Chapter 19
Slytherin had won the Quidditch match. 80 points for Gryffindor with zero goals scored by the green team but 150 points for catching the Golden Snitch. The Lions had the upper hand, but Edmund Pevensie secured the victory for his team single-handedly. Slytherin would have to continue fighting the rest of the matches to achieve a higher overall score, but they had also sunk Gryffindor in the process.
The Slytherin Common Room was celebrating. Music was playing everywhere, and for once, Edmund was the center of the celebration. Everyone chanted his name over and over as drinks spilled from their glasses, soaking the carpets and stone floor.
"Great game, Pevensie."
"Thanks, Zabini."
"Today you're the house hero," said the boy, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Enjoy it."
"I will," said Edmund sincerely.
The party continued for hours. It had started right after the match and it was now past dinner time. Edmund watched the joy of the teenagers around him. Recently, the house had been plunged into a dark seriousness mixed with a great sense of distrust among everyone. But today, practically all the Slytherins were celebrating. At least everyone around him was. Everyone except Astoria Greengrass.
Edmund quickly spotted her with a serious look as she watched her classmates from the top of the lower steps. He saw her descending, trying to avoid the crowd as she headed towards the dormitories. Moving through the crowd, the Slytherin Seeker managed to intercept her.
"Hey!" he called out. "Astoria!"
"Edmund..." she said with a strange smile. "I thought you were in the infirmary. I went to see you..."
"Pomfrey let me go quickly," he said. "Nothing serious..."
"I'm glad," she said dryly.
"How are you?" he asked. "Have you been looking for me in the infirmary all day?"
Edmund laughed, but Astoria only responded with a slight grimace.
"I've been catching up on homework with Anthony," she said.
"I'm glad you two have become such good friends. He seems like a good guy," said the boy. "Did you see the match?"
"Yes, you were great, really," she said, trying to recover her smile.
"It was incredible!" he said. "Potter is really a great Seeker. He was so close... Everyone is celebrating me now!"
"I'm glad..."
"Have you heard that chant they made up?" said the boy, ignoring that he had interrupted his friend. "It's fantastic..."
"It must be hard to manage so much fame suddenly, right?" she said annoyed. "Have they forgotten which side your parents are on?"
"Why bring that up now?" he asked, frowning. "I don't take into account which side your parents are on."
Astoria looked up, clearly hurt by the comment. She stared at the boy incredulously for a few seconds before trying to respond.
"But they do tend to take it into account," she said. "And judge me based on it..."
"It doesn't matter, As. They'll get over it," he said. "Today, for example, they don't care about that at all. It's enough for them that I'm pureblood after all."
"Pureblood?" Astoria repeated slowly.
Edmund began to realize what he had just said and tried to backtrack with his foggy mind after the long day of partying.
"I mean..."
"I understand, Edmund," she said, cutting off the start of his explanation.
"You're pureblood too!" he said, still lost. "I didn't say anything offensive."
"I thought you didn't believe in pureblood," she said. "Just like you didn't believe in Muggle-born."
"And I don't! It's a definition they've created for something that doesn't matter," he said. "I'm just saying that in that absurd definition, I fit."
Astoria looked at the boy, increasingly annoyed.
"Yes, Pevensie," she said coldly. "I think today you fit into many absurd definitions."
She left him there, confused among the crowd that began to seek him out again with cheers. With the words on his lips, Edmund watched the girl's black hair disappear into the crowd heading towards the dormitories. He couldn't stop her; he couldn't grab her hand. She slipped away for a moment and climbed the small flight of stairs that the boys couldn't ascend. He could have run, but at that moment, they lifted him into the air amid chants.
He saw himself floating among the people, and his sadness mixed with his anger as he felt again what it was like to be accepted by others. How could Astoria, of all people, not understand that this was important to him? Until Voldemort's return, no one had made her take a stand. She was a Greengrass, and that was enough to be loved and respected. Only now did she know what it felt like not to be accepted by the Slytherins. And she wanted to take away his moment of being accepted? How was that possible?
He pushed his friend out of his mind for a moment and began to laugh and shout with those who lifted him into the air, responding to their cheers as one of them. Today, he was one of them...
"I think this is enough."
The music stopped, and Edmund would have almost fallen to the ground if Theodore Nott hadn't quickly caught him before his back touched the floor. No one said a word. Severus Snape looked at his students with anger and disappointment etched on his face. He let the tension continue for several seconds before giving his verdict.
"Earlier curfew for the whole week," he said without causing the slightest stir. "Pevensie! The headmaster requires you in Professor Plummer's office. Immediately."
"Edmund will be here soon. Professor Dumbledore sent Snape to fetch him," said Polly. "Does anyone know anything about Susan?"
"No, I haven't seen her at the match," said Lucy.
"Neither have I all day," said Peter, puzzled.
Lucy and Peter looked at each other, each curled up on one side of their mother on the couch. Helen Pevensie quickly intercepted that mysterious look.
"You two know something," said their mother.
"We suspect," said Lucy.
