[6 a.m.]
James didn't sleep well that night. He had a nightmare in which Reepicheep raised his sword and chased him overboard. When he fell into the sea, he woke up with a start. However, he felt even more frightened as he realized that he had been sleeping in a huge suitcase.
Here's the thing. After they were driven out of the cabin, they looked for a place to stay, but there was no room for them on board. Remus had an idea. He borrowed a suitcase from a sailor and casted an undetectable extension charm on it. All of them crept into the suitcase and spent their night there.
It was morning. Sunlight came into their hiding place from between the lids of the suitcase, and everybody woke up.
"Another day begins." Sirius said between yawns.
A few minutes later, they climbed out of the suitcase and took a stroll on the ship.
They ascended to the bow of the ship and saw the watchman standing on a small wooden frame next to the dragon's neck, looking out from its open mouth. In the bow was the place where the galleys, the boatswains, the carpenters, the cooks and the archers lived. When they reached the stern, they saw a small seat in the inner circle of it. In a word, the ship was small but elegant. The sailors told them that it was called the "Dawn Treader".
"Yesterday we were kicked out of the cabin before we could talk to the king properly." James said regretfully. "Shall we go back and have another look? I've got my Invisibility Cloak with me."
Everyone agreed. Remus decided not to mention that if James and Sirius kept quiet the day before, they might be able to have a nice chat with the King.
They hid themselves in the Cloak and crept into the cabin silently.
King Edmund, Queen Lucy, King Caspian and a dark-haired man were standing in the room and looking at a map on a table. The wizards went closer to have a look at it.
"Caspian, where are we now?" Lucy asked.
"The captain can tell you better than I." Caspian answered.
"This is our position," said the dark-haired man, pointing to the map. "We set sail from Galma. The sea was calm for two days, so we had to paddle. Then it was windy again, and we arrived in Terebinthia the fourth day after leaving Galma. The King of Terebinthia warned us that we were not allowed to land in local areas because of a plague there. So, we bypassed the headland and stopped at a small bay far away from the center of the city to collect water. We rested for three days. When encountering a southeastern wind, we came to the Seven Islands. After another five days, we saw Muil Island, which, as you know, is an island at the westernmost end of the Seven Islands. So, we rowed across the strait and came to Redhaven on the Brenn Island in the evening. We were invited to the local banquet, where we filled up food and water at will. We left Redhaven six days ago and have made marvelously good speed, so I hope to see the Lone Islands the day after tomorrow. The sum is, we are now nearly thirty days at sea and have sailed more than four hundred leagues from Narnia."
"Where are the Lone Islands?" Lucy asked.
"No one knows, your Majesty," replied Drinian, "Unless the Lone Islanders themselves can tell us."
"They couldn't in our days." Edmund said.
"Then," Reepicheep said, "It is after the Lone Islands that the adventure truly begins."
"I've got to see Eustace." Lucy said after a pause. "He has never been on a ship before, and I'm worried about him."
The cabin became quiet again.
Suddenly, Lucy appeared at the door, holding a small bottle in her hands. The four eavesdroppers didn't expect that and accidentally bumped into her.
"Ouch!" Lucy exclaimed. The four children took a few steps backwards, holding on to their Invisibility Cloak tightly while trying to keep their balance. Luckily, they were not seen.
"Who are you?" Lucy asked.
"We are ghosts-" James said in a spooky voice, trying to frighten Lucy. This trick would always work on Muggles, he thought. To his surprise, however, Lucy wasn't frightened at all. Instead, she completely ignored them and hurried to Eustace's cabin. After the people had all gone, the Gryffindors sneaked into the kitchen and brought some food to their hiding place. Finally, they lay down at the bottom of their suitcase to have a rest.
"I really admire the young Queen's courage." Jane said. Remus nodded.
[7 a.m.]
The Gryffindors spent a whole day on the deck, and they didn't return to their bedroom until midnight. Although they decided to get up late in the morning, they only slept for seven hours before they were woken up with a start, when the suitcase suddenly shook violently as if it had collided with something hard. Feeling that something was wrong, they quickly pulled their robes over their pajamas.
As soon as they got up, the floor began to tilt to the left, and then everything began to move in that direction. Quilts, water bottles, pillows and mattresses collided with the wooden walls. The four children quickly stood hand in hand to keep their balance, with Remus and Jane on the far left and right propping their hands on the wall.
"I'm going out to have a look." James said bravely. He jumped up, grabbed the edge of the suitcase and climbed out. A second later, they heard a scream coming from outside.
"What just happened?" Remus asked anxiously.
They waited for a long time, but James never came back.
"Let's go outside and look for him." Sirius suggested. "I think he is in danger."
After they got outside, they realized that the ship was making a turn. There was an island not far away, but they were sailing quickly away from it. Several people were standing on the beach, waving to the ship. Then they went further into the island and disappeared into the woods.
"Aren't they Caspian, Queen Lucy and King Edmund?" Jane asked. There were two other figures on the beach, one small, one tiny, but she couldn't recognize them.
Suddenly, Jane heard someone below shouting, "Someone help me! Are there any ropes on board?"
She and her friends immediately poked their heads out of the fence and looked outside. They were surprised to see James swimming around in the sea. Sirius, Remus and Jane looked at each other and grimaced.
"We are coming, James!" Sirius yelled as he dived into the water. One by one, Remus and Jane followed. Once they were all safely overboard, James told them what had happened.
