A few notes before this actually starts start. First off, I'm terrible at starting things, so the Prologue will be rather short, but please bear with it. Second, I don't have anyone reading this and beta-ing. I don't plan on anyone to, neither.
Thirdly, regarding pairings. Ib and Garry will be strictly a brother/sister relationship, considering that I'm not into the relationship with these two. Sorry, but I just don't think Garry would be that way. And Ib's nine-ish, isn't she? I wasn't having feelings for a stranger when I was nine-ish years old. As for the Harry Potter pairings, it's all canon second year pairings. So none.
Prologue: Leaving the World of Guertena
They were trapped, Mary and her band of puppets and paintings slowly coming to the dead end hallway. It was just one wrong turn that they had taken, thinking that they remembered going down a long hallway when they first entered the demented art gallery! But now... now they were trapped, with a group of paintings and blue dolls trailing behind them. Ib and Garry looked around frantically, the latter more scared than the former as they tried to find a way out; Ib kept glancing at the palette knife that the blond girl held as she walked towards them, a frown on her painted face. Her green dress was browned a bit at the bottom, from a fire that didn't seem to do the trick; her legs were the same, slightly burned but still able to be used for walking.
"Ib?" Even though they weren't too close, Mary didn't need to yell for the two to hear her. She was certainly close enough to make the duo rush even more; If they were to get caught... "What about our promise? Together forever, right?"
Ib decided to stay silent, not sure how to reply as the lights flickered. Something golden had disappeared out of the corner of her eyes, a quick turn of the head revealing that it was the golden frame of a long painting. It was a castle of stone, and the little brunette could tell that the castle was to be extravagantly sized compared to everything else. To the side was a dark forest, painted with dark shades of green and grays, even a few blacks; if she had the time to see, Ib would have noticed a part of the forest was actually moving. A tree was waving its branches around, as if it was the proper thing to do. There were odd circles in the air, held on large sticks, but Ib didn't spend an extra second thinking about what it could be as she grabbed Garry's jacket and tugged on it roughly, trying to get his attention.
"What is it, Ib?" The older one asked quickly and quietly. He looked down at the younger girl, more afraid for the stranger's life than for his own; it was obvious why- how would he be able to live with himself if he had caused the death of a innocent child? His life in exchange for his own was a much better idea than having to deal with such a thing looming over his head. No matter how scared he got, Garry knew he was the adult of the two. He had to be the one protecting the younger ones from the evil paintings and deadly exhibit, not the other way around. Ib was pointing towards a painting, frame missing. At first he was going to ask what she was thinking, wasting his time, before he realized- they had gotten into this damned world through a painting, maybe they could leave through one as well?
He took the chance and nodded, lightly grabbing the young girl's hand and rushing through the painting. Instead of running straight into it and being knocked back, the two went through, not knowing what would happen to the world behind them.
They didn't know that when they went through, Mary saw. They didn't know that when they went through, Mary followed.