CHAPTER 22: INTO THE UNKNOWN

"Nine and three-quarters?" Angeline furrowed her brow and pursed her lips, checking the platform signs above them: nine and ten. "Are you sure of that, honey?" she asked her husband, who grinned mischievously.

"That's right. Platform nine and three-quarters," he affirmed the location their sons needed to catch the Hogwarts Express at.

"How do we get past whatever spell hides it?" Angeline whispered, glancing around as if someone was listening in on them.

"Gentlemen," Artemis Fowl Senior cleared his throat and addressed the twins. Myles and Beckett turned their attention to him, the former with one hand on Mr. Hooty's cage and the other holding Seraphina the toad. "Pay close attention. The procedure is extremely complex…"

"Oh, my…" Angeline began to worry a bit. Could it be dangerous? She hasn't forgotten the time her eldest, Artemis the Second, confessed his fairy escapades to her. He went through nightmarish events and needed treatment for a psychological illness unknown to humankind. If Hogwarts is even half so dangerous…but she snapped herself out of it. She knew her boys were special, and she had to let them go somewhere they could hone their abilities and follow their hearts.

"You want us to run straight into the wall with our luggage?" Myles asked incredulously.

They need to do what? She shot her husband a concerned look. The couple made it a point not to question each other in front of their children, but this had to be a joke. Looking at his face, though, she realized he wasn't joking.

"That's right," Artemis nodded, "and you can't hesitate, even for a moment. Just run and remember where you need to go."

"Alright!" Beckett bounced on his heels. "Let's do this! Hang on tight, Sera." He carefully deposited the toad inside his pocket and took hold of his bags. Before anyone could say another word, he dashed towards the side of the column. Angeline instinctively gasped when he reached his destination, but she felt a wave of relief when—instead of crashing painfully into solid bricks—he disappeared from sight.

"Woah!" Myles's eyes became as wide as saucers. "I suppose it's my turn now, right?" Receiving a nod from his father, Myles took control of the dolly holding his luggage and his owl inside its golden cage. "Let's go, Mr. Hooty." Were his final words before following his brother into apparent oblivion.

"Darling?" Angeline thought of something: she was a Muggle! Could it work for me, too? She pictured herself smashing face-first into a wall, and the thought was not pleasant. Her husband simply took hold of her hand and smiled reassuringly.

"Just hold onto me, darling." In that moment, she felt safe…

The next moment, she and her husband were barreling towards a wall. Think of your family, she told herself to stifle the hesitation, think of your family!

Before she knew it, Angeline Fowl found herself with her family in the midst of a bustling platform. A pristine-looking train had the name "Hogwarts Express" written in golden lettering on its side. She was amazed.

"Look at all the children, dear!" she breathed. There were so many families there bidding their little ones goodbye for school. Most of them wore odd clothing, like robes and whimsical hats, but others seemed to dress like Muggles. It brought her comfort to know hers wasn't the only half-blooded family in the world. As a matter of fact, she saw a lot of confused-looking and awestruck parents like herself. They're sure to make lots of friends there. I just know it! She beamed at her sons. When did they get so big?

"Smile for a picture!" Artemis Senior had the perfect idea at the perfect time, as usual. He pulled out his phone and the boys smiled at the camera. Once he got a shot of them, he motioned for Angeline to join them. "Now one with your mother." Both parents had discussed the matter of concealing Angeline's identity as a Muggle, and they agreed it would look suspicious if he kept her hidden too much. Aside from that, she was not about to miss out on seeing them off for their first year of real school.

"Now one with you, dear," Angeline extended a hand, offering to take the next picture herself, but then a man with long, pale blonde hair noticed them and started walking over. Lucius Malfoy, she recognized him from her husband's description. He gave off a colder air than she imagined, but she was not about to feel intimidated. She quickly started thinking over the details she was told about him: apparently, he was a blood purist who became a Death Eater, and his family had an on-off acquaintance with the Fowls extending back to the Norman invasions.

"Artemis," Lucius addressed the Fowl patriarch by his first name and extended a hand. "We meet again."

"That we do," Artemis took a civil tone and accepted the handshake. Closeness was an uncomfortable prospect, but so was enmity. "How have you been since Diagon Alley? I take it your family is here with you?"

"Indeed, they are," Lucius's thin lips curled with pride. He made a sweeping gesture towards a woman and a boy some distance away, both with similarly blonde hair. The woman was clearly a natural brunette, but it seemed their son inherited his father's hair. They seemed like a proud family. "And I assume this is your lovely, mysterious wife." He regarded Angeline with analytical blue eyes. "Enchanted," he said politely.

"Likewise," she responded and gave him her best smile. "My husband told me of you. My name is Angeline."

