Welcome back for this new chapter and thank you for the follows. I hope you'll like this one!
White Sails
Chapter 2
The sun was high in the sky when they reached the shore. The castle Harry's had seen, Cair Paravel, covered in white marble, was even more magnificent on the top of that hill than what any of them could have imagined. Narnian flags were fluttering above the castle and above every ship anchored in the delta. Edmund seemed please at the idea of being back to his kingdom, his home.
The witches and wizards were staring with amazement at the harbour in the delta, caught into a perpetual movement of sailors and workers and merchants, like a giant anthill, teeming with life. They could see the large, paved road that connected the colossal castle to the harbour going up the hill like a silver thread. A horseman was rushing down the hill as they were mooring at the docks.
Edmund was a good sailor; he needed no help to manoeuvre the ship against the dock. But his passengers were slightly clueless of how to moor a ship. Luckily, sailors recognized the royal expedition and rushed to assist them. Edmund could see the sadness on several faces when they notice the crew's cruel absence.
The harbour master – a satyr – rushed to welcome them himself.
"Your Highness, I am relieved to see you returned safely," he said, bowing in front of Edmund.
"I want to present to you my dearest apologies. I lost my crew when crossing between worlds. If it were not for my new passengers, I would have died crossing back. This is a tragedy. The crew will be honoured as they should for their sacrifice," pronounced Edmund slowly, clenching his jaws.
"It was a dangerous mission, your highness. These sailors were ready to take the risk for the sake of Narnia," he answered. "Your brother, High King Peter, is on his way to greet you personally."
Edmund nodded silently. He felt terribly guilty about the dramatic death of his crew. He knew very well he could not have saved them. But he was their king, for God's sake, he should have been able to do something!
As the witches and wizards left the salty deck of their ship for the safety of the docks, Edmund saw his brother going in their direction. He sighed. He was not looking forward to face him. Peter focused on his failures more than anything else.
Unaware of Edmund's thoughts, Harry gasped when he walked on the ground.
"By Merlin, I'm lighter!" he chirped. "Do you feel it, Hermione?"
She jumped in place several times looking amazed.
"Yes! The gravity isn't the save than at home! This is brilliant!"
Malfoy and Zabini both rolled their eyes and refused to try to jump when Luna asked them to.
"We aren't kids," taunted Draco.
"Edmund!" yelled a deep voice. All of them looked up to see a man older than any of them, blond with a short bear, wearing a very golden cloak and a not less golden crown. Draco snorted and muttered something about proper taste and fashion. But he was nonetheless incredibly charismatic.
"Peter," said Edmund when his brother arrived at his side. He welcomed him with a short embrace.
"Thank God, you are alive," said Peter.
He looked around him, met eyes with the witches and the wizards who were staring at him.
"Your crew?" he asked.
Edmund lowered his head and said, "Lost at sea. A storm hit us when we crossed."
Peter sent him a severe stare.
"I told you it was dangerous!" he said.
"It's not like we had another choice!" barked Edmund.
Harry observed the exchange between the two men closely. They were definitely brothers, but they looked so different. Not only physically, even if Edmund's bare chin and dark hair contrasted strongly with Peter's blondness. Their behaviour seemed as different as oil and water, even if Harry could not really explain how he perceived it. There was something to be noticed.
After a silent exchange with his brother, Peter turned toward the passengers.
"Welcome to Narnia. I am High King Peter the Magnificent, King Edmund's brother."
They all answered politely without stopping to stare at him.
"I will escort you up to the castle, so you can rest before being introduced to the court," he announced before walking away.
Edmund sighed again before following his brother. The witches and wizards followed behind. They were staring at every ship, every sailor – none of them human of course. Despite the attacks the kingdom was encountering, Narnia was at its Golden Age. The kingdom was visibly very rich and prosperous. And even the air was screaming prosperity and glory, in a complete contrast with the borders.
Harry caught up Edmund who was now walking beside his brother.
"I thought you were dead," explained Peter. "And you were not coming back to prove me wrong."
"I only left a couple of days ago," said Edmund.
