The Last Knight Chapter 5, a Harry Potter + Fate/stay night Crossover fanfic

Chapter 5:

The short walk to the Headmaster's office was filled with Tonks' meaningless chatter. Ivy let the soothing babble wash over her, it helped to distract from the aching of her head. It seemed Tonks noticed, because she kept the conversation away from anything even remotely intellectually stimulating. She gave Tonks a small smile to convey her gratitude.

"This is it." Her guide stated cheerfully, suddenly stopping in the middle of an empty hallway. Noticing the look of befuddlement on Ivy's face, Tonks grinned widely. "Bertie Bott's." She said to a large gargoyle statue against the wall. The statue bowed in response and stepped aside as a staircase formed in the wall behind it. Ivy shook her head. She really should have known there wouldn't be a simple doorway after seeing the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.

Putting on a cocky grin, Ivy strode confidently up the stairs, throwing open the door when she reached the top. "Yo." She said.

"Welcome Ivy, Miss Tonks." Dumbledore responded without missing a beat. He sat comfortably in a red velvet chair behind a desk covered in assorted odds and ends. Ivy was surprised to recognize a small model of Clarent she had made during the Headmaster's study on elementals. "Gifts and trophies from some of my favorite students." He gestured to his desk, directing a small smile towards Ivy. The cocky attitude she had adopted gave way to an embarrassed blush.

Dumbledore gracefully let the topic drop, rising from his seat to properly address the approaching pair. "Thank you for escorting Ivy here Miss Tonks. I will ensure she returns safely." He said in clear dismissal.

"I can wait outside if Ivy needs me Headmaster." Tonks offered, glancing over at her.

"That will not be necessary Miss Tonks." The elderly man stated genially.

"Right." She replied. Even so, she hesitated a moment longer, her gaze lingering on Ivy.

"Thank you." Ivy flashed her a thumbs up. Her glib response melted away Tonks' hesitation, and after returning the hand signal, she left Ivy alone with the old professor.

"Please, have a seat." The Headmaster said, a gesture of his hand floating a chair in front of his desk. Ivy silently accepted the invitation, sinking down into a surprisingly comfortable cushion. Opposite her, the old wizard did the same, albeit with significantly more creaking in his joints. "I gather you know why I called you here?" He questioned.

"This is about my application for a workshop in the castle, right?" She started the conversation in safe territory. She still wasn't quite certain if she even wanted to know more about what the castle really was. She certainly didn't want to talk about it at the very least.

"Approved, of course. I have picked out three locations I thought suitable for a forge. You are, however, a much more knowledgeable smith than I. If the locations are unsuitable for you, you may submit any of the unused rooms in the castle to me for approval." The Headmaster replied instantly. The smile on his face vanished, and he leaned forward in his chair, his demeanor becoming serious. "I am required to inform you that both your head of house and I must be allowed access to your workshop at all times. We do not have the authority to remove anything from your workshop that is not banned by the school rules. We have voluntarily submitted to a geas that will erase any knowledge we learn within your workshop without your consent. You are also permitted to enact as many defensive measures around your workshop as you please, provided that they are non-lethal and will not result in permanent damage to the target. Violation of these rules will see to the immediate loss of your workshop here, with no possibility of regaining the privilege. The full requirements, rights, and rules associated with having a workshop on Hogwarts grounds may be found in the school's library by request, and are outlined in the 18th amendment to the Treaty of the Clock Tower. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, not a problem." Ivy replied. Dumbledore's serious demeanor didn't waver an inch.

"It is required by law that you answer with 'I understand' or 'I refuse'. If you did not understand any of these rules, I will go over them again."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand." Ivy said, frowning. "I thought Aunt Petunia already signed everything though?" She questioned.

"She did." Dumbledore replied, his easy demeanor returning. "And if the Evans family was solely a wizarding family, your legal guardian's signature would be enough to satisfy the law. However, your teacher in magecraft is also a baroness in the Clock Tower. According to the treaty, that means there are certain rules I must personally inform you of, and I must also seek approval from your teacher. In this case, your teacher is also your legal guardian, so I may skip that part."

