AN: Well folks, we just finished reading OOTP, and compared to that my story looks positively ... prissy. Maybe even a little on the wussy side. Except for Ivy; she still holds up pretty well. Anyway, when the dialogue for this chapter starting playing in my head, I thought, hey, Ivy sounds a lot like Morgaine in The Mists of Avalon, the part near the end where Morgaine and Lancelet are talking. Morgaine, the Slytherin, believes in fate, while Lancelet, the Gryffindor, believes in free will. As you may infer from reading my poem "Lancelot Redeemed," while Morgaine may have meant well, I strongly disapprove of her methods. This is where I got the idea for having Lefay blood in the Snape line. This isn't crossover, it's looking at the roots. More at the end ...
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Chapter 12. Bargain with Destiny
The next day all five of them went to Hagrid's together. Try to hide it as she would, Ivy was a bit nervous about facing Hagrid again. Harry had tipped him off ahead of time, but he still looked formidable as he answered his front door. "I invited Ivy to come," Harry reminded him hastily as his eyebrows rushed together threateningly. Ivy slowly reached into her robes and drew out her wand, holding it by the tip and presenting the other end to Hagrid. "As a sign of good faith," she said, "I lay down my arms at your door."
Ron snorted. "Make a big production of it, why don't you."
Hagrid took the offered wand and his eyebrows unbent a little. "Yeh can come in, then," he said gruffly, pocketing Ivy's wand. "But there'd better not be any funny stuff."
All of them went in and found seats, but Hagrid didn't offer them any tea yet. The situation was too serious. Ivy realized this and got down to business right away. From her robes she extracted a long, narrow case, made of wood in different hues inlaid in intricate patterns, and placed it carefully on the table. "Uncle Severus gave me this wand case when I started at Hogwarts," she said. "Powerful spells have been laid on it to protect its contents from harm." She opened the hinged cover to reveal Harry's wand lying in state in a form-fitting nest of black velvet.
"Super posh," said Ron in admiration.
"Tha's the genuine article, is it?" said Hagrid, bending closer to look.
"Yes, this is Harry's real wand," Ivy assured them, "to be returned to its rightful owner, as soon as it's been completely restored. Hermione, will you do the honours, please?"
"Gladly," said Hermione. "Harry?"
Harry handed her the wand tip he had kept in his robes, and she looked around the room. "Hagrid, have you got a mirror?"
Hagrid looked surprised. "Well, I don't even shave, yeh know, but I've got a bit of lookin' glass ter use when I get ready fer a special do," he said doubtfully. "I dunno if I could lay me hand on it jes' now."
"Never mind," said Ivy. "I brought one myself, just in case." She produced an elegant silver-backed hand mirror and held it up behind the wand case.
"Extra posh," murmured Ron.
"Everybody notice," Hermione directed them, "that the mirror reflection of Harry's wand is missing the tip, and you can see the seams where the broken pieces were joined."
"No kidding," said Ron, looking in the mirror.
"Three pieces of the mirror-double have already been returned to the mirror," Hermione went on, "and when the fourth one, the tip, is returned, Harry's wand will be as good as new."
"Yeh've lost me," said Hagrid.
"Oh, that's right, you don't know about mirror-doubles, do you?" Hermione remembered. "So much has happened since then … Well, don't worry, I'll fill you in afterwards," she promised him.
"But that wand in the mirror—is that what Malfoy broke?" Hagrid guessed.
"Exactly," said Hermione. "Now I'm going to send the last piece to join the others." She held up the mirror-double wand tip in one hand and pointed her own wand at it with the other. "/Fallax!/" she exclaimed, and the wand tip flew through the mirror and snuggled down in the mirror-wand case with the rest of the reflection. "It's done," she said.
Ivy put the mirror down, closed her eyes, and sagged back in her chair with an expression of profound relief. "It's safe," she said. "Your wand is safe now, Harry."
"You're all right, are you, Ivy?" Neville asked her.
"I am now," she said, opening her eyes and smiling. "Neville, would you like to return Harry's wand to him?"
"Me?" croaked Neville. "But—"
"It's perfectly safe," said Ivy. "Harry's wand is quite as strong as ever."
Neville got up from his cushion on the floor and approached the wand case sitting open on the table. His hand shook as he lifted the wand out. "It seems all right," he said. "Harry, here's your wand back. Er, use it well," he added, trying for a suitable phrase to match the sense of occasion.
"Thanks, Neville," said Harry. "I will."
As soon as his fingers closed on his wand, the familiar tingling warmth traveled up his arm. He felt like himself again for the first time in a week. He waved it, sending out a shower of scarlet and gold sparks, and everyone in the room burst into applause and cheers.
"The wand that's been up a troll's nose," Ron intoned. "Reunited with its owner at last."
"Now tha's more like it," said Hagrid with satisfaction. "Le's have our tea, and Ivy can explain everythin'. And I do mean everythin'," he emphasised, looking at her a little sternly.
"It's rather complicated," said Ivy. "I think we'd better start at the beginning. Hermione, why don't you explain to Hagrid about mirror-doubles; that comes first."
"It would help me remember too," said Neville.
So, while the tea was passed around, Hermione reviewed what they had learned from Madcap Magic for Wacky Warlocks. Harry summarized the new information from the Marauder's Map. And Neville described their joint visit to Frank Longbottom, which he had no trouble remembering.
"That one sent Harry completely around the bend," said Ron. "I never saw anything like his eyes. He wasn't half seeing things. Must have been worse than that broken record thing."
"It was," said Harry.
"But we never heard what happened when Ivy saw Neville's Mum," Hermione exclaimed.
"That's where I was planning to start," said Ivy. "Mrs. Longbottom was unconscious when I saw her."
"Me, too," said Harry. "I mean, when I saw her, too."
"I took her hand," said Ivy, "and I heard her voice in my mind. She seemed to know something about me. She said, You know Severus, don't you, and I answered her in my mind, Yes, he's my uncle. Then she said, The enemy will return. You must stop the danger, but tell no one until you have done it. She wouldn't tell me anything else, even though I asked her to explain what she meant. I said I would try. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I just waited to see if it would get clearer."
"Lucius Malfoy," muttered Ron. "Came back from his holiday."
