This chapter features the song "Frozen Heart" from Walt Disney's animated movie Frozen

AN: Yay! A new chapter! Sorry this took so long; my laptop decided about two weeks before Christmas that it didn't want to charge anymore so I had to send it in to get looked at. Since then I've been sharing the desktop with my little sisters, who are constantly on it playing games, and my mom, who uses it for the volunteer work she does at their schools and for her sewing/embroidery projects. Hopefully I should have my laptop back by next week and be able to work on my stories in peace anytime I want, without having to worry about nosy little girls snooping over my shoulder.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed this story! Your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated!


Chapter 6: Frozen Heart

Born of cold and winter air

And mountain rain combining

Remus was frozen in shock. His mother—or, a twelve-year-old version of her—was standing in front of him, interacting with her siblings and showing not an ounce of recognition towards him. That was another thing—her siblings. He had an aunt and uncles…and one of those uncles happened to be the only friend he'd had since… well, ever really.

Susan stared at him oddly, a gleam of familiarity in her icy blue eyes. "Have we met before?" she asked. "Only, I feel as though I know you."

Remus' mouth was dry and he found it difficult to respond. "I-I've never been to Narnia before," he finally managed to croak out.

Susan sighed, still scrutinizing him with her icy gaze. "Neither have I," she admitted, "and yet…you're quite sure we've never met before?"

Remus wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Oh yes, we've met. You'll only give birth to me in a couple of decades…or eleven years ago, by my timeline. Hello Mother, how are you? "I-I don't know," he said, unable to look his young mother in the eyes as he lied to her. "I came here through a wardrobe in my attic."

The four siblings started. "We came through a wardrobe too," said Edmund. "Lucy found it in the spare room at Professor Diggory's house out in the country."

Peter frowned thoughtfully. "Does this mean there's more than one wardrobe in our world that leads to Narnia, or are we from two entirely separate worlds?"

"The Wardrobe was carved from a tree in our world that was grown from a seed of an apple that was brought to our world from Narnia long ago," said Remus.

The others stared at him in wonder. "So we are from the same world," said Peter.

"Yes," replied Remus.

"How do you know how the wardrobes came to be?" asked Susan.

"There is but one Wardrobe in our world that leads to Narnia," admitted Remus. "I only know how it came to be because my mother has told me stories of Narnia my whole life." He stared at Susan, his amber eyes full of raw longing; he had never been very good at lying to his mother.

"Then how did we come to pass through the same wardrobe in two different places?" asked Peter.

"Time is not the same here as it is back home," said Remus. "While years may pass in Narnia, only a few seconds may have passed back in our land."

"Are you saying that if- when we return, no time will have passed?" asked Lucy curiously.

Remus shrugged from where he still sat on the mound of pillows and blankets that served as a bed. "It is possible," he replied. "In that same vein, I hypothesize that it is possible that we may be from entirely different decades in our world."

The four Pevensie siblings stared at Remus in shock. "Are you saying that you come from a different time than us?" asked Edmund.

"Yes, I believe so."

This icy force both foul and fair

Has a frozen heart worth mining

A sudden ruckus, different from the mob out for Remus' blood, grew outside the tent and caused the five children to abandon their topic of conversation in favor of sticking their heads outside. "What's going on?" asked Peter, snagging Mr. Beaver's furry arm as he rushed past.

"She's here," Mr. Beaver said, panic in his voice. "Her dwarf said she demands an audience with Aslan."

Dread cut through Remus' heart, as cold as if he had been struck by ice. "W-what does She want?" he asked, terrified that the answer would be him.

"The dwarf didn't say," said Mr. Beaver, his dark eyes full of sympathy.

"We won't let her take you, Remus," said Lucy, grabbing his hand and holding it tight. "Either of you," she added, looking up into the frightened eyes of her elder brother. "Right, Peter?" She turned imploring blue eyes on her blonde brother.

Peter's expression was fierce. "Of course we won't, Lu," he said, voice full of conviction. His hand strayed to his sheathed sword, so recently christened with its first taste of blood. He smiled a crooked smile and said, "I'm a knight now, remember?"

Lucy giggled. "Sir Peter Wolfsbane," she said, sweeping a dramatic curtsy.

As Lucy, Peter, and Susan laughed at Peter's impromptu knighting, Remus' eyes widened with horror. He'd forgotten that Peter was said to have gained his knighthood from slaying a wolf. Granted, he felt no love for the Narnian wolves who had joined the Witch (or wolves in general, for that matter), but Peter's knighting (he belatedly remembered) had been one of the reasons he'd stopped asking for stories of Narnia after his bite.

