A/N: I saw this mind-blowing idea on Pinterest that the four founders of Hogwarts were actually Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, and being the Harry Potter and Narnia nut that I am, I couldn't resist, so here it is.
This starts right at the end of Prince Caspian movie. I have it so that Peter doesn't give up his sword to Caspian.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia, or anything connected to either franchise.
The Kings and Queens of Hogwarts
They said their goodbyes to Caspian, Glenstorm, Trumpkin and Aslan, standing in a row looking as majestic as they had in the golden age, turned and stepped through the twisted tree.
They were wearing the same clothes they had worn in Narnia – Susan in a silver sleeveless gown atop a white dress, Lucy in a dark green dress with leaves the color of autumn and cream sleeves, and Peter and Edmund in their gray-blue and green tunics and breeches, respectively. Peter had Rhindon on him, so they were at least partially armed if anything were to happen.
They were shocked, and started looking around, hands ready on their weapons. They had expected to return to the train station, but had not. There were a number of people staring at them, some with awe and some with fear.
A kindly looking man approached them. He was dressed in a white robe and was very old. His silver hair was about the same length as Caspian's.
He ushered them in a house down the lane. They went with him because, for one they were still armed, and for another Edmund was the best at judging character, and he deemed him trustworthy. Another reason they followed him was because even with being used to stares, these stares were starting to grate on them.
They entered a small stucco cabin with a straw roof. It was a two room house, but cozy and comfortable.
"Please, sit." The old man, who had sat himself at a rudimentary table, bade them.
"Thank you, sir." They sat.
"You are probably wondering where you are, who I am and how you got here. Well, I can assure you that Aslan has planned this. He has a task for you to accomplish in this age. I am to be your guide for the duration of your stay here. When it is done, you will be returned to your own time and no one will be the wiser."
The four siblings had sat up straighter when Aslan was mentioned, all doubts about the man immediately cast away.
"Do you mean we are in our world but in a different time?" Peter clarified.
"Precisely. You come from the year 1941. This is the year 941. Exactly one thousand years difference. Now, I believe I have not introduced myself. My name is Myrdin Emrys, you may call me either."
"A pleasure, sir. I am Peter; this is Susan, Edmund, and Lucy." He pointed to each of the others as their name was uttered.
Myrdin nodded. "You cannot be known by those names in public, I'm afraid. What you will be doing is very high profile, and your names will still be spoken by the time you will live. You must come up with aliases."
"What exactly is it we will be doing?" Susan wanted to know.
"Patience, my dear. All in good time. Now, as to where we are. This is northeast Scotland. This village is called Hogsmeade, and this is where you will live learning what is necessary for your mission. Now comes the hard explanation." He frowned, apparently not looking forward to it. He glanced at them all worriedly, but noticeably more at Edmund than Peter or the girls.
He could see they were gearing up to ask things, and he decided just to get it over with. "Magic, in this world, is very real. It has been hidden in your time after the witch burnings and general fear that is spreading even now about magical abilities. There are about one hundred mundanes to a single magic-user, or as they are called, wizards and witches."
The reaction was immediate. Edmund jumped up, the other three only just behind him, and simply ran out.
He didn't stop until he was forced to by his screaming lungs and feet, and even then he tried to continue. He was in a dense forest, and aside from the usual forest noises, the only sound he could hear was his labored breathing.
He knelt on the ground, his hand on his stomach where the white witch had stabbed him. Suddenly he leaped up, and shouted wordlessly, punching the tree closest, repeatedly, until his anger was spent and he dropped, completely exhausted, knuckles bleeding and stinging.
Gentle hands picked his damaged ones up, and started cleaning them as well they could without water or medicine.
"Shhh, it's alright. She's not here. You're safe, brother. I've got you…" the voice continued in that strain for a while, holding the Just king tenderly.
They were silent for a while, until Edmund said in a choked voice, "Where are Susan and Lucy?"
"Outside the forest. Are you ready to go to them?" Peter answered.
He nodded, and they walked slowly back the way they came.
The four were reunited just inside the tree line, and sat in a circle on the ground.
After a while of not knowing what to say, Lucy piped up. "They can't all be bad, can they?"
They all looked at her, uncomprehending. She continued. "The witches, they can't all be evil. There have to be good ones somewhere. Just like there are good humans and bad humans, and good and evil dwarves, and even dryads!"
Peter and Susan's mouths opened, but no sound came out. Edmund smiled wryly. "I suppose you're right, Lu, but I don't think I'll ever be able to think something positive about witches."