"Rather," said Ivy.
"Sent a message to Draco, right? 'Stop that Potter before he does any more damage."
"Something like that," said Ivy. "How did you know?"
"My Gran saw Mr. Malfoy when he came back to check up on Dad," said Neville.
"And Draco wanted you to help him figure out a way to stop Harry," Ron went on, saving Ivy the trouble of spilling the beans herself.
"And what happened next?" Ivy played along with an impish smile.
"Then Draco said to you, 'Oh, how I wish I could just snap that boy's wand in half—'"
"Wait, Ron," said Ivy. "You missed the part where I consulted Salazara."
"Oh, how silly of me," said Ron. "Of course you wouldn't do anything rash without getting advice from your pet snake first."
"Salazara's something of a seer, you know," said Ivy just a trifle defensively. "I asked her if she could tell me something about the future that I needed to know. No leading questions. Her middle head said to me, 'Harry Potter will suffer the loss of his wand at Draco Malfoy's hand.'" Ivy caught Ron's incredulous look, and declared, "Yes, really. If you don't believe me, Harry can ask her himself."
"I didn't say a thing," protested Ron.
"And after that—" Ivy paused and Ron picked up his cue, saying, "That must be when Draco said the bit about snapping Harry's wand."
"And I knew that Salazara had seen the future truly," said Ivy.
"But wait, Ivy," said Hermione. "Hasn't Draco ever said anything like that to you before? He and Harry have never exactly got along."
"He's never mentioned Harry's wand before," said Ivy positively. "Not that I remember. And he was determined to do something, because his father had worded his message very strongly. So I thought about what Neville's Mum and Salazara had said to me, and I came up with a plan; and then I offered to steal Harry's wand for Draco."
"You offered to steal it? You suggested it?" Ron almost shouted.
"It was the only thing I could think of to stop the worst from happening," said Ivy. "And I had to steal it ahead of time so I could make the double to use in its place."
"Did it ever enter your head that you were the one who made Salazara's prediction come true?" Ron questioned her.
"I didn't make it come true! I only chose the way it would come true. I had to take matters into my own hands to keep them from going wrong. I promised Neville's Mum I would."
"Go on, Ivy. Shut up, Ron," said Harry.
"Draco had a hard time believing I would really do it, but he told me to go ahead."
"What I want to know is how you did it," said Hermione.
"Well, it wasn't easy. Picking Harry's pocket in the corridor wasn't going to get the job done," said Ivy. "He keeps track of it too well for that. In the end I had to sneak into his dorm room at night."
"That's my dorm room too!" Ron objected. "And Neville's, don't forget."
"I suppose you overheard the password," said Hermione. "And did you already know which room was Harry's?"
"The Marauder's Map helped," said Ivy. "I got a good look at it on the day we experimented with mirror-doubles, and I paid particular attention to Gryffindor Tower, just in case the information might come in handy later. I only had to check a few of the dorm rooms before I found the right one. After I took Harry's wand I made a hole in his pocket to throw all of you off the scent."
"If you want to see everything we turned up, check out the Lost and Found," Harry suggested.
"As soon as I made the mirror-double I put Harry's real wand in my wand case to keep it safe. Ordinarily, the safest thing would have been to put the real wand in the mirror—just a simple exchange. But not this time."
"No way," said Hermione, round-eyed. "It would have been broken along with the double."
"By Malfoy's mirror reflection," remarked Ron. "Is that bizarre or what?"
"After I told him I had Harry's wand, Draco hit on the idea of threatening to break it unless Harry promised never to see Neville's Dad again."
"I'll bet he had a little help from you," grumbled Ron.
"Yes, but that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was getting him to agree to do it here, in front of all of you."
"And how did you?" Harry asked with interest.
"Well, first I suggested that if he broke Harry's wand inside Hogwarts, Dumbledore would sense it happening, but that his power didn't extend over the Hogwarts grounds."
"Is that true?" Hermione asked.
Ivy shrugged. "I don't know; it might or it might not, but it sounds good, doesn't it? I also told him that it would be easier to swear all of you to secrecy together, instead of trying to get you to keep secrets from each other."
"Well, that's true," admitted Harry.
"That was one of the real reasons," said Ivy. "Another was that it was easier to catch you off guard here."
"I'm still not happy abou' that," growled Hagrid.
"I don't blame you," said Ivy. "Well, Draco and I got ready to put the plan into action. But he had a bad case of nerves. He wanted me to promise he wouldn't get into any trouble. I told him I had all the details taken care of and everything would work out. We captured Neville and disarmed him so we could use him for a hostage—"
"And so you could do the double Summoning Charm," added Harry.
"Yes, I have to admit that I was just a tiny bit proud of that," confessed Ivy. "The next thing to worry about was whether you would stand fast, Harry, but I was pretty sure you would. I was more concerned about Draco losing his nerve and funking it. I think he really expected you to cave in to his threats."
"What, in front of all of you? That would be too embarrassing," said Harry.
"Funny how things seem to work out well when you show moral fiber, Harry," said Ron.
"Yeah, Ron," said Hermione. "Maybe you should try it some time."
"Then I had to make sure I got all the broken pieces of the wand back, and I gave the tip to Harry as a clue, hoping that he'd take good care of it and not throw it away …"
"Wait a minute," said Ron suddenly. "Wouldn't it have been a whole lot simpler to let us all in on what you were planning? You could have explained everything to us and just left Draco Malfoy in the dark." He smiled at the thought. "Perfect. It would have been far easier all round."
"That's part of the problem, Ron," said Ivy. "It would have been too easy. I don't know if you realize this, but you can't cheat destiny. Sometimes you can bargain with it, though. Aurelle Longbottom said Tell no one until you have done it. Salazara said Harry Potter will suffer the loss of his wand at Draco Malfo's hand. It had to be as close to real as I could make it. If I had told, and if Harry hadn't really suffered from losing his wand, the real thing would still have had to happen at another time, in another way. I wouldn't have stopped the danger."
The rest of them sat silent for a moment, trying to follow Ivy's convoluted reasoning.
"You may mean well, Ivy, but I think you're delusional," said Ron bluntly. "Hearing voices in your head—asking snakes about the future—bargaining with destiny—I don't know. Maybe it's a Slytherin thing."
