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Blaise heaved a sigh as his eyes trailed dubiously over a crack in one of the walls that crept up and across the ceiling as well. “I suppose we might as well start here,” he said, “That crack looks like it could cause the ceiling to cave in.”
Pansy and Theo eyed it as well and shrugged. None of them knew much about fixing stuff beyond a simple reparo and the crash course Granger had given everyone on how to reinforce crumbling walls and ceilings. “I suppose,” Theo agreed skeptically, “We’ll just reinforce that until someone can come fix it properly. On three?”
Pansy nodded dully, pulling her wand out of her pocket and waiting for Theo to give the signal. “Suffragia,” they chorused, watching in amazement as blue light pulsed out of their wands and travelled into the crack in the wall, forming a glimmering net of magic to reinforce the structure of the wall and ceiling so it wouldn’t collapse.
“Right…” Pansy said, glancing around, “What now? I feel like having teenagers repair structural damage is a terrible idea.”
Blaise snorted. “You’re telling me,” he laughed. He face went white as he turned to look down the hallway. “Is that…?” he trailed off swallowing hard.
Pansy and Theo turned in alarm to see the floor charred ahead of them and what looked like the charred remains of someone lying half out of the wall. Pansy swallowed hard and reached for Theo and Blaise’s hands gripping them tightly. “That was—That’s where the Room of Requirement was, isn’t it?” she croaked, “Didn’t Draco, Greg and Vince slip off to look for something for the Dark Lord there?” Theo nodded numbly and Blaise squeezed her hand tighter. “That’s not… That can’t be Vince,” she said, her voice breaking, “I mean… I know he—he died but that can’t be—they couldn’t have…”
She tore away from the boys and rushed forward to fall on her knees next to the charred form. “Pans—” Theo called after her, “Pans… don’t… we can’t know for sure. If that is Vince, his body is too badly burned to identify him.” Her eyes closed as she fought to hold back tears unsuccessfully.
“I-I know,” she stammered, “I just… Seeing it makes it real…” She felt Blaise’s hand rest on her shoulder as he came to stand behind her and she reached up to grip his hand fiercely, knowing that all three of them were crying now. After giving them a few moments to grieve, she carefully rearranged the body so it rested on what she thought was its back and conjured a sheet to cover it. “Do either of you just wish we could leave all of this behind?” she asked suddenly, “Even if we’re not arrested, we’ll be social pariahs for the rest of our lives simply because we’re Slytherin.”
She half turned and looked up at the two boys as they stared down at the sheet covering the body they’d found. Theo swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m tired of being hated simply for my house…” he said.
“Me too,” Blaise murmured, “It’s not like the other houses are blameless… Just because the Dark Lord recruited mainly from Slytherin doesn’t mean all his followers were. If we could just leave, I would.” Pansy closed her eyes wishing, it could be that simple, and heard a bone chilling screeching noise beside them. Her eyes flew open to see a door had formed on the wall beside them. The enchantments of the Room of Requirement had obviously been severely damaged by whatever had happened here and the noise the door was making as it swung open showed why. The entire room was black with ash and charcoal. The hinges looked to be completely corroded to the point it was a miracle the door could open at all. She stood up carefully, and felt Theo and Blaise flank her as they also stared into the room that had formed. A large cabinet – it looked a lot like the one Draco had fixed in their sixth year – stood in the middle of the otherwise empty room.
“Should we go in?” Theo asked after they stared at the door for a long moment. No one answered as they simply stared at the entrance to the room where their friend had died, completely shellshocked. Finally, Blaise reluctantly stepped closer and Pansy followed him numbly.
Theo, Blaise, and Pansy exchanged glances as they stared at the vanishing cabinet in front of them – the only furniture in the otherwise empty Room of Requirement – wondering if they dared open the door. Pansy held her breath as she grasped the handle and let it out in a whoosh as a sensation of warmth – belonging – washed over her. She tugged it open apprehensively and they gaped at the row of fur coats hanging there. Disappointment seemed to cloak them as they tried to understand what the coats meant.