"Maybe if we meet one?" even Edmund wasn't immune to Lucy's puppy-dog eyes. He nodded once.
"Maybe," he allowed.
They settled into another stretch of silence.
"Aslan knows what he's doing," Susan murmured. "We should trust him."
The others nodded, knowing she was right, and by unspoken agreement, they got up and slowly made their way back to Myrdin's hut.
He opened the door before they could knock, and stood back to let them in.
"I am sorry for that, but you had to know. Magic is the most important thing in your mission, so important that you actually now possess it."
There was a stunned silence, and then hell broke loose.
000
A while later, after they had eaten (meat and potatoes), they were calmer and ready to listen to him. They were a bit embarrassed that they had lost their tempers at him, especially being used to infuriating people both as kings and queens in Narnia and as schoolchildren in England, but he brushed them off.
"Yes, you two are wizards, and you two are witches, but you do not have to have a wand, and even if you did, this type of magic is farther away than you can even imagine from the White Witch's brand of magic. Other than the term being the same, there is no resemblance whatsoever between the two.
"Magic is something wondrous. It can build and destroy, hurt and heal, change the color, shape, size and even essence of any object or living being existing. It can be wielded through things such as wands or staffs, or it can be thought. It can be instantaneous or slow-working and last from seconds to years. In fact, the only real restriction on magic is death."
His lecture entranced them. It really did sound completely different from what the Witch used, and they were cautiously accepting of it.
He cleared his throat, and continued, "Each of you has a specific talent, a special affinity for a certain kind of magic. You, Peter, will be a great magical warrior once you master Battle Magicks. Susan, you will excel in the written forms of magic – theory, Arithmancy which is magical mathematics, and above all history. Lucy and Edmund will both be in the earth and water fields, Lucy in healing magic particularly.
"Your task," here he looked at Susan, as he was answering her question, "is to teach others magic."
"But who will teach us? We don't know anything about it," Peter asked worriedly. He didn't want to disappoint Aslan, but he didn't know how to complete his task.
"You didn't think we'd throw you in the deep end, did you? No, that is what I am here for. I am going to teach the four of you." He chuckled. "Of course, we cannot do so here. It is much too small. There is a castle I am sure you noticed and it has stood empty and abandoned the past few hundred years. We will take it over."
"But…" Susan struggled with the concept. "Doesn't it belong to the state, then? I mean, we can't just take it!"
Myrdin laughed outright. "That concept has not been invented yet, Susan. Whoever gets to it first owns it. It is incredibly simple."
"If you're sure," she wasn't convinced, but he nodded, still smiling. "We will go there tomorrow. For now, why don't you two ladies take the bed, and us three gents will sleep out here by the fire?"
It was agreed upon, and they all retired. Myrdin showed them their first bit of magic by transfiguring some plain sheets into night clothes for them.
000
The next morning they got up bright and early and watched, stunned, at how Myrdin shrunk everything he owned into a small bag. He left the furniture, but took the clothes and other cloth items, and the food. There were several books in the small dwelling which he packed as well.
When they reached the castle, they found it was actually quite large; from the windows, they counted seven floors, plus at least four towers. There was a lake close by, as well. They entered the castle, and, while it was unfurnished, it did not have the look of being abandoned. That question, though, was answered almost immediately by a few small beings, that the four would later know as house-elves, popping into the room. At the time, though, they were rather startled by the strange looking creatures.
After the initial scare was over with, Myrdin explained a bit about them, saying they were magical servants, that, in exchange for magical power and a roof over their heads, they served witches and wizards by cleaning and cooking for them. It took a bit for Myrdin to convince the Pevensie siblings that it wasn't a slave bond, but completely symbiotic, but convince them he did.
One of the elves, Duffy, showed them to sleeping quarters close to the entrance, on their request. They didn't relish getting lost on the way to, or from, their rooms. They had experience in that, and it wasn't pleasant. Cair Paravel was around the same size, and their rooms were on the third floor in a wing far away from the hustle and bustle of the palace. The peace and quiet had come in handy afterward, when they just wanted to relax after a long day or when they had nightmares, but in the beginning it was very inconvenient.
After each had settled in, they had lunch in a huge hall, which they aptly named the Great Hall, and went to explore.
Thankfully, they had discovered plumbing when exploring their rooms, so that at least wasn't an issue. Some rooms were furnished, while most weren't. The children assumed that most would become classrooms, since this was going to be turned into a school.
When they got to the fourth floor, they discovered an immense library; however, aside from a book here and there, it was empty.
