Moments in Time

Disclaimer: Copyright J.K. Rowling & C.S. Lewis

IX: History

or

"Falling in love is just like the rain. It's unpredictable, but there are always signs before it completely falls."

"This is harder than I thought it would be," said Hermione as she tucked that one disobeying strand of hair back behind her ear again. The rest of her (now frizzy) hair had been taken out of their tight plait and placed into a messy bun atop her head. Edmund admired the candidness of it. It was very rare to see any ladies of Narnia look so undone.

"I've spent a month on this," Edmund grumbled from his corner.

His eyes were closed and his head was lazily leaning back against the seat of the sofa. Hermione curled her legs and hid it under her dress as she sat quite comfortably on the couch (which was as soft as it looked), but she couldn't help but feel the tiredness seep into her bones. She wasn't quite sure what time of night it was, but she wouldn't be surprised if the sun rose in the next couple hours. They had poured over the encryption with such fervor for hours, but now, they felt drained. Hours of rewriting and shuffling the code did not help in any form what so ever.

"What was your job…back in England I mean," Edmund asked out of the blue, his eyes still closed though his body shifted slightly in her direction.

"I was still in school," she said tiredly, resting her head against her arm, as she laid down on the couch.

"School?" Edmund opened one eye, "I thought you leave school when you turned eighteen or is that different in the future?" He wondered.

"No, that's still the case, it was just … circumstances."

Hermione kept eye contact with him as he turned more obviously towards her now. She blushed as he rested his folded arms against her stretched out thigh and then laid his head down.

"Circumstances," he echoed, sounding irritated. "I wish you would tell me exactly who you are Miss Granger. The mystery surrounding you is driving me crazy."

Edmund closed his eyes tiredly, knowing that he would not be getting much from her.

"Okay."

Edmund's eyes snapped open, the tiredness bled away like water down a drain.

"Okay?" he repeated.

"What do you want to know?"

Edmund smiled thoughtfully, "tell me about your parents," he said, at last, his longing to see his parents guiding his question.

"Anything but that," she said, her face closing off.

Edmund furrowed his eyebrows.

"Too painful or too many memories?" He asked curiously.

"Both," she whispered.

Edmund filed this information away for later.

"…What was your school like? You seem like someone who would enjoy education quite a bit," he smirked, but it faded when she grew, even more, recluse.

"Too painful, too many memories?" he repeated, cringing as his voice sounded mocking to even his own ears.

"This was a bad idea," she said, shifting her body.

Edmund removed his reclining arm away from her and watched as she collected her belongings. He suddenly stood up, realising that she was about to leave.

"Hey, wait," he said as he grabbed her by the elbow.

"Let me go!" she gritted her teeth, her fingers were twitching as though she was about to reach for a weapon – which was ridiculous, as he'd seen her in action and she was useless with a sword.

"No. Miss Granger, I had been far too lenient with you regarding your secrets and origins. This has gone on far too long, you owe me an explanation," said Edmund, his month-long frustration fused with his current exhaustion making him, even more, prickly than usual.

"I don't owe you anything!"

"I gave you citizenship in my country!"

"Should I kneel before His Great Highness?"

"You know that I can throw you in the dungeons for your insolence," he warned.

"Show me the way," she said, her face straight and her head high.

And Edmund had no doubt that her bark did have a bite.

"Why is it so important for you to lie about everything?"

"Why do you need to know everything?"

"Because I need to know if you can be trusted."

"Is my word not enough?" she asked softly.

"If I was a simple man, Hermione, yes it would be. But I am a King and I need to put my country first. I can't let you roam freely around Narnia if you are unwilling to tell me who you are. With all that's going on, it's a bloody miracle that no one has started pointing fingers at you yet seeing as everything that's happening started after your arrival!"

Hermione's eyes widened. He was right. Things have only gotten stranger recently and it coincided with her arrival, with Harry's death.

"You know something," he accused.

"I-," she stammered, "I'm not sure. I'm not supposed to be here."

"I think we've already established that I cannot send you back to London," he sighed.

"No, not that, but why was I sent here in the first place? Narnia is another universe. Why was I sent here when I died on Earth?"

Edmund's eyes widened as he started to catch on.

"Only Aslan can call us to Narnia," he said.

Hermione hesitated, "I met him."

Edmund's neck would have snapped had he moved it any faster. "What do you mean?" he questioned, looking suddenly quite dangerous. "Aslan hasn't been seen in Narnia since the Battle of Beruna."