"Lucius, though I suppose you know that." The three adults shared a bit of civil laughter. "My wife is called Narcissa, and our son Malfoy is a first year at Hogwarts. I am certain our offspring will be close friends."

"I hope they have many friends."

"How is Severus Snape these days?" Artemis changed the subject.

"He has been teaching potions at Hogwarts for quite some time now," Lucius informed them. "You've been away too long, Fowl. Not even a letter in so many years…Exactly what have you been up to?"

"My Artemis has been all over the world," Angeline spoke the partial truth cheerfully. "He always goes wherever his heart leads him."

"He has always acted on his whims," Lucius chuckled. "Perhaps now his whims will lead him back to where he belongs—among our kind."

"Good one, Lucius," Artemis gave him a wry smile. "You know where the Fowls have always been."

"Ah, yes. The intermediaries," Lucius appeared to find the word 'intermediaries' distasteful. "Here I was hoping you would see common sense after all this time."

"Aurum et potestas, after all," Artemis shrugged nonchalantly. "Nowadays, though, I prefer to focus on family. The people we love are more important than any other calling, are they not…old friend?"

"…That they are," Lucius agreed, but he was already frowning since he learned the Fowls were not about to move into the wizarding world, after all.

"Speaking of which," Artemis directed the conversation again, "we still have time for one last goodbye to our sons. You don't mind, do you, Lucius?"

"Of course not. I need to speak with my son, as well. Good day, Artemis, Angeline." With that, Lucius Malfoy left the Fowls in peace, and the couple was finally able to turn their attention back to their children.

"That," said Beckett, "was the most boring conversation I have ever heard." Myles nodded in agreement next to him. Their parents looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"We still need that picture before you board the train," Angeline reminded them. "Darling, go stand with them. Just like that!" and she snapped a beautiful shot of her three loves. After a long, sentimental hug and some warm words, the twins gathered their things and boarded the train with their pets.

"Do you think Harry might be here yet?" Beckett asked. "He seemed quiet, but less annoying than Beau and Artemis."

"I don't know, Beck," Myles scanned the booths they passed by to see if there were any empty ones. "I'm not about to search this whole train for him, though."

"You're no fun sometimes," Beckett pouted. Seraphina croaked inside his pocket. "I want to see the whole train, even if he's not here!"

"So do I, but we need to claim our seats first. Then we explore." Myles was semi-dragging Mr. Hooty's cage around, and he did not feel like doing that for much longer. Maybe he needs a diet.

"Fine," Beckett rolled his eyes but played along.

"Croak," went the toad. Beckett stopped in his tracks.

"That wasn't Sera," he told Myles.

"Croak," went the toad.

"Where is that coming from?" Beckett wondered. He began stepping carefully, scanning the shadows for anything. "Someone might have lost their pet."

"In that case, you go look for it while I find us a booth to sit in. I'll leave Mr. Hooty as a marker and join you." The dark-haired twin was wasting his breath, though, since his counterpart was already deep into the search. This time, he was the one rolling his eyes.

"Croak," went the toad.

"CROAK," WENT THE TOAD QUOTH THE RAVEN, "NEVERMORE"

TITLE: If you don't hear Idina Menzel squawking into the night, then you've been living under a rock XD

LUCIUS MALFOY'S PERSONALITY & HIS FAMILY'S CONNECTION WITH THE FOWLS: We all know what he is, but remember he's supposed to be pretending to be a perfectly clean, upstanding member of society. He is also a family man at heart, despite being a purist snob. According to , Lucius had a real respect for Snape for a long time.

This shows me he can hold others in high esteem, but the thing about the Fowls is they lived and ran their empire in the Muggle world where the Ministry of Magic could not restrain them from robbing, pillaging, etc. As a result, the connection between the Malfoys and Fowls has fluctuated according to whether the Malfoys respected the Fowls' cunning, opportunistic exploitation of Muggles or felt repelled by their underhanded methods and connection with Muggles. Here, we see Lucius essentially gauging the Fowls to see if they might be worth renewing a connection with. This man was all about influence, and back when Artemis Senior was heir to a throne of greed, he would have had a similar outlook on making useful connections.

Lucius would undeniably have made a useful person for young Artemis Senior to become close to. Malfoy's father, Adraxas, had personal ties to the Ministry of Magic, which I like to imagine young Senior and his father knew. Now, what would young Lucius have gained from befriending Fowl? Lucius likes to collect dark, often illegal, artifacts. I'd like to think this interest started in his youth, when his parents likely would not have approved, let alone bought him such things. The Fowls, on the other hand, were far less scrupulous about societal laws and norms. I can easily imagine young Fowl essentially buying his friendship by sneaking him forbidden artifacts and helping him pursue those dark interests.

