Chapter 9
Weeks passed and days progressed as normal.
Caroline had just gotten out of another horrible potions class. She walked with Harry, Hermione and Ron back to the common room. Gryffindor had a game against Slytherin in the morning and Snape had been trying to provoke Harry so that he could ban him from playing.
"Why couldn't the git just insult me outright? Then I'd have an excuse to retaliate," Harry complained.
"Because that would be far too obvious for Snape, you know that," Caroline scolded. "Just forget about it. Focus on tomorrow's game."
"Yeah, when we win, he'll have to shut up!" Ron cheered. They all laughed. Quidditch always cheered them up, even if only Harry played on the team.
They rounded the corner into the foyer and Caroline froze. She stood, staring, terrified down the stairs.
"What?" Harry squeezed her hand, but she didn't react. She just stared Harry followed her eyes. Dumbledore was standing at in front of the main doors with a man wearing a luxurious silk robe and several men who looked like goons.
"It's Mackenzie, the Capitan of the Guard. And he brought two lieutenants! They're here to take me back."
Caroline turned and ran down the hall with her friends in hot pursuit. She didn't stop running. She ran hard, taking the long way back to the common room.
As she rounded the corner, she ran full speed into someone and they were both sent sprawling across the floor.
"Sorry," she gasped.
"Carrie?" a voice asked. Caroline froze.
The only person who ever called her Carrie was, "Malcolm?" she gasped.
"Carrie! It's really you!" He grabbed her around the middle and gave her one of his bone cracking hugs.
"Malcolm," she gasped. He released her right away.
"Sorry Carrie, I'm just so happy that it's actually you!" he looked at her. "What on earth are you wearing?"
Caroline staggered back and looked at him. He was wearing his old dirty trousers and his work shirt and he desperately needed a haircut. It was definitely Malcolm, not Malfoy.
"God, it's good to see you again. That Gwendolyn girl that you let in your place is awful, treats us all like dirt. But we put her right a few times once I told everyone that she wasn't you. We-"
"WHAT?" Caroline grabbed his arm. "You told? WHY?"
"I didn't know what else to do!" he pulled his arm free. "I had just gotten back from a lashing for letting you borrow my clothes to escape and then that dog shows up with your note. That's a fine way to leave a friend, Carrie. 'I'm off to another world. Don't tell anyone that my replacement isn't me.' That's no kind of explanation, Carrie."
"I know, I'm sorry," Caroline hugged him again. "I really am sorry. Leaving you behind was the hardest thing I ever did."
Malcolm looked over her shoulder and she turned. Her friends had caught up with her.
"Guys, this is Malcolm. Malcolm these are Hermione, Ron and Harry," when she introduced Harry, she slipped her hand into his. Malcolm's eyes tracked down to their hands but he didn't say anything.
"You really do look like Malfoy," Ron said.
Then from around the corner came the group from the foyer. Caroline tensed to run but Harry held her hand. She gripped it and his touch gave her strength.
"That was a wonderful display of speed that you gave us in the foyer, Miss Chant," Dumbledore said lightly. "But I think it would be best if you stayed to hear what our guests have to say."
"I don't need to hear to know what they're here," Caroline said. She glared at Mackenzie. "They're here to force me to go back with them. They've obviously found that Gwendolyn isn't willing to be their figurehead so they're trying to get me back. Well I won't go!" She yelled in the Mackenzie's face.
"You have violated so many laws I don't even know where to begin," he snapped. "You've almost ruined Gower."
"The Prime Minister ruined Gower!" she replied. "You can't make me go back!" Harry squeezed her hand and stroked her shoulder. She stepped back into his arms.
Mackenzie smiled slowly. "So that's what is behind this," he said. "Ye don't want to leave yer lad."
"I don't want to leave my freedom," she corrected.
"Ye signed that away," the Mackenzie pointed out.
"Then I'll sign another one abdicating. Then the Prime Minister can replace me like he's always wanted to."
"The Chants have ruled Gower for four hundred years. Are you really going to throw away your family's legacy?" Mackenzie asked.