“I don’t understand,” she said, “Why is this here? Why is it full of coats? I thought this room was supposed to provide the people who entered it with what they needed.”
“It is,” Theo replied, “At least, that’s what Draco always said – and most of the evidence points to it doing so as long as what you need is within the Castle.”
“How is this what we need?” Blaise burst out angrily. “Two of our friends are in custody awaiting trial, one of them is dead, and the entire wizarding world hates us and anyone else in our house, not because we did anything wrong, but because we were sorted into the wrong house.”
“I don’t know,” Theo said miserably, “I really don’t.”
“There’s got to be something,” Pansy said, close to tears, “If the Room is supposed to give us what we need… we must be missing something!” She pushed the coats apart, only to find the cabinet was deeper than it appeared from the outside. She pushed her way through, groping for the back of the cabinet and tripped on the floor. “Oof,” she wheezed out, as she caught herself on her hands. Instead of smooth wood under her there were pine needles and dirt. She looked up in surprise and gasped when she saw the trunk of a pine tree less than a foot from her head.
“Pans?” Blaise called, “Are you ok?”
She swallowed, glancing back to see the faint light streaming through the coats that masked the entrance of the cabinet. “I’m fine,” she said, “but you guys might want to come in here. I think I know why the cabinet was the only thing in the Room.”
She stood up, using the tree in front of her to help her regain her balance, as Blaise and Theo cautiously pushed their way through the coats to stand beside her. “Where are we?” Theo breathed. Pansy inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of trees and wilderness overlaid with… magic.
“I don’t know,” she said, “but I don’t think we’re in Scotland anymore.”
“You don’t say,” Blaise said, eyes wide as he tried to look at everything around them. Together they moved a bit farther into wherever they’d ended up and then looked back at the coats they could still see dimly behind them. In front of them bright light streamed though the tree branches inviting them farther away from the gloomy ruin that Hogwarts had become.
Slowly, the three of them began to pick their way farther into the wood until they came out into a clearing with a single lamppost that was blazing despite it being daytime. Theo approached it cautiously. “It’s odd,” he said after a moment of careful examination, “It looks as though it just grew here.”
“Who would make a lamppost grow in the middle of a wood, though?” Blaise asked and Theo shrugged.
“Come on,” Pansy laughed suddenly, feeling lighter than she had since 4th year. She grabbed Blaise and Theo’s hands and they whooped as they ran like children through the forest which seemed to grow lighter, and more friendly the further they got from the cabinet.
A few hours later, their explorations had taken them down to a river that flowed with a contented burble and they sat beside it looking around them in wonder. “I’ve never felt so… free,” Theo whispered.
“I know,” Pansy laughed, “It’s wonderful. I never want to go back.”
“Mmm,” Blaise hummed in agreement, leaning back against the bank and dozing in the afternoon sunlight.
***
Peter grimaced as Lucy appeared from behind one of the boulders that surrounded the White Witch’s former house. “Nothing?” he asked, knowing full well what her response would be. He knew they should probably keep watch for a few more days to verify the rumors of unrest in this region were untrue but Peter could feel in his gut they were groundless. Regardless, there was a restless knot in his stomach urging him to keep moving, that there was something they needed to find on this trip that they hadn’t yet.
Lucy shook her head. “Nothing,” she replied, “It’s strange though… it doesn’t seem like anything’s been here recently and none of the eagle’s has seen anything since we got here either.”
Peter sighed, feeling a headache coming one. “Right,” he said, “Let’s have a couple scouts stay here and keep watch. I don’t like the tidings we’ve been getting about hags and werewolves moving around in these parts again but I don’t think there’s any grounding to them. Farsight, Fleetfoot, do the two of you mind staying for a couple more days of reconnaissance?” The eagle and leopard nodded their acquiesce, and he turned back to Lucy.
