Chapter 2: Meeting the Four
Coincidentally, this new man looked quite similar to the last. He had a white beard, though it was shorter and his eyes were bright green instead of blue. He wore shorter robes that looked far more suitable for gardening.
His name was Merlin.
As Merlin strode down Privet Drive, it became clear that he was looking for something - or more specifically, someone.
When he approached No. 4, he looked down at the doorstep and frowned at the sleeping child. Merlin shook his head. "Another mistake, Dumbledore. This should not have happened," he muttered to himself.
Then he stooped down and picked up the bundle of blankets. "Another mistake that I'll have to fix."
Cradling the child, Merlin waved his hand over his face and promptly disappeared.
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Godric Gryffindor grabbed another bottle of wine from the shelf and headed into the room next to his.
"I have more!" He exclaimed and three other people rushed towards him, holding up empty glasses.
Godric chuckled and poured some of the red alcohol into his friends' glasses before reaching for a glass himself and filling it.
His wife, Helga Hufflepuff leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips. Her mustard yellow robes brushed against his crimson ones.
"Are we expecting Merlin tonight, honey?" She asked after another sip of her drink.
Godric hummed. "I'm not sure, darling. He only said he would see us soon, though whether that be today or tomorrow, I don't know."
Helga sighed lightly before smiling and grabbing his hand. "Let us go enjoy the party, at least. Another school year is over, we deserve-"
She was cut off when a flurry of robes in the center of the room alerted the four adults to a new figure arriving.
Merlin stood with a solemn expression on his face and a bundle of cloth held in his arms.
Salazar grinned. "Merlin! You did not tell us you were coming to the party. Come, we have wine."
Merlin shook his head and extended the blankets in front of him slightly.
Roweena Ravenclaw gasped when she realised what he was holding. "A baby!?" She exclaimed. "Where on earth did you find her?"
"Awwww. She's adorable!" Helga cooed.
Merlin chuckled before a dark look came over his face. "Her parents left her because they assumed her twin had been the one to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort."
Salazar raised an eyebrow. "Assumed? Do you mean to say that the twin was not the one to banish moldywart?"
Godric snickered and Merlin sighed. "Unfortunately, this one was the one to do it." He lifted up the dark fringe to reveal a lightning bolt-shaped scar on the child's forehead. "This curse scar was left after she was hit by the killing curse. My guess is that the twin was hit by something sharp after the initial impact and they only saw that cut." He sighed. "This could be the biggest mistake Albus Dumbledore will make and we must correct that."
Roweena grinned. "Could we take her in?"
Merlin smiled back at her. "That is exactly what I intended. I would like you four to raise Ivy Potter as your own. We also must start training her as soon as her magical core is stable enough, which based on the size it is already, should be relatively soon."
Godric nodded. "Will you be around to help?"
Merlin smiled. "Of course, old friend. Once she is able to start using magic, I will teach her the more complicated parts as well as magical theory."
Salazar reached out and took the sleeping child in his arms. At the movement, Ivy woke up and opened her shockingly green eyes. Salazar grinned. "She has my house colour eyes."
Godric rolled his eyes.
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Merlin had been correct in his assumption that her magical core would stabilise faster than a normal witch or wizard.
Most children would show their first accidental magic between the age of eight and ten years old. Ivy's first accidental magic was about a month before she turned five.
She had been sitting in a chair at the table with the founders when, reaching out her hands, Godric's plate disappeared from in front of him and landed in Ivy's palms. He spat out the bite of plum pudding that was in his mouth in shock and Helga, appalled at his manners, slapped him lightly on the arm.
Ivy just giggled when four shocked faces turned to stare at her. She held up the plate and said, "More food!"
Merlin was due to have dinner with them the next night and that was when the incident was mentioned. He didn't seem too surprised and merely stated that he had been expecting something like that to happen relatively soon based on her core growth rate so far.
Roweena had berated him for not warning them, insisting that they should have been warned and were lucky that nothing worse had happened. Then Merlin reminded her that as Ivy's core wasn't fully developed, it couldn't have gotten bad enough to cause anyone any harm.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Ivy's training started the day after her fifth birthday.
The founders were often busy teaching their regular classes during the school year but had worked out a schedule for Ivy's lessons during their free time.
Roweena taught her Magical Theory, Transfiguration and Charms. Helga taught Herbology, Healing and gave lessons on magical creatures. Godric taught Offensive Spells and Defensive spells, as well as dueling using them, and Salazar taught Potion making, Occlumency and Legilimency.
The latter was harsher in lessons and required excellence constantly; yet he managed to bond with the young witch the most. They had come back from an Occlumency lesson one day with smiles on their faces and since then, Ivy had been closest to him out of the four.
The four founders had also decided that she needed to know how to speak like the people of her time, so they had altered their way of speech when around her to help — though they hadn't told her why. They had, however, told her that she could only use that way of speaking around them and Merlin as the other children attending the school wouldn't understand.
Ivy had been allowed to interact with the older students as soon as she knew the layout of the castle (including some of the many secret passageways). Because she spent time walking around with them and sitting in the back of their lessons, most of the students knew her very well and treated her like a younger sister.
Merlin had only started teaching her after she reached the age of eight and had a decent understanding of how most magic worked and was performed. The lessons were private but he had told the four founders that he would be teaching her more complex magic in all areas as she was powerful enough to do the sort of spells only Merlin could.
One of the first things Merlin noticed during their lessons was how fast Ivy seemed to grasp the theory and work of the spells he was teaching her, getting most things in the first few tries. She had moved on quickly and committed all of the wand work to memory.
After a year, Merlin had taken her wand away in her lessons and had made her relearn everything wandless. As that had only taken a few months, Ivy was next told to make sure she could do her spells non-verbally. After making sure she could apparate and disapparate safely, he had then taken to teaching her things no one else knew, such as time and space travel with only a wand. They had practiced by going back in time a few years to some other place and leaving notes for the residents of the houses they visited.
The result of the extensive training was that Ivy was one of the most powerful witches in the world by the time she was nine and a half. The other thing that had changed during her training was how often Merlin came round for dinner (almost everyday).
Salazar was also by far the favourite of the young girl and they spent hours brewing together and talking. A name for Ivy had come about at some point and she was often referred to as 'little snake' by him.
However, as time passed, the five adults realised that they would have to tell her about her past and destiny. They had resolved to do this on her tenth birthday.
On the morning of Ivy's birthday, the head of Slytherin house gently shook her awake.
"Come, little snake. We must speak to you in the office."
"Why, Salazar?"
He smiled at her. "It is important, little snake. Hurry," he said before walking out of the room.
After putting on her day-clothes and combing out her hair, Ivy apparated into the office where the founders and Merlin were waiting patiently for her.
"Ah. Come and sit, child," Merlin called to her.
Hesitantly, she walked forward and sat in the chair in front of the adults.
"What's wrong?" She asked slowly.
Godric sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "You have lived with us since you were a baby, Ivy. You know we aren't your parents but it is high time you knew where you came from."
Ivy narrowed her eyes. "I'm not from this time… am I?"