CHAPTER 3:

ORACLE

"Okay, so, the reunion was heartwarming and all," Ivy drawled, thankful that Sy Borgman had decided to make himself scarce for now with little of his usual kvetching, "and I'm actually glad that someone gives a damn about what's left of my academic career, but I'm gonna need a bit of explanation. Who are you three, exactly?"

"Right, my co-mums are Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood," the girl who was called Delphi said as the trio broke off their hug. "They're not together-together, as much as Luna wants it to be, so she's dating some dude called Kite Man. My co-mums used to be friends with Harry at school. And I'm Delphi Hydra Granger…well, I was born Delphi Hydra Riddle, but my parents were inbred psychos, like I said."

At this, Harry looked sharply at Hermione. "…Hermione, does that mean what I think that means?"

"Yes, she's Voldemort's daughter, and Bellatrix Lestrange's child too. Believe me, that's half the reason the pair of us had to leave Britain," Hermione said with a sigh. "Delphi's…a bit off-kilter, but thankfully, all she got from her parents is a bad temper, powerful magic, and a bit of a bad grasp on reality. Oh, and her intelligence, she got that from them. Well, Voldemort, anyway. Look, she's as normal a kid as she can be under the circumstances."

"Normal's boring, right, Luna?" Luna and Delphi promptly high-fived each other. Something about the dotty blonde reminded Ivy painfully of Harley, albeit a Harley without the Joker. She also remembered Hermione being mentioned in Harry's letters. So she was tentatively hoping this wouldn't get messy.

"…Oh dear Merlin, there's two of them now," Harry muttered, putting his face in his hands. "How do you remain sane, Hermione?"

"It's both easier and harder than you'd think, Harry," Hermione said, before returning her gaze to Ivy. "Long story short, we fought hard to try and prove Harry's innocence, but it became politically inconvenient to even hint at supporting Harry, especially after he was 'proved' to be Voldemort reborn again. Did he tell you what happened to him?"

"He told me the synopsis. Fangirl turns out to be his nemesis reborn. Sounds like some crappy plot, but believe me, I've lived that with more than a few of my heists. Speaking of, you helped me with a few of mine. Why?"

"Because, out of the major supercriminals of Gotham, you're actually half-decent. You've got an agenda beyond either causing chaos or being greedy. You're not the only one we're helping: I'm currently working with Dr Victor Fries on his wife's condition, and we've been getting some of the minor ones help. We collaborate with Nanaue, whom you know as King Shark, for example," Hermione said.

"…So, what, you're saying that I'm more moral than those guys? Because they set the bar pretty low."

"Dr Isley, you may be a bitter misanthrope, but you have a good brain and a good heart. Your victims, for the most part, reflect that, guards at Arkham aside," Hermione said. "And I saw how the system doesn't work. Hell, even Batman realises that, but honestly, he's also kind of a territorial di…I mean, he's kind of territorial."

"Mum, I heard worse language at school," Delphi said, rolling her eyes. "Or don't you remember me kicking that Muggle boy below the belt when he called me the C-word?"

"And I keep telling you, Delphi, you don't retaliate like that in public. Save retribution for later. There's a reason why they say revenge is a dish best served cold. That means you have time to think about how to avenge yourself on them discreetly. And in a way that doesn't bring the local Aurors down on you for Muggle-baiting." Hermione saw Harry's incredulous expression. "What?"

"…That seems like unconventional parenting, Hermione."

"Delphi's wilful," Hermione said flatly. "And she and Luna encourage each other. I know how to fight my battles now, Harry. Better to channel her potential for evil into something relatively good."

"I love how you just said that with a straight face," Ivy remarked with a smirk in spite of herself, draining the last of her coffee. "And honestly, the sad thing is, I now wish I had you as my mom when I was little, and I've only known you for, what, a few minutes? I mean, properly? Anyway, if you want to call me something other than Dr Isley, it's fine. I'm not like those di…I mean, morons who think a doctorate makes them a deity. Pamela or Ivy is fine. But getting things back on track, you're in Gotham because you're pretty much persona non grata in Britain?"

"Yep. That pretty much sums things up," Luna said. "They denounced my newspaper as spreading seditious lies, when yellow journalism that serves the Powers That Be is A-Okay. Joke's on them, they're still finding bits of the Prophet's printing press all over the country. And they bite."

"And Ginnymort murdered my fiancée, and she helped ruin my reputation too. Between that and my parents disowning me because I messed with their memories to protect them…well, there's little left for me there. I mean, apart from revenge, but Ginnymort is tricky to track down. We think she has more than one property under the Fidelius. Half the reason we're based in Gotham is because we heard rumours she has links to the Legion of Doom," Hermione said. "And most of the membership comes from either here, Central City, or Metropolis."

