We're heading back to the Enchanted Forest now, people, for some flashbacks that are entirely made up by me because there are some things that I really, really need you to know about our newbies. Enjoy!
One Month Prior
Dark Palace, Enchanted Forest
"Hey guys."
The others in the library looked up. Miranda was standing on top of one of the tall ladders reaching the top shelves. At the moment she was holding a small, leather-bound book in her right hand, seemingly nothing of importance. Still, the way she looked when she held it, studying its yellowed pages, alerted them all of the fact that it was indeed important.
"What is it?" Catriona asked. Miranda closed the book and slowly descended, a frown still etched upon her forehead.
"It's like one of those church rolls, where the priest writes the names of people who have been baptized and who their parents are", she answered once she reached the floor.
"So?" Rowan asked. "What's it got to do with us?"
Miranda placed the book on the table, opening it up to reveal the scribbled lines covering page after page.
"Look at the notes in the margin."
Toby bent forward. Unlike the church rolls Miranda had mentioned this book only featured limited information about people; no names, only a gender was written, along with the season of birth or possibly when the person had met whoever had written the book. In the margins, however, were small, neatly drawn symbols, portraying naturalistic objects like leaves or fruits, suns or snowflakes, or even animals.
"That's... odd", he remarked, "but I still fail to see why it has anything to do with us."
"There are fifteen symbols", Miranda said. "I counted them, four times. Fifteen symbols written next to the notes of fifteen people; four boys and eleven girls."
"But... our group, the group that's here, that's four guys and eleven girls", Jade said, frowning, "or it was when Wolf was still around."
"Are there more notes in the book?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, thousands", Miranda answered and pushed the book towards the older girl. She quickly flipped through it, studying some pages more intently than others, while her frown deepened.
"This is... very strange", she eventually admitted and pushed the book back across the table. "It's also familiar."
"I thought the same", Miranda admitted. "It's like I should know what those symbols mean but I've forgotten it."
"We could ask Regina for help", Arianne suggested. The others shot doubtful stares in her direction. During the year they had spent in the Enchanted Forest no one had been able to get too close to the former Evil Queen except for three people; Snow White, whom the Queen only tolerated in certain situations, Roland, Robin Hood's son whom Regina had trouble spending time with because she despised the outlaw, and Arianne, who simply did not take no for an answer when the dark-haired woman tried to shut her out. Toby doubted that what the unlikely pair had could be defined as a friendship, but they definitely seemed to trust each other. However, the Queen had shown no interest whatsoever in helping them with their search for Ollivander. She was far too occupied with her fight against the Wicked Witch.
"I can try to talk to her, at least", Arianne pointed out. "She knows the magic symbols used in this world; maybe these are such symbols."
Everyone turned to gaze at Miranda, who had her hand on the small book. The British girl pursed her lips for a few moments before sighing.
"Well, it's worth a try, at least", she said. "I'm up for it if you all are as well."
A coherent mumble of voices was heard and Arianne smiled widely before jumping out of her chair.
"I'll go talk to her at once."
To everyone's surprise the former Evil Queen soon arrived in the library, walking slightly ahead of Arianne, her gaze dark and piercing, her clothes dark and intricate, and her long dark hair swept up in some complicated hairdo. Exactly like she used to look like. The only exception to the intimidating woman's appearance was the small spark of worry visible in her dark brown eyes.
"Well, where is it?" she demanded. Miranda immediately pushed the book across the table towards the woman, who flicked her hand at the object and caused it to soar up into the air, enabling her to read it without sitting down. Apparently the wooden benches in the library were not sufficient for a Queen of her standards.
"Do you recognize them?" Arianne asked. "The symbols in the margins?"
"No", the Queen said and flicked her hand at the book again, sending it back to the table, "they are not symbols of magic. At least not magic as we know it."
"What about fairy magic?" Tessa blurted out.
"I am highly acquainted with fairy magic, too, thank you very much", the Queen said, her voice sharp. Tessa immediately shrunk back and blushed furiously.
"But... that doesn't make sense", Rachel pointed out. "What kind of magic would it be then?"
"A kind that not even I am familiar with", the Queen responded.
"Ollivander's", Toby said, realizing what she meant. "He created a new type of magic for his wands; it's the reason why he was banished."
"But why this record?" Indira asked. "Why are all of these... unnamed people written in a book and why do some of them have those symbols?"
"I suggest you seek out the man in question to find out", the Queen responded.
"That's what we've been trying to do for the past eleven months", Toby said and looked up at her, daring to meet her gaze. "There's nothing to point us in any direction of where he might be found."