"Ron, did you know Professor Trelawney was a Slytherin?" Hermione asked.
"That fits," said Ron.
"Not that I'm putting you in the same class with Professor Trelawney, Ivy—she's a total fraud," Hermione dismissed the Divination teacher.
"Well, ninety percent, anyway," amended Harry.
"I had another reason," said Ivy. "I've heard that Gryffindors are rotten liars, and not very good actors either. If you'd had to pretend, you might have slipped up. As it was, you all acted exactly like yourselves—you were quite the thing, actually. And Ron, throwing the mug added just the right touch. (I can replace it if you like, Hagrid.) But if you'd been in on the plan, you probably would have started laughing at the wrong moment and given the whole show away."
"She's right about that, Ron," said Harry.
Ron face turned red to match his hair and freckles. "I think I'm being insulted."
"Third reason," continued Ivy. "It was less unfair to Draco this way. He's not the only person I deceived. And this way he at least got his petty personal revenge. Harry, I think it's safe to say that your week was completely ruined."
"Well, yeah," said Harry. "I missed my Quidditch practice!" he realized with chagrin.
"I'll bet your week wasn't much fun either, Ivy," said Neville.
"Not much," said Ivy. "Actually, Draco's week has been a bit edgy, too. He's still worried that it will all catch up with him. He can hardly believe he really did it."
"Without you, he probably wouldn't have. He hasn't got much pluck, has he?" said Ron scathingly.
"Doesn't stop him from bragging about it, though." Ivy shook her head at Malfoy's foolishness.
"I've just thought of something else," said Hermione. "If Ivy had seriously wanted to betray Harry and the Longbottoms, she would have done the whole thing differently, wouldn't you, Ivy? You would have threatened Neville with a Runespoor bite unless Harry promised never to see Neville's Dad again. It makes a far more effective dilemma."
Harry's skin crawled as he pictured facing /that/ choice.
"I tried not to let that thought occur to Draco," said Ivy. "It helps that he has no idea how to think like a Gryffindor."
"And you do, I suppose?" said Ron doubtfully.
"You would have had to let Salazara bite me, Harry," said Neville.
"So you cooked up this whole scene for the Malfoys' benefit," said Harry slowly. "To make Draco happy, and to make them both think he'd done what his father wanted." He remembered Hagrid's words, Feel like I been watchin' a ruddy play. "And it's not Draco's fault that he hasn't!"
"No, it's mine," said Ivy.
"So you've betrayed everybody about equally, including yourself, but the worst deal goes to Lucius Malfoy. Not bad, Ivy," Harry approved.
"Ivy, what would you have done if we hadn't promised not to tell?" Hermione asked.
She shrugged. "I would have had to let Neville in on part of the secret. Together we would have concocted a really convincing fake snakebite."
"With a rubber Runespoor?" quizzed Ron.
"Well, I think what Ivy's done is about the bravest thing I ever heard of," said Neville.
"Yeah, because she risked Harry's wand instead of using her own, huh?" Ron asked scornfully.
"Because she let us think she was the enemy. We all got to be mad at her together, and after Malfoy left she faced us down all by herself. Even Hagrid. I bet it would have been loads easier to risk your own wand, wouldn't it, Ivy?" said Neville.
"A thousand times," said Ivy fervently. "My wand hasn't been through anything like what Harry's has. No battle scars and all that. No troll noses, even." She sounded a little envious.
Ron still looked unconvinced. "I still feel as if we've been double-crossed. I don't quite like it. You shouldn't have left us all in the dark. Just Draco Malfoy."
"So it's fine with you if I break Draco Malfoy's trust?" Ivy prodded.
Ron shrugged. "Well, sure. Malfoy's the scum of the earth. He deserves it."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? For one thing, he's a Slyth—"
"Wrong answer, Ron," said Harry.
"Well, he's always had it in for Harry. Look what he tried to do to Harry's wand!"
"Look what I actually did to Harry's wand," Ivy reminded him.
"But you gave it back! You're on our side."
"I'm /not/ on your side," Ivy corrected. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm on Uncle Severus' side. It's just happened to work to your advantage so far."
"But—"
"Draco has his own loyalties, and he's true to them in his own way."
"But you're obviously not on Draco's side."
"No. But it's not Draco's fault that his father is what he is. What would you do if your father asked you to do something … something dishonourable?"
Harry couldn't imagine such a thing. "Ivy," he said, "I think it's time you told us what's really going on between you and Draco Malfoy. Are you his girlfriend or not?"
"I can't believe it took you this long to ask me that, Harry," said Ivy.
"You might have said it was none of my business; but you can't now," Harry pointed out.
"True," Ivy replied. She sighed. "Funny you should put it like that. Am I his girlfriend? Not is he my boyfriend?"
"Maybe you're his girlfriend but he's not your boyfriend," Hermione suggested.
"That's how it feels," Ivy said. "He never asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend. He and Pansy fell out, and he wanted to make her jealous, so he just started acting as if he owned me. I didn't promise him anything, except help with his schoolwork, which really needed it. I thought about putting my foot down and breaking it off, but …"
"But you decided to wait until you could use him back," Ron concluded.
"Yes, but not just out of spite," said Ivy. "When I started suspecting that his father was up to something, I decided I'd better stick around and find out what I could."
"Well, it was lucky you did," said Neville. "I think you were terrific."
"We should go," said Harry, standing up. "It's getting late, and Ivy's been grilled enough for one day."
Hagrid took Ivy's hand, his eyes twinkling, then pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Forgive me fer doubtin' yeh, Ivy," he said huskily.
Ivy's giggle was muffled against his broad chest. "Don't be silly, Hagrid. You were supposed to. I planned it that way."
"Mebbe so, Ivy. Mebbe so. But I've known yeh longer than the rest of 'em has. I mighta figgered out that threatenin' people with snakebites wasn't really yer style."
"But you didn't know me—not really. I hated turning you against me, Hagrid. I didn't know it would be so awful. I'm sorry I had to do it."
"Maybe you're on Hagrid's side too," said Neville.
"Maybe I am—a little," she admitted. "That wasn't part of the plan, though."
"Too much planning, Ivy," said Ron, shaking his head.