"Well - he came to me in a dream."

Edmund considered her thoughtfully.

"I asked him why I was sent here, and he said that I had a purpose."

"And what was that?"

"To protect you ... and your siblings."

Edmund looked at her skeptically; he didn't believe her.

"How exactly are you supposed to do that?" he looked over her small, frail form with dubiety.

"I..." have magic, was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back, "...don't know."

"I think ..." Edmund stated, narrowing his eyes, catching another one of her lies, "that you better start from the beginning. The very beginning Miss Granger, or I really will hold you up to that offer of escorting you to the dungeons."

"It's a rather long story," Hermione muttered feebly as a last attempt, but Edmund didn't bite.

"Start," he ordered as he dragged her onto the sofa.

Hermione sighed, knowing that she was trapped and had no chance of getting out of this. If not now, then the King would certainly corner her until he dragged the truth out of her for the rest of her life in Narnia.

"It all started when I turned eleven. I received a letter, from a very prestigious school for the gifted in Scotland," she said, gripping onto her dress, picking at the hem furiously. Edmund studiously stayed silent, his grey eyes concentrated on her as he focussed on her story.

"A boarding school for special girls and boys who had ... unique talents ... my parents were surprised of course ... I mean, they had noticed that I was not a normal girl - that there was something different about me - but when they found out that I had been monitored and selected to attend this school they had been shocked - to say the least. That's how this story begins, about a girl who didn't belong in her own world or the new one she entered."

Hermione chewed on her lips. She sent him a pleading glance, asking him not to make her repeat her history, but he stayed his ground.

Sighing, she continued.

"I had trouble making friends; I was so used to being alone because of my intelligence that when I was pushed into a world surrounded by those who were like me, I didn't know how to fit in. So I did what I knew best, to learn everything and anything there was to know about my new world and to be the best out of them all. Of course, that didn't go down well with my peers. 'Insufferable-little-know-it-all' they used to call me, even a Professor of mine. It wasn't until Hallowe'en that I finally found myself some friends. Ronald Weasley," Edmund noticed how she said the name quite fondly, "was quite rude to me after one of our classes," she smiled wryly.

"It made me upset so I went to the girls' bathrooms, but that night a monster had been let into the school. I missed the feast, but all those who had been in the Great Hall heard about the monster and were ordered to return to their dormitories. Harry and Ron came to save me when they realised that I hadn't been at the feast and that kind of cemented out friendship. I suppose a near-death experience does that. Harry's quite important because this is all about him."

Edmund scrunched his eyebrows, completely enthralled by her story.

"Harry Potter was an orphan, his parents had been killed by a madman who played a dangerous game of politics of eradicating those who he deemed unworthy to be included in the small society." She flashed her wrist at him, the pale lines of the carving shimmered. "Mudblood, that was the term they used for people who were new to their world. Someone like me who wasn't born or married into the privilege. We were classed as the fresh blood who were tainting their society. His name was Voldemort," a shiver passed through Edmund's spine. "He had a following, Death Eaters, who believed in his ideals about eradicating all mudbloods from their society ... to keep it pure," she spat.

"But there was a prophecy, a prophecy that said that a child born on the last day of July, whose parents would defy Voldemort thrice would be his downfall."

"And that was Harry Potter." Edmund caught on.

Hermione nodded.

"Harry defeated Voldemort when he was a baby - a freak accident of some sort." Hermione quickly added when she realised that he would ask her how that was even possible. "Of course, he was hailed him a hero, for eradicating the madman. After the tro-bathroom incident, Harry, Ron and I became inseparable, we had many adventures; many plots to stop and prevent evil madmen and the Death Eaters from rising again, but it wasn't until our Fourth Year at school that we realised who deep in over our heads we were. There was a tournament, the Tri- ... a tournament between three schools in Europe, only those who were seventeen-years-old were allowed to compete ... because it was so dangerous ... but someone wanted Harry dead, and his name was entered ... he was only fourteen."

Edmund's eyes widened with disbelief.

"It was a trying year, Harry and Ron fought because Ron was being insufferable and thought that Harry had entered his own name. And I was there trying to make sure that Harry didn't die ... anyway, at the end of that year the other champion from our school died and Voldemort was resurrected in some ... satanic ritual."

This story was getting so farfetched that Edmund felt like he was listening to fiction, but he could tell by the faraway look in her eyes that this was all truth.

