The Mentor
This is just a weird idea that popped up in my head. To my knowledge there isn't a story like this on the site, feel free to correct me, if I am wrong.
Gotham was many things, but no-one would mistake it for being magical. That is why the appearance of a rather odd letter upset Barbara Gordon enough to speak to a known Villainess, the closest person that wouldn't blab her secret, if it was true, to Batman.
One
Barbara Gordon was your average preteen girl, if you factored in her genius level intellect and eidetic memory. She merely stayed in school for her father's piece of mind, what else would she do with her free time? Oh yeah, try and join the bat-club. For all her brilliance and detective skills, nothing prepared her for the raven tapping on her window, or for the letter it brought.
Ms. B. Gordon
Right Bedroom
Crawly Way
Gotham City NJ
"Well aren't you a clever bird?" Barbara said aloud, knowing her father wasn't home. She opened the parchment and read the letter within, skipping over the rather long introductory of school's letterhead, if you could call it that.
Barbara Gordon
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Witchery. Term Starts on September 1st and we await your response via your closest magical representative. List and location on the third insert.
Yours sincerely
Francine "Frankie" Stein
Deputy Headmistress
Barbara skipped the book/equipment list in favor of the magical representative list the first one was obvious, John Constantine, House of Mysteries, too close to Batman, so obviously not him. Second was Giovanni Zatara, he had his own daughter around Barbara's age to worry about.
"This can't be right, can it?" Barbara turned the page over a view times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Poison Ivy has been hiding a secret it seems." On the paper was clearly written: Pamela Lillian Isley formerly Potter-Black, Arkham Asylum Gotham City, contact via oddly colored rose in Gotham Botanical Gardens.
Checking the wall mounted clock Barbara saw that there was still some daylight left so she wrote a quick letter to her dad and went to the Botanical Gardens. Once there she realized that she won't be able to figure out which rose was oddly colored since they came in a variety of colors. Conveniently an attendant was close by.
"Sorry ma'am I am doing a task for school on roses. Could you perhaps help me identify these, as there are no pictures to go with the names?" the lady smiled and came over. After an antagonizing ten minutes the attendant finally said something of interest.
"And this oddly colored rose is known as the witch's rose, it was created by a Dr. Potter-Black in the spring of 1998. It is known to give some people illusions when ingested on particularly cold days. It smells nice though, quite unique."
"Did you say Potter-Black?" Barbara asked, having only read the name not to long ago. The woman nodded and pointed to a small index on the rose
"If you wish to know more, in the tea shop there are leaflets on everything we know about the plants in the greenhouse." The woman smiled and walked away.
Feeling quite silly Barbara leaned over the flower. To the untrained eye she appeared to smell the roses, but in truth she was talking to it in a whisper.
"Pamela Lillian Isley, formally Potter-Black, I was told to contact my closest magical representative, that is you, can we meet up?"
Barbara was about to give it up as a bad joke when the plant actually nodded and sprayed pollen in the air with a time and place. Barbara noted that it was during a shift change that same night, conveniently on the roof of the building she and her dad stayed at. That night she told her dad that she was going to the roof for some fresh air. It took her taking out a set of old short wave 2-ways that her dad allowed her to go, providing she buzz it every five minutes. She could probably create a rig with loose parts in about ten minutes, should she want to disappear.
"You're early," came a voice from a nearby shadow, Barbara could only slightly make out the silhouette. "I like that, but this could have been a trap, Ms. Gordon."
"But it isn't, since I asked to meet and you agreed." The figure shifted a bit and her smile was illuminated slightly. "Besides, my dad knows I'm up here and I wouldn't be surprised if – someone – was watching too."
"You are a smart girl. That is good. It means that I didn't waste my time placing my name on the Ilvermorny guardian list." The woman sighed dramatically, "Sadly it also means that I need to tone down some of my other activities. Expecto Patronum." A silvery light appeared in the clearing between them. "To Frankie Stein, Barbara Gordon has reached out to me and I accepted the responsibility of magical guardian." She lifted her hand in a stop motion, "Do you wish to attend, Ilvermorny?" Barbara nodded not sure what else to do. Pamela dropped her hand. "Barbara accepts the offer to join the school under the Lily Evans Scholarship." The light turned into an odd animal before it disappeared.
"What is the Lily Evans Scholarship?" Barbara asked confused.
