Chapter 4

"It would have been a better idea to follow Malfoy on his way there, not his way back."

Susan and Anthony laughed as the morning sun began to shine through the windows of the common room, bathing the blue-toned room in a rosy hue. The two teenagers lounged on one of the sofas near a bookshelf. The first Ravenclaw students to wake passed by, looking at them strangely.

"Yeah, it would have been a better idea," Susan replied.

"But you can't deny..." he began, sitting up a bit to look at her, "it feels good to break a rule."

Susan looked at the boy who had brought his head close to hers. She put on a mock serious expression and managed to stifle her laughter for a moment.

"You're a terrible influence, Goldstein."

She pushed the boy's face away with her palm, and he laughed again. He took her hand and, instead of letting go, he entwined his fingers with Susan's. She felt her heart race for a moment. He smiled without saying anything and then let go of her hand. The laughter seemed to suddenly stop, but their smiles remained, mixed with a touch of shyness and awkwardness.

"Well..." he began.

"...Yes, we should get ready for class, right?" she continued. "I don't want to exceed my quota of rule-breaking for the day."

"Oh, shit!" he exclaimed, bringing his hand to his face. "I forgot to do my Transfiguration homework."

"McGonagall is going to kill you," she said as the boy hurriedly got up.

He left as quickly as he had arrived, and turned back to smile at the girl once more. Winking at her, he turned and ran towards the boys' staircase. Susan smiled and snuggled into the corner of the sofa for a few more minutes before deciding to get up and take a shower. She had hardly slept the night before, but she felt more energized than usual.

Nothing could stop her that morning. She combed her wet hair into a bun and put on her robe before rushing off to breakfast. She could tell that something was different about her, and when she sat down to eat and began cheerfully spreading butter on a piece of toast over her coffee, Luna Lovegood didn't hesitate to comment.

"You seem especially cheerful this morning," she said in her usual dreamy tone.

"Actually, Luna, I am," she replied, smiling back at her friend.

She thought nothing could spoil her day. And she didn't seem to be alone. As she walked between classes from Herbology to Potions, she crossed paths with a surprisingly cheerful Peter Pevensie, who was laughing with none other than Hermione Granger, his longtime secret crush during the past few years. Susan smiled at her brother, raised an eyebrow, and gave him a light pat on the shoulder.

"Polly is coming on Friday," she told him, her mind filled with the memory of the letter. "Have a 'magnificent' day, brother."

She felt like she was under the effects of Felix Felicis. She strolled through the corridors with Luna, humming the songs that were forming the soundtrack of that sunny morning in her head. But sometimes, storm clouds can gather without warning. After her class with Slughorn, she came face to face with the biggest storm cloud of all.

"It looks like my potion worked," Malfoy said sarcastically.

Susan stiffened her expression but decided not to let this unexpected encounter ruin her happiness. Clutching the books she held in her hands, she looked at Malfoy with a half-smile.

"You might be surprised, Malfoy, but you're by no means the cause of all my joy," she replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, really... do I gather that you didn't drink the potion last night?" he said slowly.

"That's correct. I see your intuition surpasses your intelligence," she retorted.

"Already... so does that mean you weren't the one who followed me last night with Anthony Goldstein?"

Susan felt genuine embarrassment at being discovered but didn't show a hint of it. She looked Malfoy in the eyes and opened her mouth in frustration.

"Luna, could you leave me alone with Malfoy for a moment, please?" she said.

"Of course, Susan," Luna said, not appearing to pay much attention.

The Slytherin and Ravenclaw were left alone in the entrance to the classroom, with palpable tension hanging in the air.

"Well, Pevensie?" Malfoy sighed.

"Well... what?" she said, growing increasingly impatient.

"You know perfectly well..." he murmured. "What was so interesting to you last night? I know I'm interesting, but..."

"You're exasperating," she said. "You're acting strangely, and I intend to find out what it's all about."

"Oh..." he said, with a half-smile. "You've piqued the interest of a Ravenclaw..."

"Fine, then... show me what you're up to," she said.

"I'd prefer it if you asked, but I'll settle for that," he said. "You'll hear from me next week."

"Lucky me," she said sarcastically.

"And please," he added, "do me the favor of not bringing that idiot Goldstein."

Susan slung her backpack over her shoulder and, without looking back at the boy, she walked away, this time not being blocked in her path, until she reached Luna, who was watching the scene from a distance.

"He's vile and loathsome," Susan said.

"I would describe him more as lonely," Luna said. "I suppose loneliness does that to us on the inside."

"Us?" Susan said in surprise. "Luna, you're a great friend and a great person."

"Are we friends?" Luna asked.

Susan was taken aback by the question.

"Luna, we spend all day together, we've been corresponding for two years... yes, we're friends..."