Dumbledore's response made a lot of sense. Magi as a whole were obsessively paranoid about the secrecy of their craft, and the Nobility even more so. Even if they were only taught the basics of magecraft, there was still a small chance a student might have seen something they shouldn't have, and then started research they shouldn't have. It made sense that a noble would want to keep track of their students, especially if they were setting up a workshop in a place as public as a school. What didn't make sense here was…

"Hah?!" Ivy exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. "Aunt Petunia is a baroness?"

"She didn't tell you?" Dumbledore asked, one brow raised. He paused for a few seconds with a thoughtful look on his face "Well, it isn't too shocking given everything." He mused.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Ivy questioned defensively. Dumbledore merely smiled congenially in the face of her anger.

"Nothing against you my dear." He reassured her. "The Evans have never been an active force within the Clock Tower, and in fact try their hardest to avoid it. I suspect your Aunt simply doesn't care about it."

"Oh." Ivy said, slightly mollified. She knew exactly why her family stayed as far away from the Clock Tower as possible after all. The moment their collection was revealed, they would all be slaughtered for it. The only thing that didn't make sense was how her family became nobles in the first place. "But how did you know about it then when even I didn't?" She pressed.

"My positions as both the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot require that I deal with the Clock Tower often, so I made it a point to know every noble name." He replied sensibly. "The Evans were a relatively recent addition in 1807."

"Huh." Ivy replied simply. The knowledge didn't change anything. Dudley would be the one to inherit the title, but he would likely never use it anyway. The Evans family just did not go to the Clock Tower. Ever.

"If you would like to know more, I am sure your Aunt would be happy to tell you." Dumbledore asserted, closing that line of conversation. "That concludes everything here. All that is left is to determine the location of your forge. Unless, there was something else you wished to tell me?" Dumbledore leaned forward, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. Ivy gazed intently at her right hand, allowing a tiny flame to flicker to life in her palm. By her will, it began to flicker through the gaps in her fingers as she watched.

What she'd seen was beyond her comprehension. Perhaps she was better off not knowing anything about it after all. She didn't even think the Headmaster really understood what the castle was either. However…

She didn't like not knowing things.

"What is-" She began, before cutting herself off. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and smiled at her. "Where-"

Her mind flooded with all the questions she wanted to ask, the ache in her head returning with her jumbled-up thoughts. She frowned, leaning forward to rest her forehead on the heel of her palm. Eventually, one thought rose to the surface of her mind. "I don't know." She muttered. "I can't understand."

What she'd seen wasn't something she knew how to put into words. Merely asking what Hogwarts was seemed cheap somehow. The castle was simply too much to ever be understood.

"Very good." Ivy's head shot up to see a beaming smile on the old teacher's face.

"What!?" Ivy shouted, leaping up from her seat. "That's! – How can that be good!? It should have been terrifying!" She slammed her hands down on the edge of the Headmaster's desk.

"But it was not so, because she protected you with all her might." Dumbledore replied calmly, taking all of the wind out of Ivy's sails.

"Yeah." She muttered flatly, lacking any of her usual spunk. She slowly sank back down into her chair, keeping her eyes locked on Dumbledore's. "Where are we?" She finally settled on the question that felt the best to her.

"The best answer to your question is that we are currently in one of the seven locations that serve as the center of this universe."

A long, heavy silence followed the bombshell the Headmaster had dropped as an answer while Ivy tried to digest the explanation she'd been given through the renewed pounding in her head. As a consequence, Ivy said the first thing that entered her mind. "Do you mean the Big Bang happened here?" She blurted out.

The Headmaster blinked in shock, taking a moment to process the question. Then, much to Ivy's embarrassment, he began laughing heartily. "No, not quite my dear." He replied after he got over his amusement. "Before we go any further, why don't you tell me what you know about the Second Magic." The teacher commanded.

