, and scrambled to her feet. “What…”
Albus chuckled. “Relax, my dear girl. Rose and Ivy are alright. In fact…”
He passed the child into her arms so she could see for herself. For a long moment, she simply stared, unmoving, before she said quietly, “Are you sure, Professor?”
“Now, now, I’m no longer your professor. ‘Albus’ is perfectly fine, my dear. And yes, I believe Rose has survived the killing curse, defeating Lord Voldemort!”
James breathed out a sigh of relief. “So, he’s really dead?”
“Ah,” Albus paused. “Not quite, I’m afraid.” He took their silence as a sign to continue, saying, “If he is indeed dead, there would be a body on the floor, or at least some remains. No, I believe he has fled, very, very weak. He will return someday.”
Their faces fell together. Lily began to cry silently, leaning into James, who wrapped his arms around her.
“He’ll come back for Rose, then,” said James after a minute. Albus nodded grimly.
“I’m afraid so. Rose must be ready to defeat him, as according to the prophecy, she has been marked as his equal, and she alone holds the power to defeat him. She must be trained and prepared for the day he does return to kill her.”
Lily began to sob harder. James took Rose from her arms as she started to shake slightly. His face was set in a frown.
“And should we also train Ivy? They are sisters, after all. Perhaps they would enjoy lessons together, and help improve each other’s weak points?”
Albus didn’t reply at first.
How to break the news?
“I think,” he said slowly, clasping his hands behind his back, and looking older than the Potters had ever seen him. “I think that… perhaps… Ivy should live with another family.” James made a noise of outrage, but Albus cut him off before he could start a fully fledged argument. “Ivy should grow up in a family where she doesn’t have to spend her entire childhood training for an event that will more so affect her sister. Rose will be known as the saviour of the world. Ivy will be the saviour's sister. I have seen jealousy do terrible things to the best of families, the best of people. She’ll feel left out and useless.
“Don’t you think she should grow up in a family where she can be a child. Her sister doesn’t have that choice, but she does. She can return before her eleventh birthday, before she starts Hogwarts. It is best for Ivy….”
As he spoke, James calmed, and his frown changed to a heartbroken look as he held his wife and the girl who would be a legend. Lily saw his face, and grasped his shoulders tightly, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“No! No, you can’t!” she shouted. “I know that look, James. Don’t you dare . Ivy is our daughter too, and she’ll be just as loved and cherished as Rose. We can’t- can’t send her away…”
James gently pried her hands off his shoulders with one hand, the other still holding a calm Rose. “I know how you feel, Lilyflower… but don’t you think she deserves a calm, loving family where she can act her age, instead of spending her life studying? Dumbledore’s right. It’s for the best… for Ivy. We’ll see her again.”
Lily said nothing for a long moment, and then whispered, “Okay.”
James nodded to Albus, eyes watery, and Albus nodded back.
“I’ll take care of everything, please don’t worry. You ought to say goodbye now.”
Albus Dumbledore never saw the scar on Ivy’s forehead.
Albus took one last look at the sleeping child on the doorstep.
He had placed a letter of explanation in the blankets in the hope that Petunia Dursley would understand.
He nodded to himself before walking down to the end of the street and into the shadow of a large tree, where he promptly disapparated in a swirl of his colourful robes.
The stars were still twinkling in the night sky half an hour later when another figure appeared on Privet Drive. However, this man didn’t apparate; he had come from the past.
Notes:
Back in Time was a work I began in December 2023. I had gotten the idea for it after reading some similar story (I can't remember the name) on Fanfiction.net, but didn't quite like where that story had taken the plot, and decided to write a different story with a similar base plot. I posted it around Christmas, but lost motivation after writing two and a half chapters, and found I couldn't continue it.
After a long while debating what to do and writing nothing, I abandoned the story. Later, I mentioned to a close friend, who writes under the name DavidoDaVinci, that I had no plans to continue it at that time, and was waiting to see whether someone else would want to take the fic on themselves. He berated me for a while for starting a project I wasn't going to finish, before saying he would adopt the story himself. I said he could, gave him access to the google doc I had been writing it on, and warned him that I may, someday, want to change the story a little, and write a new version myself.
About six months ago, I had a moment of inspiration, in which I came up with a few different ideas I could put together for a new story, and then remembered that I had wanted to write a new Back in Time someday. With that, I made an almost entirely new plot, and spent the next three or four months meticulously writing out a chapter plan while I had no time to write a full story. With that, Echoes of the Past was born.
This story varies a huge amount from the original Back in Time that DavidoDaVinci took on. I stopped reading his progress on the google doc as soon as I had the idea for a new version, so that my new fic would be entirely my own, without any influence from the original.
So, here it is. This will be long, guys. I'm estimating the three stories to add up to a million words. Book two and three (I won't tell you their names for a long while yet, but you can guess!) will each have five arcs, and then I may write a spin-off, as I have a pretty big idea for one right now.
As of this moment, Echoes of the Past will be my main fic, and main focus, so I will write other things, but less often, while this will be updated weekly.
I think that's all there is to say. Have a great day/night!
EbonyWonder <3
Chapter 2: The Founders
Notes:
Six o'clock on the dot, wow.
I don't think I'll do chapter summaries for now, as the chapters are quite short. Would you like them in the future?
Let me know if you catch any errors, and enjoy <3
-Ebony
Posted: 22/08/2025
Chapter Text
Coincidentally, this new man looked quite similar to the last. He had a dark beard, though it was shorter and his eyes were bright green instead of blue. He wore shorter robes that looked far more suitable for gardening.
His name was Merlin.
As Merlin strode down Privet Drive, it became clear that he was looking for something - or more specifically, someone.
He had been searching for several hours by that point, and was growing weary of checking every doorstep for the child Lady Magic had informed him of, but would not return until he had completed his assignment.
When he approached No. 4, he looked down at the doorstep and frowned at the sleeping child. Merlin shook his head. “Another mistake, Dumbledore. This should not have happened,” he muttered to himself.
Then he stooped down and picked up the bundle of blankets. “Another mistake that I’ll have to fix.”
Cradling the child, Merlin waved his hand over his face and promptly disappeared.
Godric Gryffindor grabbed another bottle of wine from the shelf and headed into the room next to his.
“I have more!” He exclaimed and three other people rushed towards him, holding up empty glasses.
Godric chuckled and poured some of the red wine into his friends’ glasses before reaching for a glass himself and filling it.
His wife, Helga Hufflepuff, leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips. Her mustard yellow robes brushed against his crimson ones.
“Are we expecting Merlin tonight, honey?” She asked after another sip of her drink.
Godric hummed. “I’m not sure, darling. He only said he would see us soon, though whether that be today or tomorrow, I don’t know.”
Helga sighed lightly before smiling and grabbing his hand. “Let’s go enjoy the party, at least. Another school year is over, we deserve-“
She was cut off when a flurry of robes in the center of the room alerted the four adults to a new figure arriving.
Merlin stood with a solemn expression on his face and a bundle of cloth held in his arms.
Salazar grinned. “Merlin! You didn’t tell us you were coming to the party. Come, we have wine.”
Merlin shook his head and extended the blankets in front of him slightly.
Rowena Ravenclaw strode forward, gasping when she realised what he held. “A baby!?” She exclaimed. “Where on earth did you find her?”
“She’s adorable!” Helga cooed, reaching a slender hand over the blankets and gently running a finger over the infant’s hand, smiling when a tiny hand reached out to grab her finger.
A dark look came over Merlin’s face. “Her parents left her because they assumed her twin had been the one to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort.”
Salazar raised an eyebrow. “ Assumed ? Do you mean to say that the twin was not the one to banish Moldywart?”
Godric snickered and Merlin sighed. “Unfortunately, this child was the true victor.” He lifted up the dark fringe to reveal a lightning bolt-shaped scar on the child’s forehead. “This curse scar was left after she was hit by the killing curse. My guess is that the twin was hit by something sharp after the initial impact and they only saw that cut. She was left on the doorstep of her non-magical relatives’ house.” He sighed. “This could be the biggest mistake Albus Dumbledore will make and we must correct that.”
Rowena pursed her lips, brows furrowed in sympathy. “Could we take her in?” she said after a long moment.
Merlin gave her an approving look. “That’s exactly what I intended. I would like you four to raise Ivy Potter as your own. We also must start training her as soon as her magical core is stable enough, which based on the size it is already, should be relatively soon. She will, after all, be vital to the survival of the future.”
Godric nodded. “Will you be around to help?”
Merlin smiled. “Of course, old friend. I hope I will be here often enough that the child can grow to trust me. I intend to teach her some magicks myself.”
Salazar reached out and took the sleeping child in his arms. At the movement, Ivy woke up and opened her shockingly green eyes. Salazar grinned. “Her eyes are the colour of my house.”
Godric rolled his eyes.
Helga pushed open the door to Ivy’s room, smiling fondly at the sight of the child sleeping in her crib. She crept over to the other side of the room, pulling out a set of toddler-sized robes, and then moved back over to Ivy.
As she reached into the crib and lifted the child to set her above her hip, Ivy’s startling green eyes fluttered open, and she looked blearily up at Helga.
“Good morning,” Helga said softly, moving Ivy over to the chair where her clothes lay.
“Mmmm,” Ivy responded, rubbing a hand across her face.
It had become apparent in the first few weeks after meeting the child that Ivy was not usually talkative in the mornings, preferring sounds over words, even though her speech was beyond many children her age. Instead, they would talk to Ivy until she was ready and more awake.
“Are you tired?” Helga asked, changing Ivy into day clothes meanwhile.
“Tired.”
Ivy’s speech was often mumbled, or hard to discern, despite knowing several hundred words, meaning it took Helga a few seconds to realise what Ivy had said.
“Well, breakfast is ready,” Helga replied as she finished dressing Ivy, but received only a noise in return.
She didn’t push talking, and led Ivy down to the dining room in the private chambers. Ivy had recently started climbing the stairs by herself, but Helga and the other three had decided it was for the best that one of them watch over Ivy if she was going up or down the stairs for a matter of safety. They let Ivy move without holding onto her, but they would be there with spells just in case she fell.
They made it down to the dining room quickly, where the other three were already sitting, waiting for the food to arrive. A special request had been made of the kitchen house elves to procure a large platter of sweet pancakes (Ivy’s favourite meal) with fresh honey and berries from the forest.
Helga set the child in the chair next to her own, before taking her own seat. The food appeared instantly before them.
Ivy looked up at Helga inquisitively, seemingly asking whether she was allowed to start. For an infant of her age, her manners and emotional awareness were far superior to other children Helga had interacted with before. She gave Ivy a smile and a nod, and picked up her own fork, the child copying her movements.
It was as she was finishing her third pancake that Helga noticed Ivy looking a little uncomfortable. She was making pouting faces at her now-empty plate and squirming in her seat, and the other adults in the room had noticed as well.
Before she could do anything however, Ivy had scrunched her eyes shut, and a large pile of food had made its way onto her plate.
Helga was taken aback, and glanced with wide eyes at the room’s other occupants. Sure enough, their faces betrayed their shock. Meanwhile, Ivy was happily munching on her pancakes.
“Gad,” she exclaimed, too shocked to mind her language. “How…?”
“I know not,” Rowena said slowly, “Although I am sure Merlin would.”
Helga returned her gaze to Ivy, who was smiling and babbling to herself between bites. Merlin would indeed need to be contacted.
Guiding one of Ivy’s arms into the sleeve of her cloak, Rowena gave the sleepy child a gentle smile.
“We shall be late if you insist on dawdling,” she coaxed playfully. Ivy gave her a cheeky grin, and began to move her arms a little.
“Grammercy, my sweeting,” Rowena said, just as she wrapped Ivy’s robes with a ribbon, and rose to her feet. “Let us go now.”
Ivy followed her quietly and diligently as they walked through the empty halls together. Godric, Salazar, Helga, Merlin, and the other students of Hogwarts would be waiting for them outside, where they had erected a Lammas altar, covered in corn dolls, wreaths, bread and harvest offerings to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season and give thanks. It was late at night – the sun was setting – but the air was warm as they opened the doors to leave the castle. In the distance, Rowena could see faint specs of light, the lit candles, and Ivy had presumably caught sight of the same too, as she had perked up and a smile now adorned her round face.
Evening dew wet their bare feet and turned the dirt on their soles to mud, and the light breeze caused their loose hair to billow out behind them. Ivy, clutching her corn dolly in her toddler hands, picked up speed until she was skipping gleefully through the long grasses towards the gathered people by the edge of the forest. As they approached, Rowena caught sight of dark figures coming forth from the trees and joining the crowd until the students were joining hands with centaurs, fae, nymphs, dryads, and countless other creatures of the woods. Among them stood thestrals (although many of the students were unable to see them), unicorns, deer and birds, and other animals that had felt the pull of magic to join the celebration.
Only a day after her second birthday, Ivy remained in high spirits throughout the festivities, all traces of her earlier sleepiness gone until well after midnight, and even then, she was still smiling and chatting happily with students who came up to her. She had, at first, taken it upon herself to pass around loaves of bread and other fruits and treats to the creatures and wixen, running around the crowd as Rowena, or another of the Hogwarts Heads, followed behind. On the rare occasion, she even became too overexcited and, waving her hands around wildly, caused food and crafts to begin levitating and circling the crowd as she babbled away to whoever would listen to her childish ramblings. At this point, Merlin would fight his way through the bodies and raise the young girl into his arms, casting calming wards over her, and soothing her emotions until her magic retreated and the objects dropped from the air. All in all, Ivy caused a great deal of commotion and mess between sunset and sunrise, but no one could find it in themselves to scold her on such a joyous occasion.
And when Rowena, accompanied by Helga, returned the child to her bed in the main tower an hour or two after sunrise, when the food had been consumed and the candles had burnt out, Ivy cuddled her soft doll close to her chest and fell asleep within minutes.
Helga and Rowena shared a smile as they left the room, thinking of how they had indeed been blessed to look after the girl who had stolen their hearts in a matter of moments.
And, far above, Lady Magic, her decision made, let herself love the first human who was worthy to continue her legacy.
Chapter 3: Exploring
Notes:
I have chapter titles listed in the google doc for this story, but do you want chapter titles here?
Let me know what you think <3
-Ebony
Word Count: 2902
Posted: 29/08/2025
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Although Ivy had been with the Heads for almost a full year, she had stayed mostly up in their quarters, and had therefore not met many of the students or gotten a chance to roam the castle’s halls.
However, Helga, Rowena, Godric and Salazar had come to the realisation shortly after Ivy’s second birthday that the school was growing faster than they had anticipated. They had already been stretched thin to cover the many classes held at Hogwarts, but with the number of applicants growing steadily each year, they would not be able to run the school on their own for much longer. It was decided then that, as the amount of students increased, so would the number of professors and caretakers. They did, after all, want to be able to teach as many young wixen as they could.
So they set to work, visiting well-known alchemists and scholars, and others with magical understanding or power, asking whether they would be willing to join them at Hogwarts. They also agreed that the number of students admitted each year would go from fifteen to forty.
Two weeks into August, it was set that there would be one hundred and thirty students attending the school post-summer, and nine teachers and three caretakers had moved to their new rooms in the castle.
It was one hot morning in mid-August that Helga sat down to breakfast at the newly-installed staff table and announced without stalling that the child looked after by the four heads of school would be joining them for a meal that evening, so that the staff and Newblood students staying over the summer were acquainted with the youngest occupant of the castle.
Ivy was ecstatic to be meeting the students and adults she had heard much about, and was restless for the most part of the day, which unfortunately led to her being tired out and subdued as dinner approached. Helga helped the sleepy child into her robes and gave her a dose of pepper-up potion, one that would last long enough to carry Ivy through dinner, but not long enough after that she wouldn’t sleep.
She led her downstairs to the Great Hall, and they entered through the doors. Almost two dozen students were situated on the table that usually was used by the Ravenclaws, and the students and caretakers were seated either side of Rowena, Godric, and Salazar, each dressed in their respective house’s colours. Helga herself was in long summer robes of yellow and black, while Ivy had opted for light blue robes that gleamed when they caught the light.
Almost all of the expectant faces morphed to expressions of happy surprise, and a collective ‘aww’ rang through the room.
Ivy, despite both her earlier exhaustion and her general shyness, waved happily up at the students who gave her smiles, and cooed once the bright grin had been turned on them.
Helga chuckled, and led Ivy behind the staff table, lifting her up into her higher seat.
“This is Ivy Potter,” Godric announced as Helga did this. “Now that you have met her, let us eat!”
With a clap of his hands, food appeared on the tables, as well as crockery, cutlery, goblets, and drinks in large jugs.
Ivy reached out her hands immediately, waving at the platter of sliced lamb closest to her, and Godric leaned over to serve her a plate.
The rest of the meal passed without a hitch, staff asking for stories of Ivy as they ate, students talking amongst themselves and pointing up at Ivy every so often, and Ivy waving at all the new faces often. She tired soon after she finished eating, so Rowena took the chance to get her into bed at a time when she was ready to sleep, bidding goodnight to the room, the students all replying as they left the room.
By the time the school year began on September first, Ivy was well acquainted with the castle’s summer residents, having spent many meals with them, played in the grounds on warm days, and spent hours walking the castle corridors as they took turns teaching her words for every sight they came across. The students all adored her, as did the staff, who carried her around and let her sit in their offices as they planned lessons, and had become almost family to the child in the time they had been at the castle.
There had been a discussion of how often Ivy would go out in the castle once all of the students joined them the following month, but it had been decided that Ivy was safe to continue as she had done, and would be set free to wander Hogwarts when she so fancied, as long as they knew where she would be, and she was back to their quarters before bed-time.
The morning of September first dawned bright and warm, a pleasant day. Ivy played in the grounds with the summer students before lunch, and, after a nap following the meal, sat down to read with Salazar, who had managed, somehow, to get Ivy through half of an old first-year’s potions book.
An hour before the students would be flooing into the Entrance Hall, Rowena, having already dressed herself for the Welcoming Feast, helped Ivy change into a set of midnight blue robes as the other three readied themselves.
They stood together in the Entrance Hall at sunset, while the fireplaces lit up green and students began to filter through, gathering in a crowd in the center of the hall.
“Good evening, students!” Helga called with a warm smile once the fire had returned to its regular orange glow. “Those of you returning, second-years and above, please make your way through the doors to the Great Hall and take your seat at your house table. Those of you joining us this year, please wait behind so that you may be sorted!”
The crowd split in two, over half heading into the Hall, while the young wixen remained, looking both nervous and excited.
Godric stepped forward then, kind eyes twinkling in the low light. “Welcome to Hogwarts! Shortly, we will lead you through into the Great Hall, where a spell will be cast that affirms your truest attributes, and places you accordingly into one of four houses, one of us as the head of that house: Gryffindor, with I, Godric Gryffindor, as the head; Ravenclaw-” here he gestured to Rowena “-with Rowena Ravenclaw; Hufflepuff-” a gesture to Helga “- with Helga Hufflepuff; or Slytherin, with Salazar Slytherin as its head.” With a gesture to Salazar, he continued, “once you have been assigned to your house, sit at the corresponding table and the feast will begin. After the feast, your head of house will lead you to your common room and dormitory, where you will sleep. More will be explained later tonight.
“While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be as a family. You will work together, help each other, and stay at each other’s side in times of trouble or distress. Good deeds will earn your house points, while bad deeds will lose points. Your house’s points will be on display in the Great Hall, and the house with the most points at the end of the school year will win the House Cup, a great reward. You may look to older members of your house in times of need, or to one of us or another member of staff, but also to members of other houses. Here at Hogwarts, we aim to be unified and work together at all times to improve one another.
“The house colours are as follows: red for Gryffindor, blue for Ravenclaw, yellow for Hufflepuff, and Green for Slytherin. These colours will indicate the table you should sit at once you have been sorted. If in doubt, look to the clothes we wear,” he winked at the crowd, earning a few quiet laughs in return.
“And finally,” he said, bending down to pick Ivy up and situate her on his hip, “this is Ivy Potter. She lives with us here at Hogwarts. She is one of us, and we expect you to treat her with the same kindness you would anyone else. Ivy may join you in some lessons, and will be around the castle often if you wish to talk with her.”
With a grand, sweeping turn, he waved to the doors, which opened to reveal the Great Hall, and exclaimed, “Follow me, please!”
The new students filtered through into the Hall, Rowena, Helga and Salazar following behind. Once the Hall was silent, Godric brought out his wand and waved it dramatically above his head. After a moment of nothing, the students’ hands lit up in colour as they gasped in surprise.
“Please make your way to the table shown by the colour of your hands,” Godric called, flicking his wand back into its holster.
As the students found their seats, the four heads took their places at the High Table, placing Ivy in her chair between Salazar and Rowena.
“Let the feast begin!” Helga declared, clapping her hands.
The food appeared, and the Hall began to eat, a happy buzz of chatter filling the room. Ivy talked nonsensically to the staff as the meal progressed, telling short stories of her days in the castle that ran into explanations of meeting odd portraits that ran into, somehow, a very stilted conversation between Ivy and Salazar about that first-year’s potions book that no one else could be bothered to try and understand.