"With the return of Voldemort, our world got a lot more complicated and dangerous. A lot of people didn't believe that he was back, and here we were, creating our own secret army at the school to prepare ourselves for the inevitable battle. Our headmaster died trying to protect Harry. He sent us on a mission, to obtain some artefacts that were important to Voldemort, our bargaining chip to ensure his downfall. Of course, with the headmaster gone, there was no one in power to protect us so Harry, Ron and I went into hiding for a long time ... it was horrible ... to live every day wondering if it would be our last. We spent a lot of time in the woods, just us ... on the run like common criminals. Following a clue, we were captured, taken back to the headquarters of the Death Eaters that's where I was tortured." She touched her wrist lightly.

"I was tortured for answers and the longer I spent denying it, the longer I was subjected to the pain," she shuddered violently as she remembered how excruciating it was.

Edmund looked at her with soft eyes, his hand reaching out to touch her shaking ones.

She gripped onto him tightly.

"We were rescued," she continued and Edmund couldn't hold back the sigh of relief that escaped him.

"Being captured had its benefits, because, in their confidence, the Death Eater revealed something. She indirectly told us where one of the artefacts was. We broke into a high-security bank." Hermione deadpanned.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we were eternally banned after the destruction we caused." The vicious smirk on her face was slightly frightening.

"After that, there was only one place for us to go back to and that was the school. There was one artefact remaining there and the victory was nearly ours. Of course, after our escape and break-in at the bank, Voldemort caught onto the fact that we were after his artefacts so he brought his army to the school. There was a battle. Harry died. Ron died. And I ... died."

The dead way in which she spoke was eery. Never had Edmund seen someone look so unemotional when talking about the death of their friends.

"The question is ..." she turned towards him with dry eyes, all her tears had been spent. "Why me? Why not Harry? Why was I called to Narnia?"

Edmund had been thinking the same thing throughout her tale.

"A better question would be ... how can we be sure that you are the only one who Aslan called to protect Narnia from whatever's coming?"

Hermione froze and turned towards him with wide eyes.

She hadn't even considered the possibility.

"If your father caught us, Caspian will be High King sooner than he thought he ever will be," said Peter as he pulled on his breeches.

Cassiopeia's tinkling laugh echoed from behind the screen as she dressed again. Peter caught glimpses of her silhouette through the small holes.

"Oh, but Daddy's a softie, Peter. I think he's secretly been wanting us to court since the day you were recrowned. If anything, he'll just want to push for our marriage sooner." She walked around the wooden furniture looking fresh and more put together as though their all-night romp had never occurred. She really did have the true makings of a High Queen.

"Marriage?" Peter sniffed, freezing in his motion of buttoning his shirt.

Cassiopeia smirked, walking closer until she was in front of him. Gently, she moved his hands away and continued buttoning the shirt herself.

"You men are all so predictable. You're more than willing to take a girl to bed but the moment you hear the M-word you run and hide faster than a gazelle."

Peter winced. "That's not what I meant-"

"Oh Peter, stop before you say anything you will regret later. It's okay. I'm not ready for marriage either," she smiled widely.

"You-you're not?" Peter hesitated, feeling as though he was walking straight into a trap.

"Nope," she spun on her heels, "I just want to have fun."

Peter smiled and tugged her hand, causing her to crash straight into his chest.

"I can show you a lot of ways to have fun," he murmured against her lips.

"Do all of them involve you, me and the bed?" She whispered back, pressing her lips against his. Peter hummed happily through their kiss, slipping his tongue out to brush against hers.

"Well, that will have to wait," she said, stepping back, not even looking flustered by his affection. "We have breakfast to attend, Susan will have our heads if we miss breakfast."

"Is he in there?" Queen Susan asked the four guards stationed outside Edmund's solar.

The guards nodded their heads in unison. Susan squinted at them, she knew that security was a lot tighter around the castle recently but why did Edmund have four at his door?

"And none of you thought to give King Edmund a wake-up call?" she asked primly.

"We thought it indelicate given his company," said the one with light blue eyes.

"What company?" asked Susan with a brisk tone. The guards loyally remained silent, as not to dishonour their King with any implications. Susan huffed, walking between them and threw the doors open.

"Edmund, you missed breakfast this morning-" Susan swept into the room, her face tight with annoyance.

Her face morphed into one of surprise and incertitude as she stared into the mess of parchment, books and quills covering the expanse of the floor and the two figures at the end of the room.

