Ivy entered the Dursley's home warily. Petunia led her through the lounge and into the kitchen. Dudley's immense form appeared as they approached the table. He had something slim and wooden in his hands. Twirling it casually, he threw a piercing look at his mother.
"Ms. Ollivander," he greeted her formally. Ivy tried her best to look nonplussed as she recognized the item in his hand. It was a wand, and it had to be Harry's. Dudley pointed it at her, then used it to motion her to a seat.
"Dudley," she returned, smiling graciously. "What have you got there?"
"Don't you know?" he sneered. He held up the wand and for a moment Ivy was sure they'd gone and done something horrible to Harry. That all that was left of him was his wand in Dudley's hand.
"It looks like what magicians use," she forced the words out of her mouth. "You know, Abracadabra... watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...?"
Dudley smirked. "Exactly." He pushed himself to his feet and waddled breathlessly to his mother's side.
"She knows what this is," he hissed to Petunia.
"Have you taken up magic, Dudley," Ivy asked innocently, slipping into her appointed seat. "I know a few card tricks. I can teach them to you if you'd like."
"You know magic?" he pressed. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Well," Ivy shrugged. "Everybody knows one or two really good tricks, don't they?" She held her hand out toward the wand, even though her head began to swim a little as Dudley brought it closer.
"WHAT ON EARTH?" Vernon Dursley exploded as he entered the kitchen. He snatched the wand out of Dudley's pudgy fist and flung it through the door and into the hallway.
"We just wanted to make sure, dad," he explained, turning a bright shade of pink. "Couldn't this all be a trick? Maybe she's in it with them... you know...." He stopped. His father had never turned such an apoplectic look in his direction.
Ivy watched in mock confusion, even as understanding dawned on her. Dudley was giving her a magic test of his own. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry dart into the hallway and scoop up his wand, before slouching into the kitchen. Petunia served tea while Vernon and Dudley got themselves re-settled.
"The paperwork I told you about..." Ivy spoke quietly, passing her forms across the table to Vernon, who was studying her most earnestly. Her stomach flip flopped when she wondered if he gave any credence to Dudley's theory.
"And once again, I apologize for any inconvenience my... um... previous embellishments may have caused." Her eyes flicked over Harry long enough for him to discern to whom she was apologizing.
"Well... " Vernon Dursley puffed up importantly. "I believe we can all stop pretending as of this moment. I know exactly why you did what you did, Ms Ollivander." He paused for effect, and it worked. Everyone at the table leaned in to hear his announcement.
"There are times when intense desire pushes each of us in the wrong direction. I am not condoning your actions, Ms. Ollivander, but I would like to make it clear that I understand your thinking."
Ivy bit her lip.
"And," Dursley's gaze softened momentarily. "I may have been guilty of the same thing a time or two, myself."
Ivy let out the breath she'd been holding as Petunia and Dudley turned looks of amazement at the elder Dursley.
"Come on, Petunia," he prodded, his moustache puffing up as he raised an eyebrow at his wife. "The Mason report? Remember? And that time I needed to impress the superintendent of that hardware chain?"
"Vernon!" Petunia gasped, scandalized. "Whatever are you saying?"
Her husband smiled a private smile, and Ivy realized that he was getting exactly the outcome he wanted from this meeting. He was about to sign away one Harry Potter, constant thorn in his side for the past 15 years. Nothing Petunia or anyone else said was going to change his intentions. He signed the papers with a flourish, and for the briefest of moments Ivy resisted the urge to fling her arms around his neck. Then she remembered he didn't have one.
"We all fudge our paperwork from time to time, is all I'm saying," he told a sputtering Petunia.
"Thank you for understanding, Mr. Dursley," Ivy spoke into the stunned silence. To her surprise her eyes filled with tears, and she felt a little swimmy.
"There, there, dear," Vernon said loftily. "I also understand the gratitude one feels when facing those who facilitate their dreams. No thanks are necessary. Your reform of young Potter will be repayment enough."
Ivy resisted the urge to laugh out loud. She didn't dare look at Harry, for she knew that if she did, the jig would be up. She wouldn't be able to hide her grin.
"There are a few technicalities we must address," Vernon continued as he passed her the signed papers. "You may pick Harry up here the second day of June, and deposit him at King's Cross Station on the first of each September. His school belongings and needed materials will no longer be our responsibility, but yours. And if he becomes too much to handle, you will NOT, under any circumstances, return him here. Once he's in your hands, I'm afraid...."
