Disclaimer: I shouldn't be disclaiming anything if I own everything, even the characters and some facts based from the original series. Sigh, honestly, this is becoming tiring already. But of course, it's protocol, so fine, fine. I AM NOT J.K. ROWLING OR C.S. LEWIS; therefore, the awesome Harry Potter series and the incredible Chronicles of Narnia are not mine. I only own the plot of this ridiculously obvious fanfiction :)

A/N: So yay, chapter sixteen! I do apologize for not answering your reviews. I was away for the whole weekend and I just got home today :D Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter. Do review at the end and enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen: Accidental Magic?

The next day, Princess Thalia's payback was announced.

It was during breakfast and because of Peter's order, Hermione was asked to eat with the royalties that day. The brunette had refused, reasoning out that Thalia was going to dine with them and because of what had happened the night before, she was positively sure that she'd rather be with Babbity and with the other Talking Animals than with the wrathful princess.

"Treat this as a little punishment for punching Princess Thalia," was what Peter said. Hence, she had no choice but to follow.

She was sitting beside Queen Susan today, with Lucy sitting on Hermione's usual seat across from her. Princess Thalia was in between Edmund and Lucy and right now, metaphorical daggers were thrown her way. Hermione was sure that if looks could kill, she'd be bleeding to death right now.

Thalia's nose bridge had an angry bruise, colored with a sickening combination of purple and green. It wasn't broken and secretly, Hermione got disappointed by this. When she had punched Malfoy during their third year in Hogwarts, his nose had gone crooked and it took a great amount of Madam Pomfrey's effort to return it back to its immaculate position.

The doors of the Great Hall had then burst open and in came the trays of food. Hermione's nose instantly wrinkled in disgust and was surprised that the others, save for the Calormene princess, was sporting the same look.

Yesterday, she had tasted a few dishes and Merlin, how she instantly gagged. She couldn't put a finger on how they actually tasted but all Hermione knew was that it was the worst meal she had ever tasted. According to Azelma, it was the exotic dishes served only in Calormene and so, only the princess was able to enjoy them.

"Let us eat," Peter announced, and the clanging of utensils was instantly heard around the table.

Hermione gingerly placed a few of the dishes on top of her plate and just hoped that she would survive this meal again.

"So, I was thinking," Princess Thalia said. The brunette perked on her seat, feeling that the glare that Thalia was throwing her way intensified. "Due to some unacceptable things that had happened last night," she continued. Hermione scowled on her plate and refused to lift her eyes. "I am demanding Edmund to spend the rest of my stay with me."

The said king protested from beside her. Hermione, scandalized, lifted her eyes and glared petulantly at the princess.

"Else," Thalia continued amidst Edmund's protests, "I will write a letter to my father and force him to wage a war between Calormen and Narnia."

That had quietened Edmund. Hermione knew that Thalia's condition had hit a sore spot at the just king. Edmund had always this undying love for Narnia and she knew that he'd do everything to keep it safe from harm. Suspecting the 'mysterious' her was one proof.

And so, it did not surprise her when he heaved a huge sigh and looked pointedly at the High King, the resigned look already written all over his face.

Lucy, Susan, and Caspian were all looking at Edmund with sympathy in their eyes. It made Hermione wonder more what disastrous things Thalia had done to Edmund and the others during her previous stay in Cair Paravel.

"It cannot be helped," Peter finally said, secretly looking at his brother apologetically. "I therefore command King Edmund to spend the rest of your stay here in Narnia with you, Princess Thalia."

The princess had the audacity to smirk triumphantly at her. Hermione, on the other hand, looked back at her plate and frowned, not understanding why this simple request of Thalia's had awakened some monstrous feeling inside the pit of her stomach.

"Thank you very much."

Hermione's eyes widened as she stared in surprise at King Edmund now striding beside her.

She had just gone from the forest after picking some ingredients for the tonight's dinner when the said king had suddenly slithered beside her, unannounced.

They were still a few feet away from the backdoor of Cair Paravel and Hermione was thankful that Thalia was nowhere to be found. She knew that if she were to catch her with Edmund, Thalia would go ballistic and it might be the cause of another Great War in Narnia.

Thinking about this made her shiver. 'No, not another war, please,' she pleaded to the cosmic powers above. Involuntarily, she stepped a few meters away from King Edmund, leaving an acceptable space between them.

