burn notice [esther]

[IVY BURKE]

3 December 2027

Autumn term was coming to a rapid close, and Ivy felt rather overwhelmed by it all. Her return to Hogwarts (or whatever semblance it was now) was more successful than she had expected. She'd received a grand total of zero death threats, and the lingering fear that Elaine would track her from the grave was slowly lessening. In fact, the first few months back at LIFE as it was now called had been positively... boring.

The holiday season was upon them, and though Hazel had always been the more festive of the girls, Ivy couldn't help getting into the spirit. She'd felt more free than ever before, despite the fact that her brother despised her and her sister resented her for tearing their family apart. No matter how many ways Ivy looked at it however, she would do the same. She wouldn't sentence hundreds of students to death to send a message to the Ministry. To send a message to the mudbloods.

Even the severe scarring and rehabillitation Ivy had had to endure from the Fiendfyre burns was worth saving the lives of the many. Ivy stood by her perception that the students of Hogwarts were the future - though it was unsavoury to think that there were still muggleborns about. She tried to forget her prejudice, but after years of torment and indoctrination, it was difficult. Mostly, Ivy kept to herself, spending time with Hazel (when permitted) and Archie (when he wasn't marking papers). She'd even struck up a tentative friendship with the head healer at LIFE, who she saw fortnightly to check on her burns.

"Good evening, Esther," greeted Ivy as she swept into the ward for her checkup. Her dark eyes fell upon the healer, who was but a few years her senior. "I trust you are well?" asked Ivy, clasping her hands before her.

Esther Garnet

[Esther Garnet]

There was that kind of inherent energy that December was famous for filling the school walls recently. People were in general pretty lively, walking through the halls like they had a spring in their step. It was infectious! Esther didn’t generally participate in Christmas Day activities, given she had literally no family alive that she knew of, and had never been in a relationship with someone to share their family with her, but the lead up was always pretty great.

It was a good excuse to attend social events, blow out on food and wine, and just enjoy the festive vibes and good attitudes that were doing the rounds all month long. And then of course there was the Christmas break from work - that alone was enough to be thankful for!

Her return to Hogwarts so far had been quite the adjustment. Her role had evolved into something that held quite a lot more responsibility than her last, with the training of emerging future healers coming up through the ranks under her supervision. So much more of her time was spent watching, mentoring and demonstrating certain medical practices to the students, and a little less time actually managing patients alone from beginning through to discharge.

That being said, there were still some cases where the blonde insisted on seeing to particular patients where in some instances some form of discretion was necessary. She had scheduled for the Magical Theory Professor to come in for a check up towards the end of the day once the students had been excused and the wing was relatively quiet. And she was right on time.

“Ivy! I’m doing well, thank you. Come in and take a seat” Esther smiled warmly at the witch and waved her over, gesturing to a nearby empty hospital bed before adding a token “How was your day?” whilst she summoned over a trolley holding various medical instruments and supplies.

IVY BURKE

[IVY BURKE]

Ivy's formal greeting was not for lack of companionship with Esther. In fact, should she be pressed into responding, Ivy would actually count Esther as... if not a friend, at least an ally. Their relationship was amicable at worst, and friendly at best. Ivy had never been the sort to collect friends, as Hazel was so much more ebullient and enchanting than she. Ivy was quiet, introverted and studious. She had a strong sense of right and wrong, but the means to which these ends were sought were muddied.

With a nod, Ivy took the seat that Esther had indicated, shrugging out of her top so that Esther could examine her wounds. "Uninteresting," replied Ivy evenly, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips. "Which I much prefer to the blood, ash and destruction of previous years." Ivy glanced over at Esther. The healer hadn't been at Hogwarts when it had been attacked, and Ivy was silently grateful for that. Would that sort of horror have broken the kind healer before her? "It's truly a modern marvel that they have come up with treatment for these sorts of burns," said Ivy idly, thanking whatever stroke of luck it was that healing had come so far in a relatively short period of time. "You spent much time with that herbologist in the past, didn't you?" asked Ivy, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose to brace for the pain.

Esther Garnet

[Esther Garnet]

As Ivy sat down preparing to have her wounds looked at, Esther readied herself for examination, pulling the cart closer to them before applying an antibacterial potion onto her hands. The way Ivy delivered her words was dry, and Esther respected that. Her second language was sarcasm afterall, so she appreciated the juxtaposed tone in which something so ordinarily morbid was delivered so casually.

She plonked herself down on a stool opposite the witch and straddled her thighs either side of the woman’s in an effort to get up close and personal. “No news is good news,” she confirmed, glancing up to the Magical Theory Professor with a slight smirk before taking the woman’s left upper arm in her hands. Slowly, and meticulously she pressed with her thumbs on the skin gently, but firmly, glancing up occasionally to check the woman’s reaction to monitor for any pain response, and to feel for hardened scar tissue that would indicate the level of healing so far.

Ivy commented on the advancements in medicine for injuries such as these and Esther nodded in agreement “pretty unreal, huh?”. More often than not it was good to engage in small talk topics just to distract from any discomfort her patients might be experiencing.