"Before my mother had me she was engaged to a man named James Potter. Most believe them to have been married. My fiancé at the time discovered that they were never married officially. I think they were planning to marry after the war ended. Unfortunately they died before that could happen. So officially she never carried the name Potter. Besides if I gave the scholarship my name there would've been too many applicants."
"What makes you think that my dad won't be able to afford to send me to Ilvermorny?" Even as Barbara said it she realized the answer, or rather thought she did.
"I doubt your father has a pile of gold, silver and bronze lying about gathering dust. Besides, I can't have children of my own, so this gives me a chance to spoil a kid a bit, no arguments." Barbara knew why so many feared the woman now. As Barbara climbed down the fire escape she noticed a shimmer as Poison Ivy disappeared.
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When Barbara got home from the last day of school her father was thoroughly confused, if his ruffled hair and scowl was anything to go by. The TV was muted but there was a rather odd thing on it. In front of the gates of Arkham stood Poison Ivy and next to her Bruce Wayne.
"Mind if I turn the volume up dad?" Jim Gordon only glanced at her. "Okay what's wrong?"
"Poison Ivy somehow got a pardon from Arkham on Bruce Wayne's annual visit this morning. She said she's taking up a teaching post that has been offered to her countless times. Some kind of epiphany, she however declined to state which school." Jim unmated the TV just as Poison Ivy made her speech. Barbara somehow heard 'witch' instead of 'which'.
That evening a young woman knocked on their door and was invited in. She held herself like you would see royalty do. She had fair skin, green eyes and beautiful red hair. She didn't seem a day over twenty although Barbara felt that she might be in her mid twenties at least.
"Mr. Gordon," she greeted with a smile, "I am a representative of Ilvermorny Secondary school, Lily Black. I am here to offer your daughter a full scholarship to our elite school in Massachusetts. Her unique mind and talents brought her to our attention."
"Massachusetts is quite far. Do you have a boarding service?" Barbara noticed that 'Lily Black' didn't say the word magic as of yet.
"Our school is very remotely located. Therefore, if you accept our offer, she would be boarding with us for nine months out of twelve, until she graduates at the age of seventeen. Our school pushes all our students to graduate earlier compared to the standard public and private schools."
"What does the scholarship include?" Barbara noticed that her father was playing detective quite well.
"The shorter list would be what it excludes, to be honest." Lily Black giggled at this, but continued. "The Lily Evans Scholarship, in association with Ilvermorny covers all the academic costs, no matter how many subjects Ms. Gordon wishes to take. We also supply her with all her books and other equipment she might need. If you allow her, we can take her to get her fitted uniform in the morning, along with the course books and equipment she will need. The scholarship also includes a rather large allowance for use at the nearby town on certain weekends."
"It seems like you covered most of my concerns. Where do I sign?" Jim reached into his pocket for his pen. Lily Black opened her briefcase and took out a paper to sign. He glanced at it and signed his name.
"Thank you for signing, Mr. Gordon. I can now reveal more about the school and our community at large." Jim looked down at the paper he signed and noticed that it changed only slightly.
"What is this nonsense about my daughter being a witch?" Jim was almost up in arms.
"I know for a fact that you know that magic is real Comm. Gordon." Lily Black said in her calm voice. As for how your daughter is a witch, like me, it is quite simple. Somewhere in your ex-wife and your own family tree there was a no-maj born to a magical couple. That no-maj probably married another no-maj and the line continued down until you and your wife made your children. The genes were strong with your daughter and she ignited the dormant spark of magic."
"That actually makes sense." Jim agreed, "But too complicated to be of the top of your head."
"You are correct." Barbara stopped her planned protest. "I know this because when I went to school, I had a friend that was like your daughter, she did the research in both the magical and non-magical worlds. She found two common names on both lists she compiled. She did the same for my mother and a few of our friends. The pattern was true for all magical children seemingly born to no-maj parents."
"If I allow her to go, who would look out for her?" Jim Gordon finally touched the subject he dreaded. Lily smiled confidently.
"That responsibility rests on the shoulders of her magical guardian. That honor falls to me, since I was the closest magical to her when she opened her letter. The other possibilities were a rogue named John Constantine and a father with his own daughter, Giovanni Zatara. Constantine was in London sleeping one off and Zatara was with the Justice League."
"Dad I trust Lily completely, I know I'll be save with her." Barbara turned the puppy-dog pout up to eleven.
"Even so, may I have a demonstration of your capabilities, purely for the sake of my conscience?"
