Chapter 10
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Shopping for magical supplies didn't take as long as Ivy had hoped it would. The first stop had been the bookshop, where she purchased texts for all seven core subjects as well as texts for Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Ivy had been taking Ancient Runes self-study since Dumbledore refused to let her switch classes after her first Divination class in third year. After questioning the shopkeeper and discovering that Italian magical schools offered a WICT in Basic Healing, she picked up texts for that too. Learning magical first aid could only benefit her, especially since her Flame qualifications weren't any use outside of the Mafia.
Next stop was the wandmakers. The shop owner was rather curious as to why a fifteen-year-old needed a new wand – it wasn't exactly a common occurrence – but Ivy explained she had been in a potions accident that had destroyed her wand. The shop owner had accepted the lie and set to the task of fitting Ivy for a new wand. This particular wand shop only made custom wands, allowing a customer's magic to choose the best combination of wood and core. Ivy ran her hands over the wand blanks on the table before her. She didn't have to wait long before one of them literally leapt into her hand.
"English Oak, ," the wandmaker said, accepting the blank from Ivy. "A wand of courage, strength, and loyalty; much like those who wield it."
Next came the shelves of cores. There were jars of odd powders, long black strings that Ivy thought were dragon heartstring, dazzling feathers of red and gold, unicorn tail hairs, and other substances Ivy didn't recognise. It was to the feathers her magic drew her, seemingly debating between the gold and the red. Eventually the red feathers won by a small margin.
"Phoenix feather for the core. I thought for a moment you would go for the thunderbird feathers. Both are rare cores and few people react to either, let alone both at once. You're an unusual young lady," the wandmaker commented as Ivy handed over the core. Ivy simply smiled in response. It wasn't long before Ivy left the shop with her new wand tucked away in a Disillusioned wrist holster.
Ivy then went to get the last item on her list; her Healer-mandated therapy pet. As she didn't have anywhere to safely brew potions without being discovered (or anyone to supervise; Mammon had refused) and didn't need any robes, this was the last shop she needed to go in. Entering the shop, she started browsing. She needed a pet that could pass for normal in the mundane world, so that ruled out most of the magical animals. A quick skim of Fantastic Beasts for common wizarding pets narrowed the choice down to an owl, a rat, or a Kneazle hybrid. A rat was right out – Housekeeping would never allow it – and Hedwig would take serious offense at the presence of another owl. That left a Kneazle hybrid. Kneazles themselves were too obvious and required a licence, but a half-Kneazle would be able to pass for a smarter than average cat. Her mind made up, Ivy asked an assistant where such cats could be found. The assistant led her to the back of the store and ushered her into a pen of half-Kneazles. Since Kneazles were incredibly picky about their humans, it made sense to let the cat pick. Ivy crouched down and waited. Eventually, she was approached by a silver tabby kitten who was happy to let her pet it and pick it up. The kitten purred in her arms, instantly making Ivy feel more relaxed. She gathered the supplies she needed for the kitten – who she had named Jellicle – and paid before leaving with Jellicle in a carry basket.
With her shopping done, she couldn't put it off any longer. It was time to go back to the Varia and have the conversation she really wasn't looking forward to.
Mammon dropped Ivy off in her office, giving her to opportunity to put her things away while they gathered Bel, Luss, and Squalo in Squalo's office. Ivy had to force herself not to dawdle. She really wasn't looking forward to this. What if they reacted like the Dursleys did to magic? What if they thought she was a freak? Ivy might have Mammon in her corner, but that was little comfort. If the other Officers thought she was a threat to the Varia because of her magic and her past, they would have no qualms about doing away with her. She really respected Luss and Squalo and the thought of them calling her a freak…
A tiny meow broke her out of her depressive spiral. When had she unlatched the cat carrier? When had she sat down on the floor? Ivy lifted Jellicle into her lap and cuddled the kitten as she calmed down. It would be ok; she had to believe that. Luss, Squalo, and Bel were all aware of and comfortable with Flames, which could do incredible things in their own right. While Flames were not the same as magic they were similar in some ways, Mist Flames in particular . It would be ok. Still, changing into the armoured Varia uniform and taking Jellicle with her wouldn't hurt.