"After I climbed out of the suitcase, I looked outside and saw a sailor trying to lift our suitcase and put it in a corner. When I suddenly appeared, he was so frightened that he screamed!"
Everyone laughed. "I think you just violated the International Wizarding Secrecy Law." Remus said.
James shrugged and continued, "At least we finally understand why the box is shaking, don't we? I will never be sleeping in that suitcase again."
"Me neither." Sirius said.
"Then how did you fall into the sea?" Remus asked.
"The boat was so crowded that I was accidentally pushed overboard by the sailors." James said grumpily. Everyone laughed.
"Since we can't get on the ship for the time being, why not have a look at the island over there?" Jane asked, pointing at the hills in the distance. "This must be one of the Lone Islands they talked about yesterday, and I really want to have a look."
Of course, the Gryffindors couldn't refuse any opportunity to explore the unknown. They smiled at each other and began to swim away from the ship.
After they set foot on the beach, they headed inland and climbed up a rather steep hill. At the top of it, they looked back and saw the ship shining brightly and sailing slowly away towards the northwest with her oars.
"Where's the ship going?" Jane asked. "We can't go back without it!"
"Look! What are they doing?" James said suddenly.
In the green valley which they were about to descend, four men were being tied together by ropes and forced to march towards the shore. An ugly-looking man was holding the ropes and walking beside them.
"Slave trading." Sirius replied in a low voice, looking at the man with disgust. However, they had to hide in the nearby bushes in order not to be seen. Jane looked out from between the leaves. There was a longboat on the beach, and a little further ahead, a dirty-looking ship.
"Those four will be taken away soon." Sirius said suddenly.
"Shall we give them a hand?" Remus asked.
"Of course." James interrupted. He took out his Invisibility Cloak from his pocket and quickly hid the four of them under it. Then they crept to the shore.
"Now, youngsters," they heard the slave merchant say, "Let's have no fuss and then you'll have nothing to cry about. All aboard."
Remus flung out his arm and threw a stone towards the man as hard as he could. They cheered as the man was completely taken by surprise and fell forwards into the water.
"You're a genius, Remus." James said as they came out of the shadows. His smile froze, however, as he realized that the prisoners were none other than Caspian, Queen Lucy and King Edmund. Also with them were Reepicheep and a boy they had never met before.
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"We are Englishmen." Remus answered cautiously.
The boy looked at his surroundings in despair. "Me too, but now I am trapped here in Narnia. I want to go back to England!"
"Believe me, I can take you back home." Remus said with a smile.
The boy looked suspiciously at him, and muttered, "I'd better just wait for the British Embassy to pick me up."
Remus sighed and went towards his friends.
"I think it's time for us to leave," he said.
"I agree with you." Jane said. "But how?"
"Let's sit down first." Remus suggested. "My feet are getting sore."
The others agreed. They sat down on a clean patch of grass and began to think.
"What about making a portkey or trying to Apparate?" James suggested.
"I suppose we can give it a try, but the thing is, we don't even know how to do what you said." Sirius said sarcastically.
"No matter what, I don't think it'll work at all." Jane said. "Strictly speaking, we are still at Hogwarts, in the portrait hanging on the wall of the room of requirement."
"- which means that all the magical restrictions available at Hogwarts also work here!" Remus added.
"Then the only effective way to get out of her is to get help from a phoenix!" Sirius said. "I've heard that they can break through all the magical restrictions and travel anywhere."
"But how do we get a phoenix to help us?" James asked.
[On the other side, in the headmaster's office]
A bright-colored bird was perched on top of a bracket. It was Professor Dumbledore's well-known pet - Fawkes the phoenix.
The office was empty and all sounds were still. Suddenly, the bird let out a high-pitched cry. A moment later, it took off and flew straight through the door.
"What was that?" a girl asked as she saw a streak of red passing through the corridor.
The phoenix went up a few flights of stairs towards the eighth floor. As it came across an ugly tapestry, it stopped in front of a plain, brick wall. It hesitated for a moment as if it was thinking, and at the next moment, it shot straight through the wall like a bullet and appeared on the other side. As the saying goes, nothing could stop a phoenix.
[Back to the island]
"Anyway, I think we have to stay here for at least a while. Why not lie down and have a rest?" Sirius suggested.
"Sure." Jane replied and collapsed on the soft grass, and soon she began to feel a bit dazed. She was just about to fall asleep when suddenly, a crisp bird call rang in their ears. They looked around and saw Fawkes the phoenix hovering in the air above them. James' mouth opened in surprise.
"Are you coming to take us home, Fawkes?" Remus asked.
The beautiful phoenix let out a soft cry. Then she waved her tail feather at them.
"I think she wants us to grab it." Sirius said with a frown.
"I don't think it's a good idea. You might pull its feathers off." Jane said.
"Don't worry. Their feathers are much stronger than we think." Sirius answered with a smile, and firmly caught hold of the phoenix's bright plumage with both his hands. With a whoosh, he lifted the air by over a meter.
"Be quick! Hold my legs!" he said.
James quickly came and grasped Sirius's ankle.
"Ouch! It hurts." Sirius said. "Grab my legs!"
One by one, they formed a line and were carried into the air.
Fawkes gave a soft cry.
"I think she's going to Apparate." Remus said.
He was right. A moment later, everything began to swirl around them. In the twinkling of an eye, they landed within the Room of Requirement. The water was slowly receding, and everything looked the same as before.
"We are home." Remus said.
Fawkes gave one last cry, and flew out of the door like a streak of red light.
[The End]
Thank you for reading!