Peter glared at him.
"No. You left two months ago. We were worried sick. I had to stop Lucy from going to look for you."
The surprise hit Edmund hard. He clenched his fist.
"Fuck!"
"Language!"
"Oh shut up, Peter. How is Weasel? Is he alright?"
"No. I'm sorry. He passed away a week after you left. The plague had weakened him too much."
Edmund felt sadness and rage filling him. He clenched his jaws to not display his distress. Harry saw his pain, and he understood as no one else could. Nothing was more terrible than losing someone. Harry's wounds were still fresh in his mind.
Peter saw Harry's face. He sighed and explained.
"Before my brother left to find help, one of our friends who was investigating the attacks got sick. The same plague that killed the other villagers. And no cure works on that disease."
Cair Paravel was even more astonishing from the inside. Corners, corridors, stairs opened into gigantic rooms, all of them in the purest of all marble, covered in exquisite tapestries and carpets. The castle was more similar to a small city surrounded by luxuriant gardens. Every member of the court was wearing clothing in the richest silk, velvet and lace.
The smells were indescribable, as if the Eastern Ocean, the spices, the summer warmth, and the gold all melted in one heavy perfume. As they walked up the white stairs toward the guest wing, Harry could hear birds singing from the nearest terrace in a surprising concerto. King Peter was still in front of them, showing them around quickly in the labyrinth of corridors and terraces. Edmund had excused himself to retire in his apartments and embrace his sisters.
They were introduced into an antechamber which opened into four bedrooms, and domestics brought them clean clothes and refreshments. Their last meal was a long time ago, and the young witches and wizards almost threw themselves onto the dishes. Desserts, fish and seafood dishes, fruits, and jams of all sorts. And some very fresh water and lemonade.
Draco and Blaise left the antechamber quickly into their room. If a room needed to be share, it was theirs. The two of them were inseparable, it was common knowledge by now.
They all needed to clean themselves and get off their rags they have worn since the battle. They were still smelling like a battlefield, covered in dirt and dry blood. And after the storm, they had stiffened with salt – and vomit for Draco. The clothes they were given were simple, tunic and trousers, with a large belt and soft leather boots. But the cloaks were colourful and sewed with silver and gold. No one should have to walk into the throne hall with rags.
After a few cleaning spells, Harry, Luna, and Hermione met on the antechamber's balcony. They could see the ocean below them crashing on the cliffs, and the merpeople waving at them. They waved back.
"By Merlin, this world is brilliant!" chuckled Hermione with a large smile.
"I dreamt of it, but I never thought it would be so beautiful," said Luna softly.
"You had heard of Narnia before?" asked Harry, astonished.
"My mum used to tell me those tales about another magic world far away, on the other side of an ocean. She always told me one day I will see it. And I believe her."
"And she seemed to have been right," added Hermione without looking away from the crashing waves.
Luna nodded happily with a giant smile.
"I am stunned that we can still use our magic here," confessed Hermione. "You fixed the main sail like it was absolutely nothing, Harry."
He nodded.
"The magic feels more natural, easier to use here," he admitted. "As if the magic was begging us to use her."
"You don't feel it into the air?" asked Luna.
Harry and Hermione shared a look.
"What?"
"The magic! It's filling every one of my breath, it's almost buzzing. This world is made of magic," she said.
They knew that Luna had this very special connexion to the magic around them. She was able to feel the slightest of all variation in the magic. And this had saved their life a great amount of time already. She had a gift, but many people tend to disregard her and her abilities.
They were almost forgetting about the war, their war. It was so close to their heart and so far away from their eyes. Pretending it neither happened was their first reflex when they arrived in Narnia, even if they knew it wouldn't last long. They will be caught up by their past one way or another.
There was a knock on the door, and a very well-groomed beaver announced them the kings and queens were ready to welcome them officially in the throne hall in front of the court.
"You only need to smile and to bow a little, my dears," he explained when Hermione asked about the etiquette.