"Very well," Lily smiled, "The spell I am about to cast is known as the Patronus charm. It is a form of positive energy that most can't cast, and those who can, rarely have the true form of the spell down, Expecto Patronum." Out of her wand came silver light, it shifted into a raven. "This is two parts of the spell, the ethereal and the corporal. Most magic users struggle to produce the ethereal form, as it requires focus on a truly happy memory. There are many who have happy memories but it is difficult to find a truly happy one.
"Of those who can cast an ethereal Patronus only a handful can push it into a corporal from. My corporal form as you can see is a raven." She paused for the information to sink in, once it did she closed her eyes and the shape changed into the odd animal Barbara saw on the roof. "Now a true Patronus takes the shape of a magical creature. There were three people, besides myself, that achieved this form, Morgan le Fay, Merlin Emrys and Helena Ravenclaw. If you travel to Hogwarts in England you can ask the ghost of Helena if I am lying."
"What animal is that?" Barbara asked curios about the small creature.
"That is a Bowtruckle. It is a kind of living plant. They are born from trees used for wand making and colonies of them protect the tree that gave birth to them. The Patronus charm can serve two major purposes. Primarily it is used to ward off creatures created from pure darkness that spawn asexually. These include Lethifolds and Dementors. The secondary function of the charm is communication. It works like a 2-way."
"Could you give us two days to discuss this?" Jim asked. Lily seemed to know what he wanted to discuss though.
"I will return Monday morning to take Ms. Gordon shopping for her supplies." Lily took out an envelope similar to what Barbara received. This one however contained a list of books and equipment, and a map to the Gotham Magical district, without instructions to enter it though.
"How long have you known Barbara?" Jim asked his daughter once Lily left.
"Only since yesterday, although I have had my suspicions for a while now. I just figured the times I made something happen were just a coincidence of living in Gotham."
"When you went up on the roof last night it wasn't to get some air was it?'
"No, I met with Lily, as she is the closest magical in Gotham according to the acceptance letter, I can go get it if you'd like." Barbara said hoping her dad didn't take the offer.
"That would be great," Barbara didn't have much luck it seemed.
She picked up the letter in her room scanning the guardian letter, it changed somehow, it now showed P. Lillian Black née Potter, and an apartment building next to the closest botanical garden. She took the two papers and rushed back downstairs. She guessed it changed due to magic. Her father read the letter and the magical representative list and gave it back to Barbara. When she looked at it, it seemed to wink at her and turn back into the previous name of Pamela Lillian Isley formally Potter-Black. It was only practice that kept the surprise off her face.
"So now we wait until Monday, do you want me to come with you? I have some vacation days due." Jim smiled at Barbara.
"More like seven years worth, you never take off." Barbara teased. "But no, I'll be fine, I mean we are going shopping, two girls, do you really want to be the designated bag-handler?" Jim shivered noticeably.
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That Sunday there was a knock on the door. Since they didn't expect anyone Jim Gordon answered the door with his gun in his hand. There were three people on the other side of the door. One of them he recognized as the Stage Magician Zatara, the girl around Barbara's age looked a lot like him so she must be his daughter. The other person however held himself with an air of arrogance.
"Good evening gentleman, and lady," he nodded down to the little girl, "How may I be of service?"
"Cut the idle chatter mate, we know you know of us. May we come in?"
"What my brass friend, John, meant was that we don't want some unwanted attention on us during this – encounter." Zatara sighed at the blond man. Jim thought it only polite and invited them in.
"Barbara, could you come here please!" Jim called into the house before he offered them a drink. Barbara arrived with a tray of bourbon and tumblers and two sodas. Jim arched his brow.
"I heard the voices thought I'd bring this along." Barbara said the picture of innocence.
"Allow me to introduce ourselves." Zatara said feigning a sigh, "My name is Giovanni Zatara and this is my daughter Zatanna."
"John Constantine, demonologist, dabbler in the dark arts and paranormal investigator." John said taking the offered tumbler.
"What is this about?" Jim asked although Barbara thought he already knew.
"To put it simply," John said scanning the room, "Your daughter's name disappeared from the registered muggle – sorry no-maj born list. Normally that means she has either gotten a magical guardian or died. We came to make sure she was still breathing, well I was anyway, Giovanni?"
"Before I met John outside, I was on my way here to ask that you reconsider using him," He jabbed a finger in John's direction, "as a magical guardian. No offense, John.
"None taken, I know I'm a waste of air supply. So if not old Zatara, then who did you get as her magical guardian?"