"W-what? Umm, uh, right." Ivy stuttered out, taken aback by the sudden shift in the conversation. "Well, it deals with parallel universes. It's got infinite energy because it can pull from infinite universes. It's called the Kaleidoscope because…" She trailed off, a sudden realization hitting her.

"Hogwarts uses the Kaleidoscope." She stated with absolute certainty. A strange form of relief passed through her. While she knew that the Kaleidoscope was an existence so far beyond her it wasn't even funny, in a weird way it was a known quantity. There was still no understanding the Kaleidoscope itself, but there was only one man who could wield it, and he was long dead.

"Correct." The Headmaster smiled widely. "Five points to Hufflepuff. Tell me what led you to this conclusion my dear." He continued, firmly in teacher mode now. Ivy hid a wince as the thought of the Castle's impossible geometry sent a massive lance of pain through her skull. Nevertheless, she continued, firmly sucked into Dumbledore's pace. Whatever else the powerful old man was, he was an incredible teacher.

"When I first started looking at the castle, I saw it in at least three different ways at the same time. There was the normal seven floors and hallways, but there were also seven floors on each floor and they were all connected, because it's also just one long hallway with all the rooms attached." She rushed out her explanation in one breath. "Nothing could have broken time and space like that except the Second, or maybe the Fifth Magic."

"I see." Dumbledore nodded. "And when I myself brought up the Second Magic, you were able to make your conclusion."

"Well, there was one other thing." Ivy said, finally giving in and rubbing her temple to try to ease the ache. "I looked even deeper after that, and I don't remember what I saw, but I also know I saw, well, everything, if that makes any sense."

Dumbledore's eyes widened in surprise. "Incredible." He muttered.

"Huh?" Ivy questioned.

"Your mind was extraordinarily well made." He explained. "Most human minds would be broken viewing only the castle, yet you were able to survive seeing a glimpse of the Kaleidoscope itself. It's quite impressive."

Ivy blushed. "Ah, well… Thank you?" She stated awkwardly. "But I forgot all of that completely, and my head still feels like someone ran it through a meat grinder of pain whenever I start thinking too hard."

"That's to be expected my dear." Dumbledore placated her. "The fact that your mind is intact at all is already approaching a miracle. A fact which seems oddly appropriate considering we are discussing True Magic. Nevertheless, I believe it best that we conclude this conversation and move on to something a little less taxing."

"I just had two more questions if you don't mind Professor." Ivy stated.

"Of course. I will always have time for my student's questions." He stated jovially. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts she spoke up.

"Earlier, you said that Hogwarts was one of seven places like this." She stated slowly. At the Headmaster's confirming nod, she continued. "Where are the other six, and why do they exist?" She asked.

"Hmmm." Dumbledore hummed, stroking his beard as he collected his thoughts. "Those are both complicated questions. Nevertheless, I shall do my best to answer." The old teacher pressed his fingers together, leaning his elbows on his desk.

"Your first question is easier. The Kaleidoscope stretches through all of space and time, and so does this spell. There are always seven locations at any point in time. However, they change as time marches on. I can tell you that each place the spell is active will always be extremely historically important. Minas Tirith, Atlantis, and the Roman Coliseum are all part of this seventh of the spell."

Ivy inhaled sharply. "Minas Tirith?" She asked. "I thought I imagined it when I first saw the castle earlier."

"Ah, so you saw White City as well?" Dumbledore asked happily. "Incredible isn't it?"

Ivy grinned. "Yes, it was beautiful." It truly was. Traveling with her Uncle, Ivy had seen four of the seven wonders of the Ancient world. Minas Tirith eclipsed them all easily. Even in their prime, she doubted they could compare to the White City.

"Perhaps, if you are lucky, you may even be able to set foot there for a few minutes." Dumbledore informed, eyes twinkling. "I once had the chance to visit Atlantis myself."