On the divan was a girl, curled up quite comfortably, Susan couldn't quite make out her face, as it was covered by dark curly hair. But what surprised Susan the most was the sight of her brother sitting on the floor beside her with his head resting on the table. It amazed her because Edmund was one for comfort, he complained if he was being forced to be anywhere else but his bed at night. Dagger was knocked out cold near them; it was so unlike the Wolf to be caught off guard.

Susan found herself torn between waking them up or leaving them be. She felt an unjustified amount of antagonism rise within her against the unknown girl. Edmund always told her about everything going on in his life, including women. Susan and Lucy were the only two important women in Edmund's and Peter's lives and she suddenly felt sidelined.

Her pettiness overtaking her fondness, she cleared her throat loudly. The co-habitants stirred awake. The girl was first. Blearily blinking the sleep dust out of her eyes, she brushed her hair back and Susan felt paralysed.

Her.

Of all the people ...

Susan fixed the girl with a deadly glare. Hermione, who had only just gained her bearings, caught sight of the Queen and smartened up. She cast a glance towards the King who was still half-asleep.

"Susan, we should leave." Lucy whispered from behind her; apparently she had been followed.

Susan ignored her sister's advice.

"Edmund." Susan snapped unkindly.

Hermione flinched, standing up to attention in front of the Queens.

"Su? What?" Edmund asked, groaning as the crick in his neck pinched as he sat up.

Lucy let out a loose giggle at the sight of a piece of parchment stuck to his cheek.

"What are you doing here Su?" Edmund asked again, ruffling his hair away from his eyes.

"I think the better question is, what is going on here?" Susan asked with steel in her voice.

Hermione's eyes narrowed at the thinly veiled insinuation. That was when Edmund seemed to realise her presence. Glancing quickly at Hermione, Edmund turned back to Susan with a more alert stare.

"Invasion of privacy much Su?" he said dryly, no longer dazed.

Susan bristled at his tone.

"I came to find you because you missed breakfast, so excuse me for being concerned!"

Lucy winced from behind her older sister. This was not going to end well. She could see an infamous Pevensie row coming up. Hermione, in her corner, shuffled uncomfortably.

"I'm a grown man Susan, I'm capable of sourcing food for myself ... if you can call what we've been having for the past few days food."

"Don't be so rude Edmund! Calormen food tastes perfectly fine if you can just get over your elitist manner. Peter, Lucy and Caspian are adjusting just fine."

"Well excuse me for having some gustatory cells!"

"Stop trying to sound so clever all the time Edmund, no one cares!"

Lucy's eyes widened as Edmund's turned dark obsidian with anger.

"What is your problem, Su? Why are you in here screaming at me?" Edmund asked, his voice hard and low as he controlled his anger.

"Why is she here?" Susan snapped.

And suddenly the pieces of the puzzle snapped. Lucy dropped her head into the palm of her hands in a guise of dismay. Hermione looked shocked that this was suddenly all about her; and now, more than ever, wanting to be anywhere but in Edmund's solar. Dagger, who had woken up during the ruckus, glanced between the monarchs and the girl with unease.

Edmund straightened his spine as he spared Hermione a short glance before staring back at his sister with a steady gaze.

"What has Hermione got anything to do with this?" he asked her calmly, his tone emphasising on her name.

"Do you have no sense of proprietary Edmund? What would people say if they saw a barmaid leaving your quarters in the morning?"

Hermione swelled at the insult; her calm, sincere facade faded away and agitated energy replaced it. For the first time since Dagger had met the girl, he felt hostility emanating from her. The girl was suddenly surrounded by a ball of frizzling energy, her hair was on the verge of turning static, her fists were clenched as though she was stopping herself from grabbing a weapon - there was power in her stance ... and she looked intimidating.

"Perhaps I should leave," she said through gritted teeth but addressed only Edmund.

This sparked Susan's anger up a notch.

"No," Edmund said, his hand snapping out to grab her arm to prevent her from leaving. He turned back to his sister. "So what if they do, Su?"

Susan gaped at the show of unity against her. Lucy stepped forward, throwing an apologetic look towards Hermione whilst grabbing onto her sister's arm.

"Susan, come, let's leave."

Susan shrugged Lucy's arm off her, oblivious to the hurt on her sister's face.

"What would Princess Mina think if she caught a drift of this?" Susan asked coldly.

Edmund barked a laugh, "You're not still harping on about that, are you? I only put up with her for your benefit and for the benefit of the Kingdom."

"So you don't love her?"

Did she know her brother at all?