Her actions had made him confused and secretly, Hermione smiled. "You mustn't be seen with me, your highness," she said, putting great emphasis on her address to him. "I am sure there had been a law passed by High King Peter himself about who your companion must be for the next few days."

Edmund snarled and stepped closer to her, closing the gap she had graciously left in between them. "This is your fault," he exclaimed in exasperation. "Thank you very much."

Hermione looked at him, highly amused. "I thought I was incredible yesterday," she asked. He glared darkly at her statement, making her lightly laugh. "All right, all right, I apologize. I didn't expect her to demand such a childish thing as, let's say, punishment for a king to fraternize with filth."

"You do something about this," he demanded, grabbing her arm to stop her walking.

She sighed and looked straight at him. "Then, what am I supposed to do?" she asked. "Punch her again?"

In spite of himself, her question had triggered a small smile on his face. "Sounds very appealing, Miss Hermione," he said. Involuntarily, his hand on her arm travelled on her hand. Hermione's cheeks grew hot in embarrassment and tried to pull it away, but the king held onto it tighter.

Edmund lifted her hand and levelled it with his eyes, examining it with rapt attention. "Who knew that with such a small hand, a great force can be exerted?" he mused aloud, shaking his head. His eyes travelled back on her face and noticed her red cheeks. His eyes shifted back on the hand that he was holding and what he was doing finally sank in. He immediately let go of her hand and nervously cleared his throat, his cheeks also being sprinkled with a light shade of pink.

Hermione tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I give you my sincerest apologies," she earnestly said, unconsciously taking a few steps back away from him to regain her personal space. "I actually thought that after the punch that I had given her last night, she would punish me instead. I had no idea that she'd punish you."

The king looked away from her and licked his lips. "You see," he said, his voice strangely soft. "Thalia thinks there's… err… something going on between us."

The brunette's eyes widened. "Oh?" she said, a little confused. "Oh," she said, this time completely understanding his statement. A nervous laugh escaped from her lips and she shook her head. "That's preposterous! What made her think about such a ridiculous thing?"

He shrugged and started to walk, with Hermione catching up with him. "Thalia likes to assume a lot of things," he then said. "For instance, she likes to think that I am hers."

"Technically, for the rest of her stay, you are," she said.

He sent a glare towards her direction and she innocently smiled.

Hurriedly then, Hermione took a few steps ahead of the king and turned around. "I think it is best if nobody sees us going back inside together," she said. "I have this inkling Princess Thalia had placed a lot of spies all over the castle just to make sure that her precious King Edmund does not meet with others, namely me."

To further prove her point, Edmund could see a black-cloaked figure from the distance which he soon recognized as one of Thalia's servants.

He looked back at Hermione and wordlessly nodded.

Smiling, she curtsied and waved her hand in farewell, before turning back around and running a few steps away from him. She had halted when she was almost inside the castle and turned around, the smile she was sporting now incredibly stretched across her face. "GOOD LUCK!" she exclaimed, waved her hand once again, and finally walked inside the castle.

It had brought a smile on Edmund's face and it had stayed glued on his face until he found himself back inside Cair Paravel, readying himself for the next few days.

It was day three of Thalia's stay in Cair Paravel and Edmund was slowly and silently growing insane.

Like what she had threatened the day after Hermione had punched her, she had stayed latched onto his arm the following days and refused to leave his side. The only times he could bask under the much-anticipated solitude was during his bathroom breaks and sleeping times. Besides those, Thalia was a constant presence.

His siblings and Caspian were giving him sympathetic smiles and apologetic pats behind the princess' backs. Their gestures only made him sore and frustrated. His frustration was mostly directed towards Peter. He always silently pleaded for him to lift up the order he had bestowed upon him or at least modify Thalia's request to alleviate Edmund from his agony but Peter seemed to turn a blind eye from this. They all knew that even though Thalia was a petty lady, she was a woman of her words. They knew that Edmund's disagreement of her condition would actually cause another war for Narnia.

Thus, three days had passed and his agony heightened. He was once again in the gazebo with the Calormene princess. Thalia had been chattering on and on about her woes in Calormen and Edmund had long ago tuned her out. There were her constant touchiness and the king always brushed her off. Thalia was persistent, though, for she would hold his hand, grab his arm, and move closer to him whenever he pulled away.