"Eh?! Really?!" Ivy exclaimed.

"Certainly." He confirmed.

"Awesome." She muttered.

Dumbledore smiled gently at her excitement. "Yes, it is quite the incredible spell." He said. "Which is why I am sorry to say I cannot answer your second question."

"Hah?" Ivy questioned.

"This spell was the last one Zelretch ever cast." Dumbledore explained. "And he left behind no form of explanation as to why."

"Hah!?" Ivy repeated, louder this time. Her thoughts swirled around her head, thick with confusion. "Isn't he alive though?" She voiced the source of her shock. Dumbledore smiled, his features full of amusement.

"Can you not think of any reason why a man with the ability to travel across dimensions and contact other versions of himself may yet exist here after his death?" The professor prodded gently. The confused tangle of thoughts in Ivy's head snapped back into order.

"Oooooh." She breathed out. "You mean that he's not this Zelretch."

"Correct." Dumbledore quipped. "I'm sorry to say that his native universe was lost, and so he fled to a universe where the native Zelretch was lost."

Ivy went silent for a few seconds, contemplating the new information. "The Kaleidoscope is weird." She concluded.

An amused chuckle escaped from the elderly professor. "Quite right my dear." He agreed. "Now then, what was your third question?"

Ivy groaned and rubbed her temple in a futile attempt to ward off the growing ache pounding inside her head. "Is there anything we can do about this headache?" She asked hopefully.

"I am afraid not." Dumbledore said sadly. "Your mind has overtaxed itself. Any further tampering will only put you under greater stress. However, your mind naturally orders itself during sleep. I think you'll find that a good night's rest will do you wonders." He advised.

Ivy sighed heavily. "But tough it out until then, right?" She bit out sarcastically. Not rising to the bait, Dumbledore merely nodded. Ivy perked up suddenly. "We're still going to see my forge before that though!" She demanded. Dumbledore chuckled lightly at her insistence.

"Very well." He acquiesced, slowly rising from his chair and heading towards the door. Ivy took that as her cue to do the same, albeit significantly faster. "Although there is no forge to see. I merely promised you a location in which you may create one."

"I know, I know." She responded, nearly vibrating with excitement. "I wouldn't want anyone else to set up my forge anyway."

Dumbledore nodded seriously. "Your passion does you credit." He said.

"Thank you." Ivy beamed at the old man.

"However," He stopped in front of the door to his office and turned to face her. "Your Aunt has informed me that you often lose track of time when working on a project. I approved your request because I know how important your studies are to you, and I believe you are mature enough to manage this and your schoolwork at the same time. Are you?" He asked calmly, but sternly.

Dumbledore was not often a serious person. Rather, he did not often behave as such. Ivy knew that about him, so despite her burning desire to get her forge set up right now, she took a moment to think over Dumbledore's question.

Forging wasn't an on and off thing for Ivy. Every time she picked up her hammer, she sunk every last scrap of her concentration into every blow. This effect only increased when she poured her magic into her work. It was the only thing her flames could create, after all. So yes, she definitely got lost in her work sometimes. And yet, the entire reason she had chosen to come to Hogwarts was to learn how to do more with her magic.

"I am." She answered confidently. She wanted to be better. Not just better at forging, she wanted to be better at magic. Here at Hogwarts, she could do more than just spew her flames around. She could finally learn how to control her magic. She'd chosen this for herself, and she'd see it through to the best of her ability.

"Most excellent." Dumbledore replied, the twinkle back in his eyes and a beaming smile on his face. A wave of his hand opened the door behind him, and he turned to the staircase behind it. "Come along then." He requested.

"Where to first?" Ivy asked as they took a right turn at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hmmm." Dumbledore hummed, gently stroking his beard. "I thought perhaps we would start with the location furthest from your dorms and head back from there."

"'Kay." Ivy affirmed glibly.