The Fowls can trace the ownership of their manor and the servitude of the Butlers back to the Norman conquests. The Malfoys can trace ownership of their manor back to that same period. What if the two families had some sort of alliance going on, each one taking their share of spoils in a different world from the other?

AWKWARD CONVERSATION: These guys were closely acquainted with each other in their tween to teen years, but they're suddenly meeting again after one of them basically noped himself out of existence for years on end. Lucius has no idea whether Artemis lives up to his standards of purity in terms of Angeline being pureblood, half-blood, or Muggle; furthermore, he doesn't know if the Fowls are still as useful a connection as they once were. He also doesn't know where Artemis stands on blood purity or the Death Eaters. He also doesn't know whether or not Artemis heard about him claiming to have been under the Imperius Curse. On the flip side, Artemis is pretty sure Lucius became a Death Eater willingly, and he doesn't know whether or not he's reformed. He doesn't know if the Death Eaters are quite extinguished, and he doesn't know what Lucius might do if he discovers Angeline is a Muggle.

So…I imagine their conversations would be full of customary niceties and have a guarded air as they try to measure each other up for a while.

ANGELINE FOWL: We finally got a more detailed glimpse into the mind of the Fowl's affectionate, persuasive matriarch! In the books, we don't see much except her trying to make her son loosen up; however, we do see a few traits in key story elements. She loves her husband so madly, she literally went mad when he was missing and presumed dead. She wants her eldest son, and presumably her younger sons, to lead normal lives; however, she also wants them to be happy and doesn't hold them back from using their talents. She also wants her loved ones to be good people, but she remains by their side even when they're not quite there yet. She also has a way of pressuring people into doing what she wants, but not by intimidation the way her son often does. Instead, she sways Artemis (thus, presumably, her loved ones) with love and affection, and she presumably sways the LEP to let her see Artemis II during his treatment Underground. I assume she accomplished this with the determination and earnestness of a mother.

That was what I gathered from the canon concerning her personality. Aside from that, it makes sense to me she would be smart, though not so above-average as to be on-par with some of her family. She struck me as a somewhat observant sort, and it also makes sense she would pay attention to what her husband says (being in love does that, right?).

MR. AND MRS. FOWL'S DYNAMIC: The two of them together strike me as a mutually supportive and caring couple. Artemis II's youth would have been very different if his father wasn't "dead" and his mother didn't develop several crippling mental illnesses during it. In the series, they become environmentalists and humanitarians—the goody two-shoes philanthropist couple. That being said, I love to see a functional married couple in literature, especially the protagonist's parents. They both care deeply about their family, which further unites them.

THE BOYS PICKING ON BEAU: Beau Paradiso, Minerva's younger brother, is not much older than these two. Since Minerva befriended Butler while Artemis II was missing, I would imagine she might have arranged playdates between her little brother and the Fowl twins. Beau's toddler personality was could be summarized as a gullible, annoying little snot…in other words, a normal toddler (lol).

Some differences in their upbringing would include things like the influences in their lives. Minerva primarily seemed to be raising Beau, enforcing dietary controls like not having sugar. Their father, a plastic surgeon, seemed to mainly just give them anything they wanted. Minerva herself was a spoiled little snot until her life-threatening misadventure taught her some humility.

Meanwhile, Myles and Beckett had more than just a sibling and a spineless father to rear them. They've been under the care and guidance of their activist parents, the exemplary Butler siblings, and Artemis II. To me, they seemed to have a strong balance between freedom and correction. I would compare how Artemis turned out to how they might have turned out, but that would be somewhat unfair given their upbringings were completely different in many ways. Rather than being taught to value gold as power and to do whatever it took to gain wealth, they grew up in an environment where everyone learned to put family first and to use their gifts for the sake of others—even Artemis got in on environmentalism by the end of the series.

All in all, I think interacting with the Fowls and the Butlers would have been good for Beau…but he'd still be Beau, and the mischievous Fowl twins probably enjoyed messing with their playmate while growing up. Once corrected by Artemis and possibly Juliet, they would have learned not to take things too far…for the most part (remembering when Beckett set a trap for Myles as toddlers, and given how they mess with Artemis, being a target appears part and parcel of their affection towards peers).

That being said, Beau still obeyed those he saw as authorities (how many kids actually question a candy bar based on their sister's rules about sugar?). As a result, I think they all might have influenced each other for the better, just a bit.

I HAVE AN IDEA FOR ANOTHER STORY FOCUSED ON BEAU AND NARNIA.

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, ARTEMIS FOWL, OR EVEN NARNIA. SHOULD I START A GOFUNDME TO AMEND THIS?