"You do have a set of eyes yeah, Su?" Edmund ridiculed, "when have I ever looked pleased to be in her presence?"

"Why did you lie to me then?" Susan asked with a bit of hurt.

"Because I don't have the time to listen to you badgering me about why I should be with her Susan. It was better to let you believe what you wanted."

"And you would rather be with her?" Susan looked back at Hermione.

Edmund stuttered. His grasp on Hermione's arm loosened.

"-No, I mean -" He stumbled.

"We are not together, Your Majesty." Came Hermione's crisp, clear voice. "Believe it or not, but a man and woman are capable of being just friends."

Edmund flinched, he knew Hermione's knack for words, but this was the first time he was watching her take someone down peg-by-peg, and it was not a pretty sight.

"King Edmund and I were merely caught up trying to solve the mystery late Count Edgware left us."

Susan's and Lucy's heads suddenly snapped towards Edmund, shocked that he had trusted her with information that was so sensitive.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bandage to go change and catch up on sleep lost to trying to save your country." Hermione mockingly curtseyed at them before stalking out the door.

"Dagger," Edmund quickly said, turning to the Wolf. "Make sure she gets to the infirmary alright and apologise to Cloudbirth on my behalf, please." The Wolf nodded, hurrying out the door.

"For Aslan's sake Edmund, she's not a child for you to take care of," Susan grumbled.

"What exactly is your problem with Hermione, Susan?" Edmund griped.

"I don't trust her."

"Nor do I ... at least, not completely. But that doesn't mean that you get to treat her like horse dung on your shoe."

"I think you're making a big mistake with her," said Susan.

"And I think we're done here. You know the way out." Edmund clammed up.

Susan glared at her brother and twirled on the spot and marched out of the room. Under her breath, she muttered curses at the barmaid.

"Edmund, you know that Susan is just trying to look out for you-"

"Don't tell me that you also have a petty hate for her Lucy. I thought you were better than that," said Edmund as he ran a tired hand through his hair.

"No, of course not. I happen to rather like Hermione, but I don't want you and Susan to fight over her."

"Susan's being unjust."

"Well it's a good thing that Aslan didn't name her the Just Queen then, isn't it?" A smile crept onto Edmund's face; Lucy returned it. She walked closer to her brother and grabbed his hand in support.

"Come on Eddie, we both know that she just wants the best for you."

"What's to say that Hermione isn't the best for me?" Edmund slipped out.

Lucy gaped at her brother.

"What are you-"

"No, I don't mean that. But I'm just surprised that Susan was so quick to judge. She's usually not like this."

"We can't blame her Ed, she's already under a lot of stress with the upcoming wedding plans, not to mention that she is the one who has organised this whole event of neighbouring counsel; you with a girl is probably just the tip of the iceberg for her already too full hands. But you have to admit; it is rather strange that since the day Hermione arrived from Calormen, there have been a lot of strange things around here. Just don't be the fool, Eddie."

"I'm not, and you must give me more credit. I know that things have been weird since the day she got here. That's why I keep her close."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"Precisely. I've already learned quite a bit about her..."

"Like what?" Lucy inquired, as she sat down on the chair.

"Well for one, she's not a Calormene."

Lucy snapped her head up.

"What do you mean?"

"She's from the Land of Spare Oom. From England, like us."

Lucy gasped, "Well why didn't you say so? That changes a lot! She can be trusted; I only had my reservations about her being a Calormene. Oh, she must be so lost ... and alone ... and confused! Edmund! Why did you keep it a secret?" she slapped his arm.

"Ouch!" Edmund exclaimed dramatically. "Only until I verified her story. But she's still hiding something."

"We all have skeletons in our closets, Ed," said Lucy with a pointed look, "you can't expect her to tell you everything about her. You're just a stranger to her in a strange land. Dear Aslan the Talking Animals must have given her a fright!"

"But that's just it! They don't! She doesn't seem the slightest bit fazed that she has entered a country ridden with magical creatures. You should have seen the way she tried to attack that beast in the woods. She had no fear. Whatever she is hiding Lucy, it's a big secret. A secret that will unravel every single white lie she has spoken since the day she got here, and I'm going to find out what it is," he said determinedly.

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A.N./ Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out! Happy New Year and I hope that everyone had a good Christmas if you celebrate it! :)

As always, thanks to: Barro Cha Cha, Comic Critic, twztdwildcat, AliceinWonderland13, Moonbeam, Summer Orchid and EdhelwenOnieta.