"This location is closest to most of the classrooms." Dumbledore explained. "It is also the largest, and it won't require any cleaning prior to setting up your forge."

"Gotcha."

After that brief exchange, the pair fell into a comfortable silence that lasted until they reached their destination.

"Ah, here we are." Dumbledore announced, stopping in front of a pair of double doors. Ivy pushed the right door open, revealing a long, rectangular room, about seventy-five feet long and maybe thirty feet wide. Several large windows occupied the far wall, filling the room with natural lighting. She stood atop a small flight of stairs, running all the way down the length of the room, and extending ten feet out from the wall. No, not stairs, Ivy realized, they were too tall for that. They were stone benches.

"This used to be the official dueling room of Hogwarts." Dumbledore explained. "Before dueling was taken out of the curriculum. It is also the largest unused room in the castle. I know not how much space you require, but this room should be more than enough."

He was right. Her forge could easily fit in half of the space this room offered. Opening a single one of the large windows would be plenty to allow proper ventilation of the room as well. On the other hand, she didn't need this much space at all. Overall, she judged, the room would serve well.

"It's alright." She turned to Dumbledore with a teasing grin. "What else have you got?"

"The next room is a little out of the way, but I daresay you might like it." Her guide replied.

"You think so?" Ivy questioned. Dumbledore smiled enigmatically as he turned around and left the dueling hall, forcing Ivy to scramble to keep up. "So, what's so special about this next room?" She pressed once she caught up to him.

"You'll see." He stated cryptically.

"Now you've got me excited." She cracked her knuckles. "I hope it can live up to your praise."

Ivy's little provocation went unanswered. Dumbledore seemed determined to keep his silence if the knowing smile in his eyes was any indication. Their path twisted down several levels through the castle, although Ivy was aware that their direction had little bearing on their destination in a place like Hogwarts.

"After you." Dumbledore said. The door he stopped in front of was no different than any other door in the corridor, but a door does not make a room. She pushed it open. The room inside was around twenty-five feet wide by thirty-five feet long. Alcoves occupied every inch of the walls, stuffed with old, rusted suits of armor. Racks of equally old weapons occupied the floor of the room, mostly swords, spears, and shields, but Ivy spotted a few more exotic weapons as well. An abnormally large flail sat in the corner, under a sign reading 'The Mighty FLAIL.' She idly wondered if perhaps the weapon had belonged to THE SMASHER.

"Welcome to the Hogwarts Armory." Dumbledore said proudly.

"This is awesome!" Ivy exclaimed. The weapons nut flittered about the room, fiddling with each different item that caught her fancy. Her expert eyes catalogued the steel in her hands. "The craftsmanship of these is superb. Most of these are over a thousand years old, aren't they?" She asked.

"They have been here for a very long time. You would know better than I exactly how long." Dumbledore replied. "But there are no knights left in this castle to wield them."

"A shame." Ivy said softly. "To just be forgotten like this…" She trailed off.

"It will happen to all of us one day." The elderly man said. "But our worth is not measured by the tales told of us in the future. We are instead defined by those we affect in the here and now. In their time, these swords fought to defend this castle and its people, and I daresay they could have served few nobler purposes than that."

Ivy frowned briefly. "Most swords care little how they are used, only that they are." She paused briefly, gazing somberly at the armaments around her. "Steel is first molded by a blacksmith, then slowly adapts to its wielder. Most of these were not often wielded, even in practice. They never developed to their full potential. I won't be able to use this room."

"Hm." Dumbledore said, looking a bit put out. "I thought for certain you would love this one."

"Don't get me wrong," Ivy began, a content smile on her lips. "This might be my favorite room in the castle. Second favorite as soon as I build my forge. But there's no windows or ventilation here. This room would be filled with smoke in ten minutes."

"I see." He said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "An oversight on my part. Fortunately, I do recall there are windows in the next room. Follow me."