"A lady came here on Friday, goes by the name Lily Black." Both men's eyes bulged a little at that. "I take it you heard of her?"
"Lily Black hasn't taken a student as her magical charge in her entire life." John said with a gulp. "I went to school with her and I can tell you that there was never a dull moment with that one. She was an absolute genius in potions, even if you factored in Prof. Snape sabotaging her efforts in class."
"She was also the youngest recorded Quidditch player since the rules were implemented over a centaury ago. She was also the Tri-wizard champion while she was in her fourth year." Zatara piped in.
"Didn't take you for a sport nutter mate," John smiled impressed. "Anyway she also defeated the worst Dark Lord the isles ever produced since Morgan and Merlin. This wanker prevented certain doom by splitting his soul and hiding it in some random knick-knacks. She hunted them down then ended him."
"She became a potions mistress and notable herbologist – before she disappeared. To know that she is alive is very –"
"Can we go somewhere," Barbara heard the whisper interrupting her innocent eaves dropping. If adults didn't ask you to leave then any info you overheard was fair game.
"Dad, we're going to my room," Barbara said only gaining a disinterested nod.
"Adults can get so boring!" Zatanna whined as they entered the room.
"Perhaps, but anything you hear while they haven't chased you out of the room be useful. That is how I originally learned about Batman, a year before he became public knowledge." Barbara said smiling. She didn't mention that she learned of the various Justice Leagues while supposedly out of adult earshot.
"It is odd to find a no-maj born witch in Gotham. That is one of the reasons dad agreed to be a guardian here. From what I know about Constantine though, he was forced into it, probably lost some bet or another."
"According to Lily, a no-maj born is the descendant of two separate lines of no-maj born to magical families, she done the research apparently." Zatanna was shocked.
"That woman had to be a genius. She has her own Chocolate Frog card and even that doesn't mention all her achievements."
"Sounds like you are a fan, have you gone out shopping yet?"
"For school supplies no, the letters only arrived on Friday. Dad actually came here to offer to be a chaperone tomorrow, amongst his many reasons."
"Lily is taking me shopping tomorrow." Zatanna seemed to pipe up a bit. "She also offered me the Lily Evans Scholarship."
"No way, that is like the most exclusive scholarship plan Ilvermorny, Hogwarts and Beauxbatons offer. Including you, I think only one other girl received that honor, Gabrielle Delacour, she already graduated."
"There is actually a school named Hogwarts, who thought about that one?" Zatanna thought about it before she started to giggle.
"That would probably be Ravenclaw after she slapped Gryffindor and Slytherin over the heads while Hufflepuff tried not to laugh at them, but she failed." Barbara could only imagine the imagery.
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Monday morning there was a knock on their door. Lily Black was standing there looking possibly more stunning than she did on Friday. Barbara invited her in and offered her a cup of tea.
"Dad isn't here. He was called in early, something about Cobblepot." Barbara said while making the tea. When she turned around gone was Lily Black and in her place was Poison Ivy.
"That glamour spell is hard to keep up all the time." Poison Ivy admitted. "But please keep calling me Lily. It was the name I grew up with, even though my first name is Pamela."
"And on Friday you were peppered with make-up?" Barbara asked.
"I knew your dad would've asked for proof. Imagine if it failed. Your dad is one of the people who think that I somehow got Bruce to release me, I didn't by the way. That was done by Headmistress Woolfe, providing I either come teach Herbology or Potions. I chose potions, for obvious reasons."
"I thought that – Oh I get it, if you taught Herbology the temptation to strangle someone with the plants are too high."
"Right in one, Kiddo," Lily smiled, "Now the magical shopping district around here is very backwards so you would need to wear a robe when we go shopping. "Don't worry too much about it. The blue and cranberry uniforms are quite modernized. You will hear the shop owner complain about it."
"We have to wear a uniform? What happened to just dressing sensible?" Barbara almost screamed. She did however pull a nasty face at the robe Lily handed her.
"A checkered, dark blue and cranberry pleated skirt with a light blue shirt and a plain enchanted tie that changes into your house colors once you get chosen. You can then choose a checkered blazer or waistcoat with a hooded trench coat. I personally would've chosen the latter before the incident, although I wouldn't like the colors, it clashes with my hair."
Soon they were standing in line at Gringott's Bank waiting for a teller to withdraw the funds that would pay for her uniform, books and equipment. The bank was run by odd creatures that Lily described as goblins. Once they reached the front a young goblin was called and a few minutes later they were given three pouches and a roll of money.