"Remus? Are you alright?" asked Edmund, crouching down beside the older (younger) boy, his dark brows knitting together in concern.

"It's nothing," said Remus, waving off his friend's (uncle's) concern with a shaking hand.

"It's the Wolfsbane thing, isn't it?" he asked, understanding dawning in the dark depths of his eyes. The slight widening of Remus' amber orbs and his minute flinch gave him away. "Peter won't hurt you," promised Edmund. "Despite our differences, he really is a rather superb big brother. He has this protecting people thing that can sometimes get on my nerves, but deep down I know he means well."

"He hardly knows me," protested Remus, despite the warm feeling spreading from his heart at the thought that his uncle would protect him.

"But I do," said Edmund solemnly, "and that's all that matters."

Cut through the heart cold and clear

In the end, the Pevensie children decided to bring Remus with them when they left the tent. Edmund was terrified to let the taller boy out of his sight for a second and Peter and the girls were inclined to agree after what had happened the last time. Remus limped out of the tent, propped up between Edmund and the taller Peter. Despite Lucy's cordial, it seemed that his left leg was not quite fully healed. Not that he was surprised, mind; he had broken that leg more times than he cared to remember and had been warned (repeatedly) by his healer (who was also his loving Aunt Joan, his father's baby sister) that it would be resistant to healing and eventually might not heal at all.

The five arrived just in time to see the Witch sweep into camp, white skirts swirling dangerously behind her as she strode purposefully toward Aslan, a shining sun to her deadly moon. Remus shrunk back, hunching in on himself as her icy gaze found him. He could feel it's deadly burn even as he kept his eyes deliberately fixed on the ground at his feet, as though it were the most fascinating piece of ground in the whole of Narnia. He listened in a sort of detached silence as the Witch argued with Aslan for the lives of Edmund and Remus, leaning against Peter's strong, steady form for both physical and emotional support.

Strike for love and strike for fear

It was the Witch's sharp cry and the burst of cold that flew toward Remus that woke him from his trance-like state. "The wolf-child is mine!" Remus let out a small yelp as the sharp cold hit his bad leg, causing it to collapse under him. He would have fallen to the ground had it not been for the steady presence of Peter and Edmund at his side.

Aslan let out an earth-shaking roar and stepped between the Witch and the children. "Remus Lupin is and shall always be My child," he said, his voice rippling like thunder through the still air. "He has been one of My chosen from the moment of his conception and you have no claim to him, Jadis."

The Witch narrowed her dark eyes at the majestic lion and sneered. "He is a dark creature and all dark creatures belong to me! Thus it is written in the deep magic from the dawn of time."

"This I do not dispute," said Aslan calmly, his stance and his voice equally firm. "However, My claim to this boy supersedes your own. He has been one of Mine from his birth by grace of his mother, and it is because of his mother's unfailing faith and love that he shall remain My child far beyond the end of all things. It matters not that a dark creature cursed him as a child; My blessing and love still remain. I say again to you, Jadis: you shall not have Remus Lupin in this or any other life."

There's beauty and there's danger here

Remus stared at Aslan in shocked reverence. In that moment, he saw beyond the physical form of the lion standing boldly in front of him and saw over Him a greater, indescribable presence. He knew then that just as Aslan had claimed him as His own, so would Remus proclaim himself forevermore as Aslan's. He vowed to himself and to Aslan that he would do his very best to be worthy of the love and devotion shown to him this day. He wasn't sure how he would accomplish such a feat, but he knew that he would think of something.

The Witch was the first to break eye contact. In a whirl of white and silver, she turned to glare menacingly at the assembled creatures who dared to look upon her. "There is still the matter of the traitor, Aslan," she snapped, whipping her icy gaze toward Edmund. "According to the deep magic from the dawn of time, the blood of all traitors in Narnia belongs to me. Even You cannot dispute that."

Aslan sighed heavily and bowed his great head. "Walk with me, Jadis," he said. "I wish to discuss this privately. Children, return to your tent. All will be well."

Split the ice apart

Beware the frozen heart…


Things may diverge from cannon slightly with Remus in the picture. Honestly, this story is sort of unfolding as I write it, so apart from a general plot line, even I don't really know what's going to happen next until I'm actually writing it!

Keep the reviews a-coming! And put out those flames! ;)