The meal ended in a flourish, tired out first-years led out of the Hall by their heads of house, Ivy seated firmly on Rowena’s hip this side of dinner. By the time the students had been sent to bed, the child was asleep on Rowena’s shoulder.
The next morning, Ivy was awake before the sun rose. She ran between the rooms in the heads’ quarters, waving her straw dolly and shouting excitedly. Helga noted fondly that the child seemed much livelier now that she was free to roam her home and interact with the others in it.
Rowena dressed her in yellow robes adorned with sunflowers and Ivy ate berries with cream as a treat on the first day of school. When the four departed for their first classes, Ivy joined Godric, small hand lodged firmly in his larger one. She waved to the first-years as they entered the classroom from her stool by Godric’s desk, and said ‘hello’ to a few who greeted her by name.
She was more subdued by the end of the hour, having not done much but watch during it, but she waved regardless as the students left. Once they were gone, Godric raised her onto his back and carried her through the corridors to Helga’s classroom as she talked and laughed. There, he set her down with a grin, and apparated, as only the four could do, to the class he was due in. Helga had no class for this hour, and instead spent it planting herbs in the soil with Ivy, who had taken a great liking to Herbology and Potions in particular.
The hour passed quickly and soon, Ivy was being taken to Salazar’s potions class. The students arrived to Ivy sitting on a stool by the professor’s desk, a sized-down cauldron placed before her. She waved to them as they sat down, but Salazar appeared before they had the chance to speak to her.
“Good morning, students,” he drawled, as instructions began writing themselves on the wall with a swish of his wand. “Your next period may be lunch, but you will remain focused in my lessons. Otherwise, you may find out how dangerous unattended potions can become. We will be brewing the Forgetfulness Potion now. Ingredients are shelved around the classroom, and are all labeled. You will partner with the other person on your desk, but will be otherwise on your own. I shall only intervene if you are in danger. You may begin.”
As the students left their seats to retrieve ingredients, Salazar returned to where Ivy sat and began to help her pour ingredients into her cauldron.
By the end of the lesson, Ivy’s potion was the most accurate in the room, although there had fortunately been no accidents. After some independent study work had been set, the students were dismissed, and Salazar carried Ivy back to the heads’ rooms for lunch.
Ivy wasn’t seen again until dinner, but word had already made its way around the school that Ivy would sit in on several lessons a day, and no one was happier about that than Ivy herself.
It was mid-afternoon in late October that the fireplace in the Heads’ living room flared green and out stepped Merlin.
His earth-brown robes were covered in soot, though he quickly charmed them clean with a wave of his hand, and glanced up at the five others with tired, but warm eyes.
“Forgive my haggard appearance,” he muttered, “I have recently returned from a war among the wizarding community in Norway.”
“That is alright, friend,” Godric assured, rising to his feet and embracing the other man. “Have you eaten?” At a shake of Merlin’s head, Godric snapped his fingers, and a house elf appeared. “A good meal for my comrade, please, Kolry. Please do sit, Merlin.”
“Thank you kindly,” Merlin said, settling himself on an armchair. “How are you all?”
“We are well, as is Hogwarts,” Rowena replied with a smile. “Ivy has been progressing quickly with her speech.”
“Has she now?” Merlin chuckled, giving a wave to the girl sat between Rowena and Salazar.
Kolry appeared once more, a plate of food in his hands.
Merlin levitated the food towards himself with a polite nod to the elf, who promptly disapparated. He conjured a knife and fork, and began to eat.
Talk was quiet between the six for a while, the Heads giving Merlin a chance to finish his plate. When he was done, he banished the items before him with a wave of his hand, and got to his feet.
“I hope we may use a ritual chamber tonight,” he said brightly, moving to pick Ivy up and settle her on his hip. “I was fortunate enough to come across some… unsettling research recently, but before I could return, I was caught up in the war. I’m rather hoping we will have the luxury of a few revealing rituals that may leave me with the answers to my questions.” He patted Ivy’s head affectionately, “Especially those concerning this one.”
“Me?” Ivy asked him, looking up curiously.
“Indeed, child.”
Godric stood, face serious. “Of course. Let’s go immediately.”
They made their way to a chamber quickly, where Merlin placed Ivy by the door, closing it in his wake. “Let us begin,” he said, sitting in the center of the room. “Godric, let’s get this over with quickly.”
Once they were both seated, Merlin brought out his wand and waved it in an arc over the other wizard’s head, saying, “ Revelio omnis ,” a few times. After a moment, he nodded curtly. “Clear. Rowena?”
The same process was repeated for Rowena, and then Helga and Salazar, until finally, he asked Ivy to sit where he was. He stood to let her sit, and retreated a few paces. “Form a circle please,” he said. “I would like you to repeat the words ‘revela te nefas animae’ thrice. The wand motion is a back-and-forth swish. We shall remain stationary, but be warned, you may find yourselves blown off your feet as the ritual is completed.”
“Wha’ happening?” Ivy asked from her place on the floor. “Ivy well?”
“You’re alright,” Helga assured. “Sit still now, darling.”
“Begin,” Merlin instructed. “Revela te nefas animae . Revela te nefas animae. Revela te nefas animae!”
A sudden cloud of black dust erupted from Ivy, circled the room, knocking over the five adults, and returned as quickly as it had appeared to the girl, who quickly began to cry.
“All things above, what was that thing?” Salazar exclaimed in shock, rushing to raise Ivy into his arms and comfort her.
Merlin’s face was pale and resigned. “That,” he said gravely, “was a horcrux of Lord Voldemort, trapped in Ivy’s scar.”
“A piece of his soul?” Rowena asked, eyes wide. “He trapped a piece of his soul in a child ?”
“I do not believe it was intentional, but it is there,” he confirmed. “Now that I know for sure, we should find a way to ward against it for the moment.”
“Shouldn't we simply remove it?” Helga cut in, but Merlin shook his head.
“We cannot do that until Ivy has reached at least her first magical maturity, or else it could do irreparable damage.”
“I do not like this,” Salazar grumbled, holding the now sleeping child close. “But if we have no choice, we should create those wards now, and teach Ivy Occlumency at the earliest appropriate time.”
“I could not agree more,” Godric said firmly, placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Perhaps we should sleep and take action in the morning, so Ivy has time to recover. You are very welcome to stay, Merlin.”
“I will gladly take you up on that offer,” Merlin replied, and they left the room together, Ivy deep in sleep, dreaming of swirling colours and a lady dressed in fire.
Notes:
Also, in case it was unclear from the last chapter, Ivy, the Founders, Merlin, and a lot of people really are Pagan in this story. Having said that, I am Christian and know pretty much nothing about Pagan traditions and beliefs other than from a few articles online I've read; so please let me know if I make any mistakes regarding that aspect of this story. It becomes more of a major part of this story later on and I don't want to be spewing wrong facts, even if I do change a few things about the religious side of this fic for my own (and the plot's) benefit.
Thanks for reading <3
Chapter 4: Magic and Snakes
Notes:
The plot is beginning to pick up, and with it rises the chapter word count! These first few chapters are aimed to move quickly through the first few years of Ivy's time in the past but not spend too much time on that, as there is much more to come.
Hope you all enjoy the chapter, and sorry it's an hour late today <3
-Ebony
Word Count: 2744
Posted: 05/09/2025
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Merlin lay in the guest bed, thoughts restless.
The revealing ritual had left him with one answer and many more questions. It had also led to another shocking revelation.
Ivy’s magical core was extremely large already, and she was only two years of age. The problem was that it was growing too fast for a child of her age to handle, and it could lead to violent outbursts in the near future if she could not learn to control it, which was hard for a toddler. There was, after all, a reason a wix’s first magical maturity happened at eleven, when they could learn to use their magic safely.
But how was her core so big in the first place?
Merlin sighed and cast a tempus. Almost six.
He wouldn’t get to sleep, he decided begrudgingly, and sat up in bed. After dressing and casting a few cleaning spells, he left his room and wandered into the kitchen, where Rowena nursed a cup of Clarea of Water, Ivy dozing in her lap. She looked up with a small smile when Merlin entered.
“Good morrow,” he said kindly. “I can see Ivy is quite tired this morning.”
Rowena hummed. “She woke very early, and has only just fallen back into sleep. I have been awake for several hours with her, and I fear I will need to take a day from teaching.”
“Understandable,” Merlin agreed, fetching himself some bread and a few cheeses stored in a cabinet, kept with a cooling charm. “If you need, I can take care of Ivy while you sleep.”
Rowena smiled tiredly. “That would be lovely,” she said. “If you don’t mind?”
“It is no trouble, I assure you,” he told her, setting some breakfast on the table for them. “I’m sure I can find some fun things to do once she is rested.”
Their conversation ended there as they ate their breakfast in silence. Godric entered the room soon before they were finished, Helga following behind. Salazar left his own room a few minutes later, pecking Rowena on the lips before fetching his own food.
Merlin summoned a book as the others ate and readied themselves for their classes (though all he could think about was Ivy’s problem), and Ivy woke with a yawn just before they left, leaving Rowena to hand him the child and retreat to her room to sleep. Merlin vanished the book, gathered Ivy into his arms with a smile, and left the room, heading to the ritual room for privacy.
He knew what he had to do.
Ivy talked excitedly to him as they walked up the moving staircases to the Heads’ quarters, telling him about an encounter she had the other day with a ‘talking snake’. Merlin chuckled and nodded sagely, enjoying the element of pure hilarity when Ivy mentioned that the snake had told her all about ‘very good cheese and wine’.
It was good to see that Ivy had a creative mind.
Luckily, she didn’t seem to have noticed when the partial blocks were placed on her magic, or the wards around the horcrux, likely due to the sheer amount of power in her core, he assumed.
She was still telling her story when they entered the living room to see Rowena in an armchair, looking much better rested.
“How was your day?” she asked them.
“It was good, wasn’t it, Ivy?” he replied, picking up the girl to tap her nose with his smallest finger.
She giggled and waved at Rowena. “Good!” Ivy exclaimed, the dollies on the floor rising up with her shout.
Merlin hastily waved his hand, fighting the child’s magic to let the toys fall back down. Rowena gave him an amused look. “It happens all the time,” she said, rising to take Ivy from his arms. “I’ll take her from here. You probably have something to get back to.”
“That I do,” he said, nodding politely. “Thank you for your hospitality.
“Don’t thank me, you’re a good friend, and you are always welcome with us,” she replied, patting his shoulder amicably.
Merlin smiled, and with a wave goodbye to Ivy, took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.
“I don’t wanna get up,” Ivy groaned, grabbing her sheets as Helga attempted to pull them off her.
“That’s unfortunate,” she replied. “Besides, it is your birthday today, and we have many celebrations planned. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to miss those!”
Ivy grunted, hiding her face in her pillow, so Helga continued, “And I’ve instructed the house elves to make pancakes for breakfast…”
Finally, Ivy turned back over and sat up, eyes blinking slowly.
Helga chuckled. “You get yourself ready. We will be in the dining room.” Saying that, she left Ivy’s bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
The dining room was covered in bright decorations, bouquets of flowers hanging from the seats, and a flower wreath placed before each seat. Four candles were placed in the center of the table to mark the years Ivy had lived.
Helga took her place at the table, placing her flower wreath atop her head, and giving her husband a warm smile as he took her hand. Across her sat Salazar, Rowena to his right. The seat at the head of the table was Ivy’s for the day.
Helga had taken it upon herself to plan a day of fun activities for everyone in the castle, including a large feast. Many of the students were away for the summer, but those who stayed at the castle were ecstatic to celebrate the occasion. The students loved Ivy, and knew her very well, as she sat in on many of her classes and visited all parts of the castle, and had been eagerly awaiting this day since the start of the summer.
The sound of a door opening shook Helga back to the present, as Ivy walked in, dressed in a sunflower-yellow robe, her tousled hair falling down her back. She grinned at the four sitting around the table, and hoisted herself into the raised chair at the head. “Pancakes?” she asked excitedly.
Salazar chuckled. “Pancakes, yes child.” He clapped his hands, and plates appeared before them, platters in the center of the table stacked high with pancakes, berries, cream, drinks, and more.
Ivy laughed, delighted, and shuffled in her chair eagerly as Godric served her a plate of food. She began to eat as soon as the plate was placed in front of her, but Helga didn’t care to reprimand her on such a rare and happy day as this.
“Mmmm,” Ivy said around her mouthful of food, and steadily, the berries on her plate started to rise into the air.
“Ivy, calm please,” Rowena murmured, serving herself. Ivy’s eyes snapped open and the berries dropped back onto her plate.
“Sorry,” she muttered, used to the reminder.
Things like this had happened more times than Helga could count. Ivy’s accidental magic was extremely volatile for a wix her age, and acted out especially when her emotions ran high.
“No need to worry,” Helga said softly, “Just enjoy your breakfast.”
By the time Merlin arrived for Ivy’s birthday feast, her magic had already acted up seven times that day, and the four Heads were visibly on edge.
He flooed in shortly before the feast would begin, and was immediately informed of the situation by a tense Salazar. Upon hearing of the worst incident, where over two dozen students had found themselves floating above the castle turrets, his face paled, and quickly gathered the Heads, setting Ivy up with a present in another room.
“We need to set up some lessons for Ivy,” he said, and was met with nods all around. “This could get much worse if we can’t control it. Ivy is very powerful, and she ought to learn to use her own magic safely.”
“Yes,” Godric said firmly, nodding to himself. “I can do that this evening. I’ll set up lessons around our usual schedule.”
“I’ll tell Ivy later,” Rowena inputted, getting to her feet. She smoothed out her midnight-blue robes, “But we should go to the feast now, or else we shall be late.”
“Let us go then,” Merlin decided, rising with the others. They collected Ivy, who was looking at a new book, and left for the feast.
Ivy, once told, was elated to hear that she would begin lessons like the ones the students had the next day. She understood, as far as Merlin could tell, that it was because she lacked control over her magic, but she was happy anyway. She fell asleep quickly, tired from a day of fun, and woke early, waking the five adults in her eager talk about starting the lessons. Godric had prepared a schedule the night before for the summer, when classes were not being held, and another for the school year ahead, when they would be busier. Ivy’s first lessons, however, would be magical awareness. She would learn to recognise her own magic, and attempt to learn some semblance of control at the very least before she began with spellwork.
They had debated whether to purchase a wand for Ivy, as they had recently come into fashion with young wix, as they made it easier for the children to gain control and a regulated magical output, but eventually they had decided not to. Ivy’s magic was very responsive to her emotions, and was controlled in a rather messy manner as it was, and they wanted to teach her the benefits of wandless work first. After all, it was easier to go from wandless to using a wand than the other way around.
Ivy’s first lesson went extremely well, lasting just over an hour. By the end, she was able to extend and retract her magic, something remarkable for a child of four. She struggled with the amount released, and could not hold it for any more than a few seconds, but did well nonetheless. She was given a bowl of fruit following her lesson, and a rest, before heading down to a potions lab with Salazar, who had her making simple potions with less and less of his assistance.
She had no more lessons that day, as she had already tired, and took a nap before the Lammas celebrations. They were less chaotic than the previous two years, as Ivy now knew the feel of her magic, what triggered it, and how to calm it down before disaster.
The night was bright and festive, and Ivy, despite the energy she had put into the evening, was up early for her next lessons the following day.
Throughout August, her magic improved quickly, and by the end of the month, as the school prepared for the new year, she could channel her magic as she wanted, although it was not always the best directed, and still caused outbursts.
That year, she greeted the new students with flowers that appeared in the school colours once they had been sorted, and she made sure to sit at all of the tables that night, talking with the first-years especially, trying to make them feel welcome.
That year adjusted to school life faster than any previous year had done.
Ivy’s lessons expanded in September, as she had a firm grip on what her magic felt like, and how it could be manipulated. She took six lessons around the timetables of the other students: Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Dark, Grey and Light Magicks, and Magical Theory. Her classes were not more than one hour each, and one per day, except for Friday, when she took two classes.
The time passed quickly, and by the time of her fifth birthday, Ivy was proficient in base-magic and simple spells, and had good control of her core. Therefore, when the next school year began, Ivy’s classes expanded to include Occlumency and Legilimency with Salazar, Dark Arts and Defence Against the Dark Arts with Godric, Care of Creatures with Helga, Arithmancy with Rowena, and finally, Runes and Spell Creation with Merlin.
The older students were disappointed to discover that year that Ivy was not available quite as much as in the past, but they still found plenty of time to spend with her, and the traditional celebrations were more lively than ever before, with Ivy’s magic, now controlled, directing food around the grounds effortlessly as the girl herself ran between groups of students and creatures of the forest throughout the night.
On the day of her seventh birthday, Ivy surprised her guardians with a summoning charm of her own invention, pulling anything from anywhere, or from nothing. She demonstrated by pulling a sleeping Merlin from his bed in his own house onto their dining room floor, leaving the Heads greatly amused. She named the incantation, despite not using one herself, Pello, meaning ‘pull’ in Latin. Pello was just the first of many spells she created or modified to her convenience over the next year.
Only a few months before her eighth birthday, Merlin decided her core was finally stable enough for Ivy to learn Impello Per Tempum, the spell he used to travel through time and retrieve Ivy. It was a great shock when she cast it successfully in just a few attempts, although it had taken him years to perfect, and they both took great fun in travelling into the past and playing rather cruel tricks on unsuspecting commoners.
One thing the Founders, as Merlin had begun to call them after the creation of the school, had noticed with great joy was that Ivy’s creative mind had not dimmed once, despite being pushed into lessons from a very young age, even if it was for her own good. She especially liked to tell stories of conversations with snakes, which amused the Heads greatly, as Ivy looked up to Salazar a great amount, and was continually excited to hear him converse with the animals. Due to their close bond, Salazar often liked to take Ivy down to his potions rooms to supervise visits to the snakes he kept there for their valuable scales when they consented to the harvesting.
It was on one rainy afternoon in early July that the Heads, accompanied by Merlin, joined Salazar and Ivy in the Potions offices for Dancha. Salazar moved immediately to speak with the snakes, Ivy tugging on his robes in excitement, as the others settled in the armchairs to pour the Dancha into cups. After a few minutes, Salazar placed Ivy with Godric, leaving to collect some vials to harvest the scales.
For a few moments, all was quiet but for the gentle hissing of the snakes in the corner of the room, and then, to their surprise, Ivy began to giggle delightedly and imitate hissing noises. Helga pressed a hand to her face, stifling laughter, the others following quickly once they realised what was amusing her. Salazar returned then, hands full of vials that immediately fell from his hands, shattering on the floor, when he heard the noises coming from Ivy’s mouth. His face went pale, and he began to hiss to her, approaching slowly. His shock turned to bafflement when she replied in the same manner, and he raised his head to meet his wife’s eyes.
“She’s speaking Parseltongue,” he said in a near-whisper, dark eyes blown wide. “Real Parseltongue,” he insisted when they remained silent in disbelief.
Rowena turned to Merlin, dark hair rising off her shoulders in her surprise. “How is that possible?” she asked, but received only a blank look in return.
“I do… not know,” Merlin muttered. “It shouldn’t be possible, but Ivy is somewhat of an anomaly. The horcrux perhaps.”
Salazar nodded, willing to take the suggestion over nothing, and murmured to himself in Parseltongue, ‘Strange child.’
“Hey!” Ivy shouted indignantly, brows furrowed. “That was rude!”
“Hay is for horses,” Rowena reprimanded as she smoothed down Ivy’s hair gently. “And I could certainly use something stronger than tea just now. Why don’t we return to our quarters?”
“That would be nice,” Godric said, “I’ll stay to help Salazar clean up the mess. You all can go, and we shall be there soon.”
Salazar threw him a long-suffering look as soon as the other four had left, and Godric laughed in response. “I’m afraid we are in a permanent situation, old friend. There’s not much I can do for you here.”
Salazar groaned. “That, I know all too well.”
Notes:
Due to lack of time some Fridays, I will be extending the posting window to 22:00 BST. Thank you for the continued support ♡
Chapter 5: Lady Magic
Notes:
Thank you all for the comments!
Hope you enjoy ♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 2432
Posted: 12/09/2025
Chapter Text
Ivy was in a very strange place.
The first thing she noticed upon opening her eyes was that she was not in her own bed, neither was she in one of the others’ beds; and she wasn’t even in the castle.
No, instead Ivy stood in a large chamber. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of a deep blue colour, glistening with white sparks appearing in the blue as the stars did in the night. The chamber contained no furniture, no other person; Ivy was alone in this room as the chill of frigid air seeped into her bones.
“Hello?” She called tentatively, looking around her as she waited for any response.
Nothing.
“Hello? She tried again, but was met with the same silence, her voice echoing uselessly in the chamber.
Ivy held up a hand to create a light, and in the brightness of the white magic, a face appeared, reflected in the blue of her surroundings. Her breath hitched, and she waited for something, anything to happen, but the face remained still.
Ivy turned to look behind her, and found a woman standing there.
The woman was dressed in a robe of brilliant, gleaming white that pooled on the ground beneath her. The sleeves of the robe did not go beyond the woman’s wrists, and her hands were adorned with white lace gloves. She wore no jewelry, but did not need it, as her face glowed more than any precious stone could. Golden hair fell in waves to the ground, and her eyes were an icy blue that cut through the darkness of the room. Her mouth was shut, but her face was kind, and she said not a word.