"Now I can see why you never really robbed a place." Lily just smiled down at her.
After quite a rant in the clothing store Barbara was now the owner of five uniforms three with the waistcoat/trench coat combo. A creature appeared next to Lily and spoke in very broken English. She vanished with the clothes and trunk they bought. The creature was Winky, the house elf. Barbara didn't want to ask about the creature since it seemed that Lily didn't want to talk about it, much.
"I once called a house elf my friend, his name was Dobby, when Winky found out I buried him she formed a symbiotic bond with me, like their species do. I gave her the uniform to wear, and assured her that it doesn't belong to her. If you present them with clothes of their own they are dismissed, and they could possibly die."
They went about the shopping district and bought everything she would need. Now there was just one thing left.
"What does this mean, get fitted for your wand?" Barbara asked having found it odd.
"To prevent a breach of the Statute of Secrecy, you receive your wand at the school and leave it there during the holidays, but to ensure that your wand works you get fitted for one while shopping. One thing I will teach you is wandless casting. You need to be able to defend yourself, especially in this city."
"Welcome," a voice greeted them once they entered the shop. "As I live and breathe, Lily Potter-Black has entered my shop, I wasn't aware you had a daughter. I always thought you and Hermione –"
"Yes we were and this isn't my daughter, I'm not that old. If she was my kid I would've had her in fourth year, we both know I was otherwise engage that year. How have you been, Ernie?"
"Been doing good, at least once I left England, wand lore here is a booming business." Ernie said with a smile.
"Barbara Gordon, meet Ernie McMillan, in my second year he accused me of being the heir of Slytherin until he saw old Sally's pet basilisk through Sir Nicholas. He tried to date me once in sixth year too, how long did Madam Pomfrey hold you when you didn't take no for an answer?"
"Two weeks to rethink my live while the over powered stinging hex had to heal naturally, I still can't walk straight you know." He laughed, "Water under the bridge, now Ms. Gordon let's get you fitted. Which hand do you favor?"
"Both actually," Barbara noticed that Ernie was walking with wide steps as he came around the counter with a tape measure.
"We'll give you a linking stone pendant for that. Now this little device is a measuring tape, just like the no-maj counterpart, it however is enchanted to measure magic as well as actual sizes. Please hold out your arms. I haven't received the wandmaker's eyes yet, that requires fourteen more wands, so I still need to take the measurements down. Don't be alarmed." He released the measuring tape and wrote the odd symbols down as the tape finished with a measurement.
Twenty minutes have passed when the tape measure finally stopped short of measuring her nether regions. He went to the back of the shop and brought seven pieces of unpolished wood back.
"From what I learned these woods will work effortlessly with you, please hold your right hand over them and tell me when you feel some heat." The wood that felt warmest was a piece of pine. Ernie then returned with several sealed boxes and Barbara once again selected the warmest one. "This will be an odd wand to make, since I merely happened on this core, pine wood and White River Monster spine, seven to nine inches. This will be a strong wand. Would you like me to engrave it with a something other than your name?"
"Maybe just Oracle," Barbara smiled, "and if possible without my name."
"Sorry but you would have to come back when you finished school for that Ms. Gordon, Ilvermorny needs your name on the wand, or else they might give it to the wrong person."
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Barbara was in deep thought as they walked down the street, she didn't notice that they were heading towards Gotham North Hospital. According to her inner math, assuming that first year starts when you enter the school at eleven, then Ivy, no lily, was only twenty-four years old. She shook her head trying to grasp it.
"What's troubling you Barbara?" Lily asked, having just closed the doors of the hospital.
"I was just figuring out how old you were. Initially I though you would be over thirty, taking into account how long it normally takes to earn a doctorate, and the last four years you were, well –"
"Her?" Lily smiled. "I will admit I took a bit of a shortcut when I earned my doctorate. I slipped into the last year of classes and convinced everyone I was there for seven years, the goblins at Gringott's did all the necessary paperwork to back my claim. Having done seven years Herbology it was basically a refresher. The less observant graders helped a bit too."
"Oh – um – where are we?" Barbara asked seeing the white walls. "I mean I know it is a hospital, but which one?"
"Gotham North," Lily gave a sad smile, "We're here to visit an old friend of mine." Lily signed the registry and walked toward the elevator. They went up to the top floor, long term patients.