"Ugh, I know, right?" Ivy asked, rolling her eyes. "I mean, it sounds rich coming from me, but this town seems to attract nutjobs. I'd say there's something in the water, but I'm pretty sure it's mostly microplastics, carcinogens, and bat guano in the river. Anyway, I'm guessing we're going to continue our relationship as before?"

"Except we might have you do some babysitting," Luna said with a smile.

"…Wait, what?"

Harry nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all, with Pamela gaining a deer in the headlights look when Luna and Hermione wanted her to act as Delphi's babysitter. One thing was certain: as the daughter of Voldemort and Bellatrix, she'd be a hellion. Oh yes, indeed.

It didn't mean he was wholly on-board with this. Only the fact that Hermione and Luna had raised her helped reassure him, and even that was only tentative. He couldn't help but be wary, with Moody's scream of "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" echoing in his mind.

But here he was, surrounded by uncertainty. On the one hand, he had been rescued by a former penpal that, thanks to Ginnymort, he hadn't left things on good terms with. On the other, two of his best friends were raising the daughter of Voldemort. Between that, and being forced to witness six years of bestiality that, thankfully, he never participated in, he was in a bit of a bad way.

As his friends argued with Pamela about that, Delphi chose to trot over. He looked at her warily. "…What? Didn't expect the spawn of purest evil to be like this?" she asked.

"…Actually, I'm kind of hoping that it's more nurture over nature," Harry said.

"If that was the case, you'd be a raving lunatic thanks to those filthy Muggles you were raised by. Mum, I mean Hermione, told me about the Dursleys. Seriously, what was that old wether thinking?"

"…Weather?"

"Oh, right, Mum and Mum made sure I have an extensive vocabulary and one hell of an education. A wether is basically a neutered goat. You know, like Dumbledore. And don't get me wrong, I'm not calling the Dursleys filthy Muggles because I'm a Blood Purist. One of my co-mums is a Muggleborn, for crying out loud. I'm calling them filthy Muggles because they were pretty bad relatives to you."

Harry stared at her. She seemed to be a bizarre inverse of her mother. Instead of acting extremely childish for her age, Delphi acted way more adult for her age. It was unsettling to say the least. "…How did Hermione even find you?"

"Well, that's a long story. Short version is, Mum was sniffing around…I mean, Mum Luna. She'd heard about Euphemia Rowle taking in a child. She found me, brought me to Hermione's attention. Unfortunately, that bi…I mean, muckraker Skeeter caught wind and blew it wide open. I was only six years old when I learned I was adopted, and that my real parents were the worst criminals in Magical Britain's recent history. I…was not in a good place for a long time, and my co-mums were what helped me get out of it. So many others wanted me dead, or raised by them, all because of my parents. In a way, it's not unlike what happened when you learned you were the Boy Who Lived. Only, less people wanted you dead, I guess. And with more trauma." She shrugged. "…It's hard dealing with it."

After a moment, Harry, on a sudden impulse, hugged the girl. "…Sorry."

"For what, killing my parents? I'm over that."

"No…I'm sorry you had to go through that."

After a moment, Delphi sighed. "…You're really as kind as they said. I…I was scared of what'd happen if we ever met. Whether you'd want to kill me because of who my parents were." She broke out of his embrace gently, and gave him a sad, tired smile, like the one he often saw in the mirror on himself, even at that age. And then, it became impish. "Well, you killed my father, so I think you should be my new daddy now. Show responsibility."

"…Wait, what?"

Ivy snickered as she watched Harry gain a most marvellous deer in the headlights look from Delphi's proclamation. "A smart little hellion, isn't she? God, she reminds me of a kiddy version of someone I know so much, it hurts."

"Dr Quinzel, right?"

Hermione's question only surprised Ivy for a brief moment. "How did…of course, being a voyeur, I'm sure," Ivy snarked. "And you're right. Harley…I look at her every day, and I think, what a waste. People reckon she slept her way into her doctorate, but believe me, she's smart enough to have earned that and more. She helped me be less misanthropic, actually giving a damn about humans. And yet…and yet she turned herself into a bimbo for the sake of that damned clown."

"She looks hot in that outfit, though. Hmm, red and black spandex, hugging in all the right places," Luna mused.

Ivy blushed a little, as she was right, damn her. "She'd look good in damn near anything. I mean, I noticed when she was wearing a psychiatrist's outfit. She had the sexy doctor look down pat without looking like something from a…naughty magazine." She was trying to tone down the language a little while Delphi was in earshot. "Smart and sassy and compassionate…and she throws it all away when the clown got his claws into her. I wouldn't be so offended if he bothered to be a decent lover, even with all his crimes. But he treats her like garbage. It's like a textbook abusive relationship, especially with the psychological abuse. It makes me want to cry. Hell, it sometimes does. Though why am I talking to you about this?"