Ivy stared for a long while, utterly confused at her situation, before she regained her wit, and lowered the lit hand.
“Who are you?” She asked, but the woman only smiled, still silent. “Where are we?”
The chamber was quiet for a moment, and then:
“Would you like to venture into the beyond?”
Ivy stood, hesitant, shivering in the cold. “Where is that?”
The woman tilted her head, face blank. “Follow me, and you shall know.”
She stepped forward and vanished. Ivy waited for only a second, and stepped too, and the world went dark around her.
Ivy opened her eyes for a second time.
She was lying on the stone floor in the Great Hall, but it was different. The tables were absent, the ceiling was stone and plain, and the room was full of cobwebs.
It was… sad, Ivy thought, to see the Hall, usually so full of life, so barren and lonely.
The woman from before was sitting on the ground beside her, hair now tied up in a beautiful up-do, but otherwise the same.
“Where are we?” Ivy asked the woman, even though she already knew the answer.
“We are in the Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle,” the woman said, voice melodic and soothing against Ivy’s growing sense of confusion.
“This is not right,” Ivy told her. “The Hall does not look like this.”
The woman turned to face Ivy, face ever blank and emotionless. “We are in the past, child.”
“Why?”
“I want to show you the past, the present and the future tonight,” the woman said. “We will travel through time. Now hush, the beginning is about to begin.”
The woman stood, and Ivy followed her example. They waited in silence as minutes passed, and just as Ivy was ready to turn and ask another question, the doors flew open behind them with a loud bang, and four figures stepped forward, dressed in long, black robes. They walked to the front of the room together, turned to face the hall, and removed their hoods.
The Hogwarts Founders waved their hands together, and all at once, the room came to life.
Cobwebs and dust vanished, banners of different colours appeared on the walls, four long tables were conjured, and another perpendicular to them at the front of the room, just behind where the four stood, and finally, the ceiling above them turned from plane grey stone to a show of the night sky beyond the now-clear windows. Helga turned to Godric with a nod of approval, took his hand, and they vanished, Rowena and Salazar seconds behind.
Before Ivy could blink, they were back, this time in their signature colours, and the doors opened once again. Students, dressed in Hogwarts robes, began to walk into the room. Their hands lit up, and they sat at the tables. Godric raised his goblet to the room with a smile, and food appeared in front of the twenty students there.
Then, time began to quicken – people became blurry shapes, moving in and out of the room in flashes of colour. Long gaps occurred where the room was entirely empty, which Ivy assumed to be the summer breaks before the students were able to remain at the castle. Ivy counted seven breaks before they disappeared entirely, though people continued to move through the room. Time slowed for almost a minute at some point, enough for Ivy to see as a younger her walked through the doors before the first-year students and sat at the High Table, waving to the students. And time returned to its previous pace once again.
Ivy could not tell how many years had passed before she, along with her seat at the High Table vanished and did not return. The four Heads aged, and too vanished, and were replaced by one Head. Time quickened again, and the robes worn by the figures at the High Table changed, growing less extravagant, and strange round objects appeared on the faces of some of the professors. The faces there changed quickly, at one point a very recognisable man with long white hair standing in the Head’s seat, but he too vanished and was replaced.
Ever so slowly, time began to slow, until the number of professors grew smaller, and there were less and less students, and then, all at once, the Hall was empty once again, the tables fell to the ground in pieces, and cobwebs grew on the windows. The sky above Ivy’s head faded until all that remained was the stone there.
Finally, the woman turned to Ivy. “Hogwarts is a great school, but in the future, things will change; traditions will be forgotten, as will knowledge. Magic will fade until it ceases to exist, and the stories of wix will be stories only,” she said, blue eyes striking in the fading light of the lifeless Hall. “You are not from this time, child, but you will save magic. I have chosen you to.”
Ivy stood in shock. Slowly the stone walls of the Hall became the blue chamber she had stood in what felt like centuries ago. “Who are you?” Ivy asked quietly, feeling her heart pound away in her chest.
The woman smiled. The chamber darkened until Ivy and the woman stood alone in the dark.
“I am Lady Magic. You are my champion.”
Ivy woke with a start. She sat up, breathing heavily, and threw her covers off her body.
What was that?
The dream had felt so real.
Ivy shook the thoughts away and got to her feet, breaths still coming in pants. She slipped through her bedroom door, out into the hallway.
Outside the windows, Ivy could just barely see the grounds below in the dark. The sky was cloudless, and the stars shone above. Just like that chamber.
Tearing her gaze from the window, she trudged down the hall, footsteps muffled on the carpet. Her breaths tore through the night’s silence as she nudged open the door to Helga and Godric’s room.
She could see from the doorway their sleeping forms beneath the sheets. Though she hated to bother them so late, or early, she really wanted a warm body beside hers at that moment, so she stepped further into their room. With a thought, her steps rose above the ground, and she walked through the air to settle into the space between them. Just as she began to pull the covers over her body, Helga sighed and opened her eyes.
“Ivy?”
“Yes,” Ivy whispered, guilt squirming in her gut.
Helga took her hand. “Bad dream?” At Ivy’s nod, she continued, “It’s alright. Come get comfortable, miting.”
With the warm smile Helga offered, Ivy no longer felt bad for joining them, and slipped under the sheets quickly. Helga was quick to wrap an arm over her, and rubbed soothing circles on her back. Ivy found herself relaxing, and slowly, she slipped back into a deep slumber.
“There you are, child,” said Lady Magic as soon as Ivy opened her eyes.
She was back in that blue chamber.
Ivy groaned in frustration, and muttered, “Stupid dreams.”
Lady Magic laughed; a light, ringing sound that made Ivy relax involuntarily.
“Not a dream, child,” she said, voice bright. “I am glad you have returned so that we may talk at last.”
“About what?” Ivy asked, hesitant after her last encounter with the woman.
“About what you must do.”
Ivy thought for a moment. “Can we go somewhere else?” She asked eventually. “This place is cold.”
Lady Magic gave her a warm smile. “Why, of course!” She said, sitting down beside Ivy, and turning to face the girl. “Would you prefer your bedroom?”
The chamber suddenly was gone, and Ivy and Lady Magic were sitting on Ivy’s bed. The sheets were exactly as they had been when Ivy had left the room, and she could see that it was still night from the darkness of the window. An eternal candle burned on her desk, spreading light across the room, and Ivy could see Lady Magic smiling as she had before.
“How?” Ivy asked, incredulous.
“My dear, I am a deity,” Lady Magic replied, “And you are my champion. I have my ways. Now, let us begin.”
“Ivy?”
Ivy opened her eyes to see Helga sitting on the bed beside her, already dressed. Across the room, Godric was sorting through his clothes.
“Yes?” She murmured sleepily.
Helga’s face softened. “Good morning. Are you alright?”
Ivy blinked, pondering what she could mean for a few seconds, before her memories of the previous night returned suddenly, and she sat up straight.
“I need to talk to you all,” Ivy blurted. “And Merlin,” she added after a second’s hesitation. “It’s important.”
Godric turned, looking worried, and joined them on the bed. “What happened?” He asked, but Ivy shook her head.
“Not now. Can you get Rowena and Salazar quickly, please?”
“Of course,” Helga said, pressing a quick kiss to Ivy’s forehead. “Godric, can you floo Merlin?”
“Alright,” the man replied, leaving the room hurriedly.
Helga leaned over to press a kiss to Ivy’s temple. “Whatever this is about,” she said softly, almost a whisper, “We love you more than you could ever know.”
Before Ivy could reply, she rose to her feet and swept out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Ivy breathed out a sigh. As she cast a few spells to ready herself for the day, her mind whirled through how she could possibly explain what she had witnessed in her dreams.
She entered the dining room a few minutes later than she had planned, feeling no more ready than before. The four Heads and Merlin sat around the table, plates before them empty. As Ivy took the seat next to Salazar, who gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, Rowena spoke.
“Are you well Ivy?”
Ivy nodded. “I am fine. I had a dream last night.”
Silence followed, and she continued, “In my dream, I met Lady Magic.”
Lady Magic smiled as Ivy entered the chamber.
After her first dream, Ivy had discovered that the chamber could look like and contain whatever she wanted. In the week of dreams that followed, the chamber slowly began to look like a more lively version of the Room of Requirement (Ivy supposed that in a strange way, it was very much like that room regardless), with sections for different needs; a library, a duelling space, an office, and other such sections.
The night after Ivy had told the Heads and Merlin, Lady Magic began to teach, and laid out a plan.
Ivy did not know much about their traditions and history, deities and celebrations, or anything other than she had taken part in or heard in the History of Magic classes she attended, as she would not be taking those herself until her first year.
Ivy would spend alternating lessons learning about history and traditions. Every now and again, a night would be spent teaching Ivy new magic or possibilities, or events of the future until her time, or her duties as Magic’s Champion.
Tonight was a lesson on tradition.
Once Ivy was settled at her desk, Lady Magic conjured a chair for herself and sat gracefully, a quill and parchment appearing in front of Ivy.
“Tonight, we learn about the numbers of Magick,” she said. “What do you know?”
Ivy thought for a moment, and said, “I know one, three and thirteen are important, but not why.”
Lady Magic nodded slowly. “Good. That is a start. Think of everything in this way. We begin with the number one. One is complete, unified, the source of all. After one, numbers fall in rings of three. From the inside outwards, one, four, seven, ten, thirteen, and so on. Every number has its own meaning and represents something different, but the numbers added to the one for each ring are the most stable.
“The number two represents duality and balance. Three represents the lunar phases. Four represents the elements and the seasons. Five represents the human senses and the five deities – Fate, Time, Death, Magic and Chaos – and six represents harmony, nurturing and responsibility.
“Seven is often recognised as a so-called ‘lucky number’. It represents the lunar phase, power protection and Magic, and it is linked to the planet Venus, representing love. Thirteen, also considered a magically powerful number, represents the lunar cycle and is a fortunate number. While other numbers have individual meanings, these are the most commonly used, in events such as rituals, and runes and rune circles.”
She stood then, her chair vanishing, with a smile at Ivy. “Today, I have prepared several runes for us to practice to understand better the meanings of these numbers and how they tie with magic itself. Come child, let us explore what one may do with dedication and some very crumbly chalk!”
Chapter 6: Family
Summary:
Ivy's family grows.
Notes:
I've been quite sick for the past few days, but have perked up in time to post the chapter. Sadly, I haven't written nearly as much as I would've liked this week.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter. Let me know what you think ♡
-Ebony
Word Count:1627
Posted: 19/09/2025
Chapter Text
“Hello!” Ivy called, skipping through the first years’ class door with her bag in hand. She grinned at the students seated there, waiting for Salazar to arrive for their first potions lesson. “You might have seen me at the feast yesterday, but in case you don’t know, I’m Ivy Potter. I’ll come to some of your lessons every now and again!”
She received a few hesitant nods back. Accepting that was the most she would get, Ivy gave them another large smile and found her seat at the back of the room, taking out a few books from her bag and setting up her cauldron.
After a few awkward moments of silence, someone spoke up from the front. “Why do you come to some of everybody’s lessons?”
Ivy raised her head to see a girl with light blond hair and piercing gray eyes turned around in her chair, looking at Ivy for an answer.
“Because I live at Hogwarts with the Heads and I’m a few years ahead in the lessons taught here. Why?”
The girl shrugged. “I was curious,” she stated shortly.
“What’s your name?” Ivy queried as she turned her gaze back to the fire heating beneath her cauldron.
“Eira Taylor,” the girl responded.
Ivy waited for a few seconds, before saying, “And everyone else?”
One by one, the class said their names, sending shy smiles to her that Ivy made sure to return to ease their nervousness. Shortly after they had finished, the door opened and a slightly out of breath Salazar strode into the room, robes billowing out behind him.
“Apologies for my lateness, I had an urgent matter to attend to. Now, we shall begin with your first potions lesson. We will do no brewing today, but will talk through the merits of each ingredient in a forgetfulness potion and how they affect the result. Please take out your parchment and quills, and we shall begin.
When Ivy walked into the first years’ transfiguration lesson almost a week later, Eira was the first to greet her, standing up and blurting out a question she had clearly been meaning to ask for a while.
“Why do you live with the Heads?”
Ivy paused in setting down her bag. “Someone they knew found me lying outside a non-magical home, recognised a magical core and brought me to them immediately,” she replied, but earned only a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, but why would they take you from a random place?”
Ivy had opened her mouth to reply dismissively when the full implications of that question hit her. “Are you a Newblood?” she asked.
Eira looked confused. “Yes, but why does that matter?”
She nodded understandingly. “Eira, for wixen, children and family are very important things. A wix should not willingly leave an obviously abandoned child for non-magicals when they could be raised in a good wizarding household. The non-magicals would not know how to deal with a magical child, and the child could end up in a bad situation. There was an obligation to take me.”
The girl nodded, apparently thinking that over. “Thank you for telling me,” she muttered, and Ivy returned to her seat with a smile.
Over the next hour, Ivy was pleased to discover that despite Eira’s struggle in potions the previous week, she was very adept at transfiguration, understanding how to use her magic both with and without a wand faster than her other classmates.
As the students departed at the end of the lesson, Ivy approached Eira with an offer of one-on-one lessons between the two of them so that Eira could learn magic at a faster pace that would benefit her more.
The girl did not hesitate to agree, and they left the room together, already discussing spells Eira was eager to learn.
Unbeknownst to both of them, that moment would spark a life-long friendship that even the turns of time could not forget.
“IVY!” Eira shouted, sprinting down the stairs after Ivy who was giggling madly. “Get back here!”
Ivy laughed louder, speeding up as she ran through the door into the Heads quarters.
The five seated at the table gave her bemused looks. “What have you done now?” Rowena asked simply, sipping her drink.
“I took Eira’s magical memory frame,” Ivy replied happily, “And I think she’s mad but I think it’s nice she has a memory of us on her desk!”
Merlin chuckled. “You ought to give that back before she gets too impatient,” he chided jokingly, “or else she might hex you with that bat-bogey hex she has become rather efficient with.”
Ivy paled rapidly to the amusement of the adults, and ran back through the door, shouting, “Don’t hex me please! It was a joke!”
As the sounds of a minor scuffle began, Rowena turned to Helga. “I do think it is time now,” she said, watching as the other woman nodded.
“I understand. Before we start showing too much…”
Salazar hummed approvingly. “She will question the… circumstances though. What are we to tell her?”
“Perhaps the simple ‘love and magic’ explanation would be best for at least a few years.”
Helga smiled at her husband. “Good idea, Godric. Yes, I think that is the right thing. Now, just how will we tell Ivy?”
“Tell me what?”
They all turned to see two heads poking around the doorframe, clearly listening in. Helga sighed and, with an exasperated look to Rowena, said, “Come sit down, darlings. We have some news to share with you.”
Ivy bounded over eagerly, Eira following just behind her, and they sat down at two of the empty spaces.
“What is it?” Ivy asked, bouncing in place.
“You shall be elder sisters in a few months’ time,” Rowena told the girls, smiling at the excited looks that immediately came over their faces.
“Really?”
“Really!” Godric replied, chuckling when Ivy ran to hug him in her delight.
“Will they be boys or girls?” Eira questioned.
“Both Rowena and I are having girls,” Helga said. “Would you like to hear their names?”
“Yes!” Ivy and Eira exclaimed in unison.
“Well, Rowena’s child will be named Alana, and mine will be Dorothy.”
“Pretty names,” Eira said as Ivy laughed happily. Salazar gave Rowena a fond smile that she returned as the girls talked to each other about what the babies would be like.
Their silent conversation was broken by Ivy saying curiously, “I wonder where babies come from,” and Godric groaning loudly.
Ivy watched as Dorothy raised a small, pink hand to the sky and grasped onto the finger Ivy was holding out.
She laughed, a warm feeling in her chest. “She’s amazing.”
“She is,” Eira agreed with a giggle of her own. Her blond curls falling around her face as she looked down at the hand Alana had outstretched to her.
Ivy could see Helga talking to Gordic out of the corner of her eye and thought ‘louder’.
The sound from their direction was amplified at once, but Ivy heard Helga muttering about birth being tiring and quickly moved the direction of the charm to where Rowena and Salazar were talking and gesturing wildly. They mentioned colours and some simple charms, so Ivy assumed they were talking about what Alana might like, and canceled the spell, turning her attention back to the baby held in her arms.
“Hello,” she cooed, smiling again. Dorothy had opened her eyes for the first time a few minutes before – a beautiful hazel colour that held so much wonder that Ivy couldn’t help but love them, but Alana was yet to open hers.
“Can we swap now?” Eira asked, setting Alana down gently in her cot. Ivy nodded, and handed over Dorothy after the baby loosened her grip on Ivy’s thumb.
Despite Ivy only meeting Eira less that a year prior, they considered each other sisters, and called themselves such. The heads had welcomed Eira into their family quickly and warmly, especially after discovering that Eira’s family were less than welcoming of her newfound magic.
Ivy and Eira had enjoyed talking about magical concepts and more recently, the two children who would be welcomed into the world and what magic they would teach them first.
Ivy had yet to explain to Eira about her role as Lady Magic’s champion, wary even though they told each other everything else, and the secret was beginning to weigh on Ivy, so she had promised herself she would explain to Eira soon, but in that moment, Ivy felt entirely right waiting and just enjoying spending a quiet night with her new sisters.
Merlin wandered over a while after Alana was in Ivy’s arms and Dorthy in Eira’s, placing two cups of hot milk on the table near the seats they were relaxing in.
“Are the two little ones doing well?” he asked with a warm look, reaching out a hand to Dorothy that was immediately grasped by her small fingers. He chuckled and took a sip from his own cup.
“They’re so small,” Ivy whispered to him, watching Alana’s sleeping face.
“Yes, they are,” he agreed. “You two seem to be excellent sisters already.”
“Thank you, Lord Emrys,” Eira replied, voice quiet and eyes firmly fixed on the child in her arms.
“None of that,” Merlin chided gently. “Merlin is fine. We are, after all, all family here.”
Eira gave him a nod, but did not otherwise respond, and Merlin gently removed his hand, taking the seat beside Ivy.
“I think I love them already,” she told him after a moment’s quiet.
He nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “And are you alright with that?” he asked her, face impassive.
She thought for a long while, and eventually said, “Yes.”
In that moment, Ivy felt like the luckiest person in the world.
Chapter 7: Power - Part I
Summary:
Ivy and Eira have a conversation, and then visit a forest home to many creatures.
(Part 1 of 3)
Notes:
This has been one of my favourite chapters to write so far. It's definitely one of the more descriptive chapters, and also has quite a long scenes. Yes, I am painfully aware that my scenes are usually very short.
I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to get this chapter out today because of the AO3 update-stuff, but it cleared up in time!
On another note, this chapter is one of a three-parter, which will happen occasionally, but not too often. They also may be sprinkled around a little bit -- with one part, and then five other chapters before part 2. I make chapters into different parts when I think they have big parts in common, so look out for those.
Hope you enjoy the chapter! ♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 1722
Posted: 26/09/2025
Chapter Text
“Eira?”
Eira looked over from where she was playing with Alana, who was just learning to crawl.
“Yes?”
Ivy looked down at her lap, suddenly feeling unsure. “Can I speak with you?”
“Sure,” Eira replied, curls bouncing around her face as she stood. Picking up Alana, she made her way to the cot and set the baby down, before returning to take the seat next to Ivy. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to speak with you,” Ivy said, steeling her resolve. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while. I need you to swear an oath first though… to keep this secret.”
Eira nodded slowly. “Is this magical, life… something else?”
“Both magical and life please.”
“Alright.” Eira stood and raised her hand to her chest. “I, Eira Elizabeth Taylor, solemnly swear on my life and magic that I will never reveal or suggest by any means the contents of the secrets shared here today to anyone not already knowledgeable without permission from Ivy Arabella Potter. So mote it be!”
A warm red glow enveloped the raised hand and wrapped around her chest before fading.
“There,” Eira said, and returned to her seat. “Will that do?”
“Uh, yes, I think,” Ivy said. “This is really important, Eira. Can… can we do questions when I’m done speaking?”
“Of course!”
Ivy gave her sister a warm smile, even as fear twisted her stomach into knots. “So,” she began, trying to relax to little avail, “I wasn’t born… um, a few years ago from today. I was born in the year nineteen-eighty… in… in the future.”
Eira was silent, though her eyes were wide with shock, so Ivy pressed on. “I was left at my non-magical relatives’ house after my sister defeated a Dark Lord who had been lost to the Dark Arts, apparently, and Lady magic guided Merlin to me, who took me through time to now.”
“Merlin has spoken with Lady Magic?” Eira exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in wonder.
“Um, yes.” Ivy hesitated, and then said, “And so have I.”
“WHAT?”
By the time Ivy had finished explaining, the sun had long set and their stomachs were rumbling. Eira’s disbelief had given way to acceptance, much to Ivy’s relief, and she seemed more than willing to assist Ivy, despite the way she was devastated that Ivy would have to leave.
Just as they were leaving to find some food before they went to bed, Salazar opened the door, a large collection of bottles floating around him and two night-cloaks in his hands. He grinned at the sight of them.
“I wondered where you two were. Would you be willing to aid me with potion ingredients gathering?”
