Easter Reincarnation

[Ivy Tunstall]

((Close friends may join if they feel so inclined, I'd rather you PMed me about it first though. ;D))

Ivy stepped off the train onto the very familiar station. It seemed that she had come here a great deal, always having to make her own way home. At least this route was direct, and she hadn't been taking another train from King's Cross Station. That particular nightmare was reserved only for the start of the summer holidays. This time though, it looked as though she wasn't about to have to have a three quarters of an hour walk with her luggage, because Fanny and Livi were there. They knew where she'd come from, too. Livi had been intrigued when she had first found out about Ivy's abilities, but didn't seem intimidated by it. Fanny had merely nodded, as though that explained a few things, and continued to see what she could do to help her.

The intention of their meeting earlier on, with Kiyla and her mother, had been to write a letter to Ivy's mother to see if they could get her to talk some sense. What they had actually ended up doing was tracking down the maternal grandfather Ivy had always assumed deceased, who apparently went by the name of 'George Woods'. Fanny had told Ivy not to worry, something which she should have known was impossible, but which really she just hoped in vain Ivy would not do. She had written to Ivy a while ago, to say that George Woods had finally been traced, that she had written to him, and that Ivy was going to meet him. All a rather daunting prospect, considering that Ivy knew absolutely nothing about him, or what had happened.

Ivy smiled faintly at Fanny as she greeted her, and gave Livi a hug. Fanny didn't tell her very much about this grandfather - apparently she hadn't seen him yet, but Mr. Ashton was waiting back at Nell Lane to receive him. Ivy tried to be polite, and not seem too out of sorts. She was just rather nervous, if truth be told, and not very happy about going back to the place she was in the middle of trying to block out of her memory as much as possible while she was at Hogwarts. It seemed the only way she could concentrate on things like work and Quidditch. She would only be spending the Easter weekend there, though, and her grandfather wouldn't be staying in the Ashton or Tunstall houses. Ivy didn't know whether he would even be staying. She peered through the window of the front room of the Ashton house cautiously as she climbed out of the car. She couldn't see anything at the moment, but her stomach twisted with nerves as she followed Livi up to the front door.

[Ivy Tunstall]

Fanny overtook them with the keys and opened the door onto the floral carpet of the narrow hall. Ivy stepped inside into the dark room. It was so similar. The same mirror hung on the wall. The same shelf under it was immaculate, evidently newly dusted. The same narrow, wooden staircase led upstairs, the white paint of the banister flaking slightly, some of it picked absent-mindedly by various Ashton children. But yet there was something different about this house. There was an alien presence in it. Something different. Something new. Somebody was waiting for Ivy in this house. Maybe he was as nervous as her. Or maybe not. Maybe he couldn't really care less, and he would be glad when he was able to get away. After all, Ivy was a granddaughter he would never have seen before. And she was nearly 14 now. Perhaps the time for making bonds was over.

He was waiting in the small dining room. The room was silent. No noise was coming from it, but that was where Fanny led Ivy to. In fact, the only noise in the house came from the boys' bedroom upstairs, where, by the sound of it, David and Jake were playing aeroplanes. Livi had disappeared upstairs, and was keeping very quiet. Ivy walked into the dining room, a floorboard creaking underneath her feet. The Ashton house had never seemed so forboding, and her hands were shaking as she looked into the room. Late afternoon sunshine was streaming into the room, and at first, almost blinded by it after the darkness of the hall, Ivy could only make out two silhouettes. One of them was unmistakably the slightly chubby frame of Mr. Ashton, who did not seem to be entirely at ease. The other was a tall figure, who was wearing what had to be wizarding robes. That might explain Mr. Ashton's unease. Ivy's eyes widened as she saw her grandfather's robes. She didn't know what to think, nor how it could be explained.