"Are you listening to me, Edmund?" she asked, prettily staring up at him.

Edmund looked down at her and sighed. "Yes, Thalia. Yes, I am," he said, lying through his teeth. Thankfully, Thalia bought his lie and continued to tell stories about her life in Calormen.

As he looked at the princess beside her, it was undeniable that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. Her beauty could be viewed as an exotic one, a one-of-a-kind, and it was, without a doubt, to die for. Edmund had been dazzled by her beauty the first they had met and he was very pleasant to her that time. He had soon regretted it when Princess Thalia immediately assumed that he liked her.

The rest, as what was happening today, was history.

The doors of the Great Hall opened and Edmund sighed, already predicting yet another apologetic glance directed towards him by one of his siblings.

Lazily, he looked at the person who walked outside and instantly perked up, spying Lucy's lady-in-waiting together with Babbity the Rabbit.

They had not spotted them yet and it somehow made Edmund disappointed. He had not seen her for days and somehow, he wished that her eyes would at least stray at him.

For the past three days, Hermione had chosen to dine with Babbity and the rest of the Talking Animals in the kitchen. After Peter's order, it was a silent agreement for the High King and the lady-in-waiting for the latter to lie low for the next few days until Thalia left Cair Paravel.

Their coincidental meetings in the gazebo had also stopped already and there was a part in Edmund that missed it. He did not want to admit it out loud but the mysterious lady's constant presence in the castle had started to get under his skin already.

In a good, confusing way, of course.

Now that he had not met her for days, he started to realize how he appreciated the times when he would just engage her in a conversation, sometimes small banters.

It had struck him, hard, how much he, without any doubt, missed her.

His eyes widened at the realization and he gasped aloud, doubling over in sheer astonishment. 'Did I just think of that?' he asked himself frantically, his whole being a wild frenzy inside. He lifted his eyes once again, landing themselves casually over her form and realized that what he had thought was actually true.

"Edmund?" Thalia asked, cutting him off his reverie. He warily looked at her, noticing the concern on her face. "Are you all right?"

Before he could answer her, lovely chuckles from afar had reached their eyes. Both Thalia and Edmund simultaneously looked at the direction of the lady-in-waiting and Babbity, this time, the former was laughing heartily over what the latter had told her.

Thalia's reaction to Hermione's presence was instant. Her eyes had narrowed into thin slits, her nostrils flared, and her mouth turned into a dark scowl. "Ignore it," she ordered, forcing Edmund to look her way.

The king once again sighed in exasperation and looked back at the Calormene princess. "Her," he said through gritted teeth.

"Pardon me?"

"That it that you are addressing is actually a she, Thalia," he added, his exasperation heightening.

Thalia looked deeply scandalized. "I am sorry, Edmund," she said, still in disbelief, "but when did servants became living creatures?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he roared, standing up at his fullest height. Thalia flinched in surprise and fear of his sudden outburst and apparently, it had also attracted the attention of both Hermione and Babbity.

His eyes landed on her curious ones and his anger increased. "How can that person be filth, Princess Thalia?" he asked her, this time calmer. "Tell me. How can she be filth?"

Thalia slightly cowered but her stubbornness became dominant. "I was taught that beings like her should never be treated as living," she shot back, prompting Edmund to sigh.

Resigned, he sat back down on his chair and shook his head, pitying the princess beside him. He wondered what her parents had taught her as she grew up, seeing her twisted behaviour and morals. "I'm sorry," he said, his sincerity evident at the tone of his voice. "It was not my intention to have an outburst directed towards you, your highness."

Her eyes softened and she softly smiled up at him. "It's all right," Thalia said, scooting closer to him. "It was not your fault."

Edmund shot a wary look at the decreasing space between them. When he lifted his eyes back at Thalia's face, he was astonished at how close her face was. He could already count the number of her eyelashes, the small mole on her left temple…

His thoughts grew into a blank when she pressed her lips against his.

"What a lovely morning!" Hermione announced as she and Babbity walked outside of Cair Paravel, meaning to go out in the garden for a walk.

Babbity stretched out her arms above her head and moaned when her bones cricked. "Sweet Aslan, we've worked real hard now, haven't we, sweetheart?" the Talking Animal said, looking up at the happy brunette.