To his surprise the Queen's red lips suddenly curved up in a small smile. She flicked her hand again and the book opened to the first page. It held the faded image of a crest, not too unlike the one they all identified as the Hogwarts Crest. Except this crest had no letter in the centre of it or four animals surrounding it; instead it was a crest with a simple Saint George Cross adorning it.
"That is the crest of the North", the Queen explained. "The kingdom itself has long ceased to exist, but the crest is still used by the few people living in the area, especially if they have a connection to the old castle located there."
"How long would it take for us to get there?" Ella asked. The Queen closed the book.
"On horseback? Three or four days, if the Witch lets you by."
Gazes were exchanged among the fourteen others in the room, expressing silent questions and giving equally silent answers. Eventually Toby sighed and rose, grabbing the book as he went.
"It's the best clue we have so far", he said, "and we need to figure out why we all ended up here, what we're supposed to do. If Ollivander is really hiding out in the North we need to find him and talk to him."
"When do we leave?" Clarissa asked.
"As soon as possible", Rachel said and rose as well. "Chris, Fili, Miranda, Ella, Maryse and me will prepare the horses. Everyone else has to gather provisions, warm clothes, weapons; anything that we could need for the journey but it must not weigh us down. We need to keep up the speed."
"You should definitely stop spending time with Charming; you're starting to sound like him", the Queen scoffed. Rachel glared at her.
"Who I spend time with is none of your business, Your Majesty, just like it's not my business who you chose to keep you company."
It surprised them all how easy the journey to the North was. There were no monkeys attacking them, no green-skinned Witch flying down on her broom to stop them; the only obstacle they had to face was a blizzard that passed them while they neared the mountains, which kept them stationary for a couple of hours and then made the road harder to travel than it otherwise would have been. There was nothing odd about that as they had been warned about such weather phenomena in these areas before setting out and with the use of their wands the snow did not become too much of a hindrance in the end.
Just like the Queen had said the former kingdom of the North was sparsely inhabited, but there were traces of old abandoned villages scattered along the way; old wooden houses ready to fall apart and moss creeping up stone walls. The road they used for travel was, however, surprisingly well maintained, which made them all suspect that maybe people did live here but kept themselves hidden from visitors.
"Look!" Clarissa called as the sun started to set on the evening of the fourth day. The blonde girl had been in the lead and was now pointing at a cliff to the west, not far from the road. It was split in half as if a giant had run his blade through the whole thing, top to bottom.
"Giant's Axe", Indira said. "It was on the old map of the North that Charming showed us."
"What was on the other side?" Jade asked. The Indian girl shook her head.
"Nothing, according to the map. Just an old quarry and ruins of an old village."
"Ruins?" Toby said with a frown and pulled his horse to a halt. "Are you sure?"
"Yes", Indira responded. At that Toby turned his horse and rode in the direction of the Giant's Axe. As he closed in on it he noticed that the passageway was not straight, as it first looked like it would be, but winded and turned on its route through the mountain. It was only wide enough for one horse to pass at a time.
"Toby", Rachel called and came up next to him, "it's too dangerous to pass through there. We don't know if it gets narrower as we go and if it does we'll be trapped."
"Don't you feel it?" Toby asked, causing the older girl to frown.
"Feel what?"
Toby did not respond; instead he urged his horse forward, walking into the passageway. He heard Rachel call after him before the echoing sound of hoofs increased, indicating that she was following. As the sound increased even more, to the point of deafening, he also figured that the others had decided to take the risk. A brief flicker of doubt passed through his mind; if Rachel was right and the passageway got narrower as they went then they might have to deal with fourteen panicking horses. A good recipe for certain death.
The route through the Giant's Axe was longer than anyone had expected and as darkness fell they all opted to light their wands. The horses would probably not have any trouble finding their way through the darkness, but it certainly made them feel safer to be able to see where they were going.
When they were finally able to see the other end of the passageway Toby let out a sigh of relief; the route had not been too narrow for them to pass through after all. Upon exiting the Giant's Axe he found himself on a stone landing overlooking a lake, not quite what he had expected to find considering Indira's description of what had been on the map. His eyes widened further as he spotted the large building located on the opposite side of the water.
"That's... not possible", Filipi said and he looked to the side, finding that the others had lined up next to him. They were all staring at what lay ahead. He turned forward again and breathed out a single word, voicing what it was that they all felt was an impossibility.
"Hogwarts."
Dun-dun-dun!