“Yes!” they both replied at once, hunger and exhaustion forgotten as they rushed to take and don their night-cloaks.
“Excellent,” Salazar said, leading them down the stairs to the base of the Heads’ tower, and then out onto the grounds, heading for the forest.
Within a couple minutes of walking, they passed the first line of trees, and began to make their way through the bushes, down the small, winding path, towards the center of the forest. They talked quietly as they walked, accustomed to the familiar path leading into the deeper, thicker area of trees.
It was a clear night, but the light of the moon and stars above was obscured by the thick cover of leaves and branches above their heads, so as it darkened, Ivy waved her hand to procure little balls of light that flew and bounced around their heads to light the way, but they were quickly dispelled by Salazar.
“Pay attention to the forest,” he told them. “It will give you light when you need it.”
Ivy was somewhat doubtful, but true to his words, tiny lights appeared around them as they continued along the path. Ivy could see them moving slowly through the trees and plants, and they covered the ground in a thick blanket of multicoloured lights.
She breathed out in amazement, marveling in the still, quiet nature of the forest, their footfalls and the crunching of the leaves beneath her boots the only sounds to be heard. After another few minutes of walking, where the path became entirely new and unfamiliar to both Ivy and Eira, the trees thinned to give way to a large clearing, almost the size of the castle.
Plants of all colours and sizes lay around the edge of the clearing, some with berries and fruits, some glowing, some climbing up the trees nearby. Toads, small birds, snakes, and all manner of other small creatures moved along the ground, or lay still near the bushes. The small specs of light did not pass the trees, but were not needed, as the sky was clear and entirely visible above them, the stars shining down in the almost-black sky as the moon continued to rise.
“Wow,” Eira sighed, sitting down and looking up at the sky, “This is beautiful.”
“It is,” Salazar agreed. “This clearing is a place of harmony between all creatures, plants, and other life. It is sacred to Lady Magic. There is no other place like it. We must never kill or harm a creature intentionally here, but you will see many other species, especially magical ones, gather here at night – the centaurs to read the stars, the thestrals to sleep, the basilisks to engage with other snakes, the phoenixes to eat after they are reborn, and many others. While we do take plants from the clearing, we replace them and plant new ones to keep the magic and life here thriving.”
They both gave nods and Ivy sat down next to Eira to marvel in the peace of the clearing while Salazar left them to collect plants for his potions.
Despite their usually talkative nature around each other, they were silent as the time passed, content to simply watch as life continued in this clearing.
Time passed quickly, and before long Salazar was walking over to take them back to the castle, as the moon had risen directly over the clearing and it was late. However, Ivy and Eira were not tired at all, feeling energised from the magic exposure, and bounded with excitement out of the clearing and into the deep woods.
Salazar followed, more subdued, his potions vials hanging in the air around him, and all was quiet for a while as they traipsed through the dark forest.
The trees had just begun to thin when the sound of hooves met their ears. Eira and Ivy scurried back towards Salazar, who held them protectively under his arms, banishing his vials with a quickly muttered spell.
”Who is there?” Salazar called into the dark.
”The centaurs,” a deep voice replied from the darkness, and Salazar slumped in evident relief.
”All is well, children,” he told them, and they peered around his slender frame as bodies began to emerge into the light Ivy had conjured at the first sound of their hooves.
The centaurs, at least a dozen of them, formed a half-circle before the wixen, weapons lowered. Once they were all in sight, they bowed as one. The centaur in the center of the group, a tall male with a stern face said, “Well met, Salazar Slytherin and children of the castle.”
”Well met, Aenedon and noble hunters. How fare thee?” Salazar said, bowing. Ivy and Eira followed his lead.
”Very well,” Aenedon replied, returning to full height. “I pray thee also…?”
”Yes, very well, thank you.” Salazar opened his mouth to continue when one of the younger hunters gasped and clutched the arm of the centaur next to him, whispering something.
Aenedon turned and raised a disapproving eyebrow at the young centaur, but was met with an urgent look. “Excuse me,” he said to Salazar, trotting over to the disturbants and entering a hurried, whispered conversation with them.
After a moment, he turned back to them, but looked carefully at Ivy. “Are you,” he said slowly, “chosen… by a deity?”
”I am,” she replied, after an encouraging look from Salazar.
”May I inquire as to which deity?”
”Lady Magic,” said Ivy, watching as the centaurs all gasped with excited looks.
Aenedon hurried back over to them, paused for just a moment, and then did something wholly unexpected: he laid his forelegs on the ground and bowed deeply, the others following his lead.
”It is a great honour,” he said, “to meet a chosen of Magic herself. This is a momentous occasion for us, and we would like to offer an acquaintance and friendship on behalf of our kind. We would be eternally grateful should you choose to accept.”
Ivy did not hesitate to respond, “I would be delighted to accept your offer! I hope that our kinship may continue for ages in the future, and I would like to offer in return a hand in times of trouble should the centaurs ever need assistance.”
The centaurs gasped collectively once again, and Aenedon seemed delighted, the stern face from before no longer recognisable. “Thank you, kind Lady. May the gods ever bless you.”
”And you as well,” said Ivy. The centaurs bowed for a final time, and then followed Aenedon off the path and back into the woods. As the sound of hooves and shouts faded, Salazar brought Ivy into a tight embrace, kissing the top of her head.
”I am so very proud of you, child,” he muttered into her hair. She squeezed around his middle, returning the hug, and then they continued on the path.
They quickly discovered, however, that news spread quickly through the forest, and just as the edge of the trees was in sight, they were flocked on all sides by the creatures of the forest, both magical and non-magical, pixies and elves and rabbits alike, all offering kinship in the hope of a friendly acquaintance with Ivy.
By the time the creatures were all satisfied, as Ivy had no intention of turning them down, the moon was well on its way to setting, and Eira was half-asleep against Salazar’s arm. He carried them both back up to the castle and set them in the large bed in Ivy’s room after removing their shoes and transfiguring their clothes, where they quickly burrowed into each other and fell into deep sleep.
Chapter 8: Power - Part II
Notes:
A minute late. Sorry all!
Regardless, enjoy the chapter ♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 2603
Posted: 03/10/2025
Chapter Text
Litha that year was one of the largest celebrations of the holiday that Hogwarts had ever seen. After many students had complained that they couldn’t celebrate with the summer residents as the floo-departure day was the day before Litha, the Heads had arranged for the departure to be two days later so the entire student body could celebrate on school grounds. At first, the only attendees were to be the students, staff, and creatures in the forest, but the word spread, and soon many members of the English Magical Committee, the International Wizarding Confederation, and esteemed Wixen families across the world were to be joining them for the day.
Ivy had never been more exhausted in her life!
She was recruited in setting up decorations, planning the festivities, collecting bonfire wood from the forest, and other large tasks due to her ability with magic. The Heads had protested at first, saying it was too much, but Ivy convinced them it was alright. Yes, it had turned out to be more extensive than she had first thought, but she did not regret her decision — it was wonderful, and very exciting to be able to take part in the preparations for such a large event.
Unlike their usual Litha celebrations, this event took weeks to plan and construct, but, before they knew it, the day was upon them.
Very fortunately, it was a clear, dry day, meaning they would not have to prepare for rain during the celebrations. The guests were not due to arrive until well after noon, so the morning was surprisingly subdued. Ivy attended breakfast with the other students, sitting at the Gryffindor table with Eira, and worked throughout the morning to take the platters of food from the kitchens and set them out on the tables outside, while most students dressed in festival robes. Lunch was loud with the rising excitement of the school, and then they all congregated beyond the Great Doors, ready to head down to the space prepared for the celebration.
Ivy grasped Eira’s hand tightly as they walked through the grounds, bouncing on her toes in eagerness. Eira gave her a fond smile, before stopping dead in her tracks, jaw dropping.
Ivy stopped next to her, confused. “What is it?” she asked.
Eira just pointed to her head. The students around them had also ceased walking, turning to stare at Ivy, whispers passing among them.
“What is it?” Ivy asked again.
“YOUR HAIR IS BLUE!” one person shouted at her. Ivy pulled a braid in front of her face, eyes widening.
Her hair was blue.
“What?”
Eira grasped her hands, face lit up in amazement. “That is crazy!” she exclaimed. “How do you do that? You know what, nevermind that. Can you make it pink?”
“I don’t know,” Ivy told her honestly. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
“Try anyway,” Ivonne, one of Eira’s friends, suggested.
Well, that was an argument Ivy couldn’t dispute.
Shrugging, she shut her eyes and imagined her hair a light pink. Even before she opened her eyes, she could tell she had succeeded by the muffled shouts of the students around her. Ivy rolled her eyes.
“We should move on,” she said, resuming her walk down to the bonfires, and the others hastened to follow.
From there, the night passed in a haze of people and magic. The celebrations went well, and lasted well into the night, the guests only beginning to depart shortly before sunrise. Ivy was fortunate enough to meet with many of the IWC members and prominent families across the world, all of whom seemed outstanded by the magical demonstrations they requested of her. By the time morning came, Ivy was stumbling up to the castle, leaning on Eira and Godric, who were both also half-asleep.
The floo departures the next day were all delayed until the evening as all of the students were asleep until mid-afternoon.
“Welcome child,” Lady Magic said warmly when Ivy found herself in the familiar dream-like version of the Room of Requirement.
“Hello, Lady,” Ivy replied, bowing politely, then moving to sit down across from Lady Magic at her desk.
“I think we can lose the bow,” Lady Magic smiled. “I believe it has been long enough. Today I have something a little different planned – you will not need your parchment or quill.”
“Alright,” Ivy replied, setting the objects to the side of the desk. “What are we doing today?”
“I believe it was recently that you discovered your ability to change your appearance at will,” said Lady Magic instead of answering, “And I know you have been working to gain control over that particular ability lately. However, I thought you may wish to know how you came to possess it. Today, I will be showing you your family lines.”
Ivy sat forward in interest as Lady Magic waved her hand, creating a floating map of lines and boxes that branched out. Under each little box was a name — Ivy quickly found her name at the bottom of the tree-like structure.
Next to her box was one labeled ‘Rose Potter’, and above were two more: ‘Lily Evans’ and ‘James Potter’.
Above her father’s box was one labeled ‘Fleamont Potter’, connected to ‘Euphemia Rosier’ — her grandparents.
Lady Magic chuckled. “I see you have discovered the names of your father’s parents. However, I would encourage you to look further for the answers you seek.”
Ivy checked the next row of boxes, seeing a ‘Dorea Black’ connected with a half-faded line to ‘Charlus Potter’.
“I believe Edward Black is in the first year currently, a Newblood,” the Lady said conversationally.
Ivy gaped. “We’re related?” Lady Magic grimaced.
“Technically yes… but also no, you are not. Not yet.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Well child, it is not as though your situation is a common one, or indeed one seen before.”
“I suppose,” Ivy replied. “So was Dorea Black a metamorphmagus?”
“No, her great-grandmother was. You are the first from that line to be a metamorphmagus in many years. A distant cousin of yours, Nymphadora Tonks, is also one, and is currently in her fourth year at Hogwarts. Her parents are friends of yours, so you may well meet her soon. I am sure she will be glad to know someone with the same rare ability.”
Ivy sighed wistfully. “I wish I knew another metamorphmagus now though, so I could learn from them.”
Lady Magic shrugged apologetically, “you will have to make do with teaching yourself. Now, we should continue! Your grandmother Euphemia has a sister — Elena. Your middle name was named after her, as she died in her youth and your father thought it appropriate to carry on the name. On the contrary, your sister Rose has her middle name from Lily Evans’ mother, Anne, who passed on shortly after your birth…”
“...Now, draw the sowilo just beneath the ehwaz,” Rowena instructed from her place by the door, “and light the central candle once you are out of the rune circle.”
The summer that far had passed so slowly for Ivy and the other residents of the castle. It was a bad year in weather, alternating between too rainy to go outside, and too hot to want to do anything at all, even inside the castle. The corridors were filled with stifling heat, despite the numerous cooling charms placed over the students and the building itself. And in the rain, the windows were battered against with such force that many of the younger students stayed up in the common rooms, watching and waiting to see whether the windows would shatter against the force of the rain.
But being cooped up in the castle, despite the size, made Ivy incredibly bored. She was past the founders with most magic except the more obscure magicks and the mind arts; she had read all of the ‘appropriate’ books in the school library, and could only spend so many hours in the dungeons brewing before she felt entirely mad, so she ended up begging on her hands and knees for one of her five teachers to show her something ‘interesting’.
Rowena had been the first to give in, agreeing begrudgingly to teach Ivy some complicated rune patterns and circles that she had originally said would have to wait until she was at the very least ten years of age. However Ivy was nothing if not stubborn — and perhaps manipulative — and celebrated her win by sharing lemon ice with Eira in the Chamber, curling up with the young basilisk Salazar had brought back to Hogwarts from his latest venture to Athens the year before. The egg had taken almost a full year to hatch, and was now steadily growing in the best space available for such a large and possibly volatile creature: the safety chamber built beneath the school in case of attack. The basilisk, which Salazar had named Ophis, was now a good friend to the girls, especially as Ivy was one of two people with the ability to converse with the snake (they were not yet certain as to whether Alana would inherit the gift of parseltongue from her father), and Eira and Ivy had become frequent visitors, increasingly so during the hot summer days when the chamber was the lowest, and therefore coolest, part of the school.
And the next day, Rowena had woken Ivy hours earlier than usual, saying that they had to set up the rune circle before sunrise for the best results. Ivy had been dragged down to the ritual chambers beneath the Head Tower dressed but without food. Regardless, she got to work preparing the runes quickly; too excited for the chance to feel hungry.
There were no windows in the ritual room, as it was built beneath the ground, so they relied on their own magic for light whilst in there; any candles, windows, light, or anything besides the people and objects for the rituals would mess with the magic, and end in disaster. They always had to extinguish their magical light before completing the ritual just in case, but the ritual itself usually created enough bright magic for the occupants of the room to see by.
Standing up from where she had been kneeling on the ground, Ivy wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of the hand holding the carving knife.
“Ready,” she muttered distractedly, checking over her work, knowing Rowena would hear. The runes had to be perfect for the right results.
Ivy banished the dagger, conjuring a small flame in her open palm instead when Rowena handed her the candle she had been holding as Ivy worked. Giving a nod of appreciation, she turned back to the center of the rune circle, placing the candle on the ground where she had made a mark, and extinguishing the ball of light by her head, she lit the wick.
A bright burst of magic filled the room at once, lights of all colours dancing in the air and flying between the walls of the chamber, colliding with sparks and pops, before whizzing off in a different direction. Ivy watched in wonder as a cloud of these lights began to rise above the center of the rune circle, flashing with lightning and booming with thunder as the room became ever brighter and the flying lights seemed blinding, leaving dark trails in Ivy’s vision where they had passed by too close to her face.
It was magical.
The cloud continued to thunder and flash above her head for minutes on end as Ivy just drank in the pure magic around her, overwhelmingly giddy, almost to the point of dizziness.
Then, with a final boom, and a flash of light, a huge column of light fell from the cloud and onto the candle, illuminating the room in a second of blinding, brilliant white.
And then the room was dark once more, all save for the candle, burning with a flame consistently changing colour.
Ivy groaned, blinking away the spots in her vision, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Rowena was doing the same.
Carefully summoning the candle to her outstretched hand, Ivy looked at it in wonder, noticing the way there was no pattern, no consistency in the colours that appeared. Rowena walked up behind the girl, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Well done,” said Rowena. Ivy could hear the smile in her voice, but didn’t turn her head.
“WAKE UP!”
Ivy shot up in bed, panting heavily, and turned her head and hands, already glowing with power, to the intruder.
It was Eira.
Of course it was Eira.
Ivy dropped her hands, and flopped back into her sheets. “Zerde,” she muttered viciously.
“Ivy Elena Potter,” came Helga’s voice from the main rooms, “don’t you dare use a word like that again in my house, or- so help me- I will wash your mouth with soap until your teeth drop from it – do you understand?”
“I understand,” she grunted.
“Good.”
Ivy grumbled something indiscernible to herself, turning over onto her side, facing away from Eira, who merely hopped around the bed, unperturbed.
“Wake up, wake up!” she chanted in a sing-song voice, pulling the sheets off Ivy’s bed, grabbing her arm, and starting to drag Ivy onto the floor. Ivy muttered a sticking charm, feeling her clothes attach themselves to the bottom sheet.
“Oh come on,” Eira groaned, “it’s your birthday. We’re eating pancakes. Get uuuuup…”
Ivy removed the charm and rolled to the side, standing up. “It’s early,” she complained, but Eira wasn’t listening at all, pulling her out of the room still in her nightgown. Ivy snapped her fingers, dressing herself magically as Eira pulled her down the stairs to see the Heads, Merlin and Alana and Dorothy seated at the table, wearing beaming smiles. A large stack of pancakes was in the center of the table, surrounded by berries and pitchers of drinks.
The tired fog clouding her mind was suddenly gone, and Ivy rushed to sit down, saying a quick prayer to the deities for the food, before grabbing the pancakes and loading her plate high with food.
As they began to eat, presents were passed around the table to Ivy, who opened them in between bites of her breakfast.
Eira had ‘collaborated’ with Alana and Dorothy, who were just about two months old, to get Ivy a new carving knife inscribed with runes that would not cut the user unless intended, and kept the knife immaculately sharp. Ivy jumped out of her seat to hug Eira, and picked her sisters up one by one for a cuddle.
Helga had gifted to her a book on dark plants found in other countries, and their magical properties, while Salazar had bought a book on recent magical discoveries, and a smaller book on magical snakes. Rowena had bought Ivy a book on creating rituals using more obscure runes, and Godric a bow and quiver of arrows that returned to the shooter’s hand.
Merlin, unlike the others, had simply given her a blank journal with a few runes that Ivy didn’t recognise inscribed on the back cover. When she held it up questioningly, he smiled and told her, “It’s for creating spells, potions; anything. The runes code the creations by colour and organise them in the journal for you.”
Ivy hugged him tightly, promising herself that she would start trying out things in the journal as soon as possible, and the day passed in relative quiet after that, Ivy choosing to just enjoy the company of her friends and family around the castle.
Chapter 9: Power - Part III
Notes:
A shorter chapter than usual. Thank you for all the support!
Enjoy ♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 1257
Posted: 10/10/2025
Chapter Text
“Good morning,” Merlin said cheerfully as he exited the bedroom in the Heads’ Tower that he had been staying in ever more frequently since Ivy’s arrival.
Ivy mumbled something unintelligible back, scribbling away in the journal he had given her for her birthday almost four months ago. Ivy, now long past the classes taught at Hogwarts, rarely visited lessons anymore, instead spending her time with the teachers who were free, coming up with new ideas and researching theoretical applications of that subject for new purposes, or staying cooped up in the library, head in pages of books she hadn’t seen before – the library was just so full that one could never hope to read everything in there if they did nothing but read for the rest of their life.
Resigning himself to the fact he would get nothing more from the girl, Merlin continued on to the table, adding food to a free plate and beginning to eat, a book floating before his face for him to read.
Even once he had finished his meal, and left to return to another time for the day, he found Ivy still on the same chair, just writing away. Merlin pursed his lips, and shook his head, mind changed.
The constant writing was going too far. As great a sight as it was to see Ivy absorbed in something that interested her so completely, she was a child, and she was wasting away the freedom she had for less time every day.
Something had to be done, and Merlin would be damned if he let the girl he considered family waste away her childhood right before his eyes.
After leaving the tower for privacy, he conjured his patronus, and sent it off with a message that would appear to each of the four Hogwarts Founders as soon as they were alone, asking them to meet with him after their final class for an urgent discussion.
As soon as the silver light faded from the corridor, Merlin walked back up to the tower, and spent the rest of the day searching through parenting books from the 21st century for solutions to unhealthy and obsessive behaviours.
He knew very well that Ivy’s passion was not what one would consider ‘obsessive’ behaviour, but it was consuming, and none of the parenting books mentioned things like that.
Just before four hours past midday, Merlin waved the books back into a stack on the bookshelf in his room, and left to take a seat in the Heads’ private office. The four arrived minutes later, one behind the other, worried looks on their faces. Their frowns eased slightly when they saw Merlin sitting calmly, but they still hastened to their seats, asking what the matter was.
Merlin quickly explained his worry about Ivy’s behaviour, and that he thought she should be spending more time doing things a child of her age would normally do.
The other four listened quietly, seeming concerned for her, but still hesitant to restrict the time she was spending on her research.
“I don’t think setting limits is the best way to handle this, my friend,” Salazar said. “Ivy loves her research; loves the thought she is helping wixen for centuries to come.”
“But she is only nine years of age,” Merlin insisted. “Surely you can’t enjoy watching her slave away over that work. Surely you agree she should be having some fun that isn’t to do with studying?”
Godric looked uncomfortable. “I do agree,” he said slowly, “but I don’t wish to upset Ivy like that. Setting limits on a productive hobby she adores seems cruel to me.”
Rowena leant forward from where she had sat silently throughout their meeting so far. “What about,” she began thoughtfully, “sending Ivy off with Merlin to travel the non-magical world would be a good break from the constant study, and I think she would rather enjoy it.”