When the majestic doors of the throne hall opened in front of them, they gasped at the sight of the colossal room, flanked by two rows of monumental columns. A deep crimson carpet lead toward the end of the hall where four stone thrones stood beneath a nave of stained glass. On these thrones, they could see Peter and Edmund, and two women on their left as they got closer under the sound of trumpets. What must be the royal guards were standing all along the way on both sides of the carpet. And behind them, a crowd of members of the royal court was examining them with curiosity.
As they reached the thrones, the trumpets stopped, and they bowed. Draco and Harry both looked very uncomfortable in the middle of this crowd when the others did not seem to mind all the glares. Edmund nodded at Harry when their eyes met. The youngest of the women waved discreetly at them with a large grin.
Peter stood up and the rumour stopped in the hall. He looked even taller on the podium.
"I would like to present to you the brave men and women who accepted to help the kingdom of Narnia in this puzzling time, and I want to personally welcome them as our guests. They are wizards and witches from another world, and as expressed by the Great Oracle, they have the ability to save us from this disaster that consumes the borders. I want to ensure that this Golden Age we are living will last for as long as Narnia does!"
The crowd cheered and shouted loudly, "Long live the queens! Long live the kings! Long lives Narnia!"
Peter raised his hand, and the silence came back. He looked at his guests in the eyes.
"I would like to officially present you to my siblings. You had the chance to meet King Edmund the Just already. Here are Queen Susan the Gentle and Queen Lucy the Valiant."
They bowed again in their direction. One of them seemed to be older than them and the other younger, but they both looked regal in their throne and crown.
Draco stood closer to Blaise. He did not really like being in the open. Years of hiding in order to survive had left him with fears and anxiety. Harry was in a similar situation. To calm himself, he tried to catch Edmund's eyes and to not drop it. Keeping his gaze on something familiar helped him. Edmund seemed to notice and hold up his gaze, making almost unnoticeable face comments to his brother's speech. Hermione noticed Harry's discomfort and Edmund's assistance. She could not help but snort with amusement. These two were meant to be friends.
Peter asked them to present themselves and each one of them told their name aloud in more or less convincing manners. At each name, the court cheered at them. When this uncomfortable moment has ended, once again, Peter announced:
"Now, I invite our guest to follow us into the Council Chamber to discuss in private. The court is dismissed!" and then he turned toward the witches and wizards, "If you would follow us."
The kings and queens stood up and left the room on the side, through a discreet little wooden door. Lucy waited for Hermione and Luna to walk with them and asked them how they were. She really seemed to be the kindest person in every world. Harry rushed discreetly to catch up with Edmund. All his siblings were making him feel uncomfortable. He was not good at meeting new people. Not anymore.
They were introduced into a room with a wooden floor, panelling, and narrow windows. A large table with a map of the kingdom stood in the centre of the room. Other maps and books were filed in bookcases along the walls, which Hermione eyed for a bit too long.
They all stood around the table. The Pevensies on one side, the witches and wizards on the other. On the map, several villages were covered in red ink. Susan followed their stares.
"It's where it had happened in the past four months," she explained. "All villages on the borders or less than two miles from it. All attacked by what was described as dark creatures who looked like shadows of knights, very powerful, difficult to fight, and deadly. After the attacks, the villagers who were not killed suffered from an unknown plague that killed them in a week. No cure worked."
"We sent several expeditions to stop the attacks, to defend the villages and to find where they come from. I took part myself in two of them," continued Edmund. "We found no clues. Whatever how strong the defences around the villages were, they still attacked every time. Many died in these expeditions."
Edmund showed them the different villages on the map.
"Did some of these attacked happened at the same time?" asked Harry. He was genuinely interested in this mystery. Mysteries were sort of his thing after all.
"We had reports of at least three attacks that seemed to have happened at the same time across the kingdom," answered Peter.
"So, attacks are from the same creatures, that are not native from Narnia, all on the border and there is no such thing as an outside the border. And different places, same time. It certainly looks like magic to me," said Hermione.
"Or like an enemy from another dimension who crossed at the border," added Harry. "We already know it's a common situation to cross dimensions to get to Narnia. Why these creatures couldn't?"