Ivy nodded solemnly, careful to look properly intimidated, as she folded the papers and tucked them into her pocket. They felt like leaves of gold there, and Ivy imagined them warming her entire being.
"And what about the rest of the summer, Sir," she asked, giving her total attention to Vernon. She batted her eyelashes as he looked down his moustache at her. He puffed up a bit, licking his lips as he fell under the spell of her green eyes.
Inside, Ivy's skin was crawling. She wanted more than anything to make a graceful exit, but first she had to make sure Harry's next few weeks were addressed.
"He'll be going to visit a friend," Petunia broke in coldly. Apparently she did not appreciate the look that had passed between Ivy and her husband. "You said you had to tend to a sick brother, anyway. Did you not?"
Ivy turned her attention to Petunia. "Yes," she murmured. "I'd be happy to take Potter with me, though. He could take care of the dogs for me in the animal car on the train." Her eyes widened in shock as she felt Vernon Dursley's chunky hand slide under the table to rest on her knee. Suddenly she feared that her batting eyelashes had sent a stronger message than she had meant them to. But she didn't dare move. She pushed her hand into the pocket where the guardianship papers rested, then glanced at Vernon. His face was the color of a red beet.
"I already gave my word," Petunia continued. "Why, I'll never know. But that's beside the point now." She eyed her husband suspiciously and Vernon gave Ivy's leg a final slow squeeze, then he brought both hands out onto the table.
"I was hoping he could help me pack my things?" Ivy ventured, stealing a glance at Vernon. A vein throbbed visibly in his temple. "The moving men come tomorrow."
"I'd be happy to see to that," Vernon spoke up. "To show once and for all that there are no hard feelings between us."
Petunia crossed the room and stood between Ivy and Vernon. She'd slapped her husband's shoulder before she realized it. "You'll do no such thing. You have a busy day at work tomorrow, and Harry has absolutely nothing to do with his time. As a matter of fact, I think he should start helping Ivy pack right now." The look she gave Vernon was deadly.
Ivy knew her cue when she heard it. She stood to her feet. "I can't tell you what it's meant to me," she said. "Meeting you all this summer. You've given me so much." Her cheeks burned as she fought an impulse to look at Harry. "More than you'll ever know."
She shook Dudley's fat sweaty hand, then Petunia's, then turned to Vernon. He held her hand until Petunia slapped his arm again. They saw her out the back door, Harry in tow. Then the two of them crossed the garden. As they mounted the steps to her house, Ivy's hand clamped over Harry's mouth. "No war whoops until the door is properly-" As the door shut behind them he surprised her by picking her up off the ground and twirling her around in circles.
"You pulled it off!" he shouted, as Sirius joined them. Harry set Ivy down and dizziness overtook her. She fell to the couch with a thud, as she realized how close she'd come to losing Harry forever.
"We pulled it off, Harry," she said weakly. "Together." She swiped at the place where Vernon had squeezed her knee, as if she could brush away the memory of his greasy touch. Rose and Remus came in from the kitchen, a case of bottled butterbeer in tow, and the party began in earnest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Try it again, Ivy," Rose said from her place at pub's huge kitchen table. Ivy stomped her foot in frustration. She'd been faithfully taking Remus Lupin's power boosting potions for two months, but even with the Magical Magnifier in her wand, she had yet to move anything set before her. Once a wooden bowl had trembled a little though, so neither Rose or Remus let her quit.
Ivy pointed the wand at a tea cup this afternoon. A warm glow of golden light from the mullioned windows enveloped her in late summer's glow. Coming home had been less painful, knowing Harry wouldn't have to endure the Dursleys any more, although she had yet to see Hagrid. Fang disappeared in the direction of his cabin every morning, but wandered listlessly back to the pub every night. Ivy assumed that he hadn't returned yet from his mission.
"Go on," Rose encouraged. "You're not concentrating."
"Rose..." Ivy whined. "Nothing's going to happen. I've been pointing this thing at everything from dust motes to cauldrons, and nothing's moved. I want to take a break."
"And what would you do with a break, hmm?" Rose countered. "Go visit that empty house down the road? Or the one over at Hogwarts? Ivy... you've got to believe you can do this or it's never going to happen."
"I've spent too many years believing I couldn't," Ivy said irritably. "You can't undo that in two months time."
