Hey all, this is another book to movie adaptation short (sort of a missing sequence in the books that can be played out to the fullest in the movies), part of a series, this one assuming a VDT/SC/MN/LB/HHB timeline for the movies (Odd, yes, but I have my reasons. And even C.S. Lewis himself will admit that the books weren't born in either chronological order or publication order. I truly appreciate that now with the original novel I've been working on for the past year... or should I say novels?).

The Magician's Nephew

Edmund Pevensie was lost in his thoughts, staring at the ceiling above his bed. He both knew he was in a trance, and was completely unaware that there was anything strange going on. In his mind, he was seeing a fight on horseback, two strong warriors battling with shields and swords, indistinguishable except for the brief flashes of their hair. "You're going to have to do better than that, Ed!" Peter called, before Ed got past his defenses and landed a blow to the arm that would have dented the metal if Edmund had lost his temper. Peter backed up quickly. "Good enough for you?" Edmund grinned.

Peter grimaced back, and the fight began again in earnest.

On his bed back in England, Edmund Pevensie, the books of law he'd been studying laying open on the bed next to him, watched his memories with a mischeivious smile gracing his lips.

That was probably why he didn't hear the doorbell, though he'd been waiting for it. In the hallway, Lucy called "Edmund!" but didn't stop to wait on his answer. She barreled down the stairs to the front door and threw it open. "Peter!" she cried to her elder brother, jumping into his arms. He laughed and twirled her around on the front step, crushing her to him.

"Thou art taller, and more beautiful, every time we meet," he murmured in her ear, a private word in the noble speech of their past. "Missed me, have you Lu?" he said loudly, for the sake of the two younger children who waited, patient and amused, behind him.

"Very much, Peter," she replied, "I'm so glad you're home, even if it's only for the weekend," she glanced up the stairs, as if expecting Edmund to come running down. "I don't believe Ed heard the door, or he'd have come running."

Peter stared up the stairs with her, his smile not fading in the least. "I'll give him a proper greeting shortly. Meanwhile, I hope we haven't appeared too rude to our guests," he said to his sister, gesturing to the other two, waiting behind him.

Lucy flushed and looked around him, and her eyes went wide with delight. "Eustace," she cried, rushing to him and throwing her arms around him. "I didn't think you'd be able to come," she turned to the girl standing next to him. "You must be Jill! It's so nice to meet you." And even though Jill had put out her hand to shake Lucy's, Lucy enveloped Jill in a warm embrace. "I so enjoyed the stories Eustace told us, I was hoping we'd be able to meet."

Eustace grinned at Jill, who looked thoroughly nonplussed, though not displeased. "She does that, though in the past, when I was quite beastly, she was more repelled by me than apt to give me such a fond embrace."

"Well, as you said, you were beastly. I feel as though I already know Jill, from your stories. He talks about you an awful lot," she said to Jill, who blushed. "I'm so glad he had someone so nice to share Narnia with."

"He talks a lot about you four as well, and has told me so many wonderful stories." Jill gushed back, grinning at her friend.

"That's the point, is it not? The stories? Oh Peter, you guys are running a bit late, we must go get Edmund and hurry up or we'll be late and we'll upset Professor Kirke and his friend!"

"What about Su?" Peter asked brightly, looking away and not catching the dismayed look on Lucy's face. "I'll go get her," he decided, striding into the house, putting down his and Jill's things and hurrying up the stairs. Eustace put his own things down, and looked to Lucy.

"Should Jill and I go get Edmund, while you help Peter with Susan?"

"Yes, that would be good, though I have a feeling we'll need Edmund in this one as well," she replied sadly.

As Lucy hurried towards Susan's room, she heard two things happen at once. One was Edmund's joyful shout of "Eustace!" and the other was Peter's angry shout of "Susan!"

She hurried into the room.

Susan looked as though she'd been busy getting ready for a dance. She looked pleasant enough, but Peter's face had such a strong look of dismay, Lucy knew things were headed downhill. "What are you wearing?" Peter managed to splutter.

"A dance for the ball I'm going to tonight," Susan replied gently. "You were invited as well, remember?"

"I replied that I was busy with a prior engagement. We were all going for a lovely dinner at the Professors!"

"Oh yes, well, I decided I wanted to go to the ball instead. I passed on the word to the Professor, he isn't expecting me," Susan answered glibly as she resettled herself at her vanity. "I feared it would be quite dull."

"Dull?" Peter asked. "How could it be dull? Professor Kirke promised to tell us of his own adventures tonight. We were going to go and have a good jaw about Narnia. I helped the Professor set it all up. I even picked up Eustace and Jill," Peter said, gesturing to the door, where the aforementioned persons stood quietly with Edmund.

"Oh, hello there, Eustace, and it's a pleasure to meet you Jillian," Susan said. Jill just barely managed not to grimace at the use of her full name. She turned back to Peter. "Peter, I don't want to go and talk about silly fantasy worlds, when the real world is expecting me."