Hermione absentmindedly nodded and swung the basket perched on her left arm. She had this sudden urge of picking up flowers which she would decorate in some areas of Cair Paravel. Merlin knows how the place was starting to get a little dreary, especially when Princess Thalia decided to grace herself into their presence.

Speaking of the Calormene princess, Hermione was thankful she had no encounter with her for the past three days. She had made it a point to spend more time with Babbity and the Talking Animals rather than the Narnian monarchs. She was afraid that if she had done another wrong move, it would be the final trigger for an impending war between Narnia and Calormen.

Since Thalia's presence had started to become scarce, Hermione was not able to see King Edmund, too. He had abided by High King Peter's order and reverently spent his whole day with Thalia. She had not seen him with any of the other royalties and deep inside, Hermione grew guilty. It was her fault why he was suffering, anyway.

An amused smile appeared on her face as she remembered what Edmund had told her before. 'Princess Thalia thinks something's going on between us, eh?' she mused inside, a little disbelieving. True, their coincidental meetings in the gazebo had started to be frequent, but Hermione doubted that something was going on between them.

Edmund was just starting to relax around her company and Hermione was sure his suspicion of her was starting to diminish. He was starting to smile a lot around her and the wariness he seemed to always wear when he was with her had started to decrease.

Still, nothing was going on between them and it was silly for Thalia to assume it.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" Babbity asked, enclosing Hermione's right hand with her furry paw. "You're strangely quiet."

Hermione laughed. "I'm just a little preoccupied," she said, shrugging. "I'm perfectly fine, though."

The Rabbit started to rub circles on her palm. "It's a little sad how you're spending a lesser time with the Narnian monarchs for the past days," she said, frowning. "Even Queen Lucy was prohibited to meet up with you and it's all because of Princess Thalia."

Babbity's face morphed into slight disgust and the brunette laughed once again.

"Actually, they're not prohibited," Hermione corrected. "It's just that I think it is better that I spend a lesser time with the others until Princess Thalia goes away."

Babbity sighed and squeezed her hand. "It's written all over your face how you miss them, sweetheart," she softly said.

Hermione's smile faltered and she looked questioningly at Babbity. Her left hand touched her face out of curiosity. "Written all over my face?" she asked.

The Talking Animal smiled gently at the brunette. "I'm not really sure if you're merely denying it but yes, Hermione, it's written all over your face," she said. "You've grown quite attached to all of them, you know."

Her statement had reduced Babbity into silence. 'I'm quite attached to all of them, huh?' she asked herself, smiling sadly. 'How odd. I told myself the very first time I stepped foot in Narnia that I will lie low and be unnoticed by the monarchs.'

But here she was, graciously accepted the Narnian royalties to live inside the castle and be Lucy's lady-in-waiting. 'What happened to lying low?' she asked herself, slightly amused. But despite this, Hermione was actually thankful that she was able to, as what Babbity said, grown attached to them. Even Edmund, who had reluctantly allowed her to live in Cair Paravel alongside his other siblings.

It was weird, almost scary, how she couldn't imagine her future without them.

Her heart wrenched, pained of her newfound realization. 'Am I betraying Harry and Ron now?' she mournfully asked herself, thankful that Babbity was oblivious of her sudden misery. 'Am I being a traitor and betraying all those people who trusted in me?'

"You cannot go back to your world anymore."

The words of the mysterious lady echoed inside her head again and somehow, it had put her heart at ease. It was starting to sink in, the fact that she was dead in her world and if she were to go back, she'd still be unable to help the Light Side.

"I heard what you did about you know… Princess Thalia's nose," Babbity's amused voice said, cutting her off her musings. "It was a little sad I was not able to see it." A large grin appeared on the Rabbit's face. "I could have made you your favourite dessert."

In spite of herself, Hermione released soft chuckles.

"It's a little disappointing you were not able to break her nose," the Talking Animal said, sighing in disappointment. "It would have been more entertaining."

Her chuckles turned into hearty laughter, shaking her head. "Oh, Babbity," she said. "You should have been there when I punched her on the face. Her expression was priceless!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Their conversation was suddenly halted due to the outburst. Hermione looked questioningly at Babbity, silently asking why the Rabbit had blurted out those words. To her confusion, Babbity herself was surprised and shook her head.

"It wasn't me," the cook said.