"Just concentrate," Rose insisted. "It doesn't have to be much. Just enough to show Zack Zonko you're not un-Magical."
"But I am un-magical," Ivy said, stomping her foot one more time. "Or I wouldn't have spent all those years outside the magical community."
"There, you see, that's you're problem." Ivy blushed as Sirius entered the kitchen. "As long as you won't believe, don't worry, you'll never move that cup an inch."
"Then tell me how to believe it," Ivy countered.
"Believe you're magic?" Sirius gave a little laugh.
"Yes," Ivy challenged. "Tell me how."
Sirius crossed the room. His hand slid under her wand arm, steadying it, aiming it toward the cup. "You got Harry back for us," he murmured in her ear. "That's something nobody else was able to do. I'd call it magical. You bewitched a giant. And turned a dog into a man." His grip on her wrist tightened and his other arm went around her waist. He positioned her in the crook of his arm.
"Does it take more power to do all that, do you think? Or move a stupid cup?"
Ivy swallowed, hypnotized by his low voice in her ear, his hands entwined in hers.
"Believe, Ivy. The rest of us do. Remus wouldn't stay up into the night concocting these potions if he didn't. Rose wouldn't push you so hard if she didn't. And I..." he paused. "You've given me more reason to believe than anyone. Let me show you how much I believe in your magic." His voice had dropped to a whisper in her ear, and his grip on her got more possessive.
Ivy stared into his eyes, seeing herself reflected there. For an eternity she watched herself, then her vision blurred as his words sank in. She knew what he wanted, and tears sprang up behind her eyelids. Reaching out, her fingers trembled across his cheekbones. Suddenly she didn't dare breathe.
"Wingardium Leviosa," she murmured. The china cup rose steadily toward the ceiling, but Ivy didn't notice. She knew that Sirius was about to kiss her as he'd never kissed her before. And she knew she was going to let him. The tea cup floated patiently as Ivy accepted his mouth on her own. He let out the breath he'd been holding, right into her open mouth, his hand trailing raggedly down her neck. He pulled her to him until her body melded against his own, and he covered her face with his kisses. He whispered his love for her into her ears, her mouth, the curve of her neck. The spell weaved between them was palpable. Even Rose and Remus remarking over the levitated cup couldn't break it. But finally, slowly, something that had been thumping in the back of Ivy's head began to surface. The gold band that dangled at her wrist began to come between them, as the afternoon sun made it glow.
As Sirius's mouth trailed down her neck, she remembered how it had felt when Hagrid had kissed her, the day before he left, right in front of Professor Dumbledore. When Sirius's tongue pushed past her lips, she remembered the one and only night she'd allowed Hagrid the same access. How she'd pulled on his shirtsleeves trying to get closer to his shaggy-soft moustache, and how he'd finally taken her into his arms.
"When're we gonna do this?" he'd asked her, and she thought he'd meant then what Sirius meant now as he continued his caresses. Black's eyes asked the same question, his hands demanded an answer, and she pulled away from him when she realized there was only one answer she could give.
The tea cup crashed to the floor. Sirius blinked, deflating right before her eyes.
"I love you..." Ivy managed, the unspoken 'But' that they both knew came next hung over their heads for a moment, then Sirius dropped his hands and backed toward the door.
"Sirius, please don't leave me," she begged. He stopped in the doorway.
"You ask too much," he managed. A cry escaped Ivy's lips as he disappeared out the door, and Ivy knew she'd never see him again. She kicked the cup across the kitchen, then ran after him. Too much had passed between them for her to let go. She searched the streets, the alleys, the back gardens of Hogsmeade, but no Blackie. Even though she didn't want to, her feet dragged her to their meeting place, the rocky outcropping just past her old house.
"Blackie!" she called, until her voice was gone. "Blackie.... Please come home." She hugged herself, knowing full well she had no business using that word to entice him back to her. She could no more promise him a home than she could promise him the moon.
"Blackie, please."
There was no response until she turned to walk away. Then she heard an all too familiar whine at the edge of the dark forest. Blackie. Ever faithful Blackie. And Ivy knew he couldn't leave her if he tried. Perhaps Sirius Black could walk away, but the dog Ivy had befriended never would. She threw herself across the stream at him.