“Not to mention it would be productive, and helpful to her knowledge of the world,” Helga added and Rowena nodded along.
“I do like that idea,” Merlin said, the other two men voicing their agreements. “When shall I take her for a trip?”
“Perhaps in a few weeks,” Godric replied. “We have a free day of school soon, which would be an ideal time.”
Merlin stood up, nodding respectfully to the others. “Then I think I shall depart until then. I have some work to do.”
“Hello,” Ivy greeted cheerfully as she sat down in the dreamscape.
Lady Magic gave her a smile. “I believe you have something you wish to discuss with me today.”
“Ah- yes,” Ivy said, her journal and a piece of parchment appearing in her hand. “I have been… struggling a little with a spell I wish to create.”
Lady Magic rested a hand on her shoulder, saying, “Wipe that embarrassment off your face, child. Struggle is normal and human. You cannot be perfect immediately every time. That is unrealistic and unfair to expect that of yourself. Do not fear failure, Ivy.”
Ivy’s cheeks heated. “Right,” she muttered, “sorry.”
“And stop with the constant apologising too, it is unnecessary.”
“Sor-” Ivy cut herself off at the playful glare from her mentor, grinning sheepishly. “Yes.”
“Now, please explain your idea.”
Ivy opened her journal to the page she had bookmarked, and unrolled the parchment. “In about two hundred and fifty years,” she began, “Duther the Doubtful will invent ‘Veritaserum’, a truth potion. However, it will later be discovered that that potion does not force one to tell the truth to the asked question immediately, but compels their answer, whenever the dosed person chooses to do so, to be a truth, rather than a lie. The potion will also be less effective against those with training in the mind arts, and even wholly useless on people with strong occlumency barriers, or other mind protections.
“I have been attempting to create a spell instead that does the same as veritaserum, but works entirely on every person, no matter their mind defences.”
Lady Magic hummed in thought. “That should be possible. What is the problem then?”
Ivy pursed her lips frustratedly for a moment, before replying, “I just can’t get the spell to work!”
“Well, why ever not? You have an incantation?”
“Solum veritas.”
“And a wand-movement.”
“Just a circle.”
“Then why would it not work?”
“I don’t know!” Ivy snapped. “It should work. It just isn’t!”
Lady Magic said nothing to the rude tone Ivy had taken, but just took the girl’s hand and squeezed it gently. “Be calm,” she said. “What was your intent?”
“Why would I need intent?” Ivy scrunched up her face in confusion. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Lady Magic cocked an eyebrow. “Intent has to do with everything. You know that. One could say ‘Avada Kedavra’ and use the wand movement for that spell, and green light could shoot from their wand, but with only the intent of stunning their opponent, that person would merely fall down unconscious, not dead. Intent is the most vital, most primary, most true source of magic. Try again, on me, and intend for the spell to work, for me to speak the truth and nothing but that.”
“Solum veritas,” Ivy cast, waving her hand in a circle. “Did it work?”
“Yes,” Lady Magic answered immediately.
Ivy squealed in delight, jumping to her feet. “Finite Incantatem.” She threw her arms around her mentor, laughing happily. “Oh, thank you, thank you!”
Lady Magic smiled, wrapping her arms around the girl. “I am glad I could help.”
Chapter 10: Non-magical Visits
Notes:
Five minutes late. I hope you didn't miss me :)
On another note, this was a very fun chapter to write, especially getting to research the historic elements.
(How obvious is it that I took history GCSE?)
Hope you all enjoy, and please let me know your thoughts -- I love hearing feedback ♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 1129
Posted: 17/10/2025
Chapter Text
Ivy groaned, dragging herself out of bed. Her limbs were aching, and she was sore all over, and she wanted nothing more than to get back under the sheets and sleep the day away.
She had woken in a similar state for the past few days, always sore and stiff, feeling like she had over-stretched in a duel or training the day before, but she hadn’t dueled at all for at least two weeks.
“What is happening?” she muttered to herself, changing her clothes. She had decided that her uncomfortable state was not going to put her off the day-trip with Merlin she had been looking forward to for the last three weeks.
She grabbed her day-cloak from her dressing table on the way out of her room, hearing the knives strapped inside clink against each other. It was an oddly comforting sound, but that was perhaps because Ivy had learned to associate the sound of her knives with the feeling of being safe. Nothing could happen when she had both a magical and non-magical way to defend herself.
When she sat down at the table with much less grace than she usually had, falling heavily into her seat with a sharp inhale, Rowena gave her a look of sympathy, slowly setting a thin, warm hand over Ivy’s, resting them together on the table.
“Still having trouble there, my sweeting?” Rowena asked softly. Ivy nodded, but said nothing, serving herself some bread and warm milk.
Helga turned in her seat, a sleeping Dorothy in her arms. “Perhaps it’s your magic core. It is larger than most, and your body is still young, and not ready for something of that power.”
Rowena nodded. “That seems to me the most logical explanation. For now, keep applying Helga’s ache balm. It should help.”
“Alright,” Ivy mumbled, taking a bit of bread.
Merlin came through the floo just as Ivy was rising from her seat to get ready to leave. “Are you feeling better this morning?” He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Not really,” Ivy replied, picking up her cloak. “But well enough to go!”
Merlin chuckled. “I’m sure. Tell me if you are feeling too unwell to continue, though, and we shall return immediately. You shouldn’t overextend yourself. We can try again if today does not go to plan.”
“Where are we going?” Ivy asked instead of replying, trying desperately to draw attention away from the thought of stopping the trip she had been waiting for so eagerly.
“London,” Merlin said simply.
“When?”
“Oh, we are not changing time,” said Merlin, turning back to the fireplace. “Perhaps some other time, but I would like for you to meet the King.”
Ivy gaped. “The King?”
“King Cnut, yes. I think we shall visit some other parts of London afterwards if we still have time.” He took a handful of floo powder out of the tin bowl hanging beside the fire. “We are going to Castrum Regis, Winchester. Please follow quickly.”
Having thrown the green powder into the fire, Merlin stepped forward, repeating his previous words, and promptly vanished.
Ivy took a handful of floo powder as soon as he was gone, and did just the same.
While she had travelled by floo many times before, the sensation never failed to surprise her. It felt like being sucked all at once down one of the tubes that lead to the Chamber. SHe could hear nothing beyond the roaring in her ears, and the warm flames were almost suffocating. All at once, the heat and sound disappeared, and she was thrown forward with a gasp.
Ivy opened her eyes, a sudden feeling of nausea crawling up her throat as she tumbled forward into Merlin’s back.
“Ugh,” she groaned, “I do not like that.” Standing up, she straightened her robes and rid them of soot with a wave of her hand, and looked around.
They had arrived in a small room. It was empty, other than the fireplace behind them and a door at the far side that Merlin was quick to open.
“Follow me,” he said, after they had left the room and shut the door. They walked down a long corridor with no windows, but candles mounted on the walls, until they passed through a large wooden door with engravings Ivy didn’t take the time to inspect.
The new room couldn’t be any more different.
An extensive chamber with stone walls and columns, and carpets covering every inch of the floor. Tapestries and paintings hung on the walls, the chandeliers that fell from the ceiling were intricate, and had probably cost a fortune, the windows were large and made of stained glass, and a large throne stood in the center of the room.
The man sitting on the throne was dressed in fine robes, with long, dark blond hair, and a longer beard, and piercing eyes. He rested his chin in a hand, his elbow on the arm of the chair, looking utterly bored even as he watched them intently.
“Merlin,” said the man in a deep, rumbling voice. “It is good to see thee again, mine fine friend. Who is this young lady thou art with?”
“Your majesty,” Merlin replied, entering a deep bow that Ivy was quick to replicate, “this is Ivy Potter. She is here from a future time, and lives with my teachers and friends at Hogwarts.”
King Cnut laughed. “Do stand, comrades,” he said. “I am pleased to make thine acquaintance, Miss Potter. I am King Cnut of Angle-land.”
“Your majesty,” she said, voice weak. While she had known they would be visiting the king himself, she did not imagine him to be so intimidating, even seemingly bored.
He laughed again. “Do not be frightened, child! I have been waiting for a more interesting thing to do — this is good for all of us. Come, we shall eat together, and then we shall visit Lundenburh.”
“London,” Merlin whispered to her quickly. Ivy nodded her understanding.
The king hopped down from his throne, and began to lead them through the castle, pointing out rooms and explaining their uses, ‘for Ivy’, as he said.
Once they had seen most of the castle, they sat down for an extravagant lunch in a private dining room with more food than Ivy could hope to eat in two weeks.She was equal parts in awe of the castle servants’ work in just one ‘simple’ meal and worried about the amount of money it must cost the king to eat like this for his entire life.
After lunch, the king was called away to an urgent meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and had to leave almost immediately. He waved them off at the Castle Doors as they set out to explore London.
Chapter 11: Holidays
Notes:
Thanks for all the support. It means so much to me when one of you leaves a comment or a kudos or something, truly. I love you guys <3
Enjoy the chapter, and please let me know your thoughts.
-Ebony
Word Count: 2551
Posted: 24/10/2025
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The day after her tenth birthday, Ivy fell sick.
It started slowly; her throat was slightly sore, her head hurt a little, but by the next morning, she had a pounding headache, a hacking cough, and was vomiting every five minutes.
She felt awful.
The Heads took turns taking days off attending meals and staff meetings to look after her, sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of her room as she lay in bed, too tired to do anything but sleep when she managed it.
The second day of her illness, she was mostly just sore. Rowena was with her, and tried to feed her soup mid-morning that Ivy promptly threw back up twenty minutes later. She read for a few hours, ignoring Rowena’s incessant questions like, ‘Are you sure you’re not hungry?’ and ‘Do you want to try going to the chamber room now?’.
She slept through the afternoon, waking for a dinner of a few buttered crackers and a couple chapters of the fictional book Merlin had picked up from her original time, before dozing back off. She woke again some time after midnight to visit the chamber pot in the room containing it next door, emptying the contents of her stomach alone in the dark.
The third day was mostly the same, Ivy either asleep or reading. She was in her bed all day, with the exception of frequent visits to the chamber room, and hardly ate anything. Godric looked over at her from his place in the corner of her room every few minutes, a worried frown replacing his usual playful smile.
A week passed in the same fashion, Ivy feeling more and more sorry for herself as the worried looks from her family increased. The evening of the eighth day after her birthday, she heard faint whispers outside of her door as she was trying to fall asleep.
“...can’t stand it…” Rowena was saying, her footsteps sounding up and down the corridor. She was… pacing? It was so unlike Rowena that Ivy had a hard time believing it, but her ears were not mistaken, as Godric spoke just a moment later.
“Stop pacing, Rowena.”
She groaned audibly, footsteps ceasing. A second passed, and there was a loud thud outside of Ivy’s room, followed by a muttered curse.
“I hate this,” Rowena said harshly.
“We all do,” said Godric, abnormally serene. He walked, steps getting louder as they approached the door. “Let’s talk to the others. Perhaps we can come up with a solution.”
They left then, the sound of their shoes clicking against the floor fading. Quickly, Ivy lay back down, settling herself on her back.
“Ex corpo,” she said, shutting her eyes tightly, waiting.
A faint breeze rushed past her face, and Ivy felt her body cool slightly. She opened her eyes.
She was standing on the floor, just beyond the end of her bed. Turning around, she saw herself lying peacefully on the bed. If she hadn’t known better, Ivy would have said the version of her lying there was asleep.
Ivy’s ‘awake’ form was wispy and a bluish-white colour, almost like smoke. She had done this once before, and knew what to expect, but it was still a little off-putting seeing her body like this.
Ivy took silent steps to the door, phased through it, and continued down the stairs to the kitchen, where the five adults who had raised her were sitting around the long table of the dining room, dinner spread out before them.
Salazar was speaking, plate empty other than some traces of food, as the others ate.
“And I do not understand why,” he said, “as the only other person ill in this castle was the little Edward Black, and that was hardly anything for all of two days.”
“Some people react differently to the same things,” Godric replied. He took a bite, chewed slowly, and then said, “Ivy is not a normal child. Her magic could affect the disease.”
Helga placed a hand over her husband’s. “That is no longer important. What is important is that we figure out how to treat the disease, and help Ivy recover.”
“Exactly,” said Rowena, nodding. “I propose we take a trip away, to someplace warm that will help.” A round of nods circulated the table. “We have no meetings next week, or the week after. We can leave on Sunday.”
Ivy couldn’t stay any longer. Shutting her eyes, she sat up in her bed with a jolt, gasping heavily.
She was leaving? She couldn’t just leave — she had so much to do. They knew that. They couldn’t just take her away from her home; from her research. She was drawing closer to the day she would leave every second.
The day she would have to leave and never see her family, her home, again.
And it was less than a year away.
Cold fury burning in her chest, Ivy threw off the sheets and pushed herself off the bed, only to fall down onto the floor.
It took her a few minutes to gather her thoughts, sitting on the hard stone floor, hip still stinging from the sudden fall, before she pushed herself up, using the bedframe as support that her shaking fingers clung to and heaved her way onto the mattress where she lay motionless, her heavy breaths cutting through the quiet.
She reluctantly resigned herself that she was in no state to be marching downstairs and protesting against the trip, and decided that would have to wait for tomorrow.
Sadness settled deep in her bones, she fell asleep.
“Hello, you foolish child.”
Ivy startled at the unusually stern voice of her mentor. “What did I do?” She asked worriedly upon seeing Lady Magic’s frown.
The woman sighed heavily. “I told you to stop overextending yourself, and look where you are now!”
As Ivy blinked in confusion, Lady Magic rose from her seat and walked over to Ivy, taking her hands.
”Stop worrying about your research,” she said. “It is important, but pushing yourself to keep working is damaging yourself, and not speeding up your work at all.”
”I’m sick… because I have magical exhaustion?”
”Mmm, not quite. You are sick because you caught the illness from another sick person. You are still sick because you wore yourself and your magic out. That certainly did not help matters.”
”Oh… I didn’t think that would happen…” Ivy mumbled, feeling a little stupid.
Lady Magic gave her a look as if to say ‘I can tell’.
”Going away for two weeks will do you good, so you better not tell your family tomorrow morning that you do not want to go. It will be a break, and a treat, and I know you will enjoy it greatly.”
”But- but what about—“
”Your research?” Lady Magic raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “You are being ridiculous, child. Did you forget you can take it with you when you return to your time? You can continue your studies for the rest of your life if you wish, no matter where you go.”
Ivy narrowed her eyes. “I can’t exactly take the Hogwarts library to the future with me though, can I?”
“You will be going to Hogwarts in your time, will you not? I doubt they will have gotten rid of the library.”
”Oh.”
”Oh indeed.” Lady Magic dropped Ivy’s hands, turning back to walk over to the small kitchen area. “Besides,” she called over her shoulder, “it’s the future. Research will have progressed and they are bound to have hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of new books. You can work more efficiently there.”
Fighting down a rising blush, Ivy hurried after her mentor, already feeling much better than before.
On their first full day on the island of Crete, Ivy woke up already feeling much better than she had been feeling previously. She jumped out of bed with only a slight pounding in her head, excited for the first time to be there and explore.
Merlin was the first to notice her change in mood, offering her a bright, beaming smile as she bounded towards the table to eat. Ivy returned it with gusto, ready to run around the villa and gardens with Eira as soon as she had finished, as her sister had already eaten.
Looking out of the large bay window that faced the dining table, Ivy could see with growing excitement the glittering blue waves undulating and splashing against the white sand beach. Suddenly, she couldn’t sit still any longer.
Jumping from her seat, she grabbed the tiganite (a food similar to a pancake she had been not at all surprised she liked), and rushed from the room.
Exiting the house was like walking into a blazing furnace. It was hot.
She ignored the feeling of sweat beginning to bead on her forehead and the wish to step back inside, back where it was cool, and pushed on through the sweltering heat.
The gardens of the villa Rowena and Salazar had bought for their honeymoon were filled with their favorite flowers, seeds they had picked up on travels around the world, plants they had brought from the Hogwarts Forest and the clearing. Rowena had said the gardens were blessed by Lady Magic herself, but that there were always more of each plant, and Ivy was free to pick as many flowers as she liked, or eat fruits and vegetables growing in the beds, as long as she did not over-do it and destroy the garden.
As if she would ever go that far.
The cobbled paths through the beds lined with limestone were strangely smooth underneath her new sandals, to her satisfaction. Up ahead, she could see Eira bending down over the bed of roses, humming softly to herself.
“Hello!” Ivy called out, smiling as Eira turned to her with a grin.
“I have had the best idea ever,” her sister said, running over. “We should trick the boring old adults and have some fun.”
Ivy took Eira’s hand in her own, feeling her smile widen. “I can’t wait to see their faces.”
They spent the next few hours wandering the gardens together and making plans. By the time they were called in for lunch, Ivy had conjured a small pile of items that were now hidden in a bush with a sign reading ‘Flora of Crete’.
Laughter threatened to give away their plans when, all throughout lunch, they couldn’t hold eye contact for more than a few seconds without beginning to giggle. They received a few odd looks, but no inquisitions, thankfully, and they fled from the room as soon as they had been excused to begin to carry out their tricks.
They painted orange juice on Salazar’s plate that would tell him messages in parselscript as soon as hot food was placed on it. They switched the sugar and salt inside of their respective jars, and sprinkled salt into a water glass someone had left on the table after lunch, and kept doing little things like those all around the villa.
No one was safe.
The more hidden tricks were still being discovered two days later.
Ivy and Eira had been told off countless times, but it never stopped being funny. They had decided at some point to not do anything more for at least a few months, if only so that the adults would forget this happened before they did it again.
They had visited a good part of Crete so far, including the Labyrinth from the ancient legends. Ivy had had great fun seeing the ruins and mosaics there, finding creatures in the murals with Eira and telling each other different versions of the story of the Labyrinth.
Ivy had still been recovering then, so they were at the villa most of the time, Ivy sitting down with a book or something similar, as the adults had insisted she spend a few hours resting while the cold lasted the final days.
But Ivy had stopped feeling sick the day before, and the adults had promised that as soon as she felt better, she could go out exploring the nearby caves with Eira, as she had heard from many books and locals that they were amazing to see in the evening, when the sunset was visible over the sea and the fireflies lit the caverns.
So they had agreed that the two sisters could go out after dinner, as long as they returned by two hours after sunset.
Ivy spent that day exploring the villa’s (somewhat small) library with Eira, finding the most random book titles they could; playing hiding games, and making up silly stories for Alana and Dorothy.
By the time dinner rolled around, they were both practically vibrating with excitement, and scarfed down their food as fast as they could without seeming impolite. The adults, amused, let them go shortly afterward, making them promise to return by the set time.
With light hearts, Eira and Ivy set off towards the mountains.
“They will be menaces when they are older,” Rowena huffed in amusement, watching the two girls she loved as her own skip down the front path, arms linked and giggles rising into the air.
Merlin stepped up beside her, Dorothy nestled snugly in his arms, fast asleep. “They sure will be. I dread to think what sort of trouble they would cause in the future together.”
Rowena shivered, despite the warmth of the evening air. “I can only be glad Eira is not going with Ivy then.”
Merlin laughed. Dorothy shifted slightly, but did not wake, and the two adults looked down fondly at her.
“I cannot believe how big they are already.”
“Nor can I,” said Rowena, turning back to the open doorway. “Fancy a cup of Mountain Tea, my friend?”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Merlin replied, and followed her into the kitchen. He placed Dorothy down in her cot in the kitchen, whispering soft goodnights.
Within twenty minutes, the rest of the villa’s occupants had joined them on the sofas, and another round of hot drinks had been passed out. Without the two older girls, the house was oddly quiet, but a nice sort of relaxing, and the adults found themselves talking away the evening, watching the sun sink below the horizon and the sky grow dark.
Just as the stars began to show outside the window, and their next round of Greek Mountain Tea had cooled enough to drink, Rowena caught the sound of light, fast footsteps outside the house, just barely audible, before the front door flew open with a bang.
Eira rushed into the room, breathing heavily, eyes red and tear tracks visible on her cheeks.
“Ivy,” she panted. “Ivy… needs- needs help.”
Helga rushed over, the nearest one to the girl, helping her to the sofa, where she fell down unceremoniously. “What about Ivy, sweetie?” Helga asked, frowning.
Eira took the hand offered, breaths coming out in gulps. “Ivy went ahead… she said I didn’t have to come, she just wanted to see something. I couldn’t see her, but then I heard her screaming. I ran to her, but she was gone. I was all alone.”
They sat in shocked silence, and Eira began to cry. “She’s–” she swallowed –“gone. Ivy’s gone.”
Notes:
What's this? A cliffhanger? Oops, sorry not sorry!
Don't worry guys, there's much more where that came from ;)
EDIT 31/10/2025: chapters will be every two weeks now as I finish writing arc 2.
Chapter 12: Blood and Love
Notes:
I'M BACK!! Sorry for both posting late and also leaving y'all on that cliffhanger for two weeks!
Well, actually I'm not that sorry about the cliffhanger itself but... ╮(＾▽＾)╭
(TWs)
ANyWaY this chapter is a little angsty and deals with some anorexia-type feelings, plus some implications of uhhh other stuff. If you feel uncomfortable during the first scene with Ivy, please feel free to skip to the next scene. I'll put a summary of that scene at the end of the chapter in case you decide that's best for you.