"And I'd like to apologize to the rest of you, too," said Ivy, "especially Harry and Neville. But if I had it to do over again, I'd still go through with it."
"Well, the next time you decide to sacrifice the good opinion of your friends," said Hermione, "we won't be taken in so easily."
"But we'll know to play along," added Harry.
"With a straight face," Ron put in.
"I'm not sayin' I think much o' yer methods, mind," said Hagrid to Ivy, trying to look stern as he released her and returned her wand to her. "I don't ever want ter see such goin's-on under me own roof again. Once was more than enough."
"You know what they say about lightning and Slytherins," said Ron. "They never strike twice in the same place."
"You just made that up," said Hermione, opening Hagrid's front door and pulling her cloak around her. "Bye, Hagrid. Thanks for the tea and everything."
"Ivy gets to make stuff up," said Ron. "Why shouldn't I?"
Walking back up to the castle, Ron said to Ivy, "Listen, there's something I want to get straight between us. I'm not sorry about most of what I said to you, because you really asked for it."
"I know. I had it coming."
"But I just wanted you to know that I don't really think you'd have to cheat to hold your own with me in a duel."
"Thanks, Ron. That's good to know."
"You might need a lot of luck, though."
* * * * * * * *
The next Wednesday when Harry and Neville went to their weekly session with Snape, Hermione and Ron stayed behind, but Ivy came with them.
Professor Snape was not pleased with Harry for missing not just one, but two Wednesdays in a row. "I let the first one pass, because you were still recovering from your delusions," he said. "But last week you simply failed to appear for no good reason. I find that inexcusable."
Harry was so happy to have his wand back, and so relieved to see Ivy back on good terms with them all—especially Hagrid—that he was impervious to Snape's displeasure. "Sorry, sir," he said cheerfully.
Snape scowled. "And have you no explanation for your delinquent behaviour?"
Harry thought about it. "No, Professor," he said without a hint of remorse. "I suppose you'll just have to give me a failing grade."
Neville opened his mouth as if to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say.
Ivy gave Harry an exasperated look. "Still at it, Harry? Why don't you just tell him that it's my fault?"
"Is it?" asked Harry, grinning at her.
Ivy turned to Snape. "Uncle Severus," she said, "Harry didn't come last week because of me. I was putting him through a very difficult test."
"It really was," Neville confirmed, his eyes wide and earnest.
"She gave Neville a pretty rough time too," Harry added.
"Indeed, Miss Parkinson?" Snape inquired with interest. "And can you be a bit more specific about the nature of this test?"
Ivy paused. "I think it would be best if I didn't," she replied.
"I see," said Snape, giving her a searching look. "Might it, by any chance, have anything to do with Potter's missing wand?"
Harry could almost see Ivy think, /I forgot you knew about that./ She said, "It might."
Snape took in Harry's look of insouciant well-being. "I trust that this—test—has been completed," he said.
"Quite," said Harry. He wisely suppressed an urge to add, She did it with mirrors.
"Very well," said Snape. "I will leave it at that for now, but if in the future I find it necessary, I will not hesitate to obtain the full details." He looked menacing enough, but Harry was sure that no one but Ivy could have got away with putting off the Potion Master's questions.
"Now," Snape went on, "we will begin today's lesson. I believe it is time for a review of what we have covered since beginning this course of study." Without further warning, he whipped out his wand, pointed it at Harry, and announced, "Titillo!"
Harry giggled helplessly as he felt the tickling start, but this time, for some reason, he found that he could let go and not fight it. Neville poked him on the arm and reminded him, "Say the verse, Harry!" It had been a longish time, but he still remembered it. "You may think you can tickle me, ha ha ha, into submission …" It wasn't easy, but he kept at it until he had completed the last line, "To all you would, phyuh-huh, gain from this grim, hee hee, inquisition!"
Snape's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Not bad at all, Potter. Can you tell me what made the difference?"
"Yes, sir," said Harry with an air of major discovery. "I was cold this morning and I put on an extra sweater."
"Exactly," said Snape.
Neville looked at Harry in disbelief. "Is that all?" he asked.
"You were expecting him to say it was an enlightened state of being?" Ivy teased.
"Maybe just a little enlightened," Harry conceded.
Snape put Neville through his paces next, and he acquitted himself reasonably well, even though he hadn't put on an extra layer of clothing that day.
"Now, Miss Parkinson, will you take a turn?" the Potions master asked. Ivy nodded. Harry watched with interest to see how she would manage. He had never seen Ivy lose her dignity, not even in moments of crisis.
Snape raised his wand. "/Titillo!/" he exclaimed, and Ivy's mouth twitched with mirth, though she didn't move. She squared her shoulders and started reciting the verse, getting through it with only a few squirms and an occasional snort of laughter. Snape lowered his wand and gave Harry and Neville a meaning look. "Notice that a high level of mastery of the Tickling Charm is possible," he said. He turned back to Ivy. "Not that there isn't still room for improvement, Miss Parkinson."
"Yes, Uncle," said Ivy, her eyes still twinkling.
"Extra sweaters by themselves don't give you results like that," said Harry. "You're not wearing some kind of tickle-proof vest, are you?"
Ivy shook her head. "You can feel if you don't believe me," she said.
"No, I'll take your word for it," said Harry.
They went through the Drenching Spell, the Itching Potion, and the Panic Potion. (Not the Sickening Potion, to Harry's considerable relief.) Each time Ivy distinguished herself.
"You're a natural at all this stuff," Harry told her. "Why am I in charge of this job and not you?"
"Frank Longbottom chose you, Harry," Ivy reminded him.
"Yeah, well, he chose you too," Harry pointed out. "He told you to talk to Neville's Mum."
"True."
"And he asked you to bring Professor Snape to see him …. Did you tell him?"
"Yes," said Ivy. "Uncle Severus said he would come."
"There's something he wants very much to tell you, sir," said Harry to Professor Snape.
"I have agreed to honor Frank Longbottom's request," Snape said coldly, "but I am convinced that no good will come of it. I am not interested in hearing anything he has to say."
"You can't know that, sir," Neville objected.
"Indeed I can, Longbottom," Snape shot back, and Neville dropped the subject. "You are all excused."
