Chapter 11
Susan needed to gather information before acting. Appearing weak and vulnerable was the perfect strategy. It was what Malfoy wanted, the reaction he sought. She had no idea how many he had deceived, how many he had spied on, using his charms. Draco Malfoy was her prey, but for that, she had to make him believe he was the executioner.
"How much do you know?" she said with a faltering voice.
"Do you want me to speak in front of your boyfriend?" he laughed. "How much does he know?"
"Please, Draco," she said, approaching him. "I need to know how much you know. Have you told Voldemort?"
"Don't call him that..." he demanded.
"The Dark Lord..." corrected the Ravenclaw. "Have you told him?"
"No..." he said. "Not yet..."
Susan took a deep breath, her heart racing.
"I don't like to go with half the information," Draco stated. "The one in the drawing looks a lot like you. Or rather, is an almost exact replica of you."
The Queen in blue robes glanced at Draco, moving slightly in the mural. She was angry. Susan glanced at her portrait, seeing in its expression what she felt inside: the most tumultuous fury.
"First I saw the figures and thought of the Hogwarts founders," Draco continued. "Each dressed in the color of a house. And I wondered if you were their reincarnation. But little Ed seemed too insignificant to be the reincarnation of Salazar Slytherin himself... a blood traitor, more than obviously mixed blood... no, it couldn't be. So I kept investigating."
Susan felt Henry's arm behind her back, in a protective gesture. But the boy said nothing, simply listening to Draco without understanding, while he began to slightly raise his wand. Susan looked into his eyes, while with the palm of her hand, she gently lowered his weapon. Henry was completely lost, alternating glances between the portrait of Susan and the real one, visibly nervous.
"Then I saw the two worlds drawn, one at each top corner," said the Slytherin, pointing. "And I remembered Professor Kirke's screams, the Dark Lord's questions... He wants to know how to travel to other worlds."
The girl became even more enraged but opted to display a sad look. The professor. Malfoy had been in the same place they kept Digory. He was a vermin. Yes, he was a Death Eater's son, but he had chosen to follow them.
She looked at the worlds Draco pointed to. One was clearly Earth. The other must be Narnia, but she had never seen such a comprehensive map of its continents; they didn't know, in the golden age, so much about the geography far from their kingdom.
"It seemed too much of a coincidence," said the Slytherin. "Four kings, identical to the Pevensies, dressed in the colors of their houses, and two distinct worlds spinning slowly on their own..."
Susan Pevensie was ready to attack, but she wasn't impulsive. She needed the boy to finish speaking. She needed Malfoy to reveal all he knew.
"That change in your look... that 'something' different," the boy spat out his words. "You've already traveled, haven't you? You know what the Dark wants to know."
"Yes," the girl lied.
"I knew it..." he said. "As soon as he knows, he'll come for you, Susan Pevensie."
"Isn't there another way?" she said in a sad tone. "Isn't there another possible deal?"
"You could give me that information," Draco proposed. "And the Dark Lord will have no reason to chase you."
"So he doesn't know yet? He doesn't know we have something to do with it?"
"He suspects... as he suspects all those close to the professor, but no... he doesn't know yet."
"And if I tell you the secret, will you leave us out of this?"
"Yes," he said, eager for an answer. "As long as I'm the one to tell the Dark Lord. Since I heard what he was looking for from the Professor, I knew it was what I had to discover... how to earn his favor."
Henry took a more aggressive stance, raising his wand again in a fury gesture. But Susan stayed where she was, gazing at the Slytherin with sad eyes.
"What do you say, Susan?" Draco pressed. "Will you tell me the truth... or will you let little Lucy pay the price?"
"Alright," she said, firmly. "I'll tell you."
Henry turned around, not understanding. Susan tried to calm him with her gaze as she moved away from his arm and approached Malfoy, with her wand tucked in her pocket and her hands halfway raised.
Draco smiled as the girl approached his ear. The Slytherin waited, expectant.
Putting all her trust in the Gryffindor, Susan moved one of her hands, behind the Slytherin's head, mimicking the motion for the propulsion spell.
"Depulso!" bellowed Henry's voice.
The spell hit the young Slytherin, sending him crashing against the nearest wall after being propelled by the force of the light beam that came out of Henry's wand.
Susan wasted no time. In another quick move, she pulled her wand out of her pocket and shouted with all her might:
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Draco was immobilized on the ground, in a posture that looked pathetic from above. Susan Pevensie, proud of herself, approached the Slytherin slowly, wand in hand, and crouched next to the boy.
"Well, Malfoy, this little game is over. Now it's my turn," Susan couldn't help but smile slightly as she said those words. She was tired of the Slytherin. Tired of him always being one step ahead of her.
"Now, we're going to play by my rules."