Please all stay safe and happy, and do what's best for you xxx
Let me know what you think of the chapter, and please enjoy ♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 3730
Posted: 8/11/2025
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Lily looked down at the child fast asleep in her cot and smiled wistfully.
It had been only a month since that terrible night that they gave Ivy away to raise Rose to fight against Lord Voldemort when the time came, and Rose was already missing her sister, babbling away when no one was there the way she used to do with Ivy nearby, or reaching out for another person, or looking for someone who wasn’t there.
And Lily regretted giving in to Albus’ suggestion every waking moment. Every night she wanted nothing more than to hold her two children close and whisper quietly that they would be okay, even though they were safe now, and one of those girls was unreachable — ‘for the better of the world, for the greater good’, Albus said, although it certainly wasn’t for the Potters’ good.
“I promise,” Lily said, quiet enough that Rose would not wake, “that I will make sure your sister knows of you, Ivy. I promise that she will yearn for the day she meets you, and I promise she will love you just as we do.”
With one last look at Rose, Lily left the room, returning to her husband’s side in the living room downstairs.
She would not break that promise.
“Come join us!” Lily laughed, holding Rose up.
Rose laughed in kind, delighted peals of giggles floating through the room as she clapped happily. “Pa’foo’!” she shouted, running to hug her godfather, who had arrived especially early for the birthday celebrations. The man’s face broke out in a handsome grin, and he bent down to pick her up.
“Hi there, little troublemaker,” he said fondly, pressing an overdramatic kiss to her forehead with a loud smack. “How are we today?”
“Birfday!” Rose responded. “Pa’foo’ come presen’!”
Sirius laughed. “Presents? Let’s do presents then! As the birthday girl decrees!” He pulled Lily into a side-hug briefly, Rose squirming in his arms, before heading into the kitchen, where James was flipping pancakes on the stove.
“Hey, padfoot,” James said, slightly distracted as he poured batter into the pan. “Can you set Rose up at the table for now? The food’s almost done.”
“Yeah, sure. Come one Rosie-girl,” Sirius cheered as he moved to sit Rose down in her highchair.
Within a few minutes, James made his way over to the table, holding a large platter covered in pancakes of different shapes. He greeted Remus, who had recently arrived, before setting down the platter, and sticking a candle into it.
As the candle was lit, the lights went out in the room, and the adults began to sing ‘Happy Birthday’.
It had been decided long ago that not having both of the twins in that house meant nothing, and presents would be bought for both, both would be sung to, and talked about on birthdays. Rose cheered for Ivy as well when the time came, making Lily and James smile wider.
Maybe Rose and Ivy would not know each other for years to come, but they hoped the two would be the greatest friends when the time came.
Rose woke to the sound of shouts coming from below. Trying hard not to open her eyes at all as she rolled over in favour of falling back asleep at the first moment she was comfortable, but still painfully aware of the growing noise, she noted that the louder voice was her mum’s. She was shouting something about… pancakes?
Right – it was her birthday.
Pancakes had been a birthday tradition for as long as Rose could remember, and one that had been happening for generations in her mum’s family, even though her dad was the one who actually cooked the birthday breakfasts. Perhaps he was burning them?
Rose groaned to herself, trying to block out the noise with her hands, and then her pillow, but it was in vain. The shouting was growing ever louder and the light through the gap in the sage-green curtains she so loved was bright enough that it must be mid-morning, otherwise known as the time to get up and ready before Padfoot and Moony, her beloved godfathers and honorary uncles, arrived to celebrate.
With another groan, she pushed the covers back, half-heartedly rolling out of bed but catching herself before she could hit the ground.
Sure, Rose loved her birthdays just as much as anyone else, but she had been up late the night before reading, and was really not feeling ready to be up quite that early. At least — it felt too early.
She had picked out an outfit the night before, laying it on her bureau, so she got dressed quickly, brushed her teeth in the bathroom that was conveniently right next to her room, and ran down the stairs.
The shouting had (thankfully) stopped, and her mum was sitting at the dining table, a mug of coffee in one hand and unbrushed, fiery red waves of hair falling down to frame her face as she read the book she held loosely in her other. Lily looked up as Rose entered the room, smiled, and leant over to plant a large kiss on Rose’s forehead.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” she said, eyes crinkling as Rose tried to push her away while wiping at the spot on her face Lily had kissed.
“Ew, Mama. That was slobbery,” she muttered, but hugged her mum.
James leaned his head into the room then. “Happy birthday, Rosie,” he cheered head disappearing moments later, though his voice continued, “the pancakes should be done any minute, and the two love-birds should be arriving just about now.”
“Okay, Dad,” Rose called back. Running out of the room and into the hallway, she opened the door and ran outside, peering down the large driveway that led to the large manor belonging to the Potter family. As she turned to the sky, she noticed a small dot in the sky growing larger with every second until she could make out the faces of Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus sitting on the motorbike and in the side car respectively. She waved enthusiastically and caught Remus waving back.
She ran back into the house, calling out that her uncles were arriving, as she put on a pair of shoes so she could run further than the grass, down the cobbled driveway, to greet them.
An hour later, the pancake platter held nothing more than a few crumbs, and they were sitting round one end of the large dining table in the Manor, stuffed full of food and laughing over silly stories from Rose’s childhood.
The final round of laughs over a story of a two-year-old Rose drilling holes into the Yule cake with a muggle children’s drill had just ended, and James had begun to clear the table, when Remus got to his feet with a loud sigh, and reached into his pocket.
“Well,” he said slowly, very obviously trying not to crack a grin, “Sirius and I were going to take you all out to Diagon Alley for some birthday shopping… but I think it’s too late…”
He trailed off, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. Turning to his husband, he said, “I think we may need to keep the gift vouchers for Quality Quidditch Supplies to ourselves, Siri. I don’t think Rose’ll want them anymore…”
Rose leapt out of her chair quickly, running over to stand between her godfathers, arms outstretched. “No!” she shouted. “It’s not too late! I would really love to go! Please,” she tacked onto the end quickly.
Sirius was set off laughing again from behind her. “We were kidding, prongslet! Of course we’re going.”
“Really!?”
Remus patted her shoulder. “‘Course, yeah. We’ve even got an extra one so you can buy something for Ivy.”
Right! Ivy would be returning in less than a year now. Rose had been counting down the days in a journal, but the excitement of her birthday had made her completely forget about it. “I’d love that,” she said to Remus, now completely serious. “I can’t wait to find out if she likes flying too!”
“She’s my daughter and your sister,” James added from the doorway to the kitchen. “I’m sure she loves flying.”
Rose grinned. “Yeah. I hope so. Let’s go!”
She made sure to get a few things for Ivy in the shops, even using some of the money from her own gift vouchers to buy the more expensive gifts the vouchers designated for Ivy wouldn’t quite cover, and the pile of waiting gifts in Ivy’s room grew by quite a bit that day.
Rose couldn’t wait to meet her sister.
The first few weeks after coming back were the hardest.
Ivy found herself lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling most of the time, not asleep, but not really awake either.
Her family frequently visited her room at first, trying to get her up, or speaking in the hopes she could reply.
And she wanted to — she really did. But she couldn’t.
She would open her mouth, but the words never came, no matter how hard she wished they would. So she would close her mouth and turn away, unable to face her family.
After a week or so, they stopped visiting her as often. Ivy assumed that they couldn’t bear the disappointment when she didn’t do anything but lie there, just as she couldn’t stand the looks on their faces every time they entered her room.
The house elves brought her food, setting it on the bedside table but leaving abruptly. Ivy barely touched it, eating only enough that she wouldn’t starve. She was used to the gnawing pain of hunger, and felt unable to tear herself away from it, missing how she used to stuff herself with her favourite foods and at the same time wanting nothing to ever pass between her lips, whatever the consequences.
At night, she slept far from soundly. Jolting awake in the night frequently, she would press her back against the headboard and take slow sips from the glass of water beside her bed, ignoring that the thirst never went away. She would stay like that for hours, drowning out the memories and thoughts that never left her mind with tunes she played inside her head, but that could never leave her mouth.
And it was exhausting doing nothing at all. How she longed to go back to when she could spend countless hours buried in books, real research and unreal fantastical worlds where everything good presided over the evil in the world; the evil that was very much real.
The evil Ivy didn’t think she would ever forget.
Lady Magic had visited once since her return to Hogwarts, appearing at Ivy’s side as she lay still after everyone else had left the room.
“I’m sorry,” she had whispered. She didn’t take Ivy’s hand as she had done before, but stood there, waiting for the answer that never came.
“I should’ve helped. I’m sorry, Ivy.”
But no matter what she said, they both knew she couldn’t have helped at all. Ivy hadn’t met fate, but she knew enough from Lady Magic’s stories that the goddess disliked nothing more than other deities messing in the balance and future of the universe, especially by helping mortals. There was no way for her to help without facing severe consequences.
Ivy wanted to tell her that it was alright, that it wasn’t her fault, but she couldn’t speak, and Lady Magic just kept crying. She kept Ivy company for hours until the founders returned, and hadn’t been back since that day.
Ivy couldn’t blame her — not when she was stuck like this, useless and helpless, doing nothing but wallowing in her own self-pity
Sometimes she wished they had just finished the job. Staying there in those weeks of silent torture, knowing that time was slipping by while she could do nothing to stop it, and unable to move herself from her room, was worse than anything. Her time away had left her with more than just physical wounds, but Ivy had no idea how she was supposed to go about healing them.
So the days and weeks passed, as Ivy lay stewing in thoughts, bleeding from invisible cuts and wishing she was able to do anything more.
What ended the silent suffering in the end was a visit from Eira.
She was in tears. Ivy had turned to face the other wall, unable to look into the eyes of the sister she felt she no longer knew, but she could hear the muffled sobs and the way Eira’s voice broke as she talked. She was rambling at first about her lessons and other things, but she cut herself off after a while.
“It’s been two months,” she whispered, so quietly Ivy almost didn’t hear against the pounding in her chest. “Two months since you came back,” Eira continued, voice growing steadily louder. “Nearly four since you went missing.”
There was a long moment of silence in which Eira’s muted crying continued and Ivy’s heart thudded away like a beating drum.
“I miss you, Ivy,” said Eira, and she left the room, shutting the door just as Ivy shot up.
Four months. Four.
No. Ivy refused to believe it. It couldn’t have been four months.
No, because that would mean she had less than eight months until she left forever, and that couldn’t possibly be true…
It had to be true, Ivy realised suddenly. She had to have been wasting away in that room. She had stopped counting the days since her return what must have been weeks ago. She was using precious time doing nothing like a fool. It ended there.
Resolve steady, Ivy pushed herself off the bed on shaking legs, almost falling to the ground as soon as she left the mattress, but catching herself on the bedside table. It wobbled with the force of her fall, the glass tipping over and water spreading across the surface and dripping onto the floor, but Ivy had no time to worry about it, and pushed onwards, using the wall as a crutch for her weak body that trembled with every step.
What had she done to herself?
Ivy pushed that train of thought away, and continued, practically falling out of her room, and leaning heavily on the railing as she trudged down the stairs.
Six heads turned to her at once when she entered the living room from the stairwell, their shocked faces mirroring one another.
“Hi,” Ivy breathed, dropping to the ground with the last of her strength, and the world went dark.
Two weeks later, Ivy found the strength for the first time to leave the confines of the Heads’ Quarters and visit the library.
It was very early in the morning, and Ivy ended up standing in the large doorway, breathing in the scent of books and willing herself not to cry.
To her relief, none of the students were awake, or at least up and walking around the castle, so Ivy spent a blissful two hours in the silence of her own company before Eira arrived to drag her to breakfast despite Ivy’s protests. They ate in the private dining room with the rest of their family, and Ivy left as soon as they had finished — to no one’s surprise.
She managed another hour of uninterrupted reading before students began to enter the library, and quickly found her hiding in a back nook of the room, gathering around her.
They had been addressed, Merlin had told her, when the others returned during the summer, and notified of her disappearance. Many of the older students had thrown themselves into search attempts where the younger ones weren’t allowed, some even dedicating their NEWT projects to ‘locating spells’ that would work even under blanketing wards, but to no avail.
It warmed Ivy’s heart, and she felt blessed to have so many people behind her, but she still wasn’t sure she was ready to speak with them.
She had only been ‘back’, as Eira called it, for two weeks, and was a little unsure of her ability to hold conversations with anyone other than her family, especially in large groups.
However, as they surrounded her, pressing in for hugs and laughter, Ivy found herself relaxing into the arms of her closest friends and laughing along as though she had never been away at all.
By the end of the first period, which had been a free period for the students there, Ivy had been caught up with all of the school gossip and new jokes, and her sides ached from laughter.
The rest of the week continued in a similar fashion. Ivy spent most of her time in the library, but hardly studied, as she always ended up talking with the students, and getting to meet the first-years she didn’t yet know. She returned to the Heads’ Quarters every night feeling better than the night before, a smile now more often displayed than not.
The following week, Ivy took a large pile of books from the library early on Monday morning, before anyone else was awake, and placed them on the desk in her room. She spent the days in her room, only leaving for meals and to talk with her family in the afternoon. For as much as she loved the students like family, she had been alone for months, and wanted both some space, and to do some studying of her own.
Her dreams with Lady Magic began again a few weeks later. They were much less frequent than before — Ivy believed her mentor thought she was still upset with her, no matter how many times she tried to convey that she wasn’t at all upset — but were a welcome change from the nightly bad dreams and hours spent awake and unable to close her eyes without seeing her time away.
And things were finally looking up.
“Ivy?”
“Yes?” she called back, only half-paying attention to Rowena’s voice from downstairs as she flicked through the pages of a book on elemental magic she had read countless times before. She somehow never remembered the information mentioned on fiendfyre, nor the page it was on, and had been searching through the book for at least twenty minutes already.
Over the past two months since she had left the unresponsive state she now so desperately wished had never happened, she had thrown herself into the practical applications of the work she had done before her disappearance. It had given her new strength and motivation to get up every morning and no time to reflect on the faces that entered her unoccupied mind, and the frequent duels with anyone and everyone who was willing to go against the ‘legend’, as they called her, had improved her flexibility and agility more than she could’ve imagined.
Despite that, she always made time to retreat to her room and read or write in her journal of ideas. It was the only thing Ivy could never leave behind, and she had long decided that as soon as she was considered an adult in the eyes of the future magical worlds, she would leave to travel and pursue her studies of the limitless bounds of magic.
And yet, every day that moment and the moment she would have to leave drew closer, Ivy found herself wishing she could go back and spend more time with her family and the students, or stop time from passing right there and remain with her loved ones in the place she loved most forever. Alas, she couldn’t, and instead resolved to make the most of her time there before she left.
“Come down, please,” Rowena called. “We must talk with you.”
How unusual.
“I’ll come in a minute.” Ivy continued flicking through the pages, getting increasingly annoyed as she approached the end of the book. Finally, she landed on the page she wanted, just as the voice came again.
“Now, please, Ivy.”
“Yes, yes, I’m coming!” Ivy placed a ribbon between the pages and shut the book, placing it on the large desk to one side of her room that she had so desperately begged for after seeing it on display while out with Merlin. Sliding her feet into her slippers, she grabbed her wand from where it had been thrown haphazardly onto her bed earlier, and ran down the spiral staircase outside of her room.
The four heads and Merlin were waiting at the bottom of the stairs and quickly led Ivy out of their quarters, leaving Eira tending to Dorothy and Alana who were taking a midday nap downstairs. At first, Ivy didn’t recognise the route they were taking through the castle, but as soon as the high, vaulted ceilings changed to plain, flat ones just above their heads, and the statues and paintings were left behind, Ivy was struck with the realisation that they were heading deep underground to the ritual rooms.
What in Magic’s name was going on?
Ivy tried to ask why they were heading to the ritual rooms of all places, but was quickly shut down with a stern look from Salazar that very obviously meant ‘shut your mouth and be quiet’; she could practically hear the condescending drawl.
She rolled her eyes and followed along the last stretch of corridor until they reached the first room, the largest chamber, and stepped inside, shutting the door behind.
“I hope this isn’t another kidnapping attempt,” Ivy said drily, receiving five fed-up looks in return. “What is this about?”
“We’re going to adopt you,” Merlin told her bluntly. “You always said you wished we could do that, and we decided that you should have access to our vaults, properties, and whatnot when you return to the future, and we should make this all official… that is, if you still want that?”
Wow, it was really happening. Ivy almost couldn’t believe it.
Sure, she didn't want to leave her birth family, as they hadn’t had a choice to keep her, according to Lady Magic; and Ivy wanted to give them a chance. On the other hand, this just meant the adults she had always her parents would actually be just that.
“Of course,” she said. “So… what? A blood adoption ritual?”
“Yes. That is the plan,” answered Rowena. “Shall we begin?”
Notes:
For those who skipped the first Ivy scene, she feels really awful after returning to Hogwarts, and doesn't want to speak to the founders, merlin or eira as she feels she physically can't speak. Lady Magic apologised when Ivy returned but Ivy doesn't blame her. She stays in her bed mostly, just feeling bad. She has trouble eating. Eventually, eira visits to tell her it's been two months since she returned and almost four since she went missing. ivy, once eira leaves, tries to get up and falls because her body is weak, but makes it down the stairs to say 'hi', shocking the founders.
ALSO: fun fact! The pancake tradition rose mentions is actually a birthday tradition in my family that started when i was little because i got to choose what my mum had for her birthday breakfast and insisted on it being pancakes, and then my dad having the same as well, and then it just became a tradition. I like to imagine something similar happened here lol
hope you all enjoyed, and see you in two weeks for the final chapter of arc 1!!!
Chapter 13: History
Notes:
THE FINAL CHAPTER IS HERE!!
Well folks, as this is the last chapter of act one, I'll see you in two weeks for the beginning of Arc 2!
Hope you enjoy the chapter, and please let me know your thoughts <3
-Ebony
Word Count: 2086
Posted: 21/11/2025
Chapter Text
Two months after the blood-adoption ritual, Ivy thought she had finally discovered all of the features and quirks that came with having five new parents.
For starters, her hair was now a little lighter, but still what one would consider black, and her skin was a little warmer. She had tanned quite a bit from spending most of her summers outside in the sun every year, and then her two weeks in Greece. And although she had naturally a very pale complexion, her new genes and the exposure to the sun had taken a hold, and she no longer looked ‘ghostly white’, according to Eira.
She hadn’t shot up, but was still growing gradually, so there was no way to tell whether the adoption would change her eventual height at all.
Overall she was not much different on the physical side, but there had been some fairly substantial changes to her magic.
Most notably, each of the founders had a different type of elemental magic that came more easily to them, so Ivy found she was now much better at controlling all of the elements, as opposed to the water-based elemental magic she had preferred before.
Then, a large influx of pure power from having seven parents, rather than four, had been enough to knock her out cold for two days, and had taken a lot of getting used to afterwards. She was still surprised occasionally when some random display of magic happened around her with no other explanation than that she had not yet discovered a small kink in the magic she had just inherited; one that their biological children would have to grow up experiencing and get used to faster.
So to help with the process, Ivy had focused her time on the practical applications of her magic, rather than the theoretical, and had almost entirely abandoned her research when not in the mindscape with Lady Magic.
And she had decided that, in order to utilise her time most effectively, she would dedicate one week for refining every subject taught at Hogwarts, or the few Ivy had pursued most on her own.
That led Ivy to where she was now, rifling through the restricted section of the library for the most advanced books on Transfiguration — books she was sure she had read before, but would read again regardless. It was the most in-depth content on the subject, reaching the boundaries of what was currently possible, and was prime material for Ivy’s week of extensive research and practice.
Ivy had things to do when she reached the future that were most definitely not first-year assignments, and refused to waste her time with them. She intended to take her OWLs and NEWTs as soon as possible, and move onto an in-school mastery, which was rare, but possible, and Ivy was nothing if not persistent.
Her goals for that week had been set:
First, study Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Gamp, as a friend of Merlin who was currently in his sixties, had visited Hogwarts before, curious about the only existing school of magic. As a result, Ivy had met him; and while she had found him to be well-educated and a wonderful conversation partner on the matter of his own research, she was still slightly sceptical of the boundaries of transfiguration he had published. Since the research became public, no one had disputed his claims, or attempted to test them, and Ivy was convinced she could exploit some sort of loophole within his ‘rules’.
Second, work on human transfiguration. That was one of the branches of the subject she was least familiar with, as she had previously focused her time on other things, but she had come to realise that being able to disguise herself instantly was an invaluable skill that may become very handy in the near future. Of course, she had an advantage, being a metamorphmagus, but she wasn’t very experienced with that ability yet, and wanted to work on her proficiency.
And finally, she had plans to spend one full day researching the animagus transformation. She had wanted desperately to take the steps and become one as soon as she had found out what they were a few years ago, but her parents had forbidden her from attempting the transformation until at least her fourth official year attending Hogwarts in the future. That didn’t mean she couldn’t look into the steps beforehand though.
