Disclaimer: I own nothing involving the world of Harry Potter or the Chronicles of Narnia. Those rights belong strictly with J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis respectively.
Author's Note: This is a tester chapter more than anything, this was an idea that was poking around my head for awhile so I decided to see if I could give it a go. Just as an up front warning, I will be messing with timelines quite a bit, so if something doesn't make sense (plot/logistics/etc...) please let me know! Sometimes I get ahead of myself and forget. Also, there will be some chemistry between Harry and Edmund but I haven't decided whether it'll be romantic or more a brother-in-arms companionship. Please feel free to leave thoughts, ideas, or constructive criticism if you feel so inclined. It's always nice to know folks are interested.
"Do you think I could have changed anything, if I was given a second chance?"
"My dear Son of Adam, don't you remember that things never happen the same way twice?"
Chapter One: The Beginning of a New Chapter
To tell the truth, Harry was never sure why exactly things happened the way they did. Obviously, there was a plan. Whether it was one for 'the greater good' or a predestined one though...that's what always tripped him up. But the battle was over, the good fight fought, the Dark Lord defeated, and yet here he was tripping, more literally this time, through the rubble left behind.
He stumbled past Filch and his sweeping towards what remained of one of the staircases. They had stopped moving, the staircases that is, and his memory was too foggy to remember when precisely that was. Not that it really mattered all things considered. Such a small, insignificant detail to be so focused on. But this was his home. For nearly 7 years this was where he slept and ate and bled. Where he learned and where he grew in mind and body. It added this ache on top of the numbness he felt ever since he left that forsaken clearing. During his musings he found his hand had come down to rest on the cracked stone of the stair he was now sitting on, brushing away the dust and crumbled bits so he could smooth his hand over the worn stone. He stroked it lightly, his mind wandering as he looked out a broken window. The longer he sat there the more aware he became of just how tired he was. His legs burned from running, shifting his shoulders made his back seize which in turn caused his whole body to tense and for his jaw to clench, adding quite nicely to the ever-growing headache. As his heart stopped raising and he stopped hearing the pounding of it in his ears he could only groan. Merlin only knew how he was supposed to keep going today with the help of adrenaline.
Guess I'll find out, he thought morosely. Before he could even consider getting up and pressing on, a light flickered in the corner of his eye. Snapping around to look at it, and nearly gasping for the pain that surged through him, he was left rather bewildered.
There was a small ball of white-blue light hovering just before the landing of the intact wing of the staircase. It couldn't possibly be any larger than a Cornish Pixie even accounting for the distance between it and himself. For a moment he thought it was a patronus, but the lack of movement and size showed otherwise. Including how increasingly transparent the orb was becoming and Harry was actually starting to become a little concerned at this potential threat. His hand crept towards his wand on the the stair next to him and just as his fingers grazed it a voice rang out above the dull murmur from the Great Hall.
"Alright there Harry?" Turning back around, more slowly this time, he saw Neville and Luna. Must be on their way to the Hall, he mused.
"Just fine Neville, catching my breath is all. Luna." he replied, and a nod of acknowledgement given to Luna who returned it in kind.
"Definitely understand that, took a moment for myself just now too. You need help getting up?" Neville's eyes started to fill with concern as he took in Harry's considerably uneven breathing and tense posture. His eyes flicked towards the wand in Harry's hand and if he had been going to comment on it Luna cut him off.
"You shouldn't keep Him waiting, you know." Her voice was soft even if what she said was confusing. Though, perhaps cryptic was better than confusing. After all, Harry had yet to hear Luna say anything that didn't end up being useful. Attempting to gather his thoughts he watched as she moved to take more of Neville's weight, who had until then been leaning heavily on the Sword of Gryffindor.
"Him?" He managed after a moment. Her eyes flicked over his shoulder where he knew very well that little wisp of light had been before he turned around. It was apparently foolish of him to think that it had disappeared. Then again, it was Luna.
"Come along Neville, we should see if the healers can fix your leg. It seems to be getting worse." Luna said as she started to help Neville limp towards the Hall. He settled on the fact that Luna wasn't going to clarify as they neared the archway and began to turn back towards the landing when Luna paused and spoke again.
"And Harry?" He looked back at her. A small half-smile played at her mouth, it was genuine if not a bit sad, as she continued.
"We'll always love you, do you know that? You've been given a chance that I think would be good for you if you took. You've taken care of us for years Harry, whether we wanted you to or not. Let someone else help now. I think you'll quite like Him." Her eyes softened as she spoke and she gave him one last smile before nudging Neville on. Neville could only give a one-shouldered shrug to Harry, the smile on his lips showing his amusement over her antics more than anything else.
It was a moment more before they disappeared into the hall and yet another before Harry allowed himself to look back over his shoulder for the light. It was still resting just above the landing, right where he left it. It seemed to flicker for a moment before it started to drift up the stairs.
"If a ball of light can lead me to a frozen pond and Ron to me...guess it can't be too bad." he muttered while he slowly picked himself up off the ground. His movements were choppy, the act itself taking longer than he wanted, but he never took his eyes off the orb. Besides, he considered, how bad can it be?
He followed it up one staircase, then another, and by the fifth he was standing on a landing and gasping desperately over the railing while his legs shook. Harry glared over at the orb which flickered again in response.
"I was in a war you know. There was fighting, lots of it in fact. I died!" he said bitingly. The only reaction he got from the light was it hopping up the next few stairs on the flight in what he guessed was supposed to be an encouraging manner.
"I could be doing other things right now, helpful things. Not following you aimlessly up every single staircase in the castle." His words echoed back to him as he forced himself up. Two more flights they went up and by then Harry slowly sank to his knees, a hand held out towards the light.
"Just, give me second." He pleaded raggedly. His already gross clothing was becoming increasingly disgusting as sweat dampened the dirt and dust. Running a hand across his face that did more to smear the dirt on his cheek than to wipe the sweat from his eyes, he braced himself. After a deep breath he yanked himself up with the help of the banister and swayed for an moment before trudging after the light. He followed until it stopped at a place in the corridor he knew very well. He watched as the light rose to eye-level before darting into the wall.
I don't think that'll work for me, he thought bitterly. Even as he resigned himself to finding the strength to pace in front of the wall, he could only gape as the stone gave way to the large double doors of the Room of Requirement. Cautiously he opened one of the doors, recoiling as the lingering acrid smell of smoke hit his nose. Looking through the gap, he saw the light above a pedestal too nicely placed for this to have been any sort of coincidence.
"Taking pity on my now? You're not going to make me crawl through all this?" his eyes flicked guiltily to the burnt piles of artifacts. He shuffled his way towards the pedestal, his hands coming up to rest on the edges as he stared down at the box sitting on top of it. It was a small thing, made of wood and had a single hinge. Briefly glancing towards the light, he picked it up and opened it. A ring was inside, not to his taste really, but he supposed it was nice enough. It was plain overall, discreet almost, and shimmered in what little light was shining through the doorway.
"Let me guess, you want me to put it on?" he asked, more to himself truthfully. Though, now that he thought about it, "I haven't exactly had the best experience when it comes to mysterious rings. Not personal experience granted, but indirect unpleasantness."
The flickering increased momentarily before spinning in place. Luna, you haven't led me astray yet, he decided with a disgruntled sigh as he slid the ring onto his middle finger.
There was a warm breeze across his face.
A roar in his ears.
And he was blinded as the ball of light flared with the strength of the sun.