Susan leaned in closer to his terrified expression, and placing the wand on the boy's forehead, whispered:
"Obliviate."
Finding Hannah again greatly improved the night for Peter. He met other classmates from different houses who turned out to be much more pleasant than he had thought. Susan Bones eventually pulled him out to dance, which surprised the rest of the attendees, who couldn't explain how the reserved Peter Pevensie could dance so well. No one knew he had more years of practice than the lifespans of everyone in the room. He had spent decades dancing in grand halls.
By the time it was time to clean up, Peter found himself surprisingly reluctant to head back to the common room as he had expected.
The Gryffindors left together and in silence. Peter watched his peers as they stealthily navigated the corridors. Every time they reached a corner, one of them would approach the edge and peek out to ensure the path was clear of teachers.
Given the late hour, it was nearly impossible for even Filch to still be patrolling. But catching them all together could significantly set back Gryffindor in the race for the house cup that year.
Even Romilda Vane was silent. She seemed like a different person.
McLaggen signaled for them to proceed down the corridor. They all turned at once, silently, when suddenly footsteps began to be heard halfway through.
Romilda clung to his arm nervously, while Colin Creevey and Delmeza Robbins unconsciously sought refuge behind them.
Everything happened in slow motion for Peter. Filch's boot appeared around the corner of the corridor. The eldest Pevensie, as if by instinct, cast a silent Confundus Charm in his direction, after which he swiftly waved his wand over the heads of those present, in record time.
Undoubtedly, that was the best Disillusionment Charm he had performed to date. The group became so transparent they were nearly invisible. Filch, dazed by the first spell, turned in their direction for several seconds.
Peter breathed slowly, still feeling Romilda's arm, which remained by his side, motionless. The caretaker stood in that posture for a few seconds, while the boy felt magic flowing through his veins, straining to maintain such potent spells simultaneously.
For a moment, he thought they wouldn't last long enough. But the disheveled caretaker disappeared down the corridor just as he and his companions began to become visible again, as the spell fell like liquid to their feet, making them visible once more.
All present turned to Peter in a mix of relief and admiration. No one said a word, but they smiled in his direction, ready to move down the corridor again.
Peter took another breath before his heart froze again when a voice from behind startled him.
"Impressive," said his new admirer. "Truly impressive."
Peter turned around, startled, with a furrowed brow and a guilty face. Before him now stood Professor Horace Slughorn, who didn't seem at all angry with the group. He only looked at Peter Pevensie, like a child who has just discovered a new toy.
Peter then realized he would have preferred punishment to what that look implied: he had just earned a privileged spot in Slughorn's Club.
Susan watched as Malfoy's expression suddenly turned confused. She knew she had to be very clear at that moment. Waving her wand again, she spoke to the boy once more.
"Now you will return to the Common Room, and tomorrow when you wake up, you will have forgotten this encounter, the mural, and everything you have discussed with me previously. You will remember what you heard Voldemort talking to the professor about, but nothing of what you've discovered in this castle and discussed with me regarding the existence of other worlds. Now go."
The Ravenclaw lowered her wand, no longer feeling the pressure that emanated from the spruce tip to the boy's head. Malfoy stood up, without looking at them, as if they were not there, and began to climb the stairs decisively, without looking back.
"That was... spine-chilling," Henry broke the silence, "and somehow, incredibly attractive."
Susan felt herself blush.
"I hope I didn't scare you," the girl said. "This is far more important than it seems, otherwise... I wouldn't have done something like this."
"I never thought otherwise," he said with a smile. "It caught me by surprise, yes... but it seemed serious. You did what you had to do to protect your own; I got that much."
Susan smiled softly, touched. Without thinking much, she approached the boy and hugged him tightly, letting herself be enveloped by his arms. She let out a sigh. With Susan Pevensie, when danger knocked on the door, she thought first, acted second, and felt fear last. The boy stayed silent, caressing the girl's hair with his fingers.
"You can erase my memory if you want," he said, out of the blue.
The girl lifted her head to look into his eyes. He was serious.
"I didn't fully understand what happened..." he said. "But if you'd rather I don't remember anything, I'll be okay with it."
"No," she said, without thinking, which was unusual for her. "No, I don't want to erase your memory."
The boy stayed serious for a second and then smiled again.
"Good... better," said the Gryffindor as he accompanied the Ravenclaw to the exit. "It would have been a shame to forget that hug."
Susan turned around on the first step, with a mysterious expression on her face. Again, losing her highly developed capacity for reasoning, she let herself be driven by impulse once more and planted a loud kiss on Henry's cheek.
The boy remained stunned for several seconds, watching the girl climb the stairs. He touched his face, the spot where the girl had placed her lips, and caressed it.