That morning, she had woken up early to get in and out of the library before she saw any other students and lost track of time talking with them. As much as she loved spending time with the many people who considered her a younger sister or sorts, she was dedicated to finalising certain parts of her studies, and would make sure to spend a lot of time with them once she had finished. It was better to get it all over with as soon as possible, she reasoned, and then do whatever she liked for a month or so.
She was not at all happy that she had only four months left there, but her parents had assured her she could travel back on her own, and visit whenever she pleased, as long as she didn’t spend the majority of her time away from the future. Lady Magic had also assured her that the other deities were completely unbothered about Ivy flitting between times when she pleased, and it would have no major effects on the future.
(She had said later that she was fairly sure the other deities wanted her happy after she had been moping about Ivy’s disappearance for six months, and were glad to let her get what she wanted so that she was more responsive at their meetings.)
The rest of the week passed smoothly. Ivy discovered that Gamp was indeed correct with a vast majority of his work, though Ivy had found several exploitable loopholes, and planned to research that at some later date. Her human transfiguration had progressed considerably, and so had her metamorphmagus proficiency, although she was still far from what she would consider ‘good’ at it.
Ivy had been surprised to learn that even preparing the animagus transformation took months of meditation and brewing, and then years of regular transformations to master the skill. Additionally, unprepared transformations could lead to permanent body modifications and, in some extreme cases, even death.
Yes, she was beginning to understand why she was expected to wait several years.
The next few weeks flew by, Ivy making good progress with her work, and still managing to spend a few hours each day with her family or with the students. Then, before she knew it, she had less than a month left, and time was only seeming to speed up.
Eira had been waking her at the crack of dawn each morning since she finished her final week-long research period a few days before. She was dragged down to breakfast and then out to the grounds half-asleep to play games with the other students who were up.
Safe to say, she was by no means a morning person.
By lunch, a picnic was set out outside the Entrance Hall, and the entire student body, all of whom had elected to stay an extra month into the summer to spend time with Ivy and later see her off, would gather for a large lunch.
The following Monday, Ivy woke up to Salazar gently running his fingers through her hair.
“Good morning, Anguilla,” he said softly upon seeing her eyes flutter open. “It is time for you to get up. We must all talk today of some important matters regarding your… return.”
The name ‘Anguilla’ had emerged a few years ago, as Ivy and Salazar were conversing in a Latin lesson. It meant ‘little snake’, or ‘worm’, and Salazar thought it appropriate, although Ivy took playful offence to being called a worm regularly. She had tried to protest against the nickname, but it had stuck, much to her ire, and was now a regular call from the students when they saw her.
“What time is it?” she asked groggily, pushing herself up to sitting.
“Almost noon.”
“And Eira didn’t wake me earlier?”
Salazar chuckled. “No, we asked her not to. You needed sleep.”
Ivy cracked a grin. “Thanks.”
Salazar stood, patting her head, and left the room with a call of, “Please do hurry!”
She found her family gathered around the table ten minutes later. Taking her place, food appeared on the platters in the center of the table.
“We decided on an early lunch today,” Rowena said, “as we will likely take a long time over it while we talk.”
“What did you need to talk to me about?” Ivy asked, beginning to serve herself a full plate of her favourite things. Salazar, sitting next to her, reached over to place a pile of beans on her plate a minute later, receiving a glare in return. He simply shrugged, and turned back to his own plate.
“Yes,” Merlin began. “We realised some time late last night that while we had adopted you, you would have no idea how to access our vaults or properties when you leave, and that the goblins will hardly believe you are the successor to our lines.”
“But you have your money entrusted personally to the goblin nation? And I am a friend of the goblins. I don’t see any problem.”
“The goblin nation runs a large banking system in your time, and things will be very different. We decided we ought to give notes to the goblins about our decision to name you an heir, and instructions on what to say so that they believe you.”
Ivy took a bite and chewed it over for a long while, thinking, before she replied. “Alright. What must I do?”
The next three weeks passed in a blur of laughter and joy-filled days.
The Litha celebrations were as small as they usually were, but magical and wonderful all the same. The days were long and hot, and perfect for running around the grounds and splashing each other with jets of water, and the evenings were warm and perfect to watch the fireflies light up as the sun set below the horizon and the moon rose.
Merlin left one morning, a week before Ivy returned to the future, and came back in the evening with a small bag of Non-magical clothes for Ivy to wear under the pretense that she had been living with muggles all her life, and knew nothing about the magical world beyond the fact it existed.
Rowena had assured her she could visit them after beginning her first year at Hogwarts to retrieve her robes, as it would be a safe place to wear them without suspicion of how she owned them, as Ivy could pass it off as having gone shopping prior to the start of the school year. With that, Ivy packed a small case with her journal, a few precious Non-magical items she wanted to keep with her, and the clothes Merlin had bought.
With only three days left, Ivy left the castle and headed into the forest to the clearing. She spent the night awake there, talking to the creatures and blessing them and the plants, and wishing them farewell. She left as the sun began to appear above the top of the trees and stumbled back up to the castle and into bed, only to be woken an hour later by Eira.
That day was rainy, and spent inside playing games and running through the halls in a giant game of hiding and chasing. The next day was one long party that lasted well into the night. Ivy cried more times than she could count, and flitted between groups and huge cuddle piles filled with tearful exchanges.
And at long last, Ivy woke up on her final day.
Breakfast was held in the Great Hall, which had been filled with banners and fare-well gifts. The House Elves had made a commemorative meal of pancakes and berries, and Ivy spent the hour laughing, and then two hours opening gifts that were put away carefully in her room before lunch.
Ivy said goodbye to the students in the early afternoon, eyes red from crying, and left with her family to spend a quiet few hours together before she departed.
Around a dinner that could feed twenty, they shared stories from the past and cried and laughed together until the night began.
Chapter 14: Return to Me
Notes:
WELCOME TO ARC 2!!!
Now that we're past arc 1, we're out of the 'backstory' material, and into the proper action. I hope you're excited!
Due to being busy and therefore behind where I wanted to be in writing, the chapters will stay as every other week for now, at least until I've caught up.
Hope y'all enjoy ♡♡
-Ebony
Word Count: 2261
Posted: 05/12/2025
Chapter Text
“Goodbye,” Ivy muttered into Salazar’s shoulder the next morning.
The other adults were standing around, Dorothy and Alana holding their mothers’ hands, and Eira next to Merlin.
After a long hug, she turned to Rowena beside him. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, my Sweeting,” she whispered back, voice shaking. After a squeeze, Ivy was released to move to Goric.
“Goodbye.”
He chuckled. “We’ll see you again,” he replied jovially, voice touched with a hint of sadness. “Sooner rather than later, preferably.”
“Of course,” she replied, and moved to Helga, who wrapped her in her arms tightly. “Goodbye, Helga.”
“As Godric said, we’ll see you again soon, love.” Ivy was squeezed painfully tight before she was released to Dorothy, two years old now, grabbing at her legs.
“Ivy, up!”
“Yes, miss,” Ivy laughed, and picked up her sister to hold her tightly in her arms. “Goodbye, Dorothy. I’ll see you soon.”
“Soon,” the girl echoed, and began squirming to be set down. Alana quickly ran up to take her place, holding her little arms up.
“Goodbye, Alana. I’ll see you soon too.”
“Love you,” Alana said instead, holding tight to Ivy’s braided hair. “Don’ go.”
“I have to. I’m sorry.”
Alana sniffled, but held on for a moment longer and then asked to be put down. Ivy turned to Eira then, arms open. Her sister pulled her into a warm embrace quickly, where they stayed for a moment, just holding each other.
“Promise you’ll come back?” Eira asked eventually, voice barely a whisper.
“I promise.”
“Promise you’ll try to stay safe.”
“I promise.”
“I love you, Ivy.”
“I love you too, Eira,” she replied, feeling her eyes begin to water as she stepped away. “I’ll miss you all,” Ivy said, louder, turning to face her whole family, who smiled back.
Merlin picked up Ivy’s small bag of belongings. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
There was a flash of white, and they were gone.
Number 4, Privet Drive was… ordinary.
Ivy had been to this time before, on day-trips with Merlin. They stayed in theNon-magical world, walked around, talked to some people going about their daily business, and left for the past. Once, they had started talking to an older lady they met while looking around a Christian church. She had been very kind, and after a while she invited them back to her house for afternoon tea.
It had been calm and sweet, as she told them about her cats and her dead husband and children, who were living in another country.
The old lady, who said her name was Mary, had shown them around her house after a long while talking over tea, and gone through her stamp collection, and then her handkerchief collection, before they told her that they really must go in order to get home for dinner. She shook their hands and waved to them as they left, and called that they ought to visit her sometime soon.
That had been just over a year ago for Ivy, but only a few weeks for her.
Ivy had visited the year 1991 at least five times with Merlin, who decided she needed to be familiar with the modern way of speaking, and what her world would look like when she left the past behind.
One of the largest shocks had been the houses, both inside and outside, for Ivy, especially after the in-depth history of Mary’s house and belongings.
But apparently Mary had a very normal house, and so, it seemed, did the Dursley family.
The bushes lined against the front wall were trimmed to perfection, the grass recently mowed — it has that fresh smell Ivy learned quickly to identify — and the flowers in the flower pots were blooming. She could barely make out noises coming from inside the house.
Turning to Merlin, she asked, “Do they know I’m coming today?”
At that, he flinched unexpectedly, but waved her away when she opened her mouth to apologise. “They… uh, well… they don’t really know you exist, actually.”
Ivy was stunned into silence.
“We decided it was best to keep things simple. They don’t know about you or Rose Potter, as, at least from what I understand, Petunia Dursley has not spoken to her sister since before you were born, after a falling out when your maternal grandparents died. Telling them and having them wait would… hmm… overcomplicate matters, shall we say?”
“So— what? You’re going to change their memories to make it seem like I’ve been with them my entire life?!” she asked incredulously, and he grimaced.
“Er, yes. That is the plan.”
Ivy gave him a disapproving look, marching toward the house. Before she could knock, a heavy hand was placed on her shoulder.
“Before you meet them,” Merlin said, “I think you ought to know they are really quite unpleasant, and, as they believe they raised you, they will likely expect you to be a humble… servant of sorts.”
“Alright,” she said slowly, and pushed the button she had been informed was called a ‘doorbell’, whatever that meant.
A tall, thin, blond-haired woman opened the door quickly, scowling. “Whoever you are, we’re not interested—”
She was cut off when Merlin waved his hand, her eyes widened and her face went slack. They stood there in silence for almost a minute, until Merlin stepped back, patted Ivy’s head gently, and walked into the house. The woman, Petunia Dursley, her aunt, did not move.
After a few minutes where Ivy didn’t dare to follow Merlin inside in case Mrs Dursley regained control over her body, before he reappeared at the doorway.
“Visit soon,” he said, and then wrapped her up in his arms. “We’ll miss you. Good luck, child.”
He stepped back, gave her a nod, and was gone.
At that moment, Mrs Dursley seemed to gather herself, and glared very harshly at Ivy, who shrunk under the intense look. “What are you doing out here with your things, girl? Get back inside at this moment and make breakfast!” she snapped.
“Yes… Aunt Petunia,” Ivy added after hesitating briefly.
Mrs Dursley grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip, and pulled her inside, shoving her towards a door beneath the stairs. “Put that bag in your cupboard and get into the kitchen.”
Ivy hastened to comply, placing her bag on the mattress in the cupboard Merlin had said he would set up as if the Dursleys had done it themselves, and then making her way to the kitchen she could see beyond the hallway.
A packet of bacon was set out on the counter by the stove, but before she could panic over not knowing how to use the burners despite her ‘years of cooking for the Dursleys’, there was a loud revving noise from a motorcycle outside, and then a huge bang came from the front of the house, or the hallway — she wasn’t quite sure. Mrs Dursley rushed past her towards the front door, Ivy just behind.
In the space where the door once was, a large man with a bushy, black beard stood.
“‘Ello, there,” the man said gruffly. “I’m ‘ere ta take Ivy ta her parents.”
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?” Mrs Dursley shrieked.
The man looked rather confused. “Hagrid, keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts,” he said slowly. “And, as I said, I’m ‘ere ta take Ivy to Lily and James Potter.”
What? Ivy had thought she was being picked up by her parents themselves, but instead they sent someone else? Could they not be bothered to get their own daughter, especially when they hadn’t seen her for ten years? All at once there was a burning feeling in her chest and her hands were clenched. Suddenly, the next few years were not looking as appealing as before.
While Ivy was stewing in steadily-rising ire, Mr Dursley, a round man in trousers and a shirt for work, walked up to his wife, holding a cricket bat. “Now, see here, sir,” he grunted, “we could have you arrested for breaking and entering. How do we know you aren’t some kidnapper?”
Mrs Dursley turned to her husband, whispering something in his ear, and he spoke before Hagrid could reply. “Nevermind, we don’t care whether you are one anyway. Just take the girl quickly. Oh, and you better fix that door or we will press charges.”
“Right, er…” Hagrid picked up the front door from the floor with large hands, and fitted it back into the hinges slowly. When he was done, he dusted off his hands and turned to Ivy. “D’ya want ta get yer things?”
Ivy nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed. She picked up the bag from the cupboard and ran back to the door, eager to leave.
Hagrid seemed a little concerned, eying Ivy’s bag worriedly, but led her through the front door that slammed behind them and towards a motorbike that was parked right in front of the house. He picked up a purple helmet from the sidecar and handed it to her, before pulling a much larger black helmet out.
“You can get inta the sidecar, and we’ll be off,” he instructed, seating himself on the motorbike.
She hastened to comply, fastening the helmet on her head before strapping herself into the sidecar as it began to move. Then they were flying.
As they flew above the fields and intermittent villages below, Hagrid turned to Ivy. “Ya know,” he said, “yer parents wanted ta come get ya themselves, but had to get something done before ya arrived, so I volunteered. Just though ya should know.”
Oh. That was better. At least they had wanted to see her. She couldn't help but wonder what it was they had to do so urgently though.
“Thank you, sir,” she said.
“Drop the ‘sir’, ‘Hagrid’ is just fine.”
“Okay… Hagrid.”
He grinned, and the motorbike sped up a little.
Before too long, they began to descend, the fields flying past slightly faster until they could see a large stone manor in the distance, and they slowed down. They landed on the empty road with a jolt, and pulled onto the driveway of the manor shortly afterwards.
Hagrid took her helmet once she had climbed out of the sidecar, and led her up the remaining stretch of cobbled driveway to the house. The doors were flung wide open, probably due to the heat of the summer sun.
Inside the Entrance Hall, the curtains on the large window above the staircase were opened, letting rays of light fall upon the red carpet and marbled stone floors and bathing the room in warm light.
It was simple, and rather empty, and they quickly walked to the right side of the room, where Hagrid opened a door, holding it for Ivy to walk through.
“SURPRISE!”
Ivy almost fell over in shock when the shout came, and three people jumped out at her.
Her parents, and her sister.
At first glance, the only resemblance between Ivy and Lily Potter was the shared bright green eyes, but then Ivy noticed how they had the same nose, and the same shiny hair that fell in waves, despite the obvious difference in colour. Meanwhile she seemed to share her facial structure with James Potter, but not much else.
And then Rose, who looked exactly the same but with her father’s coloring and slightly more curly hair. They were the same even down to the smile.
Her… family.
Rose immediately latched onto Ivy’s shoulders, studying her face with the biggest smile Ivy had ever seen on someone, before she was brought into a hug.
“I’m so happy to meet you!” Rose gushed, still holding Ivy tightly. James and Lily were exchanging happy looks. “I have been dying to know what you’re like for my entire life! I’m Rose. I mean— you know that… wow, this is so weird but also so awesome!”
“H- hi,” Ivy stuttered, heart still racing.
Once Rose released her, Lily stepped forward, and Ivy was being hugged again. “I’m Lily, your mum.”
Ivy was let go of much quicker this time, as Lily began to look over her very intently. “How was Petunia? Oh, I hope it wasn’t too bad. We wanted so much to just go and get you, but we were told it was safer not to, and you’d be happier, so we didn’t. I wish we had gone anyway. I wish we could've known you, darling.”
Ivy felt her cheeks warm a little. “Nice to meet you,” she said haltingly.
James was next to wrap his arms around her, squeezing her warmly. “Hi,” he breathed, and pulled away quickly. “I’m your dad, James.”
“WELCOME HOME!” Rose shouted then. “We have- like, nine years of presents up in your room. You should get started, and then we can have lunch, and then you can tell me everything about you, and I’ll tell you everything about me, and then maybe we can go flying, or do colouring, or—”
James slapped a hand over her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh. “Sorry, she’s a bit excited.”
“I… could tell.”
He did laugh then, loud and deep, dropping his arm to slap his knee. Lily smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Well,” she said, “Rose is right, in any case. You have a lot of presents to catch up on today. Let’s get started, shall we?”
As Ivy was led up to her room, an excited Rose bouncing alongside her, she found herself thinking that maybe this wouldn’t be too bad after all.
Chapter 15: First Family
Notes:
Sorry for the slightly late post! I was out all day and came home with a terrible headache, and didn't remember to post the chapter until now.
Regardless, I've been less busy recently, and have written quite a bit more than usual, so if all goes well, I should be back to weekly chapters after chapter 16 (02/01/2025)! Just a reminder that the chapters are currently unedited, so if you find any mistakes, please let me know.
Have a very happy Christmas (if you celebrate it) or winter break, and enjoy!!
-Ebony <3
Word Count: 2831
Chapter Posted: 20/12/2025
Chapter Text
Two days later, Ivy was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
A little while after lunch ended, Ivy headed up to her room, saying she needed a while to herself. Rose looked slightly disappointed, but accepting regardless, and even said that she wanted some time on her own almost as much as she wanted to keep ‘hanging out’ with Ivy.
Having retreated to her room, Ivy spent a few minutes reading one of the books that Lily and James had apparently wrapped up as a present a few years before. Sure, it was somewhat behind the level of complexity she was used to reading, but it was a nice way to relax. However, she quickly became bored, and ended up doing pretty much nothing.
Her life was absolutely crazy.
She had spent two days getting to know Lily, James and Rose. She had spent hours talking with them as they shared stories that she had never heard and that only made her feel more separated from them because she wasn’t there. She understood that they were trying to make her feel welcome and sharing moments that shaped them as people, but it felt, no matter how hard they tried, like she was an intruder in their small, happy family.
‘We missed you so much,’ Lily and James kept saying, and Rose wouldn’t stop talking about how excited she was to have a sister, a twin, to spend time with after growing up without many friends.
But Ivy knew that her heart would always be with Rowena and Salazar and Helga and Godric and Eira and Alana and Dorothy and all the people who had raised her.
Because James and Lily hadn’t raised her, and that was what mattered.
Still, she could try to love them. She was trying to love them — she just didn’t know them enough yet.
And she knew that she wanted, deep down, to just go back to her family at the first opportunity.
Huffing in frustration, she pushed herself up to sitting, threw a long glance at the book abandoned beside her, and was struck with a brilliant idea:
Potter Manor had a library. Lily had mentioned it yesterday, saying it was well-known in the magical world for its wide array of books centered on light and neutral magic, and then for a few select scrolls and tomes on dark magic that ‘Ivy was not to go near until she had at least completed her OWLs (whatever they were) and the same rule applied for Rose’.
Lily didn’t say she wasn’t allowed to go into the library though.
With renewed energy, Ivy leapt off the bed, grabbed her journal and a self-inking quill from the drawer of her bedside table, and left the room.
Lily and James were sitting at the table in the kitchen with mugs of tea. Rose was nowhere to be seen, probably still up in her room.
As Ivy entered the kitchen, Lily gave her a smile.
“Ivy,” she greeted, “would you like a cup of tea?”
“No thank you. I was wondering whether I could use the library?”
James stood up immediately. “Of course,” he said. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.”
Despite the fact Ivy had already seen the library on the tour she received of the manor, she was glad for the company. She wasn’t quite sure she remembered exactly where the library was, and getting lost might be a little embarrassing, as easy as it would be — the manor was really quite big.
Once they had entered through the large wooden doors, James led her through the shelves to a small nook with a few tables.
“Here you go!”
“Thank you, James,” Ivy said quietly, placing her journal and quill down on the dearest table.
“It’s no problem at all!” he said. “I’m glad our library will be getting more use. Rose isn’t one for staying inside.” He stopped for a moment, and then gave her a brilliantly blinding grin. “Hey, I’ll get you some hot chocolate for comfort! Wait— do you like hot chocolate?”
“Uhh… I haven’t had it before?” Ivy decided it would be best to not say she didn’t know what that was, figuring it might come across as a little strange if this chocolate drink was popular at this time.
James let out a strangled-sounding gasp and rushed from the room. After a minute, Ivy shrugged to herself and began to walk around the nearest shelves, on the hunt for interesting books.
He reappeared a few minutes later, a steaming mug of brown liquid in his hand, which he held out for her. “Drink, drink!” he said.
Ivy took the mug from his hands, threw him a sceptical look, and took a long drink.
It was heaven.
“Oh my goodness,” she breathed, and took another drink. “It’s so sweet and warm.”
James beamed. “I’m so happy you like it! I’ll make more tonight, yeah?”
“Thank you, James,” Ivy said, before bringing the mug to her lips once again.
He took the mug back when she had finished, gave her a pat on the head, and told her to enjoy her studies.