She looked all over the garden and finally spotted Edmund and Thalia in the gazebo. An enraged Edmund was standing at his fullest height while a startled, cowering Thalia looked up at him with wide eyes. Hermione placed two and two together and realized it was Edmund who had released that outburst a while ago.

His eyes instantly connected hers and she froze on the spot. His eyes were blazing and Hermione wondered what Thalia had said to make him furious.

He then looked back at Thalia and they started to talk. Edmund soon plopped back down on his seat and there was a look of resignation on his face.

Hermione questioningly looked at Babbity, who shrugged her shoulders in return. To her surprise, Babbity's jaw dropped.

"What is it?" she asked, slowly looking back at the gazebo. Her expression then mimicked Babbity's as she stared at Edmund and Thalia, dumbstruck beyond comprehension. Their lips were glued together and that monstrous feeling at the pit of her stomach had awakened once again.

Hermione did not know what had possessed her, but she was positive that she was seeing red.

"Sweetheart?" Babbity asked, looking at the brunette with a mixture of concern and confusion. "Are you all right?"

"Incendio," was the first word that had come out of her mouth. It was instincts, perhaps, especially because she tended to exclaim spells back in Hogwarts when she was furious.

A loud scream from the gazebo resounded in the whole garden and Hermione's fury dissipated. Instead, utter shock replaced it as she stared, open-mouthed as Thalia tried to desperately put out the fire that had started on her dress.

"What in Aslan's name?" she heard Edmund exclaim as he, too stood up and helped Thalia.

Babbity looked up at Hermione in shock and confusion. "Did you just see that?" she asked, her voice breathless with awe.

Hermione, without a word, turned around and ran back to the castle, the book Time and Relative in Space already in mind.

The brunette banged her head against her desk in frustration. Nothing in the book explained about what had happened with Thalia's dress a few hours ago.

Hermione had this feeling that what she did was an accidental magic. Scratch that, she knew. The fact that she had furiously whispered Incendio and instantly, Thalia's dress was caught by fire… it was undoubtedly Hermione's own fault.

"But how?" she asked herself, confused. Her useless wand once again was lying in front of her. She had tried using it a few times already, but still, the results were the same. Also, she also forgot to bring her wand a while ago and so, the best explanation that Hermione could come up with was that she had used accidental magic.

That unexpected incident had ignited the hope that had been dormant in Hermione's system ever since she discovered that she could not go back to Hogwarts anymore. She was able to conjure magic, albeit accidental due to her hyperactive emotions, but still she was able to conjure magic.

The smile that had stretched on her face reached her ears and it had been a while ever since she had smiled that wide. She looked at her reflection on the mirror in front of her and oddly, she felt like crying tears of joy.

Her joy slightly dampened, though, when she remembered the cause of her sudden burst of emotion. An image of Edmund and Thalia once again flashed inside her mind and involuntarily, she glared. Her hands had turned into tight fists and her smile magnetized into a small scowl.

She once again looked at her reflection on the mirror and froze. Funny how her emotions seemed to shift from one mood to another. It had started to get frequent now and Hermione warily noted it had started to become drastic after the Calormene princess' visit.

A knock from her door had cut her off from her reverie. Slowly, Hermione rose from her seat and approached the door. When she opened it, her frown deepened.

King Edmund looked at her, confused and amused at the same time because of the blatant hostility on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, mentally flinching at the bitterness. "Aren't you supposed to be with Princess Thalia?"

At the corner of her eyes, she could see how his eyebrows rose above his forehead, almost hidden behind his fringes. "I am aware of Peter's command, Miss Hermione," Edmund said, carefully regarding her. "And, if you must know, he ordered me to get you for the afternoon tea today."

Hermione sighed and pursed her lips. "I think you are also aware of Princess Thalia's current… hostility towards me, your majesty," she pointed out, but Edmund merely laughed.

"Please," he insisted, "it had been days. Three days to be exact and I am sure Peter's starting to go a little barmy because he had not seen the girl he fancies for days now."

The brunette frowned. "Gives me another reason to avoid you lot," she grumbled under her breath.

"So you do admit you are avoiding us," he said, absentmindedly grabbing her arm and pulling her outside. He immediately released her arm and closed the door, urging Hermione to start walking. Reluctantly, Hermione relented and soon, they were walking towards the veranda. "Nobody said that you can stop dining with us, Miss Hermione. Nobody said that you should start avoiding us and interact with the Talking Animals and Telmarines in Narnia."