"She's determined to find out what Malfoy is up to," said Peter.
"I haven't seen Draco today either," said Lucy.
"I'm going to ask about her," said Peter, getting up. "I won't be long. She's probably in the Ravenclaw tower."
"Hurry," said Polly. "The headmaster is impatient. We need to talk in private before we speak to him."
"Don't worry..." he said, opening the door. "I'll be right back!"
Lucy, Polly, and Helen were left alone in the room. The little girl then felt a bit uncomfortable under the glances the two adults exchanged with each other. She knew what this was about, even though no one addressed the issue directly. This was about Narnia. About the secret they had kept from the world and their own family. It couldn't be anything else if it was true that the headmaster was waiting for them. Helen looked into her daughter's eyes and could clearly see the tension in her expression. So instead of asking what she so eagerly wanted to know, she stroked her hair and cuddled her against her chest on the couch. Lucy smiled more peacefully. If they were going to tell, she wouldn't be alone.
Susan climbed the stairs in a hurry, taking off her cloak when she was sure no one was around. She was panting not only from the quick climb to the common room but also from the memory of what she had seen that day in that mysterious room.
"Are you sure she's not inside?" asked a familiar voice at the entrance to the common room.
"No, she's not..." replied Luna's sweet voice. "Ah, look! There she is."
Luna disappeared with a gentle wave as Peter turned to look at her with a frown and his arms almost akimbo. He was upset but mostly intrigued. And Susan had a lot to tell him that would undoubtedly only heighten his curiosity.
"I can explain..." she whispered.
"You'd better..." he said. "Because Mom is here."
"Mom?" she asked incredulously.
"She has a lot of questions," said her brother. "About..."
"Narnia?"
"I think so..."
"How?"
"I don't know..." said Peter. "But it seems she's not the only one. Dumbledore is getting impatient."
"We can't tell him. Maybe it's best to tell Mom directly if she asks... but not Dumbledore. It's too much. I don't think Aslan would want that."
"He wants to know, and apparently, it's a bargaining chip for Mom," said Peter. "To get other information from him. She hasn't specified more."
"I have other information he might want" said Susan with a half-smile.
"What do you mean?"
"What I saw today," she said, showing the cloak. "Following Draco Malfoy in secret."
The door closed behind Susan and Peter, completing the number of attendees at that first meeting. Once Edmund and Susan had hugged their mother, they all took a seat in the circle of sofas and armchairs around the fireplace. Silence fell for several moments until Polly looked directly at Helen, seeking for the woman to start the difficult conversation.
"Kids... I need to ask you something..." she said, straightening up slightly, trying to speak calmly.
Everyone remained motionless in their respective seats, furtively glancing at the rest of their siblings, as if looking for an answer to the unasked question.
"I think you know why Voldemort kidnapped and killed Diggory and why Polly here almost died..." she said. "And
I think you've known for a long time."
"Mom..." began Peter. "We can't..."
"What do you know about traveling between worlds?" asked the woman.
Peter closed his mouth slowly. Susan leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes, while Edmund got up to look out the window, revealing his nervousness. Only Lucy looked at her mother all the time, weighing what to do. What would Aslan have wanted? Could they still hide it?
"Mom... I think you're asking knowing the answer," said the Hufflepuff, gently taking her mother's hand.
Helen looked at her daughter and then at her eldest son.
"Tell me, Peter, please..." the woman pleaded.
"We've traveled..." he confessed. "To another world... Narnia... Susan and I twice... and Edmund and Lucy one more time."
"It was that summer, wasn't it? When we sent you to the professor's house because of that mission your father and I had to fulfill?"
"How do you know?" asked Edmund, turning incredulous.
"Mothers notice these things..." she said. "You had barely grown, but you seemed so much older suddenly... there was a sparkle in your eyes. You were wiser... still children but wise."
"That's because we grew up..." said Lucy. "It's a long story."
"Well, you must tell it," said Helen, looking at all her children. "It's important. I need to know everything."
Dumbledore waited impatiently at his desk. Although his impatience would not have been perceived by anyone entering the room at that moment. He maintained his usual composure, reading beneath his half-moon glasses. He lightly stroked the pages of the old tome each time he turned to the next section in a very well-disguised anxiety. He wanted answers. He needed them. He wanted to reach the answers before Tom.
The door opened after a light knock, admitting almost the entire Pevensie family, accompanied by Professor Plummer, who again looked furious.
"Good evening, children," said the headmaster, looking at the young ones.
Lucy Pevensie responded with a broad smile. The rest seemed more anxious in the headmaster's presence.
"You need not be afraid," said Albus. "Everyone in this room wants the same thing."
"I doubt it," said Edmund. "With all due respect, Professor."
"Of course, of course," said Dumbledore, smiling. "I meant the general goal. Which is to save the world from the clutches of our enemy."
"You want to know the truth, don't you, Professor?" said Susan in the most benevolent tone possible. "You want to know what we know."
"It's not mere curiosity, dear..." said Albus. "But I think it's vital."