"You needed someone to talk to," Hermione said with a shrug. "Honestly, how big is your social circle, Pamela?"

"I'm a misanthropic eco-terrorist with maybe one actual friend to my name, and she's a raving nutcase in an abusive relationship with Gotham's most infamous supercriminal. Most of my remaining positive relationships are at the acquaintance level, at best." She shot Harry a sad look. "And even those, I can probably count on two hands, and have enough fingers to flip people off."

"Well, that's easy to solve," Luna said with a smile. "We can be your friends."

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose even as Ivy stared at her in shock. "Oh Merlin, here we go again. Don't mind Luna, she's just a bit…reality-impaired. The last time this happened, Ratcatcher came after us for stealing half of his helpers."

"Huh. So that's what happened to his rats," Ivy said. "That explains so much, and yet so little. But seriously, you want to be friends with a misanthropic ecoterrorist?"

Luna shot her a look. "I'm dating a supervillain whose schtick revolves around kites. Why not?"

Ivy looked at Hermione, who had a resigned expression. "Honestly, the vast majority of your bodycount have been people who deserved it. Would you believe I actually cheered when you dissolved that ACE Chemicals boss in his own herbicide for Earth Day? The old me wouldn't have done that, but the old me hadn't lost her fiancée and best friend. Speaking of said friend, why are Harry's eyes so…reptilian?"

"When I found him, he was in the form of a snake. Weird one too. I'm no herpetologist, but he was in Bennet's menagerie, albeit without having been used by him. Still saw what Bennet did, though. Six years' worth, apparently, and I want brain bleach after seeing just one night of that." Ivy shuddered. "Anyway, we're not friends, you two. Friendship doesn't work like that."

"Well, we can be. I mean, when's the last time you had girl talk?" Luna asked.

"We'll work on that later. Anyway, it was good to meet you, Pamela," Hermione said.

"Same here, I guess…"

Soon, they made their farewells, before the unholy trinity collectively known as the Oracle left for the night. Ivy sighed a sigh of relief. Oh, they'd be back, but now, she had some quiet time.

Not time alone: Harry was still here. But compared to some of the people who came here, he was quiet. Harley was an agent of chaos embodied, and Selina had a bad habit of nicking anything that wasn't nailed down or on fire, and sometimes even that didn't stop her.

"So," Ivy began, walking over to where he sat on her couch, "Hermione and Luna said that exonerating you is next to impossible, though they've been working on it since Ginnymort fucked you over. So, what they're going to do is set up a new identity for you here. They'll contact you when they have things ready. They suggested I keep you here for now."

"…Really? But…I'd be a burden on you."

"Apparently they'll be paying me to look after you. Ginnymort stole your Potter money, but your godfather made you his heir, and the money was kept away from her. Gringotts, whatever the fuck that is, made Hermione your financial manager where that was concerned. It's your money she's paying me with. Besides, I'm used to having people crash here, plus I have Frank as a roommate." She indicated the carnivorous plant, who smirked. "And I remember what you said to me in that shitty park in Surrey, that you were good with plants. I might need someone to look after my plants if I get sent to Arkham Asylum again."

"Really?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't trust people that easily. I'm taking a huge risk trusting you. But…I remember a scrawny little British kid who told a lonely girl that she was pretty, green skin and all." She gave him a melancholy smile. "And that girl missed that British kid a lot, because he'd shown her something few people would: a scrap of kindness. It's past time she repaid that. So…let's start afresh."

Harry, after a moment, offered a melancholy smile of his own. "Okay…I'm Harry James Potter. I'm a wizard, once known as the Boy Who Lived, now a wanted fugitive who was framed for murder."

He held out his hand, and then, Ivy…no, Pamela took it. "Hi, Harry. I'm Doctor Pamela Gertrude Isley, botanist, toxicologist, and eco-terrorist. Welcome to Gotham City, aka the biggest and shittiest freakshow in the world…"

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Some more exposition, Delphi being a scarily precocious little shit, and Harry and Ivy reconnecting.

Delphi speaks rather like an adult because, well, she lives with a Ravenclaw and a Ravenclaw in lion's skin, she's as intelligent as her father was before he decided splitting his soul was a good idea, and she's determined to make her mark on the world. Plus, she loves reading. After writing enough chapters, I realised I was basically writing her as Yui from Something Witty Entertainment's Sword Art Online Abridged, so that's basically who she is.

No numbered annotations this time.