Myrdin assured them that he could procure the books they needed for basic studies from an old friend of his, but they would need to have many more to have a well-rounded education.
After a long day exploring and getting lost once or twice, they retired after a quick dinner, with promises to begin their studies tomorrow morning.
000
The next morning dawned bright and early. After breakfast, the children were disappointed to learn that they would not be practicing magic yet. They needed to learn the theory first. So Myrdin handed each a different book and instructed them to read it thoroughly. If they didn't understand something, they were to ask him.
So, they read, studied and learned. This magic was so different from Jadis', they stopped thinking of her, and even Edmund could enjoy these subjects. They were excited to learn new things. After a year of English studies of subjects they had already mastered, for the most part, they were very bored in normal school. Maths, most sciences, practically everything except British history they had studied in Narnia during their reign. Therefore, they had been rather bored back in England. Now, though, they were learning new things, things that they had never encountered in either world.
They gradually became used to this time and to the castle. They posed as the grandchildren of Myrdin, and changed their names: Peter became Godric Gryffindor, Susan became Rowena Gryffindor and Peter's sister, Edmund became Salazar Slytherin, and Lucy became Helga Slytherin and Edmund's sister. The two sets of 'siblings' then posed as cousins. They wanted to remain some form of family so that they could show affection openly.
They grew up again. Although they were very irritated when they remembered that yet again, they would return to the England of their time no one the wiser, in their younger bodies. They wondered if they would ever grow up and stay grown up. But they had endured it once; they would do so again.
000
Peter, or Godric, did indeed become proficient and even revered for his Battle Magicks. He entered into dueling tournaments, and quickly enough people took notice of the courageous, chivalrous young warrior. He still kept up with his swordsmanship, both he and Edmund; but now they added magic into their duels, making them even more spectacular. Although Edmund could compete just as well as Peter in tourneys, he didn't like to do so. He wasn't cut out for tourney fighting. On one of his travels, Peter encountered a young woman named Mara. She had come to the tournament with her brother, but he was killed in an accident the day after Peter had dueled him. When he went to pay his respects, he found out that she had no other family and was now homeless and penniless. With no one else seeming to care, Peter took her with him, and she settled into life at Hogwarts, becoming the librarian. They married a few years later, and had five children, three sons and two daughters: Adrian, Corben, Laken, Addilyn and Rayne.
Susan became renowned for her research skills and magical inventions. She quickly proved her genius and soon many academics asked for her opinions and knowledge. She was just as gracious and just as beautiful here as she had been in Narnia, and again many asked for courtships, but again she declined almost always. Years later, she agreed to marry a fellow teacher at Hogwarts, Edward Ravenclaw. They had a daughter, Helena. However, before Helena was even a year old, her father was killed in an attack on the village. Susan never remarried.
Edmund immersed himself in the art of potion-making. Chemistry had always been his favorite subject in school, and this was simply a more intense version of it. He invented many potions, some being healing for Lucy to heal with (and Peter to use), while some were of a different sort, mostly pranking but there was one notable exception: Veritaserum. Edmund was, after all, the Just, and therefore he wanted to make sure that people were telling the truth in trials. It certainly made them shorter and much less subjective, as well as eliminated the need for witnesses. He was rightfully proud of his accomplishment. He had built his lab deep underground, and made it creepy, for the sole reason of annoying his siblings. This room would later become the Chamber of Secrets, although he had certainly never intended for it to be such. He was a master prankster, and was very cunning and sneaky which helped immensely with them. He, also, married, as his siblings did. He met his wife through potions, she was very good at brewing and he started to visit her at her home in the village. Eventually, he asked for, and received, her father's blessing and they were wed. They had two sons, Speir and Ailward, and a daughter, Liana.
Lucy, meanwhile, learned about Healing Magicks. She set up the infirmary, used mostly by Peter after his battles and occasionally by Edmund or Susan after an experiment gone wrong. She too became known in her chosen field, and people recognized her extraordinary healing abilities. Soon they came to her to help them, and being the helpful sort she was, she welcomed them and helped them all she could. She, like Susan, married a fellow teacher, of Charms this time. His name was Alor Hufflepuff. They had only one child, a daughter named Cora, because the birth was unexpectedly taxing on Lucy and she very nearly died. Her husband adored her and although both would have liked more children, he wouldn't risk Lucy's health for anything.
This, of course, didn't all happen immediately; it took years and years until they got to those levels. But slowly they became more confident, more learned. And people came to be taught by these legendary masters and mistresses of their fields. Aspiring warriors came begging Peter to train them; those wanting to heal appealed to Lucy; the academic sorts wanted Susan to teach them; and young potion makers approached Edmund with the desire to be taken on.