Ivy got several hours of uninterrupted reading that afternoon. She had dinner with James, Lily and Rose afterwards, and they asked about what she found during her time in the library.
And after that, James made hot chocolate again, and Ivy was allowed a second mug once she had finished her first.
By the time she crawled into bed and Lily and James tucked her in, all thoughts of returning to the past were gone from her mind.
The next morning, Ivy woke to Rose shaking her shoulder. Groaning softly, she pushed herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, before sagging sideways. Rose grabbed her arm before she could drift off again.
“Come on, Ivy,” her sister sighed, tugging. “Get uuuup.”
“Why so early?” Ivy asked, rubbing at her face.
“It’s nine o’clock.” There was a pause, and then Rose said, “Dad made hot chocolate.”
Ivy was already standing by the time Rose finished her sentence. “Okay, I’m up!”
Rose grinned and bounded out of the room.
When Ivy walked into the kitchen to get herself breakfast, Lily stood to give her a side-hug that Ivy definitely did not lean into, nope.
“Sorry we woke you up,” Lily said, pressing a kiss to the top of Ivy’s head. “We have visitors coming today.”
“Yeah,” Rose called, Nutella around the corners of her mouth. “Family friends. You’ll love them.”
Ivy sent her a smile, and pointed to the corner of her mouth silently. Rose flushed. As her sister began to hurriedly wipe at her mouth, Lily released Ivy and made her way into the kitchen.
Only as Ivy sat down with a steaming mug of her new favourite drink and a bowl of cereal did Rose start to explain who was coming.
According to her, the Weasley and Longbottom families had been close with their parents years ago, so all of their children grew up together, barring Ivy for obvious reasons. Then, Rose tried her best to accurately describe all of their personalities, with James and Lily interrupting every now-and-again to chip in with descriptive words.
Around an hour later, they gathered in the Entrance Hall. Rose took Ivy’s hand, vibrating with energy as the fireplace lit up green and people began to appear in the flames.
The first to step out was a man named Arthur, followed by a young girl and slightly older boy, then a woman, three older boys, and two identical twins, who see Ivy first and give her identical winks and identical grins. All of them had bright, fiery red hair.
The woman rushed over to LIly first, pulling her into a hug as the man went to shake James’ hand.
“Good to see you, Arthur,” said James.
“You too,” Arthur replied. He turned to Ivy and held out a hand. “You must be Ivy. I’m Arthur Weasley, nice to meet you.”
Ivy took his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
After he had moved on to greet Lily, the woman hurried over and grasped Ivy’s hand in her own. “Nice to meet you, dearie,” she said softly. “My name’s Molly Weasley.”
“How do you do?” Ivy said politely. Mrs Weasley cooed and turned to James with a smile.
“You might have the sweetest, most polite girl I have ever met,” she said, placing a hand over her heart. Paying no mind to Ivy’s reddening cheeks, she brought James in for a hug, and then continued, “She must be a delight to have around.”
“She really is,” James said, leading her through to the living room. Ivy was left with her sister and the Weasley children.
The youngest boy surged forward to meet Rose, tackling her in a hug. “I have so much to tell you,” he said. The Weasley girl rolled her eyes, and gave Ivy a small smile.
“Hey,” she said, “I’m Ginny Weasley.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ivy replied. “I’m Ivy.”
The twins bowed in tandem.
“Wonderful—”
“—to meet you—”
“—Miss Potter! We are—”
“—humbly grateful to bask in—”
“—your glorious presence. Our names are—”
“—Fred—”
“—and George.”
Ivy blinked in confusion. “Which one is which?” she asked Ginny.
The twins made to speak, but their sister said, “the one on the right is Fred, George is the one on the left.” They pouted. “Oh! And these are Bill and Charlie,” Ginny continued, pointing at the oldest boy first, and then the next oldest, “and the grump over there is Percy.”
Ivy giggled as Percy made a disapproving face at Ginny. “Nice to meet you all,” she said.
At that moment, the adults reappeared. “How are you all getting on?” James asked, sidling up to Rose, who was now talking excitedly to the youngest boy.
“Very well, thank you, James,” Ivy said, before startling slightly when the fireplace lit up green once again and three people stepped out.
A boy was the first through, and he was pulled into a hug by the young Weasley boy and Rose, looking a little scared all the while. “H-hi,” he stuttered out, eventually returning the hug.
Then, a couple emerged. The woman went straight to Lily, kissing her on both cheeks, and embracing Mrs Weasley, while the man, her husband presumably, patted James on the back.
“Good to see you, James,” he said. “Arthur.”
Mr Weasley gave him a smile, but said nothing, and the three of them made their way from the room.
The boy, finally released from the death grip Rose had him in, shuffled up to Ivy and held out his hand. “H-hello,” he said, almost a whisper. “I’m N-neville Longbottom.” There was a pause, before he said even more quietly, “well met.”
Ivy beamed.
How long had it been since someone introduced themselves that way? She knew the Potters were traditionalist but their first meeting was… different. And the Weasleys seemed a bit too close to the Potter family for formal introductions like that. Still, Ivy couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope for this very different world.
“Well met! I’m Ivy.”
He gave a faint smile. Then, he shuffled off, back to her sister. Ginny bumped her shoulder against Ivy’s.
“What’s your favourite book?”
“I have too many favourites to choose,” Ivy replied honestly. “Would you like to see the ones I have?”
Ginny grinned. “I’d love to!”
By the end of the evening, Ivy had made an official friend in Ginny, and carried out a few pranks with the twins, who she had learned were avid tricksters and absolutely delightful to plot with. It wasn’t until dinner that Ivy found out the youngest Weasley boy’s name. He was stuck between her and Rose at the table, and hesitantly introduced himself as “Ronald, but call me Ron”. From there, she entered a fast-paced conversation about anything and everything with Ron and her sister.
Perhaps the upcoming year wouldn’t be too bad with a few friends to start the first term with.
“Hey, girls!” Lily said, walking into Rose’s bedroom where they were reading quietly together. “I have a job for you two.”
Rose bookmarked the page and set the book down on the bed beside her. “What is it?”
“We’re out of a few things and the yeast isn’t ready to make bread for lunch. “Can you go down to the bakery and get a loaf? You have time to stop at the playground for a while after, if you want.”
“Sure,” Rose said. “Come on, Ivy. You’ll love this playground! It’s so much better than the other ones nearby.”
Ivy had never been to a playground before, so nodded her assent without saying anything.
They finished their chapters quickly, talking between pages as Rose described the playground in the town. Ivy put her book down only moments before Rose, and they headed downstairs to put on shoes, collect a bag and some money from Lily, and set off.
Ivy, despite having walked around the grounds of Potter Manor many times, had never gone further than the gardens or pitch, and certainly not into the town. She had been a little worried at first, but they spent the journey there talking away to each other as they walked alongside the road, and by the time they began to approach the first houses, Ivy was only excited to see what the town was like.
The grocery store was on one side of the road; one of the first buildings someone walking into the town would see. Rose grabbed Ivy’s hand, speeding up and pulling her along until they were inside.
The chill from the cold cabinets on either side was surprising, but not unwelcome on a hot summer day. They stood together, cooling down for a minute or two, and then were off again, darting through the aisles. Rose led Ivy through the store, placing food in a basket she had picked up near the front door as Ivy stared in wonder at the things theNon-magicals had managed to make with only the resources around them.
Those conceited and prejudiced wixen Ivy had met who believed themselves superior toNon-magicals were absolute fools if they couldn’t see just how resourceful people without an easy way to pass through life were.
Ivy was still reeling a little by the time they left after paying, but then Rose mentioned the playground, and thoughts of the store all but disappeared.
The playground was unlike anything Ivy had ever seen before.
Ivy and Rose set down their bags at an unoccupied bench nearby, before running off towards the ‘slide’ and the ‘pole’ Ivy recognized from Rose’s descriptions. At some point, Rose began to chase her around the equipment, calling herself the playground monster and screaming in nonsensical Latin.
After a while, Ivy was out of breath. Rose had been advancing steadily from afar, while Ivy was running around like a maniac, having the time of her life. Too tired to continue, she jogged back to the bench and rummaged through the backpack for the water bottle Lily had made them take. She gulped down the blissfully cool water, watching as Rose went back and forth on the… monkey poles? No— monkey bars.
“Excuse me, can I sit here please?”
Ivy tore her gaze away from Rose to see a girl about her age standing a few feet away, bushy brown hair falling around a flushed face. The girl looked a little shy, but seemed nice enough and clearly a little worn-out.
“Yes, of course,” Ivy replied, shuffling over to make more room. The girl smiled shyly and took the other end of the bench, immediately relaxing.
After a few minutes, the girl turned to Ivy. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “My name’s Hermione. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ivy replied. “My name is—”
“IVY! OVER HERE!” Rose waved frantically from her position on top of the monkey bars.
With a small sigh, Ivy waved back. Hermione giggled.
“Is that your sister?” she asked.
“Unfortunately.”
“I always wondered what having a sister would be like. Is she nice?”
Ivy hummed thoughtfully. “Sometimes,” she said eventually. Hermione laughed again.
“Thanks for letting me sit here, but I have to get home for lunch,” she said apologetically. “It was nice meeting you. Will you be here again?”
“Probably,” Ivy told her. “Would you like to play together next time?”
”I’d love to!” Hermione gave her a bright smile, before running off.
”Who was that, Ivy?” Rose asked when she got to the bench and sat down beside Ivy.
“Her name is Hermione,” said Ivy. After a moment, she asked, “can we come back here soon?”
“Sure!” Rose grinned. “And next time, you’ll introduce me to Hermione, yeah?”
“Alright,” Ivy said as she stood up, picking the bag up off the ground. “Let’s go back for lunch now.”
Chapter 16: Rose Potter
Notes:
(Very sorry that the chapter is a day late -- I was travelling and busy in between, and couldn't get the chapter up until now. I also realised shortly before posting that I'd written most of the chapter in the wrong tense and had to change it, which took a while.)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I’m a bit late but it doesn’t matter!
Writing went pretty well this past week, so I’ll be updating the posting schedule to weekly chapters every Friday between 18:00 and 22:00 UCT in a few weeks time. I will let you all know when the switch takes place, probably on the 16th or 30th.
As it so happened, I had originally planned that the chapters would be paced so the Christmas chapter would be out sometime around Christmas, however I ended up writing it on the 29th and it’ll be posted around February!
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And now, I thought I might give a short history lesson to better understand where this book is going and how it works out:
English, as a language, didn’t become one until sometime in the 1300s. Until then in England, three languages were spoken: Latin from the Romans who invaded England centuries before, Anglo-Saxon language brought over by the Vikings and Norse people, and French from the Norman invaders of 1066. People in England spoke one of the three languages, usually the Anglo-Saxon language for the common people and French for the nobility and higher class. This meant that communication was difficult with three different languages at the same time. So in the 1300s (or the 13th century, I can’t quite remember, sorry) the three languages were merged in a way to form English. Of course, this was Old English, followed by Middle English and then Modern English, which is from around Shakespeare’s time to now. As a language, English continues to change and has borrowed many words from other languages, and continues to invent new words and discard older ones (thee/thou/thy for example).
Now, how does that tie in with this story?
Well, Ivy lived in the early eleventh century in the past (1009-1019 to be exact), so at a time when there was no English language and three non-English languages spoken in England instead. And yet she knows how to speak Modern English with no trouble?
I’m going to do a bit of word-building of a sort here, and say that wix, with their travel more than ships at the time, i.e. Floo powder and Apparation, already had international relationships, especially with the nearest countries, France and Norway in particular, and were forming their own version of Old-to-Middle English in the 9th century, and by Ivy’s time it was common and more developed. The magical version of mixed languages was what eventually led to Old English being picked up by non-magical people as it became the most prominent language in England in the 1000s, followed by Middle English. And so Merlin, with his time-travel abilities and contact with future humans, picked up Modern English and integrated it in his own speech throughout Ivy’s childhood, alongside a spell that aided translation and language-learning between the two versions of English.
So, when Ivy arrived in the future, she was quite used to that speech and able to use it instantly, minus a few more modern words/terms, such as ‘OK’, which was used originally as slang in the late 19th century while it was popular to intentionally misspell words, and ‘all correct’ became ‘Oll Korrect’ (or something along those lines), and became very popular as a word later on. Ivy won’t use this word for a while, while she integrates herself with the time she has moved to.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful and informative!
---
Enjoy the chapter!
-Ebony <3
Word Count: 1904
Posted: 03/01/2025
Chapter Text
For all that Rose was energetic and lively, she was both secretive and seemingly unenthusiastic about her magical ability, Ivy found.
She enjoyed the in-depth discussions she could have with her sister, despite hiding as much of her own knowledge as she did, but Rose didn’t actually use her own magic for ordinary, mundane things, or seem to want to show it at all.
Maybe because she had spent the last ten years training it combatitively? Ivy just didn’t know.
And things continued like that for a while.
She didn’t exactly mind though. Ivy had spent enough of her childhood learning and practicing, and was ahead of where she would need to be for at least a few years, she reckoned. She could certainly take a break while she was getting to know her biological family over the summer before she returned to her studies come September, at the very least.
It meant, anyhow, that Ivy could focus on her relationship with Rose and not worry about explaining her abilities. But she still preferred to spend her time on her own in the vast library of Potter manor, rather in her bedroom, reading the research published between the Founders’ time and 1991 (and wasn’t that a terrifying thought?).
The library had quickly become her quiet place. Her safe space, even.
It all came to a head about three weeks after she arrived, on a calm Tuesday morning.
Ivy had taken up residence in the library for the morning following a quiet breakfast. James left early for an urgent meeting in someplace called the ‘Ministry of Magic’, where he worked as a sort of rule-enforcer, from what she could tell. Lily had disappeared into her own work room to experiment with a charmed mirror she had been working on lately. Rose was asleep when Ivy came downstairs, and only appeared as they were finishing up, still in nightclothes and rubbing at her eyes.
After offering up a small greeting and getting a saggy hug instead, Ivy left her sister to eat, and excused herself to the library, quickly summoning her journal and quill, and getting to work.
And, so engrossed in her work, she didn’t notice the door opening.
Ivy looked up when she heard a startled gasp, books dropping suddenly from where they had been flying around her head, quill falling pathetically onto her journal, having stopped writing as she dictated; and, much more noticeably, Ivy herself dropped from levitating to browse the top shelf, and landing on her behind with a pained grunt.
“What on earth?” Rose shrieked, eyes blown wide.
Ivy flinched, excuses already racing through her mind. “I- I… um—”
But Rose cut her off before she could continue. “That was… so cool! How were you doing that? Oh my gosh, you have to show me. I’ll show you some other things if you want, but please, please teach me how you did that Ivy! I’ll die if you don’t.”
What? She isn’t mad?
“Okay…?” Ivy said before she could process what she was saying, and mentally cursed herself out once she did.
“I mean— how did you even learn how to do that?”
“Uh… I taught myself?”
Rose squinted at her for a long moment. Just as Ivy was beginning to worry she had given herself away with the lie, her sister shrugged and held out a hand for Ivy to take, which she did gladly, rubbing at her aching tailbone.
“Anyway, come on! Let’s start before lunchtime.”
And with that, Ivy was being dragged away from her precious books and out to the gardens by an enthusiastic Rose.
Just as Ivy had assumed, Rose was actually quite well-versed in magic.
The only problem? She knew what she was supposed to be doing, but it wasn't quite working out.
Ivy watched as she got progressively more frustrated, trying to produce more than a wispy trail of light, before she intervened.
“Is it supposed to be stronger?” She asked as Rose shoots wisp after wisp across the gardens. Her sister growled in frustration, not pausing.
“Yes it is,” she muttered, “but I can’t do it.”
There was a moment of awkward silence while Ivy tried to think up a way to help her sister without blowing her secrets to smithereens, and Rose continued to cast. Then:
“Hey, how would you do it?”
“Huh?” Ivy said intelligently.
“I mean— how would you do the spell for a better result?”
“Well, what are you trying to do?” Of course, Ivy already knew the answer, but Rose didn't know that.
“I’m trying to cast a gas that makes people laugh.”
Yes, a simple Laughing Cloud charm. Also used as a spell to distract the enemy, or to assist an injured person during treatment. Useful indeed, but rather difficult to get results… for most people anyway.
Ivy floundered briefly, before old words resurfaced, and she got to her feet from where she was lying on a picnic blanket in the grass. “I guess I would just really want the gas to appear. Isn’t magic intent based?”
Rose hums in agreement. “You try.”
Well, alright then. Ivy stepped forward, and screwing her eyes shut in a lazy attempt at passing off otherworldly magical prowess as difficult, focused on a gas spreading out from her fingertips. It was not directed at all, which would be much easier with a wand. However, Ivy didn't have hers yet.
Or rather, she didn't have the one she'd use at school. Her first and primary wand was hidden in the depths of her bag in her room, concealed by numerous layers of wards and charms.
But it didn't really matter. After all — Ivy had never really needed a wand before. Why now?
And sure enough, the pale pink gas of the charm spread from her fingers and surrounded them until the world was slightly rose-tinted. Rose began to laugh, incredulously at first as the gas wormed its way from Ivy’s hands, and then joyfully as the charm took effect.
“My sister… is a genius,” she huffed out between fits of giggles. “I love you Ivy.”
Ivy, busy laughing, thought for the first time that she had never been closer to loving Rose.
By a week later, Rose had improved so much that James and Lily had gotten slightly suspicious when she began to use her magic around the house.
Under Ivy’s instruction disguised as random ideas, she had blossomed, and was more consistent in her spell-casting than ever — or so she said.
With that invisible boundary out of the way, it was easier than ever to spend time with Rose. They could work on magic together in silence, and have the time of their lives. Of course, it did go downhill sometimes (and literally, too).
Two days after Rose discovered Ivy in the library, Rose had misfired a spell and sent Ivy rolling down the hill at the edge of the property. Rose, instead of trying to help, had shouted something along the lines of, “Oh, Westley darling!” and had thrown herself down the hill after Ivy.
She had later explained to a confused Ivy that it was a line from a movie that had been released a few years before. They watched it that night, and were quoting it consistently for the next few days, to their parents’ ire.
And then there had been the time Ivy’s badly aimed stunner hit Rose and she fell into a rosebush. They had also gotten lost in the woods after Rose conjured up a fog by accident that Ivy couldn’t figure out how to reverse.
(That spell was written down in her journal later, after they discovered exactly what Rose had done.)
They were both a little annoyed when, a week after the Library Incident, as Ivy had dubbed it in her mind, Lily announced that the Longbottoms and Weasleys were coming over again so that all of the adults could discuss a trip to Diagon Alley that was scheduled for July 31st, and would be followed by a party with all of them to celebrate Ivy, Rose, and Neville Longbottom’s birthdays.
Lily woke them up early on the day of the playdate to clean the house. And sure, the Potters had a few house elves living at the property, but Lily made sure they had plenty of time to themselves, as well as a salary and comfortable clothes. It was no secret that the Potter elves were very well kept and very happy. Additionally, Rose and Ivy had to clean their own spaces how they preferred, so that all of their belongings were where they wanted them to be. It was one of the first rules Lily had told Ivy when she arrived, but something Ivy was used to from her time in the past regardless.
They dressed and ate before nine, and then set off to do their own respective chores until eleven, when they met in the entrance hall to welcome their guests. The Elves, named Abby, Poppy and Larrey, were busy preparing lunch in the kitchens, and a delightful spiced aroma had begun to drift through the manor shortly before.
Rose grabbed Ivy’s arm in excitement as the fireplace lit up green, and then breathed in deeply to calm herself. Ivy smiled at her sister’s antsy nature, though feeling a little thrilled at the chance of seeing Ginny again, who had quickly become a firm friend over the last visit and several letters sent by the family owls.
Fred was first out, followed by George, and then the rest of the Weasley siblings, and finally their parents. Molly and Arthur Weasley had just finished cleaning the soot off their children when the flames flared green again and Neville stepped through, his parents close behind. The greetings were a little too exuberant for Ivy’s taste, and she and Ginny quickly left for the library with Neville trailing after them to ‘gossip’, as Ginny put it.
Lunch was a lively affair. The house elves popped into the library to announce it just as they were rounding up the gossip session, and by the time they got to the dining room, most of the others were already seated and in discussion, barring Ron, who had gone to the toilet, and Lily, who was helping out in the kitchen.
Table conversation throughout the meal mostly consisted of the adults talking about plans regarding both the Diagon Alley trip and the Lammas celebrations planned for the day after.
Ivy had been quite surprised to discover that the Potters, and the Weasleys and Longbottoms along with many other Noble or Ancient, or at least somewhat old, bloodlines still took part in the rituals of the past, and kept faith in the Gods. Lady Magic had warned her years ago that the modern world was hardly Pagan at all, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
As far as Ivy could tell, this year was to be unusual in that there was no collective gathering for all of the families who shared their beliefs, but that was not to stop a few families from getting together, before the next gathering at Mabon. She couldn’t help but feel glad she would not be alone on the holidays.
The Weasleys and Longbottoms had to leave shortly after lunch for separate commitments. Ivy and Rose waved their friends goodbye, and then spent a calm afternoon down by the playground playing card games with Hermione.
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