She shook her head and pointedly looked at him. "I think you know why I'm doing this," she said.

"It doesn't matter," he interjected.

Hermione was reduced to silence as she suspiciously glared at him then looked straight ahead, a scowl once again fighting its way on her lips as she remembered the kiss that he and Thalia shared. What frustrated her more was the fact that she couldn't quite understand why she was being all huffy and puffy over something she did not care at all.

"Thalia's dress had caught fire a while ago," he started, obviously discomfited by the awkward silence that settled upon them.

"I know. I was there," she said, refusing to meet his eyes. 'And I was the one who caused it.'

At the corner of her eyes, she was able to see how he became troubled.

"It's strange, though," he mused aloud. "Why would that happen when there is no source of any fire around her?"

"It must be the pieces of jewellery around her," she said with sarcasm. "I dunno. Maybe the sun's glare had reflected against them; therefore, conjuring the fire that rightfu - strangely burnt her dress."

He looked at her with amusement, obviously catching the slight slip she had made. "Is something the matter, Miss Hermione?" he asked. "You seem a little… moody."

"Really now?" she snarled. "You tell me."

Edmund frowned at her and slightly glared, starting to be a little bothered by Hermione's strange behaviour.

They were saved from the awkwardness when they finally arrived in the veranda. Without a glance back, Hermione stomped towards the vacant seat beside Lucy and sat down on it. The valiant queen immediately fussed over her and the brunette was glad for the distraction. She had witnessed how Edmund casually strolled towards the vacant chair beside Thalia and it somehow made Hermione wish that she should have chosen that seat inside.

The Talking Animals arrived and then brought tea to all of the occupants. As soon as Hermione sipped her own cup, she calmed down. Not even Thalia's glares had dampened her mood.

"You still do not know who did that to my dress?" Thalia asked, her eyes then landing on Peter and the others.

High King Peter slowly shook his head, apologetic. "I'm sorry, your highness," he said. "We cannot really think any good explanation as to why your dress suddenly caught fire."

"Well, it was there during that time," the Calormene princess said, pointing towards Hermione's position without looking at her. "Together with that furry filth."

Hermione was about to give a good comeback, but to the surprise of all the occupants in the veranda, Edmund had beaten her.

"Maybe it was because of the pieces of jewellery you wore," the king said with dripping sarcasm. "Perhaps, the sun's glare reflected against it and had conjured the fire that had burnt your dress."

Hermione's jaw dropped behind her cup of tea, looking at King Edmund with bewilderment. Lucy covered a laugh with cough. Susan had to hide her growing smile against her lacy handkerchief and Caspian had this odd look on his face, seeing as if he was trying his best not to show any emotion. Peter's reaction was different, though, as he sent a glare towards his brother.

Thalia, thankfully, did not find anything offensive with Edmund's explanation. In fact, she seemed as if she believed him. "I think that explains it," she said, shrugging innocently. "It doesn't really matter, though, since I can ask my Father to buy me another dress akin to the ruined one."

'Rich people and their money,' Hermione thought, rolling her eyes. Her eyes landed on the just king and the latter merely raised an eyebrow. She shook her head looked back at her tea, trying her hardest not to smile. It was strange how he was smoothly insulting Thalia as if the kiss that they had shared a while ago was just… nothing.

Hermione almost jumped off her seat when a letter suddenly landed on her lap. She looked up at the sky and saw a flying griffin and confused, she clutched the letter and stared at it.

"It's for you, High King Peter," she said, passing the letter to him.

Peter's eyes widened in recognition upon seeing the seal. Thalia also saw the letter and she froze on her seat, the cup slipping effortlessly off her fingers and crashing down on the floor, breaking into a pieces.

"Oh my, are you all right?" Susan asked, staring at Thalia with concern. Both Peter and Edmund regarded Thalia with suspicion and without any second thoughts, Peter opened the letter and read its contents.

His eyes skimmed through the letter and as he was nearing the end, his face started to turn graver. As soon as he was done reading, he lifted his eyes and stared straight into the princess' eyes. Thalia, on the other hand, tried to stay calm on her seat but miserably failed. Beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead and she turned into a sickening shade of white.

"Emperor Humphery commands you to go back home, Princess Thalia," Peter said.