"Please don't leave me, Blackie. Please don't go." She begged unashamedly. He sat beside her for a long time, occasionally snuffling the tears that coursed down her cheeks. Ivy clung to him as she'd never done before. How could she let go? His love for her had given her the faith to do magic. His love had made her house a home. He stood up after a while, as the sky began to darken. Brushing his warm doggy tongue across Ivy's cheek one last time, he turned toward the forest. Ivy's heart sank, but she didn't call him back. Sirius was right. That would be asking too much.
Standing to her feet, Ivy set off down the bank, slogging through the stream without even trying to keep her robes dry. Like someone hypnotized, she climbed the far bank and walked across High Street. Turning right would lead her to what once had been her dragon-decorated cottage, but Ivy turned left. Coming to the rocky crag where she'd spent countless hours in Blackie's company, she settled in. She had some thinking to do, and in her years on Hogsmeade, she'd found this the best place to do that.
The vulture flock had mostly settled in for the night. Every now and then one of the birds would spread its wings, rocking from one foot to the other in an attempt to get more comfortable. Ivy watched, wide-eyed. She drew her knees against her chest, wrapping her arms around them. So many thoughts ran through her head that she could barely keep track, but she knew one thing for certain, she had some decisions to make. She knew it wasn't fair to keep Black hanging. The wheels of memory took her back to their first meeting, in Rosie's back alley. He'd been just a stray then, lonely and hungry. Ivy closed her eyes, but opened them as a soft 'pop' sounded at her side.
Remus Lupin Apparated in front of her.
"Thought I'd find you here," he said, reaching for her hand. Ivy braced herself against the rocks and helped Lupin scramble up beside her.
"It's time for your bedtime potion," he smiled apologetically. Handing her the vial, he watched as she measured three silver drops out under her tongue. She handed him back the dropper with a heavy sigh.
"You alright?" he asked.
Ivy gave a sad little laugh. "Not really," she whispered.
Remus nodded. "I noticed you and Sirius in the kitchen this afternoon."
Ivy turned to look at him, her wide-eyed stare so full of hopelessness that he had to look away.
"I don't know what to do. Or rather, I do, but I haven't the guts to do it."
"Trying to decide between Hagrid and Sirius?"
"I already decided that," Ivy said, holding up her arm. Hagrid's mother's golden ring glinted in the moonlight. "I have to let Sirius go."
Tears came to her eyes even as the words left her mouth. "It's not fair, what I'm doing. Keeping him here because I need him. Because I'm afraid."
"What are you afraid of?" Remus asked.
"Magic tests," Ivy muttered. "Losing my house. Losing Hagrid."
Remus remained silent, waiting for Ivy to continue.
"Sirius has been right beside me all summer. That house in Little Whinging... when Harry was with us, we were our own little family. When I concocted a plan to get Harry away from those horrible Dursleys, Blackie was there. When the plan almost backfired Blackie was there. When I got a letter saying Zonko wanted my house back... when Hagrid stopped writing. Right beside me all along, Remus. He made me believe in magic today. How did this happen? Why didn't I see it? And how can I repay all that by sending him away? I owe him..." she shook her head.
"Do you think he'd want your heart if he thought you gave it because you owed him?" Remus asked.
Ivy shook her head. "He deserves more than that."
"I agree."
"He deserves true love," Ivy said. "Passionate, strong... determined."
"The way you love Hagrid...."
"Yes," was all Ivy could say.
"The way I love Rose."
"I hope," Ivy murmured.
They sat in silence a while longer, then Remus stood to his feet. "I need to get back to the pub," he said, making his way off the rocks. "I told Rose I'd only be a minute. You haven't made anything...?" he swished his hand around apologetically. "I mean... I suppose now's not the best time, but I wondered if...."
Ivy managed a ghost of a smile. Pulling her wand out of her robes, she pointed it at some pebbles. "Wingardium Leviosa," she spoke dully. The pebbles rose into the air in front of Lupin. "Accio," Ivy continued, and one of the larger rocks trembled, then flew obediently into her hand.
"Incendio," she threw the rock into the air, where it promptly burst into flame. Lupin grinned, ecstatic. His smile faded when he noticed Ivy's tears. He climbed back onto the rocks and drew her into his arms.
"Sirius did that," she whispered. "He made me believe."
"I think he'd be happy to know that," Remus comforted. "Maybe you should...."
Ivy sniffled against Lupin's robes. She clung to him for a moment, then let go. "This would be a lot easier if I'd at least heard from Hagrid in the last month. Wish I knew why he stopped writing."
"He's not...?"