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AN: Ivy's bargain-with-destiny philosophy is a bit softer than pure predestination. At least there's room for free will in it. It was at this point that I started to see how Slytherins, even ethical ones, might think differently from Gryffindors. And of course Ivy is not a typical Slytherin, she's a counter-Slytherin. She uses honesty to disarm people, and that in itself is calculated.
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Chapter 12. Bargain with Destiny
The next day all five of them went to Hagrid's together. Try to hide it as she would, Ivy was a bit nervous about facing Hagrid again. Harry had tipped him off ahead of time, but he still looked formidable as he answered his front door. "I invited Ivy to come," Harry reminded him hastily as his eyebrows rushed together threateningly. Ivy slowly reached into her robes and drew out her wand, holding it by the tip and presenting the other end to Hagrid. "As a sign of good faith," she said, "I lay down my arms at your door."
Ron snorted. "Make a big production of it, why don't you."
Hagrid took the offered wand and his eyebrows unbent a little. "Yeh can come in, then," he said gruffly, pocketing Ivy's wand. "But there'd better not be any funny stuff."
All of them went in and found seats, but Hagrid didn't offer them any tea yet. The situation was too serious. Ivy realized this and got down to business right away. From her robes she extracted a long, narrow case, made of wood in different hues inlaid in intricate patterns, and placed it carefully on the table. "Uncle Severus gave me this wand case when I started at Hogwarts," she said. "Powerful spells have been laid on it to protect its contents from harm." She opened the hinged cover to reveal Harry's wand lying in state in a form-fitting nest of black velvet.
"Super posh," said Ron in admiration.
"Tha's the genuine article, is it?" said Hagrid, bending closer to look.
"Yes, this is Harry's real wand," Ivy assured them, "to be returned to its rightful owner, as soon as it's been completely restored. Hermione, will you do the honours, please?"
"Gladly," said Hermione. "Harry?"
Harry handed her the wand tip he had kept in his robes, and she looked around the room. "Hagrid, have you got a mirror?"
Hagrid looked surprised. "Well, I don't even shave, yeh know, but I've got a bit of lookin' glass ter use when I get ready fer a special do," he said doubtfully. "I dunno if I could lay me hand on it jes' now."
"Never mind," said Ivy. "I brought one myself, just in case." She produced an elegant silver-backed hand mirror and held it up behind the wand case.
"Extra posh," murmured Ron.
"Everybody notice," Hermione directed them, "that the mirror reflection of Harry's wand is missing the tip, and you can see the seams where the broken pieces were joined."
"No kidding," said Ron, looking in the mirror.
"Three pieces of the mirror-double have already been returned to the mirror," Hermione went on, "and when the fourth one, the tip, is returned, Harry's wand will be as good as new."
"Yeh've lost me," said Hagrid.
"Oh, that's right, you don't know about mirror-doubles, do you?" Hermione remembered. "So much has happened since then … Well, don't worry, I'll fill you in afterwards," she promised him.
"But that wand in the mirror—is that what Malfoy broke?" Hagrid guessed.
"Exactly," said Hermione. "Now I'm going to send the last piece to join the others." She held up the mirror-double wand tip in one hand and pointed her own wand at it with the other. "/Fallax!/" she exclaimed, and the wand tip flew through the mirror and snuggled down in the mirror-wand case with the rest of the reflection. "It's done," she said.
Ivy put the mirror down, closed her eyes, and sagged back in her chair with an expression of profound relief. "It's safe," she said. "Your wand is safe now, Harry."
"You're all right, are you, Ivy?" Neville asked her.
"I am now," she said, opening her eyes and smiling. "Neville, would you like to return Harry's wand to him?"
"Me?" croaked Neville. "But—"
"It's perfectly safe," said Ivy. "Harry's wand is quite as strong as ever."
Neville got up from his cushion on the floor and approached the wand case sitting open on the table. His hand shook as he lifted the wand out. "It seems all right," he said. "Harry, here's your wand back. Er, use it well," he added, trying for a suitable phrase to match the sense of occasion.
"Thanks, Neville," said Harry. "I will."
As soon as his fingers closed on his wand, the familiar tingling warmth traveled up his arm. He felt like himself again for the first time in a week. He waved it, sending out a shower of scarlet and gold sparks, and everyone in the room burst into applause and cheers.
"The wand that's been up a troll's nose," Ron intoned. "Reunited with its owner at last."
"Now tha's more like it," said Hagrid with satisfaction. "Le's have our tea, and Ivy can explain everythin'. And I do mean everythin'," he emphasised, looking at her a little sternly.
"It's rather complicated," said Ivy. "I think we'd better start at the beginning. Hermione, why don't you explain to Hagrid about mirror-doubles; that comes first."
"It would help me remember too," said Neville.
So, while the tea was passed around, Hermione reviewed what they had learned from Madcap Magic for Wacky Warlocks. Harry summarized the new information from the Marauder's Map. And Neville described their joint visit to Frank Longbottom, which he had no trouble remembering.
"That one sent Harry completely around the bend," said Ron. "I never saw anything like his eyes. He wasn't half seeing things. Must have been worse than that broken record thing."
"It was," said Harry.
"But we never heard what happened when Ivy saw Neville's Mum," Hermione exclaimed.
"That's where I was planning to start," said Ivy. "Mrs. Longbottom was unconscious when I saw her."
"Me, too," said Harry. "I mean, when I saw her, too."
"I took her hand," said Ivy, "and I heard her voice in my mind. She seemed to know something about me. She said, You know Severus, don't you, and I answered her in my mind, Yes, he's my uncle. Then she said, The enemy will return. You must stop the danger, but tell no one until you have done it. She wouldn't tell me anything else, even though I asked her to explain what she meant. I said I would try. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I just waited to see if it would get clearer."
"Lucius Malfoy," muttered Ron. "Came back from his holiday."
"Rather," said Ivy.
"Sent a message to Draco, right? 'Stop that Potter before he does any more damage."
"Something like that," said Ivy. "How did you know?"
"My Gran saw Mr. Malfoy when he came back to check up on Dad," said Neville.
"And Draco wanted you to help him figure out a way to stop Harry," Ron went on, saving Ivy the trouble of spilling the beans herself.