At first they were taken aback by their fame and admirers, but they soon realized that Aslan had wanted this to happen, that this was why he sent them.
When more and more people approached them, they decided to make it into a structured school. This, of course, wasn't simple or easy. But then again, when you've ruled a country and made it flourish after being ruled by a tyrant, planning and running a school was a walk in the park.
The worst trouble they had was deciding what to teach. In the end, they settled on several main subjects, with others being added if they felt there was a need. These subjects were: Battle Magicks, and Transfiguration, taught by Peter; Arithmancy, Runic Magicks, and Charms, taught by Susan; Potions, and Herbology, taught by Edmund; and Healing Magicks, and Care of Magical Creatures, taught by Lucy.
Myrdin had disappeared one day. He left them a note in his chambers when they checked there, saying that he had completed his own task set by Aslan, and that he was finally going on to His Country. He would see them here, in a great many years. They mourned him, for he had been a great mentor and friend, but recognized the truth in his words: they would see him in Aslan's Country.
Their school, which somehow got the name of Hogwarts, flourished, with each year bringing more and more students. Soon they had to hire assistants to take over subjects that they themselves had previously taught. Susan's would be husband took over Arithmancy, and Lucy's started teaching Charms, among others.
They also contemplated how future generations of children would be separated into the right classes, as except for the core classes, very few who weren't for example Peter's favored students took swordsmanship, or Susan's favorites who took Arithmancy. They wanted to make sure that the children of future generations would be happy and take classes they were interested in. It took a very long time, but they managed to enchant Peter's old hat with a bit of each of their personalities, in order for the hat to sort the students when they were gone into the right House. They were all rather pleased with themselves after this, having accomplished very advanced and complicated magic.
000
However, soon they came across a very serious problem: the magical children who had been born to non-magical parents were being severely abused by the parents, or even downright killed. The older ones usually managed to escape, but those who were eleven or twelve were still too unlearned in magic to save themselves.
They brainstormed, trying to come up with a solution. Edmund was the only one to come up with anything, although even he didn't like it. However, as much as they didn't like the idea, it would probably work.
So they started carrying it out.
However, it didn't go quite as planned. The plan was, in essence, to prevent mundanes from knowing about magic, even those who had magical members in their families. The first phase was to inform the parents that their child was simply 'special' and had been accepted as an apprentice far away. The parents usually wanted their children to succeed in life, and so let them go; that part of the plan wasn't the problem. It was the other part that caused most of the problems, the part where the children weren't allowed to tell their parents what they were learning and doing. The older ones understood, but the younger ones didn't want to lie to their parents, and none of the four Pevensie siblings was going to force them.
They did, however, have arguments about the matter; most of them were in private, but a few had been overheard by some of the students, therefore leading them to believe that there was hate among their teachers. This was anything but true; nevertheless, the students spread it around, and it was soon being believed, especially when tempers were short among the four, after having heard of another death.
000
Matters were certainly not helped by the fact that a dark lord was beginning to emerge, terrorizing mundanes with magic, therefore adding to the fear they held for magic.
Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were furious when they heard about him. Here they were trying to diminish the number of deaths magic was bringing, and this upstart was undoing all of their hard work.
Eventually Peter decided that he was going out to deal with him, once and for all. Edmund went with him, refusing to let him go alone. The ensuing argument was the stuff of legends, cementing the bitter hatred the students believed there existed between Godric and Salazar.
But go they went. They found him easily enough, surrounded by hired muscle. Peter and Edmund quickly made their way through them, but the dark lord was not so easily defeated. He used the darkest of magic; magic neither Peter nor Edmund had ever encountered, and thus even though they were two hardened warriors against one man, it was still a close fight.
In a manner eerily similar to their first battle, against the White Witch at Beruna, Edmund was struck down badly wounded, and Peter was left alone against their enemy. However, unlike at Beruna, this time he was prepared and well trained, and managed to kill his foe, who had been badly wounded by Edmund before he fell.
He rushed to Edmund as quickly as he could, being wounded himself, although nowhere near what Edmund was. He was very pale, with a sinister black cloud seeping out of his right thigh. Peter quickly tore his trouser leg open, almost gagging at the sight he was greeted with. The leg was rotting as he watched; creeping up his body. Peter stood up, carrying his brother (or 'cousin'), and teleported back to Hogwarts, straight to Lucy.