"He's not hurt or...." Ivy shook her head. "I asked Dumbledore. He's gotten letters. I haven't, but he has."
"Strange...." Lupin agreed.
"Tell Rose I'll be home soon," Ivy said, giving Lupin permission to leave. She'd made up her mind. As soon as Remus left she was going to go see if Hagrid was home.
"Alright, Ivy," Lupin said. "Be careful out here."
Ivy gave him a lop-sided grin.
"OK."
Then he was gone, and she was alone again. She waited until she could no longer hear Lupin's footsteps, then pushed off the rocks, crossed the stream, and headed up the path toward Hagrid's.
The forest was dark, foreboding, but Ivy didn't notice. Fog had stolen over the ground, and she left the path a time or two, tripping unceremoniously over roots and brambles. So intent was she on her destination that she never noticed the black dog following her.
Blackie kept to the shadows, moving with a familiarity that spoke of the countless days and nights he'd spent in the forest. He stopped when Ivy fell, hackles raised against any intruder. When she left the woods and crossed to Hagrid's cabin, Blackie melted into the pumpkin patch.
Ivy saw the soft glow of firelight from inside Hagrid's house. It drew her like a moth to its flame. She bounded up the back steps, pounding on the door before she even considered what time it was. Hagrid was home! Surely he'd be happy to see her no matter what time it happened to be. The door creaked slowly open. Fang gave a welcoming bark as Ivy threw herself at the massive shadow she knew was Hagrid. But instead of a warm embrace, he stiffened, pushing her away as though she were something smelly.
"Ivy," he breathed. "Din't know who was there." he sounded groggy, and his whiskey-sodden breath told Ivy he'd been drinking.
"You're home!" Ivy said, her smile faltering a bit as he turned from her to add some wood to his fire.
"Yeah," Hagrid agreed. "I'm home."
"Well... how was your trip?" Ivy asked stepping forward. "Did you see your mother? Tell me about the hippogriffs."
Hagrid rubbed his face with his hands. "Not now, Ivy," he said. The heaviness in his voice caused Ivy's brow to furrow.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm. "I wondered why you stopped writing. Harry and I were worried."
Hagrid stared down at her hand, then pulled away. He was paler and thinner than Ivy remembered. He looked different, but Ivy couldn't put her finger on why. She began to chatter, telling him about getting Harry away from the Dursleys, and about Lupin's potions and his plan for a magic test to get her house back. Hagrid gave no response. His eyes seemed far away, and when Ivy stared into them she figured out the difference in his look. The spark she remembered in his beetle black eyes, the laughter that always lingered there, was gone now. Her voice trailed away and she sat down at the table, heart sinking lower with each minute he pretended she wasn't there.
"Hagrid?" she murmured. He hadn't moved from his spot in front of the fireplace, even though sweat was running down his face. He continued to stare with that far-off, unfocused look, until Ivy finally crossed the room and shook him.
"Yeh shouldn't be here," he said simply. "Go on home."
"Just like that?" Ivy asked, stunned. "But.... You told me we'd pick up where we left off when you got home. You said you were going to hurry, even if it meant leaving Maxime behind.... You told me you missed me...."
Hagrid shook his shaggy head, closing his eyes, and Ivy swore she saw tears leaking from them. "I can't pick up where we lef' off," he said, grabbing an arm and pulling her toward the back door. "Yeh can't stay here. Yeh shouldn't be here."
She resisted his tugging on her arm, digging her heels into the floor, but she was no match for his strength. He opened the back door and pushed her through it.
"It's over fer us, Ivy," he said, voice sounding strangled. "I can't put yeh through it. Now go on home an' don' come back here no more. Stay away from me. Yeh hear? Stay away."
"Hagrid, no!" Ivy shouted, but before she could move he'd shut the door in her face. She brought her fist up to pound on the wood, tears streaming freely down her face. "Tell me why!" she demanded. She sank to the top step and curled into a ball. Her world had gone suddenly surreal. How could Hagrid have stopped loving her? Had he decided to try again for the favors of Olympe Maxime? Had his time with the giants given him a longing for someone larger? Had he met someone else? Someone he loved more than she'd thought he loved her?
A million questions filled Ivy's head, but in the end, she did as Hagrid said. Wrapping her arms around herself, she headed home. Somewhere in Hagrid's garden a dog howled as Ivy made her way through the slowly lightening forest. Back to Hogsmeade, leaving a bit of her heart behind her with every step she took.