"And what happened next?" Ivy played along with an impish smile.
"Then Draco said to you, 'Oh, how I wish I could just snap that boy's wand in half—'"
"Wait, Ron," said Ivy. "You missed the part where I consulted Salazara."
"Oh, how silly of me," said Ron. "Of course you wouldn't do anything rash without getting advice from your pet snake first."
"Salazara's something of a seer, you know," said Ivy just a trifle defensively. "I asked her if she could tell me something about the future that I needed to know. No leading questions. Her middle head said to me, 'Harry Potter will suffer the loss of his wand at Draco Malfoy's hand.'" Ivy caught Ron's incredulous look, and declared, "Yes, really. If you don't believe me, Harry can ask her himself."
"I didn't say a thing," protested Ron.
"And after that—" Ivy paused and Ron picked up his cue, saying, "That must be when Draco said the bit about snapping Harry's wand."
"And I knew that Salazara had seen the future truly," said Ivy.
"But wait, Ivy," said Hermione. "Hasn't Draco ever said anything like that to you before? He and Harry have never exactly got along."
"He's never mentioned Harry's wand before," said Ivy positively. "Not that I remember. And he was determined to do something, because his father had worded his message very strongly. So I thought about what Neville's Mum and Salazara had said to me, and I came up with a plan; and then I offered to steal Harry's wand for Draco."
"You offered to steal it? You suggested it?" Ron almost shouted.
"It was the only thing I could think of to stop the worst from happening," said Ivy. "And I had to steal it ahead of time so I could make the double to use in its place."
"Did it ever enter your head that you were the one who made Salazara's prediction come true?" Ron questioned her.
"I didn't make it come true! I only chose the way it would come true. I had to take matters into my own hands to keep them from going wrong. I promised Neville's Mum I would."
"Go on, Ivy. Shut up, Ron," said Harry.
"Draco had a hard time believing I would really do it, but he told me to go ahead."
"What I want to know is how you did it," said Hermione.
"Well, it wasn't easy. Picking Harry's pocket in the corridor wasn't going to get the job done," said Ivy. "He keeps track of it too well for that. In the end I had to sneak into his dorm room at night."
"That's my dorm room too!" Ron objected. "And Neville's, don't forget."
"I suppose you overheard the password," said Hermione. "And did you already know which room was Harry's?"
"The Marauder's Map helped," said Ivy. "I got a good look at it on the day we experimented with mirror-doubles, and I paid particular attention to Gryffindor Tower, just in case the information might come in handy later. I only had to check a few of the dorm rooms before I found the right one. After I took Harry's wand I made a hole in his pocket to throw all of you off the scent."
"If you want to see everything we turned up, check out the Lost and Found," Harry suggested.
"As soon as I made the mirror-double I put Harry's real wand in my wand case to keep it safe. Ordinarily, the safest thing would have been to put the real wand in the mirror—just a simple exchange. But not this time."
"No way," said Hermione, round-eyed. "It would have been broken along with the double."
"By Malfoy's mirror reflection," remarked Ron. "Is that bizarre or what?"
"After I told him I had Harry's wand, Draco hit on the idea of threatening to break it unless Harry promised never to see Neville's Dad again."
"I'll bet he had a little help from you," grumbled Ron.
"Yes, but that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was getting him to agree to do it here, in front of all of you."
"And how did you?" Harry asked with interest.
"Well, first I suggested that if he broke Harry's wand inside Hogwarts, Dumbledore would sense it happening, but that his power didn't extend over the Hogwarts grounds."
"Is that true?" Hermione asked.
Ivy shrugged. "I don't know; it might or it might not, but it sounds good, doesn't it? I also told him that it would be easier to swear all of you to secrecy together, instead of trying to get you to keep secrets from each other."
"Well, that's true," admitted Harry.
"That was one of the real reasons," said Ivy. "Another was that it was easier to catch you off guard here."
"I'm still not happy abou' that," growled Hagrid.
"I don't blame you," said Ivy. "Well, Draco and I got ready to put the plan into action. But he had a bad case of nerves. He wanted me to promise he wouldn't get into any trouble. I told him I had all the details taken care of and everything would work out. We captured Neville and disarmed him so we could use him for a hostage—"
"And so you could do the double Summoning Charm," added Harry.
"Yes, I have to admit that I was just a tiny bit proud of that," confessed Ivy. "The next thing to worry about was whether you would stand fast, Harry, but I was pretty sure you would. I was more concerned about Draco losing his nerve and funking it. I think he really expected you to cave in to his threats."
"What, in front of all of you? That would be too embarrassing," said Harry.
"Funny how things seem to work out well when you show moral fiber, Harry," said Ron.
"Yeah, Ron," said Hermione. "Maybe you should try it some time."
"Then I had to make sure I got all the broken pieces of the wand back, and I gave the tip to Harry as a clue, hoping that he'd take good care of it and not throw it away …"
"Wait a minute," said Ron suddenly. "Wouldn't it have been a whole lot simpler to let us all in on what you were planning? You could have explained everything to us and just left Draco Malfoy in the dark." He smiled at the thought. "Perfect. It would have been far easier all round."
"That's part of the problem, Ron," said Ivy. "It would have been too easy. I don't know if you realize this, but you can't cheat destiny. Sometimes you can bargain with it, though. Aurelle Longbottom said Tell no one until you have done it. Salazara said Harry Potter will suffer the loss of his wand at Draco Malfo's hand. It had to be as close to real as I could make it. If I had told, and if Harry hadn't really suffered from losing his wand, the real thing would still have had to happen at another time, in another way. I wouldn't have stopped the danger."
The rest of them sat silent for a moment, trying to follow Ivy's convoluted reasoning.
"You may mean well, Ivy, but I think you're delusional," said Ron bluntly. "Hearing voices in your head—asking snakes about the future—bargaining with destiny—I don't know. Maybe it's a Slytherin thing."
"Ron, did you know Professor Trelawney was a Slytherin?" Hermione asked.
"That fits," said Ron.
"Not that I'm putting you in the same class with Professor Trelawney, Ivy—she's a total fraud," Hermione dismissed the Divination teacher.
"Well, ninety percent, anyway," amended Harry.