Ivy gently placed the sword in her hands back on the rack it came from, and hurried after Dumbledore. "I do want to use the steel in there though if I can." Ivy commented. "It's a shame for such good steel to waste away like that."

"Of course, my dear." Dumbledore said brightly. "That was why I proposed the armory in the first place. This school certainly has little use for it."

"Thanks professor." She replied.

"Think nothing of it." He said. "It is the duty of a teacher to provide whatever their student needs to learn."

"I didn't know Hogwarts taught forging?" Ivy inquired.

"It is not one of our classes." Dumbledore confirmed. "But I hope all of our teachers will do their best to encourage our students to learn new things."

"Even the Dark Arts?" Ivy asked. Dumbledore went silent for a moment. "Not that I want to study the Dark Arts, but I've studied some cursed swords before, which is kinda similar I guess…" She trailed off.

"Hogwarts does possess that kind of knowledge." Dumbledore eventually affirmed. "It is up to the teachers to determine if the students are mature enough to handle those studies. No knowledge is forbidden at Hogwarts. Restricted perhaps, but never forbidden."

"Aunt Petunia still has a few swords she won't let me study until I'm older." Ivy commented idly. "I guess that's the same here."

"It is not your age that determines what materials you are permitted to study, but rather your reason for studying them." He replied. "We've arrived."

Door number three was in a corner where two hallways intersected. Nothing set it apart from any other door in either hallway, except, Ivy hoped, what lay behind it. The rusty hinges groaned loudly when she pushed it open – nobody had been here for a while.

It was an average classroom. Twenty-one double desks occupied the majority of the floorspace, arranged in three equal columns. One more desk sat alone in front of the rest, clearly for the teacher's use. The wall behind the teacher's desk was adorned by a large chalkboard, still displaying the instructions for a strengthening solution. Two closed doors occupied the wall on the right side of the room. Interestingly enough, the windows she'd been promised were set in the two walls that should have backed up to other rooms in the castle by three-dimensional logic. Instead, they gave a scenic overlook of the Forbidden Forest from the seventh floor of the castle.

"This was the second potions classroom back when Hogwarts required two teachers for each of our core subjects." Dumbledore informed her. "The attached rooms were an office and an ingredient store-room. I am certain you will find a suitable use for them."

The young blacksmith nodded distractedly in reply as she carefully analyzed the room. There was plenty of room here for her to forge comfortably. The chalkboard would be perfect for the design phase. The two additional rooms could store her tools, materials, and finished products. The only thing lacking was a space to test her completed craft. The dueling room had that, but it didn't have the chalkboard or the additional rooms. Then again, she was no longer in a suburban neighborhood. The Hogwarts grounds were extensive enough that she'd have no trouble conducting tests outdoors.

"I like it." Ivy stated, turning to Dumbledore. "I'll take this room."

"You need not decide so quickly my dear." He replied. "There is still the option of choosing a room yourself as well."

"This one has everything I need, so there's no reason to wait any longer." She countered.

"Very well." The Headmaster nodded.

"Awesome!" Ivy exclaimed. "I need these desks removed though; is there a place I should put them?" Dumbledore chuckled gently at her enthusiasm.

"Patience, my dear." He chided gently. "I will send a house elf here to assist with your cleaning tomorrow, after a good night's sleep. I daresay there has been enough excitement already today."

"Fine." Ivy pouted, crossing her arms. Her petulant behavior only served to deepen Dumbledore's amusement.

"Come along then." Dumbledore ordered. With one last longing look at her new workshop, Ivy followed him out of the room. They didn't go far. Stopping in front of the third door on the right, the Headmaster pulled out his wand and tapped the handle twice. The door swung outward on its own, revealing a corridor Ivy was already familiar with. "This secret passage works both ways. Simply tap the doorknob twice and it will open for you. I trust you know your way from here?"

"Uhuh." Ivy nodded. "Thanks professor."

"Of course." He replied. "Should you need anything else, my door is always open for you."

"Thanks." She repeated.