"Good," Luna said with a wide smile.

"Good," Susan said, her tone gentle.

But then Luna said something else, something truly unexpected, to which Susan didn't know how to respond, but it stayed with her for the rest of the week:

"Maybe Malfoy wants to have a friend too."

The Pevensie siblings spent the rest of the week looking forward to the arrival of Polly Plummer. Little did they know that the elderly woman would come from her own home that Friday morning. With a suitcase in hand, the former head of the Aurors bid farewell to Helen and Robert Pevensie with several affectionate hugs, but with a lie on her lips.

Claiming to be going to help the school's director with a problem involving centaurs in the Forbidden Forest that she didn't specify, and which Helen Pevensie never believed for a moment, she Apparated to Diagon Alley, where Alastor Moody awaited her to escort her to one of the Order's safehouses. There, she was able to use the Floo Network to appear in Professor McGonagall's office. This connection had been opened momentarily with the director's permission, who considered it the best route to avoid an attack by Death Eaters.

Albus Dumbledore welcomed the retired Aurora Plummer in his office before the siblings finished their classes for the day. The elderly man had only received a coded message, indicating the importance of the woman staying at Hogwarts for a while. However, Albus, accustomed to handling all the information himself, was itching with curiosity.

"Old friend," the director said, opening his arms when he saw her appear in the doorway.

"Albus," she replied affectionately.

Polly carefully surveyed the office after hugging her friend. She hadn't set foot in it since it belonged to Armando Dippet, the headmaster when she was just a young Gryffindor. She smiled faintly until a dark thought invaded her mind.

"Powerful memories," Albus said in his usual calm tone.

"The last time I was in this office, that bastard got Hagrid expelled."

The former student uttered that sentence filled with anger. She could have talked about Digory's death or the thousands of other misdeeds that had happened before that, but in that place, her mind led her to the night when Tom Riddle had succeeded in getting her fellow housemate, a year younger than her at the time, expelled.

"May I ask you a favor, Polly?" the elderly man asked gently.

"I hope I can answer that with a yes," she replied cordially.

"I'm collecting memories of Lord Voldemort's life. I believe it's key to his destruction," he said seriously. "If it weren't so, I wouldn't ask you, but I need you to show me the memories you have of Tom at school."

"He was a couple of years older than me," Polly said, "but certainly, that wasn't our only interaction..."

"I remember," said the man who had been their teacher at the time.

"We were rivals; that smile couldn't deceive me. He was wicked from the very beginning," Polly said. "Only Digory, and people like Hagrid... those who paid a price, were able to see it."

"And now he's the greatest enemy there has ever been to our coexistence," the man said.

"He didn't deceive you either," Polly said, smiling again. "I remember."

Both fell silent for a moment. Polly looked out the window and saw the students crossing one of the bridges. The students were laughing, talking, and playing with each other, in a mix of colors created by their house robes. So young, yet burdened with the weight of that dark future imposed on their shoulders.

"Well, that's not why I came," Polly said, "but old friends are here to help each other."

"Thank you, Polly," the headmaster said sincerely.

"But I don't think I can retrieve them all today."

"At your own pace; we'll see the process as we go," he said. "For now, we could start with the one from the night Hagrid was expelled."

Polly didn't hesitate much. She took out her wand, and in a few seconds, her memory shone in one of the director's jars. He approached the Pensieve and looked at his companion, inviting her to join the visit to her own memory. With a knot in her stomach, the woman immersed her face in the cold liquid.

The surroundings changed slightly, removing the alterations made in the room's décor. The memory had a grayish tone, worn. So much time had passed since that horrible night.

"Professor, you can't allow it," a familiar female voice said from behind.

He turned to look at the girl he knew well. Thirteen years old, with her two braids, one on each side. She was looking in his direction with a worried expression. Polly and Dumbledore turned to see a rejuvenated Albus, who was watching the girl with concern.

"I'm sorry, Miss Plummer, but there's nothing that can be done," he said.

The gaze of everyone present shifted to the hunched figure in the corner. Hagrid was crying uncontrollably. His already huge body for a twelve-year-old was curled up on the office steps. Polly saw herself running towards Hagrid and watched from the outside as she hugged him tightly.

"Did you want to see me, Headmaster?"

The door opened, and the figure next to Professor Dumbledore, then-Headmaster Armando Dippet, descended the steps. Polly felt a chill at the sound of that voice. Her expression showed the same anger as the girl sitting next to Hagrid.

She turned around and stared at him. The same man who had killed Digory, who had killed the Potters, Helen's mother, and so many others. The fallen angel, with an innocent expression hiding a great darkness beneath it. If this weren't a memory, she would have raised her wand and spared her world a lot of trouble.