They entered a walked down the hall to the very last room. There lay a woman about the same age as Lily, only ghostly pale and rail thin. Barbara could tell she has been here for a long time.
"Hey Hermione," Lily said as she kissed the girl's head. "Guess what, I gave up on my crusade to cleanse the planet with plants. Got foiled one too many times, you were right it was a fool's gambit."
"Should I wait outside? I don't want to intrude." Barbara was suddenly nervous. Lily shook her head and motioned her over.
"I brought someone with me today," Barbara was pushed in front of the glassy eyes of Hermione. "Her name is Barbara Gordon, remember when I came in sometime last year and said I'm signing up for the mentor program at Ilvermorny? She is the first muggleborn from right here in Gotham, although I guess out here it would be no-maj born. I told her about your research, and ran the spell on her hair. You two share one common ancestor, what a coincidence huh?
"Did you know that Ernie became a wand maker? He fitted Barbara with her wand today." Lily grew some of the witch's roses and replaced the ones in the vase. "These still keep the unsavory creatures away. Thank Morgan they don't wilt easy."
"Unsavory creatures?" Barbara asked before she put her hands over her mouth.
"Barbara never experienced Dementors or Lethifolds before, she is lucky, remember that army of Dementors in third year? If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been able to cast the Patronus that saved our lives. That was our first kiss, wasn't it?"
Barbara knew that talking like she wasn't in the room was Lily's way to try and include Hermione, it didn't make it less insulting, but she would endure. She's getting a good insight into 'The Poison Ivy's' past.
"Teddy called yesterday, she sends her love, just two more years and she'll be in Hogwarts, she misses you, you know. Asked me when Aunt Hermione would get better. Aunt Andromeda told me they finally got Grimmauld Place fixed. The band of traitors, minus the terror twins, did more harm than good. Speaking of, George just had a baby. Fred's son seems a bit too eager to induct her into his nappy club. Hogwarts better watch out. According to George the only reason they weren't born on the same day was because Fred was in the dog box for a month suggesting it."
Barbara gave a bit of a snort, Lily just smiled.
"I think I need to introduce Barbara to the twins. Luckily they survived the battle." She smiled sadly. "For a while we thought Fred was gone, didn't we? In my opinion it was the biggest prank he pulled, waking up just before we buried him, honestly. Ginny is doing better. Luna is taking care of her after that Seventh of the Seventh ritual failed. Ron is still rotting away in Azkaban, Molly and Arthur died there, that is why I turned from the light, the shade became a welcome ally I see more clearly now. I hope you get well soon, but seeing as you got double the exposure of the Longbottoms –"
Lily was openly crying, Barbara didn't even see the tears form in her eyes. She shifted her view to the woman in the bed. She too had some moisture in her eyes, even if they were glossed over. Barbara could only slightly make out that they were a chocolate brown once.
"I promise to do my best, Ms. Hermione, for both you and Ms. Lily." Barbara didn't know why she said that, but there seemed to be a slight twinkle behind the murky eyes.
"Hermione, I need to get Barbara home, I'll be right back to read to you, okay? I think you'll love this book, it reads like a text book, even though it is fiction." Lily placed the book she bought at the book store on the side table. Just before they disappeared, Barbara thought she saw Hermione's eyes shift a bit to the book, the title was Dark Defense League, but she couldn't see the author though.
"She is the reason you and Harley –" Barbara asked once she was back in her room, but she stopped noticing that Lily was still crying.
"I will never get over Hermione," Lily smiled sadly. "I know that she would want me to, and even if I care deeply for Harleen, a part of me feels like I am betraying Hermione."
"If you don't mind me asking –" Barbara began leaving the question hanging.
"It goes back to the ritual I mentioned, the Seventh of the Seventh." Lily motioned for Barbara to sit. "It is a dark ritual that sacrifices the seventh born from the seventh generation, when the seventh month dies, when they finish their seventh year. The clues were there since we met the Weasley family, but no-one was looking for a dark ritual inside a light family, they had us all fooled." Lily wiped a tear.
"Hermione and I did some research once Ron left us in the Forest of Dean when we were hunting Horcruxes. "We came upon a very dark ritual that will give the sixth born of a family ultimate power, by sacrificing the seventh. Molly married Arthur after she found out that he was a seventh generation pureblood wizard. Arthur had to know about the ritual too, Molly most likely told him, since the ritual called for the flesh of the father willingly given.