When she asked about the herbologist, Esther paused for a moment to look up at the woman. ”Who, Alfie?” interesting question, given she wasn’t sure to what extent the two knew each other, if at all. The head healer’s fingers moved up to land on her shoulder now and repeated the firm pressing motions. “I still see him quite a lot. Why’s that?” she asked curiously before quickly adding “Does this hurt?”


IVY BURKE

[IVY BURKE]

Esther had no issue getting up close and personal with Ivy, which ordinarily would have made her uncomfortable. But the clinical way in which Esther examined her burns stymied her discomfort. ”Agreed,” said Ivy softly. A dull year, one without death and destruction, was a much better year than she could hope for. ”I taught her,” she added after a long moment. ”Elaine. She was so promising,” Ivy said, glancing over at Esther. She didn’t continue, though a part of her wanted to explain. How she had nurtured Elaine’s passion for magic. She was an indomitable witch - or so Ivy had once thought.

”It is rather bizarre to think that she’s… dead…” said Ivy, wrinkling her nose. ”Even though she tried to kill so many, myself included, and injured even more.” Ivy went on. It was more than she’d ever said in one sitting in months, but it felt freeing to get this off her chest. And Esther was trustworthy - otherwise she wouldn’t be a healer. She pressed her thumbs on the scarring, and though Ivy grimaced, there was no real sharp pain. It was just mottled and ugly and made her feel like a monster. But she didn’t regret coming back to the UK. Even if Asher was livid, and Hazel was incensed.

Ivy asked idly about the herbologist, more to take her mind off things than anything. She didn’t like thinking about the past, though objectively Ivy knew it was good to speak about these things. You couldn’t learn if you didn’t face difficult decisions and memories. ”Idle curiosity,” Ivy replied with a shrug. She hissed as Esther prodded a particularly sore spot. ”Yes,” she added rather unnecessarily. ”The back part of my shoulder I find to be most tender.”

Esther Garnet

[Esther Garnet]

Esther was a party girl at her core, vivacious and animated, but in this particular setting wearing this specific hat, she was calm and professional. Two very different demeanours that she could switch on and off like a light switch during working hours.

People tended to confide in her with things. Whether that was a side effect of their clinical surroundings, her profession, or the rarely mentioned but widely known medical confidentiality aspect. Esther glanced up at Ivy briefly as she began talking about Elaine, that she had taught her, and how promising she was. Esther had managed to avoid the events entirely, and the guilt still snuck in at times when she thought about not being there while her peers experienced such trauma. Like she felt like maybe she should have suffered through it too in solidarity. When she returned there was almost an element of morbid curiosity, in the same way people returned to their villages after a war to see what’s left.

Though she would never truly understand what it would have been like to have that lived experience, she had heard countless stories from various parties whether they were friends, colleagues or miscellaneous members of the magical community. Many theories about Elaine and what drove her to do the things she did. Esther heard snippets of Ivy and their relationship, she’d assumed the implications were complicated for the Magical Theory professor. “I know…” Esther confirmed gently as she navigated a very fragile line of being professional and offering personal support, whatever her colleage was most comfortable accepting.

Ivy flinched as Esther pressed on her shoulder, so she scaled it back to a soft prodding instead, feeling for scar tissue buried underneath tender skin. She scooted around slightly so that she could examine the area better, edging in even closer to the woman, not that it occurred to her whether her physical closeness made for an agonizing experience or not. She was just doing her job.

“You’ve been through a lot, Ivy, and you’ve quite literally got the scars to show for it.” Esther announced matter-of-factly, and somewhat symbolically. “But I can assure you they will heal quite nicely, with time and proper care.”

IVY BURKE

[IVY BURKE]

Ivy didn't know what made her say it, but she was suddenly divulging her thoughts to Esther. Was it somewhere she had gone wrong? Could she have prevented the deaths of so many students by preventing Elaine from becoming Elaine in the first place? Of guiding her with patience and knowledge to preserve the dignity of wizard king? She flinched as Esther prodded at a particularly sore spot. Ivy didn't mind the proximity of Esther, who's nose was now barely a centimetre from her marred flesh.

With a glance down to her arm, Ivy gave a dark chuckle. "Sounds about right," she murmured. "I thought fiendfyre left a lasting mark... or perhaps it's only blackened my soul," she added gloomily. Ivy gently ran her fingers over the flesh - touching it lightly didn't hurt, but she couldn't feel much underneath as it was. It almost felt like everything was dulled - except for spots where it wasn't. The injury confused even Ivy, who had lived with it for over a year. "Do you ever wonder how and why these sorts of curses have been invented?" asked Ivy, catching Esther's gaze. "I think it's almost to keep a balance. As we keep discovering new incredible healing techniques, an equal and opposite reaction takes place." She smiled wanly, thinking of Hazel. She loved a discussion in magical theory, especially if she thought she could relate it to alchemy. And the fundamental principles of alchemy all relied on balance.

Esther Garnet