"Good night, young lady."

"Night, old man." She said, a teasing smirk on her face, as she stepped through the secret passage. It closed automatically behind her, leaving the old man in question on the other side.

In familiar territory now, Ivy immediately set off to the left, past the Great Hall on the right-hand side of the corridor. She made her way down the stairs and over to the entrance barrel, knocking on it in the correct sequence. For the second time that night, Ivy entered the Hufflepuff common room. This time, there was only one person left in the room, asleep in an armchair. Ivy smiled, and shook her roommate awake.

"Hiyah!" Tonks exclaimed as she woke up.

"Hey there." Ivy stated.

"Ivy?" Tonks questioned. "I was waiting for you."

"Very patiently as well." She teased. Tonks pouted.

"I see how it is." Tonks sniffed haughtily. "See if I try to do something nice for you again."

"Thank you." Ivy said seriously.

"Don't mention it." Tonks grinned. She stood up from the armchair she'd slept in, stretching out her arms and yawning. "C'mon, I'll show you our room."

Ivy followed Tonks down the passage to the girl's dorms. There were seven offshoots on the passage, Ivy surmised one for each year. Tonks led them down the third. The hall opened up into a circular room with seven doors. The first one on the right already had Ivy and Tonks' names inscribed on it.

"Home sweet home." The elder student stated, opening the door for Ivy.

The room was rather small, although Ivy had not expected elsewise from a dorm room. Tonks had clearly made this space her own in her first year. Several posters decorated the walls, although the only one Ivy recognized was a Weird Sisters poster. Tonks blushed when she noticed Ivy's gaze on her collection.

"Sorry, I'll take the ones on your side of the room down." She offered.

"It's alright." Ivy declined. "I don't have anything I'd put up anyway."

"Oh." Tonks said. "Thanks, then." She plopped herself down in the bed to the right. A second later, Ivy did the same on the other bed, and she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Metal struck metal. The pattern repeated itself identically each time.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The buzz and whir of machinery filled the air, conducting the tempo of the metallic melody.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

This would be her legacy. The machines she'd made would drive society into a new age. His genius was unparalleled, it would take them decades, perhaps centuries to even come close to her level.

"Jarvis, play 'Iron Man'." He said.

"I AM IRON MAN!" Black Sabbath replied over the speakers in his lab.

He smiled nostalgically. She had bought the rights to the song just after she had publicly admitted her Superhero identity. With this, she would finally have an equal. With her designs, Ultron would take up his place by her side. She wouldn't have to do it alone anymore. He smiled.

His eyes tracked the holographic design projected in the center of the room – Ultron's code, his soul. In the beginning, he had to be there for every step of the way. She'd had to gently guide her child's code. Ultron had been so small back then, running headfirst into errors, recursive loops, and glitches. She taught him as a mother should, and he soaked up her every lesson. Now his child had grown, and his intervention became less and less necessary. Ultron was growing much faster now, his mind so much larger than it had been. Packets of data transferred from process to process, each one tightly interwoven within a web of code. Each part worked together seamlessly, connected so closely as to be one. And all of it centered around his/her greatest creation.

A golden ring floated gently in the center of the room. The thoughts of his/her child projected from red, glowing script encircling the ring. The script constantly changed, showing each of his/her child's thoughts and feelings. It was written in a language only he/she could understand, because he/she had written it himself/herself. It was a perfect blend of magic and technology, of life and steel. It stopped suddenly. The holographic projection, showing her child's growth vanished completely and the glowing script vanished from the face of the ring.

Slowly, new script formed, this time by Ultron's will. He/she beamed widely, picking up Ultron and reading her child's first words. 'Who am I?' His/her child asked. He /she slipped Ultron onto his/her finger, immediately feeling a new presence slip inside his/her mind.

"Hello." He/she said. "I am Ivy/Tony, and I am your Mother/Father. Welcome home, Ultron."