"It is what we are worried about," said dryly Peter.
"But why wouldn't they invade completely?" said suddenly Luna. "They could do it, there is not much protection." At her words, the kings winced. "They don't plunder, do they?" she asked.
"No, they do not," said Susan.
They all looked surprised at Luna as if they haven't thought of this themselves.
"Do pure evil exist?" she asked again.
"I don't know if pure evil exists," confessed Hermione, "but here, it's all about different dimensions and so different understanding of war, invasion, and evil. We can't know if they are invaders if we only stick to our standards."
Susan looked at Hermione with a large surprised and friendly smile.
"It is nice to have someone so intelligent around this table for once," she declared with a snort.
Both Peter and Edmund complained and groaned while Lucy was chuckling discreetly. Harry grinned discreetly. All of this was weird. This, being in another world with new people, trying to find out how to save a kingdom. The war seemed so far away. He thought again of this plague. It was surprising for him. He wasn't from a generation used to epidemics.
"Do we know how this plague infected the villagers?" he asked, "it could help us understand these creatures."
"Good idea, Harry," chimed Hermione while looking at Peter for an answer with avidity.
He looked annoyed for a moment.
"No. We have no certainty so far."
"At first, we thought it could be from the proximity of the dark creature, but Edmund went back from mission safe and almost healthy," explained Susan.
"You don't have much then," said Luna with a nice smile. They all looked annoyed at least, and furious for Peter. She added, "But it's good, we can help."
"But how?" asked Harry. "We are used to deal with dark magic, but we don't even know what it is."
"Or even if it's dark magic," added Hermione.
"Do you remember, Edmund," recalled Luna, "What you told Harry, about the Oracle. The answer might be in our magical nature. Our understanding of magic is the key to all of this."
Edmund and Harry looked at her with surprise, not because of the impressive idea she had, but because none of them remembered telling her about this discussion. Luna was a mystery of her own.
"Then, you need to see the damage by yourselves," announced Peter. "We will prepare another expedition to the northern border, in the western woods. I will give orders right now, and you will be able to leave in a couple of days."
"Great, a field trip, again," mumbled sarcastically Malfoy under his breath.
Both Harry and Blaise snorted. They all had their fair share of expeditions for the Order in the mud and the cold during the war.
"At least, this time the weather seems to be nice and warm, not like last time, we might even tan," remarked Blaise with a smirk.
They ended the meeting after an official invitation to diner from the Kings and Queens, and the orders to prepare for the expedition. When Edmund asked them if they all knew how to ride a horse, they all looked somewhat worried. There was a two-day trip to the border by horse. Harry could swear he heard Hermione muttered under her breath "bloody medieval fantasy world" when they left the Council Chamber.
After a pretty awkward official diner at the royal table on their first night at Cair Paravel with the court, the witches and wizards had two days to enjoy the serenity of the castle before the real beginning of their mission.
Hermione spent a whole lot of time in the castle's library, in the company of Queen Susan, who seemed to enjoy her presence. Harry tried at first to make her go out, in the gardens, or on the beach with him and Edmund, without any success. "To understand a world, you have to read it!" she told him before closing the door to his face. "You will thank me later when I save your life with my readings. Again." And she was definitely not wrong, so Harry let her alone with her books and Susan who seemed to enjoy the same kind of indoor distraction.
Harry, on the other side, was an outdoor kind of guy – mostly because he had little interest in reading, and no one could sleep all day when they were in such an amazing location. The court life did not suit him, he preferred to be outside with Edmund who trained all day long, avoiding all his non-mandatory royal duties.
He already heard him say how he was the best swordsman in Narnia a good dozen times by noon. And he offered Harry to teach him the basics of sword fighting and here they were, on the balcony, a good hundred meters above the sparkling ocean, sweating like beasts, trying to have a proper duel. Harry did not stop repeating that with his wand he would have won a long time ago. And each time, Edmund answered 'Maybe, but this is a sword and I'm winning.' And both of them were very right.