“I agree. I think it’s time we went back anyway,” she said, “Edmund and Susan will be wondering what’s kept us. And… I just have a feeling there’s somewhere else we need to be right now…”
Peter gave her a sharp look. “Me too,” he said in surprise, “Do you think it’s Aslan come back?”
“No…” Lucy hesitated, “It doesn’t feel like he’s back, but it’s almost like he wants us to find something.”
Peter sighed. “Ok then… let’s head out then.” The entourage of Narnians who’d accompanied them for their scouting mission gathered around them to head back down the Great River and on to Cair Paravel.
An hour two later, one of their vanguard rushed back toward them. “Your Highness,” the rabbit gasped, “Two Sons of Adam and a Daughter of Eve are sitting on the riverbank ahead of us!”
Peter glanced at Lucy, and saw the glint of knowing in her eyes that this was what they were supposed to find. He too found that the sense of anticipation he’d been battling all day had subsided with the news of the strangers ahead of them. “Fall back,” he ordered, “We’ll approach them slowly to make sure they mean us no harm.”
***
Pansy jolted upright at the sound of hoofs, paws, and feet reached her along with the jangle of tack. “What—” she broke off at the sight of the company approaching her, Blaise, and Theo, and briskly shook them awake. “Theo, Blaise,” she snapped, “There are people coming!”
The two boys were awake instantly, with their wands drawn. Pansy reached for her wand but stopped as she stared at the strange collection of creatures and people moving toward them. There was a lion, a few dogs, a stag, and various other woodland creatures. But they were not the strangest part. Within the group approaching there was also a centaur and another being with what looked like a goat’s legs and hooves. At the centre of the procession was a young man and woman riding horses and wearing crowns.
A jackrabbit hopped at the front of the group and he stopped short of the three Hogwarts students, cleared his throat, and announced, “Welcome to Narnia, Sons of Adam and Daughter of Eve. The High King Peter the Magnificent, and Queen Lucy the Valiant bring their regard and welcome to the travellers from their world!”
There was a stunned silence as the three Slytherins tried to wrap their heads around talking rabbits. “Er…” Theo stammered finally, “I wasn’t aware rabbits could talk…”
The jackrabbit reared back offended. “Good sir, I am no mere rabbit!” he said, “I am a jackrabbit, much larger and quicker than a mere common rabbit!”
“Hoppatwit, I do not believe the Son of Adam meant offense,” the boy called, dismounting from his horse. Pansy looked up at him. He appeared to be slightly older than them, while the girl was probably about their age. As she took in his square jaw, dark hair, and kind eyes she felt something flutter in her stomach. “I’m Peter, High King of Narnia,” he continued holding out a hand to greet Pansy, Blaise and Theo, “And that is Lucy, my sister and one of my co-rulers. Our brother, Edmund, and sister, Susan are back at our palace, Cair Paravel. These,” here he gestured to the group of animals and other beings that had accompanied them, “are the people of Narnia. Sons of Adam, and Daughters of Eve – that is to say humans – do not live in Narnia except the Kings and Queens.”
Pansy scrambled too her feet and curtseyed clumsily. “I’m Pansy,” she said shyly, “And this is Theo, and Blaise.” She glanced over at Hoppatwit with mischief glinting in her eyes, “Theo didn’t mean to call you a rabbit,” she said to him, “He’s just never met a jackrabbit who could talk before.”
“It is very nice to meet all three of you,” Lucy said politely as she too dismounted. As the boys attempted to bow too, she waved them off. “Please, we don’t stand on formality in our court.”
“Except when it comes to the Calmorene,” Peter muttered out of the corner of his mouth and Lucy’s lips quirked up in a smile as she looked at her brother.
“Except for them,” she agreed, with a laugh, “Peter and I have many questions for the three of you. Would you be amiable to coming back to our palace with us to visit and answer our questions? We will of course answer any questions you have about Narnia as well.”
Theo quirked a brow at Pansy and she inclined her head slightly. They both glanced at Blaise who smiled and shrugged. “I think we’d like that,” Theo said.