The elderly Dumbledore began to listen carefully to the conversation between Tom Riddle and the then-headmaster, but the former Auror Plummer could only look at the teenager with rage. If she had listened to her instincts then, if she had disregarded those who told her it was just her imagination... What a different world it might be now if that girl with braids had had the confidence of the elderly woman.

Polly looked at the young Gryffindor, and for a moment, she could almost imagine that she was looking into her eyes. But that was enough for her. She would end Lord Voldemort, even if it was the last thing she did in her life. She would do it for that teenager, for Digory. The lion inside her had grown tired of that devious snake.

Susan sat with her siblings near the entrance to the headmaster's office. Edmund was showing Lucy a book he had found in the library a few days ago, which he thought might be useful to her, and they were laughing about something they had read in it. Peter seemed distracted, scribbling something on his parchment while leaning against the wall. She sat with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

Malfoy had managed to spoil her perfect day. Now, all she could think about was what he was hiding and why he had no problem showing it. Would it be prudent to go alone? Perhaps she should ask Peter to accompany her, or maybe Anthony...

It was unconscious. Her mind was thrust back into the past all of a sudden. The image of Cedric Diggory appeared once again, in that same corridor. She could almost imagine herself sitting next to him on the windowsill.

"Is everything all right, Susan?" Peter pulled his sister out of her sad reverie.

"Yes, yes," she said, smiling. "It's been a tough week."

"Well, you seemed to be in a very good mood this morning," her brother said. "Anything to share?"

"It's nothing," she replied with a half-smile, thinking about her brother's companion that morning. "Anything to share?"

"It's nothing," Peter said.

"Hey!" a voice shouted from the end of the hallway. "Susan!"

Susan turned to see the figure approaching her, running down the corridor, having jumped with an outstretched hand to get her attention. Henry Davies, with his Gryffindor uniform in disarray, his shirt untucked and loose, and his tie hanging, was approaching with his messy red hair and a broom under one arm.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Susan stood up, so as not to have the conversation right in front of her siblings, who were making faces and raising their eyebrows at each other.

"Henry," she said sweetly, "it's nice to see you."

"You ran out of History of Magic class earlier, and I wanted to talk to you," he said. "We've hardly spoken since we got here."

The boy was right. Since their cheerful encounter at the station, Susan had only seen him in the classes where the fifth-year Ravenclaw students shared a room with the Gryffindors. No conversation other than quick greetings or smiles when they passed each other in the hallway. She was always with Luna, and he was always surrounded by his friends.

"That's true," she said with a smile, not knowing what else to say. "Today's class was particularly dull..."

"The question is when a Binns class isn't," the Gryffindor said. "Anyway, I'm beating around the bush... I wanted to ask if you're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow..."

The first trip to Hogsmeade! She had completely forgotten about it. Amid all the talk of preparing for the O.W.L.s, the possible danger to Narnia, and chasing Malfoy, her mind had left no room for that information.

"I completely forgot," she said with a little laugh.

"Oh, well," the Gryffindor said with some nervousness, "well, if you hadn't planned to go with anyone and feel like it, I thought maybe you'd like to go together."

Susan was momentarily paralyzed. She was thinking of giving an excuse, but, not finding one, she thought that Henry Davies was as pleasant company as any to visit the village.

"Sure, I'd love to," she said, nodding.

"Great," he said as he started to walk backward. "I'll wait for you at the departure time, under the Ravenclaw Tower stairs, okay?"

"Perfect," she said, waving goodbye.

"Perfect," he said, clumsily raising his hand as he ran off.

Susan watched him disappear into the nearest courtyard. She turned around with a sense of dread to see her siblings' faces. They were all smiling at each other.

"You guys!" Susan said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Edmund said, bringing the book to his face. "But it is one of the best acquisitions the Gryffindor team has made in years."

Peter nodded. Edmund had inherited his Quidditch skills from their father and was on the Slytherin team with a good chance of becoming captain in a few years. Peter, on the other hand, despite his mastery and agility on a broom, was not known for being such a good player and had never tried out for the team.

"He's cute," Lucy said with a smile, trying to read The Daily Prophet.

Susan didn't have time to respond to that comment because the statue at the entrance began to rise, revealing the stairs that led to the room. The siblings interpreted this movement as their cue to go up to Dumbledore's office.

Upon entering, Polly Plummer, who was very affectionate, hugged each of the Pevensie siblings one by one. Tears filled the eyes of everyone present because of the palpable absence in that scene. Digory Kirke's name soon reached their lips, and a new round of hugs was needed.

"I've missed you, Polly," Susan said affectionately.

She put her hand on Susan's cheek and gently stroked it, wiping away one of her tears.

"Every day you get more beautiful," she said tenderly.