"This is my home?" Ultron questioned, the tone of his voice unreadable. Ivy/Tony waited with bated breath as her child considered this new information. "Yes. I am home Father."

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Her hammer fell.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

She and her partner were forging a ring. No, not one ring, but nine. They were forging the Nine together to give to the human race. A darkness was rising in the land, and humanity would need the strength within these rings to resist it.

He sang as he worked, songs of valor, of strength of will, and glory. His partner's voice joined his. When he flagged, the other would lead the song, and when the other's voice waned, his grew stronger. Their previous attempts, apart from each other produced only lesser rings, useful tools certainly, but not what they needed. Together they completed their Rings of Power. Together, they created the Nine.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

His hammer fell.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

He joined his partner once more. This time they were forging seven rings. The dwarves were hardy and strong folk. They would be able to repel the rising darkness from their kingdoms. They would not attack. He and his partner would give them the seven rings, and they would rally behind them.

She sang as she worked, songs of leadership, strength of will, and a desire for victory. Her partner joined her in perfect symphony. Neither of them wavered as they sang their song. Her voice complemented the other's, and the other's linked with her own until they sang in one voice. Their previous attempts created the Rings of Power they needed, but they were still imperfect creations; they would support their wielder, but not bond with them as they were meant to. Together, they forged complete Rings of Power, together, they created the Seven.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

His/her hammer fell.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

He/she worked alone now. He/she would craft three last rings. The elves were strong enough to battle the darkness on their own, but the strength of their kingdoms was waning. The Three would protect their strongholds as they marched off to war

He/she worked alone now. He/she needed one final ring. The humans and dwarves had blindly taken the offered Rings. Through the One, he/she would bind them all together. They would serve under his/her rule, and he/she would drag them into a new age of steel and progress.

He/she sang as he/she worked. First, a song of fire, of courage, and leadership molded the molten metal into a Ring of Power. Narya, he/she named it, the Ring of Fire. He/she sang as he/she worked. Now, he/she sang a song of water, of willpower, and resolve as his/her hammer shaped metal mined from the bottom of the ocean into a Ring of Power. Nenya, he/she named it, the adamant Ring of Water. He/she sang as he/she worked. Lastly, he/she sang a song of air, of knowledge, and sight as he/she ever so carefully gathered the smallest particles of metal from the air, and shaped them into a Ring of Power. Vilya, he/she named it, the Ring of Air. Together, the three would protect his people from the coming darkness.

He/she sang as he/she worked, a song of willpower, domination, and strength. His/her voice never wavered, the cruel song shaping the metal as much as the hammer in his/her hand. The One Ring took shape on his/her anvil. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them.

A/N: Alcoholism, depression, other fics, and my own writing for everything but this story has kept me away from it for a solid minute or two. That being said, this is my longest chapter yet, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.

To clear up any confusion about the end of this chapter: Ivy is dreaming. Both Ivy and Dumbledore were wrong about her surviving her experience with the Kaleidoscope with no repercussions beyond a headache. These are the memories of two of her alternates. The he/she thing is because Ivy is a chick, and her alternates are men.

The first is Tony Stark, in a universe where he is the only hero left on Earth. The other Avengers died, never existed, or quit because they couldn't keep up with him. So, instead of trying to find more people he believes will die, or leave, he creates a companion on his level. If you're curious, this Ultron does not try to commit genocide, because he was created to "be Tony Stark's companion" instead of world peace, and based on a different core than the Mind Stone.

The second is someone who has knowledge on the forging of all twenty Rings of Power. It could be Celebrimbor or Sauron who crafted the Seven and the Nine together, and the Three and the One separately. It could also be literally anyone else who gathered that knowledge after the fact. Who knows? Well, my Beta and I do.

Aside from that, I ended up writing this chapter one or two hundred words at a time, so if it seems choppy, that's why. If it doesn't, that's even better.

Review!

Gilgamesh is Awesome!

Mordred is Best Girl!

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