She also needed to plan the best way to reveal magic. Mammon had told her that they had adjusted the Mist Wards around the building to prevent the detection of underage magic cast within as long as she didn't cast anything illegal. Maybe start a small demonstration? Something that couldn't be construed as a threat to humans and couldn't be replicated by Mist Flames. Perhaps an object to animal Transfiguration would be a good way to start.
As Ivy approached Squalo's office, Jellicle hidden Silenced under a Notice-Me-Not – it wouldn't do for the Cloud Officer to be seen carryng a kitten around, people might get ideas and start trying to kill the cat to get to her – her nerves returned full force. She forced her mind away from the fearful depressive spiral it was trying to sink into as she double-checked she had the folder Guaritore Marino gave her and knocked on the door.
"Voi, come in," Squalo said loudly from the other side. Ivy entered and had to check the urge to bolt at the sight of the Storm, Sun, and Rain Officers all sat waiting for her. Forcing her nerves aside again, she entered the office and shut the door behind her.
"It's good to see you looking so well honey," Luss greeted, his usual smile absent.
Ivy cringed internally; she was in a fair bit of trouble. Outwardly, she nodded to her fellow Officer and gave a small smile. "Thank you, Lussuria. I'm feeling better than I have for a long time."
"The Prince is curious as to why you have seen fit to include the Prince in this meeting, when only the shark and the okama are needed," Belphegor said, flicking a knife idly between his fingers. Ivy nodded politely to the Storm Prince.
"There are certain secrets I need to share in this meeting in order to explain my absence. These secrets affect multiple aspects of my life and revealing them may put those hearing them at risk. I felt it prudent to inform your Highness at the same time as Captain and Lussuria, lest your Highness decide to hunt for information of your own accord. Leviathan has not been invited as I do not trust him to keep my secrets," Ivy explained as she seated herself on Squalo's office sofa and set the file next to her. Mammon floated over from the corner they had been lurking in and settled themselves on top of the file. Ivy felt better having them beside her. Time to begin.
She flicked her wrist, ejecting her wand from its holster and into her hand. A tap removed the Notice-Me-Not and Silencing charms from Jellicle. With her kitten cradled in one arm she waved her wand over Squalo's teacup, transfiguring it into a small tortoise. She gave the three non-magical Officers a minute or two to assure themselves that is really was a tortoise and not an illusion or Mist construct before she turned it back without spilling a single drop of tea.
"That… that wasn't Flames," Squalo said, finding his voice.
"No, it wasn't. That was magic. Magic is real; it can do everything the stories say and so much more," Ivy explained.
"Magicals lived peacefully alongside non-magicals for thousands of years. However, with the emergence of the Spanish Inquisition and the witch hunts, it became necessary to separate ourselves from the rest of the world. In 1692 the International Statute of Secrecy came into force, making the separation legally binding across the globe. Non-magicals could only be told about magic if their spouse or an immediate family member possessed magic, and there are harsh penalties for breaking the Statute. I can tell you about it now because I hired Mammon as my magical guardian after dismissing the old one for dereliction of duty and being bonded under the same Sky can be counted as being close family to them." It was rules lawyering at its finest and likely wouldn't stand up in court due to the soul aspect being illegal, but everyone here was more than capable of keeping secrets.
"You couldn't tell us before because it was illegal, as we didn't fit the criteria," Lussuria clarified. He was clearly still unhappy but less so than before.
Ivy nodded. "Yes. Believe me when I say Wizarding prison makes regular prison look like a boy scout camp, especially the British one. Getting caught breaking the law would potentially result in me being sent back to Britain to serve my sentence there, and that's something I'm trying to avoid at all costs. Most magicals keep quiet about their gifts even in situations where they can tell, since there's still a lot of prejudice out there. You can't tell anyone you know about magic though; if any other magicals find out you know, they will wipe your memory without hesitation. There's nothing you would be able to do about it either, as non-magicals have no resistance to magic."