"We weren't invited to the Burrow that summer even though we always were. This was after I ended Voldemort. We apparated to the edge of their property, we were greeted by hostile wards and an imperioused Bill Weasley holding them. It took some time to break the wards and restrain Bill and Charlie. We only barely made it to the house and saved Ginny. Hermione pushed me down when the four Weasley traitors cast the torture curse. She was driven into her current state by the intensity of the curses. I snapped, the green took over and killed Percy. I was able to regain some control and captured the Weasley family. Bill and Charlie were cleared offering proof that they didn't willingly participate by denouncing their family and name.
"Bill is now Delacour having taken his wife's name. Fleur has a sister, they were struggling to pay the increased school fees of Beauxbatons and the penalty they had to pay, even if Bill was under a spell to assist his parents, so I stepped in with the formation of this scholarship and paid all of Gabrielle's school fees for her remaining years.
"Charlie is without a name focusing entirely on dragons. He is currently the CEO of the Romanian dragon reserve. I offered him sanction within my two stations, he refused out of honor. He claims that it was partially his fault Hermione is in the state she is in."
"That is messed up," Barbara exclaimed.
"That was also the start of my decent into becoming Poison Ivy. It took me a year to earn my Potions Mastery, the fastest anyone ever got it, including our secretly good Prof. Snape. He did it in a year and a half. I created my first plant a year later, the roses I left in Hermione's room, by combining a plant I noticed Dementors shy from, with a common rose, since rosewater acts as a strengthening agent in some potions, the results was a plant that actively drove Dementors away and by extension Lethifolds, a type of living cloth that eats you while you sleep. It had a slight to it though, if a no-maj drank rose water made with it, they can actively see Dementors which are normally invisible to them. I keep a bushel of these roses at Hermione's side.
"She was attacked at St. Mungo's, that is why I brought her over here and in a normal hospital. I'm registered as her sister, not her significant other." Lily took out two rings on a gold necklace. "We were about to get married when Luna let us know she couldn't visit Ginny. Anyway, I'll see you for your first lesson tomorrow. I need to go read to Hermione."
"I thought term only started in September." Barbara was confused.
"It does, but I want you to be prepared, not like Hermione and I. We entered the magical world straight from the non-magical and got a rude awakening."
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Over the next month Barbara was able to learn the ins and outs of the magical societies around the world. It seemed that Lily had done everything thoroughly. Another thing she kept noticing, whenever they went to visit Hermione she seemed to gain more and more motor skills. The last visit had her hand inching towards the book on the table next to her. Barbara learned that it was part of Lily's overall plan, tempting Hermione with books to try and get her back to her former self.
On the day she was to leave for Ilvermorny Lily showed up just before her father left for work, nightshift. She insured that he was comfortable with his daughter going to the school, dissuaded his fears that Barbara will forget that she had a father and assured him that she will insure Barbara's safety since she was starting at the school as a teacher. When he finally gave his note of approval Lily pulled out a rather familiar looking item.
"This is a portkey, they are made from items that you can find lying about anywhere." She held up the portkey. "You can find a few handfuls of these anytime our city's dark knight was in an area. Criminals tend to pull it out and throw it aside, a nice long soak in bleach kills any germs and it is good as new. And should anyone other than a magical find it they won't be any wiser." Lily gave a sly grin as she handed the batarang to Barbara. "Port us to Ilvermorny."
Barbara felt a tuck at her navel and before long she was swirling. By the time the tucking sensation stopped she was unable to regain her balance. She though she was going to fall on the ground when suddenly she felt herself in someone's arms bridal style.
"That was intense." Barbara smiled.
"Every time I take one of those I fall on my face. Thank Gaia I have other means of travel." Lily set her down. "Now remember here I will be known as Prof. Pamela Potter-Black." Lily erected a privacy dome around Barbara so that she could get dressed in her uniform, luckily they where still early.
"Thank you Professor." Barbara followed Lily to the entrance of the school where they greeted the other teachers and Barbara was handed her wand. She could feel the strong bond directed at it and felt safe with it close.
Within the next hour dozens of people arrived some got their wands and proceeded through the doors, others, the first years, waited with Barbara. The last to arrive was the Zatara family. Zatanna was already dressed to the nines as a pureblood princess. Barbara was glad she chose to listen to Lily, compared to Zatanna and many others she was punk-rock.
Once every one was settled a young woman called their attention, she had long black and white hair and wore stylish clothes. If you looked closely you could see that she had many scars over her body.