"What do you mean, real world? Narnia wasn't a fantasy!" Peter cried, and Edmund and Lucy exchanged hopeless glances. "Narnia was a world with living and breathing creatures in it, a land where we ruled for ages, how could you forget?"

"I haven't forgotten anything. I remember perfectly well the silly little stories we made up to pass the time while we were away that summer," Susan replied, spots of anger forming in her cheeks.

"How could you remember them perfectly well if you insist they were never real?" Peter rejoined.

"Kings and Queens of a world we entered through the back of a Wardrobe?" Susan spat, "you insist that these are not fairy tales? Wake up and grow up, Peter, there's no such place as Narnia, nor has there ever been. What a vivid imagination you all still have!"

"We all know it exists," Eustace burst out. Susan turned to him and frowned.

"Now you're ruining poor innocent children's minds with foolish hopes and dreams of a world that doesn't exist? How could you Peter? You're supposed to be the responsible one."

"I'm sixteen," Eustace growled, Jill nodded fervently beside him.

"You're the one who's being foolish," Peter yelled, "stuck in a world of nylons and lipstick."

Susan stood up quickly and threw the hairbrush she'd been using straight at Peter's head. He ducked. "At least nylons and lipstick are real, and not figments of my imagination," she hissed. "Get out of my room, all of you, and go ahead to your silly little party I don't want to speak with you any longer."

"Fine," Peter said harshly, "I hope you enjoy your night, meaningless though it will turn out to be." He stormed from the room. "Come on, you lot, we'll be late."

"She's been hinting for awhile now," Edmund said wearily, walking over to his brothers side, and clapping an affectionate arm about his shoulders. "We meant to warn you, but we wanted to do it in person."

"It's perfectly awful!" Jill groaned. "How could she turn away from a place like Narnia?"

"Well, you've gone back there quite recently," Edmund said reasonably. "It's been a while longer for her.

"I suppose," Jill replied, "but still…"

They all remained silent as they filed out the front door.

Meanwhile, at the home of the Professor, a lady around his age bustled about, while Professor Kirke sat and watch amusedly, smoking his pipe. "Do you think the children will like something else for dessert, for some variety? I ought to have made something special, like, oh I don't know, like Turkish Delight!" she said, her entire demeanor completely flustered.

The Professor laughed. "Polly, my dear friend, they are coming for a story and a dinner with friends, not for the desserts. And be thankful you didn't take the time to make Turkish Delight. Edmund can't stand being in the same house as that dish. Something to do with his time in Narnia."

Polly stopped dead in her tracks. "Narnia! That's it, I'll put out some toffees." She hurried off into the kitchen, leaving the bemused Professor behind her. "I would like a better explanation of that later, Digory Kirke," she called from the kitchen, making him laugh.

"Of course, my friend, but not right now. I see the children."

Sure enough, the doorbell rang, and the Professor got to his feet to answer the door, Polly following nervously behind him.

"Professor Kirke!" the Pevensies cried, rushing forward to hug the old man or shake his hand, as was their wont. The younger two hung back, surprised by this show of affection, but Polly quickly walked forward.

"Polly Plummer," she introduced herself, "and it's so nice to meet you, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole."

They grinned back at her, holding out their hands to shake hers. Formal "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Plummer," greetings were waved off with a simple, "please, just call me Aunt Polly." Then the Professor turned to introduce Polly to all of the children, and Peter formally introduced everyone to the Professor and Polly and provided a terse explanation of Susan's absence.

"Please, do come in," Polly said as she ushered them into the front hall.

"You know, it's my house, but she does seem to be queen of it tonight," the Professor confided to Peter and Edmund. They grinned back knowledgeably. They had, after all, lived with queens for nearly half their life. He raised his voice to include everyone. "Polly, why don't we escort the children into the parlor, have a few of those lovely toffees, and begin the evening, shall we?"

Polly smiled demurely, "Why Digory, that was always the plan," she said as she led the group to the parlor. "I'll just get some tea set out," she said.

"Oh please, let me," Peter grinned. "I've heard a bit of the beginning of the story, and I've been quite mysterious about the rest, the others have pestered me about it all the way here. I believe it would be best if you two began without me, and I'll fetch the tea and rejoin you in a minute."

"Well, then," the Professor said, "that works for me?" he looked questioningly at Polly, as though expecting her to insist on doing everything herself.

"And me as well," Polly replied, shooting Digory a look that said she knew exactly what he was up to. "Did you want to begin the tale then, or should I?"

"Ladies first, my dear friend," Digory said. "I think the beginning of the tale rightfully belongs to you."

"Well, if you insist," Polly laughed, before turning to the children, who were settled on chairs and on the floor. "Our story begins here in London, actually, many years ago."

"How many?" Eustace asked, but Jill shoved him a little, hissing, "you never ask a lady her age," to the general amusement of the entire group.

"Go on," Jill encouraged Polly, still glaring at Eustace.

Polly gave a hearty laugh. "As I was saying, our story begins here in London, in a house very much like this one, back when Digory and I were just children, and had never met before-"

And thus begins the tale of the Magician's Nephew! Stay tuned for how the story ends... and beyond that, how the next begins.