"Let me get this straight, voi. You can tell us about magic because of Mammon, but telling us puts us at risk of being effectively mind raped by others who are in on the secret and don't think we should be?" Squalo asked bluntly. Ivy cringed slightly. When he put it that way…
"Magic is the reason why I had to go to the hospital; you need to know about it to understand why I was gone. As long as you don't say anything to anyone you aren't certain is magical or in the know, you'll be fine. It's a bit like omerta, but enforced by legitimate governments rather than the Mafia," Ivy explained, stroking Jellicle to calm herself. The reaction so far had been hadn't been too bad, but there was still plenty of time for things to go wrong.
"Start talking, voi" Squalo demanded.
"To explain what was wrong I need to explain a bit about my past. In Britain in the 1970's and early 80's, a Dark wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort was waging war against the established magical government. My parents, James and Lily Potter, both fought against him and his Death Eater followers. They were both very successful, and this earned them the ire of Voldemort. My parents went into hiding not long after I was born. They used a charm called the Fidelius, hiding their home completely from anyone who had not been told the secret of its location by the Secret Keeper. Unfortunately, my parents put their trust in the wrong man, and they were betrayed.
"On October 31st, 1981, Lord Voldemort broke into the house where we were hiding and murdered my parents; my father in the hallway and my mother right in front of me. As she died, I think my mother activated some sort of Ward or protective spell – there's no other explanation for what happened next. Voldemort attempted to kill me with the Killing Curse, a curse with a survival rate of exactly zero before that night. The curse bounced right off me, killing Voldemort and leaving me with a scar on my forehead.
"The scar wasn't the only mark left on me that night. There was black magic trapped within the scar itself. I spent nearly fourteen years with it there, my own magic constantly fighting to suppress it. My scar didn't give me too much trouble until this summer, when I started having disturbing dreams and visions, and experiencing emotions that weren't mine, all of which made my scar burn. Six days ago, it reached a point where I could no longer deal with it. I sought out Mammon, who I already knew was magical, to ask for their help. They realised what was wrong and took me to the hospital."
"I take it having magic is what you meant by 'knowing what to look for'?" Luss asked Mammon.
The miser nodded. "You don't have magic – no Varia other than me and Amsel do – so you wouldn't have been able to pick it up. Flames can't be used to treat magical issues either."
"I have the relevant Healer's notes here; I don't quite understand all of the terminology, but I'll explain what I can. Now that you know about magic I can be more honest with you about my scars and how I got them," Ivy said, handing the notes to Lussuria. Luss accepted them and her implicit peace offering. She had kept secrets out of necessity, but now Luss knew about magic Ivy could see a few more uncomfortable discussions in her future.
"Thank you, sugar. I don't appreciate being lied to, but I understand the necessity in this case," Luss replied.
"Umm, are there any free rooms in the castle I could take over for my magic studies? I need somewhere to practise that I can Ward from nosy assassins. Someone will notice eventually and I'd rather no one outside this room knew my secret. That's actually half the reason I invited Belphegor; he'd be one of, if not the first to notice I was up to something and discover my secret," Ivy asked Squalo. Belphegor grinned at the compliment to his awareness.
"Voi, there's space in the dungeons. Just don't blow the castle up," Squalo replied.
"Thank you. Mammon has already altered the Mist Wards so my casting won't be detected, as I'm still underage and this is a primarily non-magical area, so there shouldn't be any trouble there. I'll reinforce that with my own Wards around my workroom once I figure out how to do it," Ivy assured him. A slight frown appeared on Squalo's face, but the fact Mammon had already taken care of the issue seemed to allay his concerns.
With the meeting over the Officers dispersed. Ivy was first out the door, intending to get a snack and a calming hot chocolate before dealing with the paperwork that had undoubtedly built up on her desk. A hand on her shoulder put paid to that idea.
"Would you come and join me in my office, sugar? I want to get stuck into these notes and it'll be easier if you're on hand," Lussuria asked. Looked like Ivy would be having another of those uncomfortable conversations sooner than she thought.