At some point, the heat of the late morning forced them into a break to get some refreshments. It was summer in Narnia, Cair Paravel was swept by the ocean wind that cooled the worst of the heatwave, but the white stones of the castle were boiling. Harry leaned against the edge of the balcony, looking below him at the ocean. He had rarely seen so much water, nor so many merpeople. Edmund joined him, eating a juicy peach.
"This castle looks like heaven," said Harry. "I had seen illustrations of fairy tales at school when I was a kid that looked exactly like this."
Edmund chuckled.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing when I arrived there the first time," he said with a grin.
"When did you said you arrived here?" asked Harry.
"Eleven years ago."
"You must have been so young!" he gasped.
"I was ten when I first stepped in Narnia and when I fought my first battle."
Harry stared at him with surprise. He didn't really know what to think of Edmund.
"And I thought I was young at my first one," he said baffled.
"When was it?"
"Well, the first real battle was when I was fifteen, but before that, I had several pretty violent duels, the first being at eleven."
Edmund nodded slightly.
"We can call it even then," he teased smirking. "Your world seemed to have been at war for a pretty long time," he added more seriously.
"Yeah… A dark mage tried and at first succeeded to take over the Wizarding World. He killed my parents when I was a toddler and tried to kill me after this almost every year. It's not exactly a positive representation of the wizarding society, but there were peaceful moments, as I was told."
"One individual can cause so much destruction and pain," Edmund sighed. "When we arrived in Narnia, an evil witch ruled the kingdom." Harry could feel a deep pain in his voice. Edmund said nothing more. He was looking away.
Harry stared at his pale face for a second, his eyes looked awfully full of guilt. Life was unfair sometimes. Or, as Hermione would say, life can't be unfair, because life doesn't have a notion of fairness and unfairness, or even of cruelty, but life can be hard and painful.
"Do you want to keep training?" asked suddenly Edmund. "To have an excuse to decline when Peter will summon us to lunch."
Harry chuckled. Edmund had this mischievous grin on his face that made his freckles more apparent. They both took their sword and squared up.
These two days in Cair Paravel felt like two seconds. They each stuck in their occupation. Hermione and Susan at the library when she did not need to attend to royal matters. Harry and Edmund training on the balcony of Edmund's apartments. It seemed that Luna spent the majority of her time in the gardens, surrounded by big colourful tropical flowers and in the company of Lucy. They seemed to be fond of each other. And Draco and Blaise spent these two days in their room doing Merlin knows what.
Every morning, the witches and wizards were on their own, as it was the time for royal justice. On their marble throne, the kings and queens were dispensing justice and welcoming their people for official audiences. One morning, Harry sneaked discreetly into the throne hall, by the little wooden door to observe them. It had not yet made up his mind about what to think of the Pevensies.
Finally, it was their last evening at Cair Paravel. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the Eastern Ocean in a golden light. After a very formal diner, Harry went back to his room, watching the shades of pink and orange melting into the sky through the balcony. He could smell the salt and the sand, the wind and the dusk. Everything had perfume in Narnia. After these two days, Harry was proud to say he could now hold a sword against Edmund for more than three seconds in a fair duel.
There was a knock on his door.
"Come in!"
Hermione pushed the door and joined him on the balcony. Each room of this castle seemed to have at least one balcony or stairs toward a terrace or a garden.
"Hey," She had a smile printed on her face. He had not seen her so happy in a very long time. Coming to Narnia seemed a good choice at this point.
"I didn't see you much these past few days," she said with a grin.
"You can speak!" He laughed. "You didn't leave the library much."
"I was talking with Susan about her siblings. Their story is amazing!"
Harry chuckled.
"You spent a lot of time with Susan, didn't you?" he remarked.
"And you with Edmund. But do I highlight this every time?" she retorted dryly.
"Yes, yes, you do, Hermione!" smirked Harry.
She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Susan is great, okay? It's not all the time that I can meet someone who is bright and clever."
"Well, first, I'm a bit offended," said lightly Harry. "And two, I just wanted to tell you that you looked happy. I'm happy for you."