"I had another reason," said Ivy. "I've heard that Gryffindors are rotten liars, and not very good actors either. If you'd had to pretend, you might have slipped up. As it was, you all acted exactly like yourselves—you were quite the thing, actually. And Ron, throwing the mug added just the right touch. (I can replace it if you like, Hagrid.) But if you'd been in on the plan, you probably would have started laughing at the wrong moment and given the whole show away."
"She's right about that, Ron," said Harry.
Ron face turned red to match his hair and freckles. "I think I'm being insulted."
"Third reason," continued Ivy. "It was less unfair to Draco this way. He's not the only person I deceived. And this way he at least got his petty personal revenge. Harry, I think it's safe to say that your week was completely ruined."
"Well, yeah," said Harry. "I missed my Quidditch practice!" he realized with chagrin.
"I'll bet your week wasn't much fun either, Ivy," said Neville.
"Not much," said Ivy. "Actually, Draco's week has been a bit edgy, too. He's still worried that it will all catch up with him. He can hardly believe he really did it."
"Without you, he probably wouldn't have. He hasn't got much pluck, has he?" said Ron scathingly.
"Doesn't stop him from bragging about it, though." Ivy shook her head at Malfoy's foolishness.
"I've just thought of something else," said Hermione. "If Ivy had seriously wanted to betray Harry and the Longbottoms, she would have done the whole thing differently, wouldn't you, Ivy? You would have threatened Neville with a Runespoor bite unless Harry promised never to see Neville's Dad again. It makes a far more effective dilemma."
Harry's skin crawled as he pictured facing /that/ choice.
"I tried not to let that thought occur to Draco," said Ivy. "It helps that he has no idea how to think like a Gryffindor."
"And you do, I suppose?" said Ron doubtfully.
"You would have had to let Salazara bite me, Harry," said Neville.
"So you cooked up this whole scene for the Malfoys' benefit," said Harry slowly. "To make Draco happy, and to make them both think he'd done what his father wanted." He remembered Hagrid's words, Feel like I been watchin' a ruddy play. "And it's not Draco's fault that he hasn't!"
"No, it's mine," said Ivy.
"So you've betrayed everybody about equally, including yourself, but the worst deal goes to Lucius Malfoy. Not bad, Ivy," Harry approved.
"Ivy, what would you have done if we hadn't promised not to tell?" Hermione asked.
She shrugged. "I would have had to let Neville in on part of the secret. Together we would have concocted a really convincing fake snakebite."
"With a rubber Runespoor?" quizzed Ron.
"Well, I think what Ivy's done is about the bravest thing I ever heard of," said Neville.
"Yeah, because she risked Harry's wand instead of using her own, huh?" Ron asked scornfully.
"Because she let us think she was the enemy. We all got to be mad at her together, and after Malfoy left she faced us down all by herself. Even Hagrid. I bet it would have been loads easier to risk your own wand, wouldn't it, Ivy?" said Neville.
"A thousand times," said Ivy fervently. "My wand hasn't been through anything like what Harry's has. No battle scars and all that. No troll noses, even." She sounded a little envious.
Ron still looked unconvinced. "I still feel as if we've been double-crossed. I don't quite like it. You shouldn't have left us all in the dark. Just Draco Malfoy."
"So it's fine with you if I break Draco Malfoy's trust?" Ivy prodded.
Ron shrugged. "Well, sure. Malfoy's the scum of the earth. He deserves it."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? For one thing, he's a Slyth—"
"Wrong answer, Ron," said Harry.
"Well, he's always had it in for Harry. Look what he tried to do to Harry's wand!"
"Look what I actually did to Harry's wand," Ivy reminded him.
"But you gave it back! You're on our side."
"I'm /not/ on your side," Ivy corrected. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm on Uncle Severus' side. It's just happened to work to your advantage so far."
"But—"
"Draco has his own loyalties, and he's true to them in his own way."
"But you're obviously not on Draco's side."
"No. But it's not Draco's fault that his father is what he is. What would you do if your father asked you to do something … something dishonourable?"
Harry couldn't imagine such a thing. "Ivy," he said, "I think it's time you told us what's really going on between you and Draco Malfoy. Are you his girlfriend or not?"
"I can't believe it took you this long to ask me that, Harry," said Ivy.
"You might have said it was none of my business; but you can't now," Harry pointed out.
"True," Ivy replied. She sighed. "Funny you should put it like that. Am I his girlfriend? Not is he my boyfriend?"
"Maybe you're his girlfriend but he's not your boyfriend," Hermione suggested.
"That's how it feels," Ivy said. "He never asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend. He and Pansy fell out, and he wanted to make her jealous, so he just started acting as if he owned me. I didn't promise him anything, except help with his schoolwork, which really needed it. I thought about putting my foot down and breaking it off, but …"
"But you decided to wait until you could use him back," Ron concluded.
"Yes, but not just out of spite," said Ivy. "When I started suspecting that his father was up to something, I decided I'd better stick around and find out what I could."
"Well, it was lucky you did," said Neville. "I think you were terrific."
"We should go," said Harry, standing up. "It's getting late, and Ivy's been grilled enough for one day."
Hagrid took Ivy's hand, his eyes twinkling, then pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Forgive me fer doubtin' yeh, Ivy," he said huskily.
Ivy's giggle was muffled against his broad chest. "Don't be silly, Hagrid. You were supposed to. I planned it that way."
"Mebbe so, Ivy. Mebbe so. But I've known yeh longer than the rest of 'em has. I mighta figgered out that threatenin' people with snakebites wasn't really yer style."
"But you didn't know me—not really. I hated turning you against me, Hagrid. I didn't know it would be so awful. I'm sorry I had to do it."
"Maybe you're on Hagrid's side too," said Neville.
"Maybe I am—a little," she admitted. "That wasn't part of the plan, though."
"Too much planning, Ivy," said Ron, shaking his head.
"And I'd like to apologize to the rest of you, too," said Ivy, "especially Harry and Neville. But if I had it to do over again, I'd still go through with it."
"Well, the next time you decide to sacrifice the good opinion of your friends," said Hermione, "we won't be taken in so easily."
"But we'll know to play along," added Harry.
"With a straight face," Ron put in.