"In exchange for what?" said Peter.
Albus was surprised by the boy's tone. Without a doubt, Peter Pevensie knew how to choose his words. There was a composure, a maturity in him that perhaps had previously gone unnoticed.
"I'm not sure this is about a trade," said the headmaster. "It's about helping the magical world."
"I think if you want transparency from us, Professor, we must receive the same in return," said Peter. "I don't consider it fair that we go blindly while only one person handles all the information. What if Voldemort finishes you off?"
"That's an interesting point, no doubt," said the headmaster. "But there are secrets that become dangerous if they come to light."
"That would be the case with our secret," said Peter. "But other secrets could put us all in danger if kept in the shadows."
"You are a very wise boy," said the professor with admiration.
"Not always," said Peter. "But thank you, sir."
"Isn't this a bit absurd?" said Susan, cutting the conversation. "I feel like we're all playing a chess game. One secret against another when in truth, the one making moves on the other side of the board is the Dark Lord."
"Yes, dear," interrupted Polly. "But sometimes in chess, you have to be clear about which pieces you put in play."
"And isn't it better for one person to make decisions about the pieces?" said Albus, looking at his former student and old friend. "Instead of everyone playing with a strategy?"
"I think that's where the analogy ends, Albus," interrupted Helen.
"Maybe not," said Polly. "But I would need to know what... 'strategy' you propose exactly. Following you blindly worked that time. But I'm not sure if it will this time."
"Polly..."
"You promised I would attend your meetings with Mr. Potter in exchange for my school memories, and yet I understand you've met with him behind my back," said the woman. "Don't treat me like a child; I'm not young anymore."
"You haven't delivered your memories in exchange either, Polly," said the professor respectfully.
"Again, the question of who plays against whom in chess," said the old woman, turning slightly to Susan.
"You both asked about the existence of more... you-know-whats," said the headmaster, glancing sideways at the children. "And I clarified that doubt for you."
"Now we want you to inform the Order so we can all end it."
"The issue is, I haven't received anything in return," said Albus.
"I thought this wasn't a trade," said Peter. "You want to know what we have to tell? Fine. We'll tell you the part we think you need to know. In return, you will reach an agreement with Polly and my mother on which members of the Order can know the drastic information you handle."
"I think we can start working from there," said Albus.
Peter felt a pressure in his chest as he looked into the professor's eyes. He didn't look at him as a student, as the quiet Peter Pevensie, but as the High King of a land he had sworn to protect. And now he was going to tell his secret. Or part of it.
"Do I have your word, Professor?" said Peter seriously.
"You have it," said the old man, standing up.
"It all started..." said Peter, instantly looking at Lucy, who nodded slightly. "It all started with a wardrobe."
Thus, the High King of Narnia and his siblings began to explain their story to the professor. How in the house of Digory Kirke, little Lucy Pevensie found a wardrobe that would take Helen and Robert's children to another world where they became Kings and Queens for many years. They didn't go into too many details; Peter knew you should never reveal everything in a negotiation. He left gaps that Dumbledore tried to fill with questions that often went unanswered. But in general, the old man listened in silence, while Polly added to the story pieces of her memories of the first journey and the creation of that world.
"I suspected something," he said when they finally finished. "But not so much... I thought you were simply guarding a secret. Not that you were its protagonists."
"Are you the protagonist of your secret, Professor?" asked Edmund.
"I'm afraid not, boy," he said. "But I promise now that I will reach an agreement with Polly and your mother. I think we have too many fronts open, and as your sister has pointed out, we can't fight each on our own."
"I'm glad to hear that at last," said the professor with a smile.
"There's something else," said Susan. "This morning, I followed Draco Malfoy in secret."
Dumbledore's face darkened as he moved his sleeve to cover his arm wound. He looked at Susan Pevensie intently, waiting for her to continue.
"Harry suspected him, as did I, so I followed him," said Susan. "And I saw him go to the Room of Requirement... I think you've heard of it..."
"Once I used it as a bathroom by accident, and I've heard other stories about it, yes."
"Well, I went in after him. I found a huge room full of lost or hidden objects... from generations and generations... Malfoy walked up to... a wardrobe."
Everyone present turned at the sound of that last word. Wardrobe. A wardrobe.
"He put a book inside, Professor," she said, trembling. "And then closed it, and when he opened it again, it wasn't there... but after a while, he opened it again... and it was broken and scribbled on..."
"Do you think...?" said Lucy.
"It was a vanishing cabinet," said Polly, cutting off the little girl. "No, he hasn't traveled to another world. No. He's created a portal to another point of this one to bypass the castle's protection."
"What does Malfoy want...?" began to ask Edmund, answering himself. "Oh crap, didn't you erase his memory?"
Dumbledore and Helen Pevensie were perplexed by the question the Slytherin directed at his Ravenclaw sister, who quickly blushed, remembering that part of the information she had hidden.
"I can... I can explain..." said the girl with a tense smile.
"You'd better, young lady," said Helen, putting her hands on her hips.