As he was laying him down on the bed, Lucy was already casting spells and calling potions to her. Peter stood by helplessly, praying to Aslan, wishing they had Lucy's cordial with them.
He sent a message to Susan, and she came rushing in to the infirmary. She knew as much healing as Peter did; she couldn't help either, and the only thing they could do to aid Lucy was stay out of her way. He also sent a message to Brielle, Edmund's wife that he had been injured. She came as soon as she could, leaving the children who were still quite young with Mara, Peter's wife.
At last, Lucy stood back and sighed. "I stopped the curse from spreading but he'll never use that leg again."
They all gasped, Susan reaching up her hand to cover her mouth.
"When will he wake up?" Peter asked hoarsely.
"A couple hours," his youngest sister answered, and turned to treat his less serious wounds, before turning to Peter and treating his injuries as well.
000
It was a long few hours before Edmund awoke, his right leg bandaged and useless. They were going to amputate it, but refrained until he was awake and aware of what would be done. They didn't want him to simply awaken sans leg.
He was under a numbing charm and pain relieving potion when he did wake up, so did not feel that anything was off. However, he recognized the infirmary and matters were explained to him quickly. He became ashen, and asked them to leave him for a bit. All present were aware of Edmund's reticence to show any emotion so readily, but worriedly, agreed.
They returned, he was sedated again and the procedure went ahead.
While he knew of the necessity of the act, he was still angry and bitter about losing not only his leg but everything that came with it: walking, sparring with Peter, getting around places, being independent and many more. He stopped teaching and instead closed himself off in his lab for days at a time, brewing and trying to find a way to get his leg back, even though such a thing, like awakening the dead, was quite impossible (except if Aslan willed it, of course). He very, very seldom appeared in the frequented parts of the castle anymore, which resulted in the rumor that he had left after a duel with the other three founders. They tried to refute it, but with Edmund secluding himself, the rumor persisted with no appearances from him and proof otherwise. And so it was that it passed into legend that Salazar Slytherin was a muggle-hating bastard that fled the castle after a duel with the three other founders, never to return.
The others, including his wife and even his children tried to cheer him up, but if it did work, it wasn't for very long. He continued to isolate himself from everyone else. They didn't know how to help him, and it was causing them to also become a bit despondent. The four of them were very close, after all, and had always been able to brighten up each other's days if they weren't going well.
000
A few months after the fight, it so happened that the four exiled monarchs were actually sitting having a meal together, without anyone else in the room, when they all felt a light breeze and heard the faint whisper of a roar.
They looked at each other, excited. Even Edmund wasn't as stoic and grim as he had been lately.
Aslan's voice then sounded to each. "Well done, my children. You have done very well indeed." they all perked up at such a compliment, Lucy practically glowing.
"But it is time for you to return to your original time. Go through the door and you will find yourselves where you ought to be." The voice faded, although Edmund heard another sentence: "let go of your anger, my son. Soon you will be healthy again."
He took that to mean that his leg would be returned to him, and, for the first time in months, actually smiled. He could no sooner ignore an order from Aslan than he could stop breathing, and Aslan had commanded him to let go of his anger. So he did.
The other three were very relieved that they had their Edmund back, and there were tears all around.
When they calmed, they went for the door, helping their brother, but Lucy stopped short.
"What about Alor, Mara, Brielle and the children? Should we not inform them as to what is happening?"
"They aren't here, Lu. We have no way of getting to them, that door won't take us back to them, only to the twentieth century. I suppose we could write a note, but I don't know if Aslan meant for us to tell them..." Peter said sadly, not relishing leaving his beloved wife and children.
"I'm writing a note," Lucy announced firmly, daring any of them to contradict her. They were silent, and she proceeded to write. No explanation had to be given, since all spouses had known both about Narnia and about their travels in time.
Once the note had been written, ending with, "we'll see you in Aslan's Country in a thousand years," they had no reason to dawdle anymore, and reluctantly left their home of thirty years.
It was harder to leave this place than it had been to leave Narnia either times, possibly because they had so many loved ones here. And the first time they had left Narnia, they hadn't realized what was happening until it was already too late. This time, they had to force themselves to go each step, and too soon for their liking, they stepped through, with Edmund's leg growing back mid step, and ended up in the crowded train station with schoolchildren dressed in the same uniforms they were suddenly wearing. They had left Rhindon, Peter's sword, at Hogwarts, and it eventually lost its name, becoming simply Godric Gryffindor's legendary sword.
They looked at each other sadly, and followed their school mates onto the train.