"That's what the whole school thinks," Edmund whispered under his breath, causing not only Peter and Lucy to laugh at his side, but also a smile from Albus Dumbledore.

Once the greetings, hugs, and tears were over, the headmaster conjured a sofa in front of his desk where the young ones took their seats around Polly, who held the hands of Susan and Lucy in her own.

"Well," the headmaster began, "I understand that you have something important to discuss with Polly, something that could jeopardize our safety, am I right?"

The teenagers simply nodded, without uttering a word.

"I've implored Miss Plummer for that information, but she has revealed to me that she doesn't have all of it. She believes you do."

"That's correct," Polly said. "Digory erased part of the information from my memory."

The Pevensie siblings turned to look at the elderly woman, who smiled gently to reassure them.

"Very well," the headmaster continued. "This is how we will proceed. I don't intend to force the Pevensie siblings to tell me what it is, but I will trust Polly's word."

Albus appeared quite intrigued, but he tried not to show it to his audience. The director was used to knowing everything himself. Susan noted a certain anxiety in his gaze, which was uncommon in the eyes of the great wizard.

"That secret killed Digory," Polly said. "It's vital, and it must be kept out of the reach of the Dark Lord. And believe me, Headmaster, the Pevensie siblings are the right ones to guard it. They were chosen for it. We were... we were chosen for it..."

"This is getting more intriguing," Albus said, peering over his half-moon glasses.

"I know it goes against Digory's wishes, but I want to recover those memories with the help of the children."

Susan smiled as she saw that even after all these years, Polly still called them "the children." Polly Plummer had been a close friend of her maternal grandmother

, who had died mysteriously years ago, during Voldemort's reign. Since then, Polly had been devoted to them like a grandmother. She was the one who had invited them to visit Professor Kirke that summer, in whose house Lucy had found that mysterious wardrobe.

"This is the plan," Albus said. "Polly, you must never leave Hogwarts, except in exceptional circumstances. Voldemort already has his eye on you."

"Say yes, Polly," Lucy whispered.

After a long conversation, Polly accepted and became Professor Plummer. She couldn't say whether she did it to protect that secret, due to Albus's insistence, or because of Lucy's pleading looks, the glances of the other three siblings, or the little nagging doubt she had always had about teaching. The fact is, she accepted.

As for Dumbledore's rules, they didn't end there. Polly could not, under any circumstances, unless the situation was entirely exceptional, leave the school grounds. As for the Pevensie siblings, they could go out, to avoid arousing suspicion, but always together and to places that were not outside the norm. That meant Hogsmeade during the school year and their home during Christmas. Peter shifted in his seat next to Susan, and Edmund raised an eyebrow, not very convinced.

"I would insist on knowing the whole story, but I've already understood that for now, the idea is dismissed," the headmaster said. "So I will show you the new rooms for Professor Plummer, so you can talk comfortably."

Minutes later, Polly Plummer's new office and quarters' door closed behind them, separating the new professor and the young wizards from the famous headmaster. Peter, impatient, turned to them, waved his wand to silence the door, and addressed his family with a posture and tone that reminded Susan of another time, another world. She could almost imagine him with his golden crown on his head when the supreme monarch spoke:

"I think we need to clarify this matter once and for all. Narnia is in danger."

Malfoy Manor was already devoid of light. A dense, dark fog had covered it for weeks, hiding it from the daylight. But the nights were even darker, though not as dark as the wizard who sheltered beneath its roof. Candles and torches seemed to dim at his presence. Silence echoed as his sinuous figure glided, accompanied by that massive, serpentine creature.

He had been sitting at his desk for hours when one of his most trusted Death Eaters placed a note on the table, bowing before him.

"Parkinson," Voldemort greeted.

"Dark Lord," he replied, bowing again. "We have seen Aurora Plummer in Diagon Alley, accompanied by Alastor Moody."

"Do we know where she was heading?" Voldemort inquired.

"To Hogwarts," the Death Eater answered. "Our spies at The Daily Prophet have revealed it, and it will be announced tomorrow at the earliest. Dumbledore has appointed her as the Muggle Studies professor."

Voldemort gazed at the bearded Death Eater with his serpent-like eyes and formed a slight smile on his face without parting his lips. He read the note with the precise information that had been placed on his desk and looked back at the man.

"Contact Draco or Snape through the agreed-upon channels," he said in a somber tone. "It's time for Pansy Parkinson to show me her loyalty."

The Death Eater nodded gravely as he listened attentively to the mission he was about to assign to his daughter. He noted every detail in his mind; he didn't want anything to fail. No, it couldn't fail, and he knew it. From that moment on, Pansy Parkinson would become the new spy for the former auror and now professor, Polly Plummer.