"My name is Francine Stein. You will recognize the name from your acceptance letters." She scanned the crowd with her two colored eyes. "We have students from all over the country here and from every walk of life, just know that we do not tolerate prejudice." Her eyes lingered on some of the kids longer than others. "You will each receive a set of our rules, be sure to learn and obey them.
"We will now proceed to the entrance hall where your names will be called. You will step up to the Celtic knot and get sorted into your house. There are four houses each having produced great witches and wizards. If more than one house chooses you, you can decide which one you want to go to. The houses are Horned Serpent, Pukwudgie, Thunderbird and Wampus."
Frankie lead them into the hall, the entire school was standing on raised platforms peering down to the first years. One by one the students were called. Soon it was Barbara's turn. She stepped onto the knot. It felt like she was being judged when suddenly three of the statues reacted. Having asked about her live before she became Poison Ivy, Barbara knew that Lily was a warrior and an adventurer. She looked at the statues that reacted and chose Thunderbird. The school applauded politely and Lily gave her a polite nod.
What Barbara didn't know was that Lily herself had to get sorted, even though she wasn't a student, all the statues reacted to her and like Barbara she chose Thunderbird, mostly because the Thunderbird wing was one of the towers, away from the ground and the temptation.
The last student to be sorted was Zatanna, unlike Barbara only the Thunderbird statue reacted. She walked up the stairs and the students proceeded to the Great Hall for their Welcome feast.
"Welcome new students to Ilvermorny, and to our old students, welcome back." The Headmistress's voice boomed across the hall. "Just a few announcements before the feast begins." The hall had her attention. "This year we welcome a new Potions professor. She has earned mastery in the subject, and inspired our previous Potions teacher to earn her own. Although we will miss Julia Phelps we welcome Pamela Potter-Black in her place.
"This year marks the third year since the werewolf and vampire war came to an end let us take a moment of silence to honor the fallen and those now cursed." The whole school dropped their heads in a moment of silence, "Now let the feast begin."
The entire hall suddenly erupted with the scent of food. Barbara only momentary noticed that two of the teachers and the headmistress seemed cautious about he food they consumed. A very pale professor seemed to favor only fruit and vegetables. The other teachers and the headmistress seemed to prefer their meal extra rare. Now that Barbara thought about it they seemed like family, she took a chance and asked Zatanna about the teachers. She was a source of information, since her dad was on the PTA. The vegan was Ms. Laura Lucard, she was always pale apparently. The headmistress was indeed Ms. Claudine Woolfe's biological mother. Barbara also found out that Pamela was the only professor at the table.
"And that brings us to Prof. Potter-Black. You should already know a ton about her. One thing you might not know is that she is the only teacher according to dad, which has masteries in Defense against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration and Charms. She never pursued mastery in Magizoology, though. I guess it made sense since she wanted to be an Auror while she was at school."
"That certainly was informative." Barbara would probably not remember half of that, but the important once she'll remember.
After dinner some ground rules was highlighted, like that there might still be werewolf activity in the forest so don't wonder around after dark, especially during a full moon. Also since this was Massachusetts there might be the occasional odd creature in the woods, so it was dangerous most of the time.
With the announcements made they were dismissed and headed to their dorms. Lily was waiting for them at the entrance to the student dorms. She asked the prefect escorting them if she could steal Barbara and Zatanna for a few seconds. Once they were alone Lily turned to them.
"Zatanna, Barbara I need a vow of silence from the both of you, before I say what needs to be said." Zatanna lifted her wand and made the vow followed by Barbara, who already made a similar vow.
"I was born as Pamela Lillian Potter and during my school years I went by the name Lily, in honor of my mother, yet internationally I was still known as Pamela Potter the-girl-who-lived. A year after I ended Voldemort, I was about to get married to my best friend, we were called to a dark ritual and she ended up near catatonic from four torture curses. At first I cast myself into my studies and gained my masters degrees, I then went into the no-maj world and got a doctorate in botany. I was on a field research trip when I nearly died. I was still grieving when my mind broke and I became the villainess Poison Ivy. Once some sanity returned to me I signed up for the mentor program at Ilvermorny. When I was contacted I took the offered pardon the school offered me and took on the Potions position. Your parents are not to know about this that is why I asked you to make the vow."
"That was actually clever," Zatanna still seemed to have stars in her eyes. "Your secret is safe with me, Prof. Potter-Black."
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This was beginning to get long so I cut it off here. Stay tuned for more, should I find the time to write it.