"Don't say things like this, it looks like I'm going to marry her or something," groaned Hermione.
"I only meant that you were smiling, but okay," giggled Harry. "I guess this tells me what I wanted to know, thank you."
Hermione blushed and mumbled something under her breath. She kicked Harry in the ribs, and he tickled her in return. Now, the sun had completely disappeared behind the ocean. The last glimmers were fading away, and the first stars were appearing in the dark blue sky.
"So, you said you talked to Susan..." said Harry.
"Yes, I did. A lot actually. No, don't you dare, Harry Potter, to make another joke or to imply anything absurd again or I'm going to kick you You-Now-Where!' she warned him.
Harry smirked and said, "I could ask the same from you for now on."
Hermione groaned, rolled her eyes, and tried to kick him again.
"So, I was telling you that the story of these Pevensies is incredible," she said. "I already suspected it, but Susan confirmed. They are from London, in the 1940s, during the Blitz, they were sent away to the countryside, like thousands of other kids. And they discovered a wardrobe which was a pathway between Narnia and their world."
"They are from the same world than us, then. Just, in our past," said Harry with amazement.
"Maybe yes, maybe not," she answered. "There is no way to know if it's the same time stream. Susan was so happy to learn the war had ended in the future."
"She remembers better than Edmund does," remarked Harry.
"Yes, but she was older at the time. And maybe she wants to remember more."
"Well between Narnia and London during World War Two, me too I'd prefer to focus on my memories of Narnia."
Hermione nodded.
"For sure."
At dawn, the small group was getting ready in the stables of the castle. Draco was already complaining about having to ride a living animal, and Harry asked him sarcastically if he preferred to ride a dead one, which ended up in a morning quarrel – not an unusual situation for any of them. Despite appearances, Harry and Draco got along quite well – or at least more than they did before. They stopped trying to kill each other some time ago when they both established it would be a loss of time and energy.
Edmund was saddling his horse himself carefully and was explaining to Harry and Luna how to do it. Lucy joined them, in riding outfit and a large sword on her side. She gave a large smile to Luna before getting her horse ready. Edmund discreetly told Harry they preferred to saddle their horse themselves, contrary to Peter and Susan.
Two centaurs from the Royal Guard were coming with them, Dana and her brother Orion. Harry was quite surprised to notice the horse could speak as well – as were all the other witches and wizards, which make Lucy and Edmund laughed.
Peter entered the stables at that moment.
"I see you are ready to go," he said.
When he saw Lucy, he sighed.
"I thought I already told you it was not a good idea to join the expedition," he said to her. "It is dangerous."
The young woman groaned and faced him with a stern face.
"We're not going through this again, are we?" she sighed. "I am the best swordswoman in Narnia. I have beat you several times in training. You don't need to babysit me like this. I am an asset to this mission and in no more danger than Edmund."
"You are too young, Lucy!" scolded Peter. "I don't want you to get hurt! It's my job as an older brother to protect you."
"And at my age, you went dangerous missions several times already. Don't hide your misogyny behind your concern, Peter, it shows. And I'm going to be alright."
She turned away and finished to saddle her horse. Hermione and Luna chuckled discreetly. She was brilliant. Peter gave up and went toward Edmund instead.
"And you," he told him, "for God's sake, try to be careful and responsible for once, you are supposed to be a king and a knight, not a kid with a sword in the playground."
Edmund's face became red, and he clenched his fist. Harry was surprised by the harshness of his tone. Suddenly, he didn't like Peter much.
"Don't you start now to play mister High King the Magnificent!" barked Edmund.
Fortunately, a messenger arrived and interrupted the row that was building up between the two brothers. He told Peter he was expected in the Council Chamber by Rios – their councilor – and he left them after wishing them good luck.
Susan also passed by to say proper goodbye and good luck to her siblings and to their guest – and to Hermione.
On their horses, a guard in front and behind them, the expedition left Cair Paravel by the main gate, under the worrying looks of Susan and Peter, and they took the direction of the western woods.
To be continued...
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