"I'm not sayin' I think much o' yer methods, mind," said Hagrid to Ivy, trying to look stern as he released her and returned her wand to her. "I don't ever want ter see such goin's-on under me own roof again. Once was more than enough."
"You know what they say about lightning and Slytherins," said Ron. "They never strike twice in the same place."
"You just made that up," said Hermione, opening Hagrid's front door and pulling her cloak around her. "Bye, Hagrid. Thanks for the tea and everything."
"Ivy gets to make stuff up," said Ron. "Why shouldn't I?"
Walking back up to the castle, Ron said to Ivy, "Listen, there's something I want to get straight between us. I'm not sorry about most of what I said to you, because you really asked for it."
"I know. I had it coming."
"But I just wanted you to know that I don't really think you'd have to cheat to hold your own with me in a duel."
"Thanks, Ron. That's good to know."
"You might need a lot of luck, though."
* * * * * * * *
The next Wednesday when Harry and Neville went to their weekly session with Snape, Hermione and Ron stayed behind, but Ivy came with them.
Professor Snape was not pleased with Harry for missing not just one, but two Wednesdays in a row. "I let the first one pass, because you were still recovering from your delusions," he said. "But last week you simply failed to appear for no good reason. I find that inexcusable."
Harry was so happy to have his wand back, and so relieved to see Ivy back on good terms with them all—especially Hagrid—that he was impervious to Snape's displeasure. "Sorry, sir," he said cheerfully.
Snape scowled. "And have you no explanation for your delinquent behaviour?"
Harry thought about it. "No, Professor," he said without a hint of remorse. "I suppose you'll just have to give me a failing grade."
Neville opened his mouth as if to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say.
Ivy gave Harry an exasperated look. "Still at it, Harry? Why don't you just tell him that it's my fault?"
"Is it?" asked Harry, grinning at her.
Ivy turned to Snape. "Uncle Severus," she said, "Harry didn't come last week because of me. I was putting him through a very difficult test."
"It really was," Neville confirmed, his eyes wide and earnest.
"She gave Neville a pretty rough time too," Harry added.
"Indeed, Miss Parkinson?" Snape inquired with interest. "And can you be a bit more specific about the nature of this test?"
Ivy paused. "I think it would be best if I didn't," she replied.
"I see," said Snape, giving her a searching look. "Might it, by any chance, have anything to do with Potter's missing wand?"
Harry could almost see Ivy think, /I forgot you knew about that./ She said, "It might."
Snape took in Harry's look of insouciant well-being. "I trust that this—test—has been completed," he said.
"Quite," said Harry. He wisely suppressed an urge to add, She did it with mirrors.
"Very well," said Snape. "I will leave it at that for now, but if in the future I find it necessary, I will not hesitate to obtain the full details." He looked menacing enough, but Harry was sure that no one but Ivy could have got away with putting off the Potion Master's questions.
"Now," Snape went on, "we will begin today's lesson. I believe it is time for a review of what we have covered since beginning this course of study." Without further warning, he whipped out his wand, pointed it at Harry, and announced, "Titillo!"
Harry giggled helplessly as he felt the tickling start, but this time, for some reason, he found that he could let go and not fight it. Neville poked him on the arm and reminded him, "Say the verse, Harry!" It had been a longish time, but he still remembered it. "You may think you can tickle me, ha ha ha, into submission …" It wasn't easy, but he kept at it until he had completed the last line, "To all you would, phyuh-huh, gain from this grim, hee hee, inquisition!"
Snape's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Not bad at all, Potter. Can you tell me what made the difference?"
"Yes, sir," said Harry with an air of major discovery. "I was cold this morning and I put on an extra sweater."
"Exactly," said Snape.
Neville looked at Harry in disbelief. "Is that all?" he asked.
"You were expecting him to say it was an enlightened state of being?" Ivy teased.
"Maybe just a little enlightened," Harry conceded.
Snape put Neville through his paces next, and he acquitted himself reasonably well, even though he hadn't put on an extra layer of clothing that day.
"Now, Miss Parkinson, will you take a turn?" the Potions master asked. Ivy nodded. Harry watched with interest to see how she would manage. He had never seen Ivy lose her dignity, not even in moments of crisis.
Snape raised his wand. "/Titillo!/" he exclaimed, and Ivy's mouth twitched with mirth, though she didn't move. She squared her shoulders and started reciting the verse, getting through it with only a few squirms and an occasional snort of laughter. Snape lowered his wand and gave Harry and Neville a meaning look. "Notice that a high level of mastery of the Tickling Charm is possible," he said. He turned back to Ivy. "Not that there isn't still room for improvement, Miss Parkinson."
"Yes, Uncle," said Ivy, her eyes still twinkling.
"Extra sweaters by themselves don't give you results like that," said Harry. "You're not wearing some kind of tickle-proof vest, are you?"
Ivy shook her head. "You can feel if you don't believe me," she said.
"No, I'll take your word for it," said Harry.
They went through the Drenching Spell, the Itching Potion, and the Panic Potion. (Not the Sickening Potion, to Harry's considerable relief.) Each time Ivy distinguished herself.
"You're a natural at all this stuff," Harry told her. "Why am I in charge of this job and not you?"
"Frank Longbottom chose you, Harry," Ivy reminded him.
"Yeah, well, he chose you too," Harry pointed out. "He told you to talk to Neville's Mum."
"True."
"And he asked you to bring Professor Snape to see him …. Did you tell him?"
"Yes," said Ivy. "Uncle Severus said he would come."
"There's something he wants very much to tell you, sir," said Harry to Professor Snape.
"I have agreed to honor Frank Longbottom's request," Snape said coldly, "but I am convinced that no good will come of it. I am not interested in hearing anything he has to say."
"You can't know that, sir," Neville objected.
"Indeed I can, Longbottom," Snape shot back, and Neville dropped the subject. "You are all excused."
**************************
AN: Ivy's bargain-with-destiny philosophy is a bit softer than pure predestination. At least there's room for free will in it. It was at this point that I started to see how Slytherins, even ethical ones, might think differently from Gryffindors. And of course Ivy is not a typical Slytherin, she's a counter-Slytherin. She uses honesty to disarm people, and that in itself is calculated.