"Don't," she pointed a finger at him. She felt like crying. "Don't put that on me. That's not what I'm doing."
"Yes it is," he stepped towards her. "You are single-handedly bringing down the Great Chant Dynasty of Gower. Do you know what that will mean? Gower will be vulnerable. Without a Chant on the throne Illyria will finally have their change to invade. And I don't doubt that they will manage it."
"That's not fair, Mackenzie," Caroline was close to tears. Harry hugged her but it didn't have the soothing effect that it usually did.
"But it's the truth, Lass," Mackenzie said. "We need you."
There was a moment of silence as Caroline absorbed everything.
"Might I speak?" the mystery guest asked. Caroline looked at him. He was quite tall but wearing what looked like a dressing gown.
"I am Chrestomanci," he said. "I am in charge of the use of magic in the related worlds. I moving all of you over, Gwendolyn has disrupted the balance of magic in all twelve related."
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, though she thought she knew the answer already.
"Your type of magic is different from Gwendolyn's and different again from the magic here," he gestured around. "Think of each world as a machine built to accept a certain kind of coin. This world is only built to handle round coins while yours accepts only octagonal coins. Gwendolyn is essentially trying to force an octagonal coin into a round coin's slot. If you don't return, the machine will break."
"I'll break this world?" Caroline gasped. "How?"
"Those men who attacked you a few weeks ago came through in a rift between the worlds that was created when Gwendolyn moved you. They have been to four other worlds, searching for you. In each world, they attacked the girl who is your replica only to realize that she was not you."
"But now they've found you here," Mackenzie said. "They mean to kill you Yer Majesty."
"NO!" Caroline exploded. Harry jumped back, his hands stung. "I'm not Your Majesty! I'm just Caroline Chant!"
Caroline saw the knowing look that passed between Mackenzie, Chrestomanci and Dumbledore and she didn't like it.
"What?" she asked.
"Even as you deny it, you are invoking your brand of magic," Chrestomanci said.
Caroline studied her shoes. She knew in her heart that they were right. Everything that had happened was because she tried to deny who she was. It was because of her pride that she had conflicts with Malfoy. Even her relationship with Harry had stemmed from fights caused by her pride for her family name.
"Not only that, but Gwendolyn is driving the country to bankruptcy," Malcolm put in.
"What?" Caroline gasped. "Shouldn't the Prime Minister have stopped her?"
Mackenzie and the lieutenants laughed.
"The Prime Minister is incompetent buffoon," Mackenzie laughed. "He really doesn't handle conflict well. Gwendolyn just started yelling and he backed down immediately. In fact, if you did that, maybe less of his infernal ideas would make it into law."
"It started with her decision to build another castle on the sea, for summertime of course," Malcolm said sarcastically. "Then, she got Gower involved in a very expensive war with the Duchy of Cormack because the emissaries from Banting were 'Oh So Charming'." Malcolm made his voice high to imitate Gwendolyn, but Caroline didn't laugh.
"There has been peace between Gower and Cormack for a hundred years! What is wrong with her?" Caroline exclaimed.
"Don't you see Carrie? Gower needs you," Malcolm said. Caroline didn't want to see the pleading in his eyes, but she couldn't look away. She felt as if every citizen of Gower was staring out from Malcolm's eyes, begging her to come back.
Malcolm took her hand.
"No, Malcolm, please don't," Caroline begged weakly. He ignored her and knelt down on one knee.
"I ask you as your loyal friend and your loyal subject," He kissed her hand and pressed it to his forehead. "Please come home." Movement caught Caroline's eye and she looked up. Mackenzie and the two lieutenants had knelt too.
"Home," Caroline echoed. And with that, she knew that she needed to go home. Hogwarts wasn't home, Gower was. And now that she knew how to handle the Prime Minister, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
She turned to her friends. "I have to go," she said, choking back tears. "My place is in Gower. I'm sorry, but I'm an octagon." They all laughed at the absurdness of that statement, but they all understood.