Thalia petulantly crossed her arms and looked away. "No, I refuse," she said with conviction.

Edmund immediately snatched the parchment form Peter's hands and furiously read its contents. "You lied," he growled as soon as he was done reading. His eyes were narrowed into thin slits and a scowl was now visibly seen on his face. "Your father never said anything about waging a war against the Narnians if you do not spend time here in Cair Paravel."

Surprisingly (or Hermione thought it was unsurprising), Thalia had burst into tears. "Fine, you caught me," she cried, glaring angrily at her father's letter. "Father wants me to marry some duke of another place but I told him I love you so he allowed me to go to Cair Paravel and convinced you to marry me instead for a week."

The just king blanched. "M-marry you?" he stammered, his face already morphing into sheer terror. "I don't think - "

"Edmund Pevensie," Peter warned, which prompted his brother to glare at him.

"No, this must stop," Edmund said with exasperation. "She must understand." He then looked back at Thalia's hopeful gaze and sighed. "Listen, Princess Thalia, you're beautiful and magnificent and wonderful, but I don't like you. I am sure your betrothed likes you more than I do and you'll be happy with him."

A pained look crossed Thalia's face. "But I thought - "

"You thought wrong," he said, cutting her off. "I don't like you, all right? I never did and I never will. So I think it's best if you go back home."

Thalia stood up with an angry huff and ran back to her room, her sobs echoing in the hallway.

Hermione stared at Thalia's retreating back and then to Edmund with sheer incredulity on her face. If Edmund did not like Thalia, then how come they had kissed a while ago?

Feeling her cheeks reddening with another emotion brewing at the pit of her stomach, a feeling that opposed the monstrous emotion she had felt a while ago, the brunette hastily lifted her teacup and sipped its contents, trying to hide her red cheeks.

Once Thalia was out of earshot, Edmund released a humungous sigh of relief. "Good riddance," he murmured.

Peter released a sharp "Ed!" and his brother scowled.

"What?" he asked. "You expect me to marry her? Then you must be barmy, Peter, because you know I'll be miserable for the rest of my life."

"I believe what he was trying to say was for you to at least act a little sympathetic to Princess Thalia," Caspian piped in, although the relief he felt was written all over his face.

"At least she is gone," Lucy said, a large smile on her face. "Then, we can eat real food again."

Peter sighed and shook his head, massaging the bridge of his nose. He did not say anything anymore.

Hermione looked around the veranda and the relief she had felt for Thalia's abrupt departure was evident.

There was a part of her, a huge part, which was relieved that King Edmund did not like Princess Thalia at all.

A/N: So, end of chapter sixteen! Again, good? Bad? Eh? Meh?

Haha, Thalia's little revenge... according to Edmund, she likes to assume things so there :D You had your fair share of guesses, I think; some where put in your reviews, others kept in your mind and all. I'm not really sure if somebody actually foresaw Thalia's revenge.

Oh, and of course, Thalia's little lie. But hey, what can I say, she's a woman in love :)

JUST A BRIEF CLARIFICATION, one reviewer asked me the ages of the characters so here it is – In this story, Peter and Caspian are both twenty-two-year-olds, Susan is twenty, Hermione is nineteen, Edmund is eighteen, and Lucy and Thalia are sixteen. There :D

AND OH WOW, TWENTY-SEVEN REVIEWS for the previous chapter. I can't seriously believe it. And may people even placed this story in their favorites and alerts! I LOVE YOU ALL. I'll try my very best to please you, but then of course, I'm the writer of this story so I can do whatever the hell I want to do with it.

Also, I would like to thank all those who suggested time-travel fics. I must confess, I'm a sucker for Hermione/Marauder fics (most especially Hermione/Sirius, hehe). It's like Hermione/Tom Riddle Jr., really. I'd rather that Hermione ends up with the Teenage!Marauder than Old!Marauder. If you get what I mean. Some of you suggested some classic Dramione ("Once Upon a Thyme": UGH, BEAUTIFUL and blah blahs) and Tomione ("Have You Ever": RIDICULOUSLY INCREDIBLE) and trust me, I've read them all. I can't believe I'm actually searching for more Hermioneccentric stories. I think there are no more good Dramione fics left in this site so I'm exploring more pairings.

SO, that's all! Once again, drop a review, por favor.

With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe