ENCHANTED !
( hp-narnia &&& edmund pevensie x reader )

CHAPTER THREE : the light of freedom on my face

THE FLYING CAR BEGAN ITS DESCENT, and soon enough, you were able to catch a glimpse of a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.

"We're a little way outside the village," says George. "Ottery St. Catchpole."

The edge of the brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees, its radiance, Harry found, reflected your own as you grinned at the familiar sight of the Weasleys' residence.

"Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, you landed — a tumbledown garage in a small yard to your right, Harry looking out for the first time at Ron's house.

In all truthfulness, it was run-down, for lack of better term. The structure appeared unreliable at best, as though originally a large stone pigpen, but renovated to fit extra rooms and reach several stories high. It had been so crooked, staggering like the lightning-shaped scar on your friend's forehead; however, like the mark etching his skin, magic had built and kept it ebbed stubbornly along the grassy surface.

Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign was stuck in the ground near the entrance reading, 'THE BURROW'. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"It's not much," said Ron, rubbing a self-conscious hand along his forearm. He looked around the wooden walls of his home in uncertainty, just as he had when you first came over — a subconscious sign of his insecurity.

"It's brilliant," Harry was quick to react happily, thinking of Number 4 Privet Drive and the horrors he associated with its pale, perfected walls.

"It's nothing short of wonderful," you followed, smiling at the three brothers, meeting their silent gazes. As you exited the vehicle, the sun's warm rays cast upon you, moving silently as your shadows crept towards the door.

"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, throwing a cautious glance at his surroundings, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast."

He turns to face you and his younger brother, "Then, you lot come bounding downstairs, Ron going, 'Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see you and Harry, and no one needs ever know we flew the car."

You raised an unimpressed brow at their careless grins. There were so many ways this could go wrong. . . for them. But you were never one for wiping off the twins' smiles, no matter how stupidly aggravating their cheshire grins could be.

"Right," agreed Ron, nodding his head in full agreement. He doesn't give you a second glance as you go, guiding Bowie atop your shoulder. "You know your way to Ginny's room, I'm sure. Now come on, Harry, I sleep at the top—"

Harry found it odd how his friend simply stopped, going a nasty green in complexion. Meanwhile, you exuded the opposite reaction, grinning goofily and waving madly, gaze set out the kitchen window. His eyes followed yours, blowing wide as he spotted Mrs. Weasley marching across the yard. Chickens scattered, Bowie took cover behind your hair, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, Harry found it remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger.

"Ah," muttered Fred.

"Oh, dear," mumbled George.

"'Ello, Molly!" you exclaimed shamelessly as Ron gulped. He appeared close to tears, you mused. How funny.

All of the above were telltale signs of the trouble you five were undoubtedly in, and if Harry had known any better, he would have taken off running and not looked back. But he didn't, a stupid decision on his part, if Bowie were to say so himself. Mrs. Weasley came to a halt before the lot of you, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next (then there was you, a smile peeking through her tough exterior for a brief moment). She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of her pocket.

"Morning, Mum," said George, grinning in what he believed to be a jaunty, award-winning means while you and Fred withheld a snigger.

"Where have you been?"

"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.

"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to—"

All three of Mrs. Weasley's children towered over her, yet simultaneously, they cowered as her rage befell them.

"Beds empty! No note! Car gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I've lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —"

"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred bitterly.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest as her voice rose an octave higher. At that, even you flinched, taken aback. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job —"

"They were starving him, Mum!" You were unsure how you felt about your friend speaking up. But you were all for liberation, so, nonetheless of your conflict, you internally cheered him on. "They put bars on his window!"

"Well, you best hope I don't put bars on your window, Ronald Weasley."

You loved Molly, you really did. But she had the ill temper of a mad dragon, burning fierce and easily triggered. You consider yourself lucky to be receiving special treatment from the woman — saving you the need to fear being on the wrong end of her fury.

It seemed to go on for hours. You had attempted to ease the boys of her full attention a good few times, although Mrs. Weasley had no intention of cutting her lecture short, shouting herself hoarse before she turned on the pair of you.

While Harry backed away on impulse, Bowie returned to the comforts of your pocket. Godric knows how greatly he fears the woman.

"Oh, darlings!" she beams, her deep frown fixing into a welcoming grin, "How wonderful it is to see you both! Come in and have some breakfast!"

You needn't hear any further invitation before joining the family for a meal.

. . .

Long story short, life at The Burrow had been all but ordinary. Every day, you woke to the sound of small explosions from Fred and George's room — having to comfort Bowie each waking moment —, and every night, you were kept up by the incessant racket of the ghoul in the attic. The howling creature was a pitiful thing. But your patience could only take so much, wearing thinner every time it had interrupted you and Bowie's beauty sleep.

With summer coming to an end, it wasn't long before you heard from Hogwarts again. It had been a sunny morning about a week after you had been welcomed into the Weasley residence. You were at the kitchen table, seated by Ginny Weasley (she always looked forward to your company, eagerly offering to trade all her brothers to gain you as a sister) when you heard the boys thundering down for breakfast.

You feigned ignorance as the younger girl stiffened up beside you, taken by amusement with how she fawned over Harry and the oh-so-holy grounds he walked on. You saw her pupils dilate into cartoon hearts, you swore. And as one would in a cartoon, her admiration blinded her from all else — including her bowl of porridge, until she knocked it to the ground with a loud clatter.

You sent Bowie a silencing look as he chittered merrily, poking fun at the mortified Ginny whose face glowed like the setting sun. Meanwhile, Harry, pretending he hadn't noticed such interactions, sat down and took the toast Mrs Weasley had offered him.

"Letters from school," uttered Mr Wesley, passing you identical envelopes of yellow parchment, addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, [Y/N], Harry — doesn't miss a trick, that man. You've got them too," he added as the twins ambled in, their hair askew, still in their pajamas.

For a few minutes, there was silence as you all read your letters. It was the usual, come to King's Cross on September the first, the need for school supplies, and finally, there was a list of the new books you would need for the coming year.

'Second-year students will require:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart'

It was ghastly.

The man was one your father had spoken endlessly about, and not in the best sense. Upon every glimpse of his books the pair of you had encountered, his jaw would tick and he would give a subtle eye roll — one only you were trained well enough to see. He would go on about how Lockhart had gone to school with him, and how the Ravenclaw was most undeserving of his affiliations with the good house and his recent fame.

He was a freeloader, a credit-grabber. He would ask Remus to tutor him, and idiotically enough, he was able to provide the younger boy with the answers to his assignments, and all he would do was rephrase and reconstruct the wording. It was quite brilliant, yes, but it irked Remus to this day.

With that in mind, you couldn't contain the grimace at the sight of that list. There was no way you would support his career by purchasing his books. No way in the seven bloody rings of hell.

Bowie, sensing your displeasure, was quick to attack the ink along the parchment, crossing every trace of Gilderoy's name until it was but messy scrawls along ruined parchment. He made sure to keep the rest of it intact, however, that thoughtful beanpole.

Meanwhile, Fred, who took quite longer to finish reading his list, went to peer over at yours, eyes widening as he caught sight of the shredded patches. He instead, turns to Harry's. "You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan – bet it's a witch."

At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.

"Or perhaps a fool. . ." you lowly muttered to yourself, wincing as you caught sight of Mrs Weasley's tattered book displayed on one of the countertops. You'd momentarily forgotten you were in the company of a die-hard fan. And a fierce one, at that.

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive. . ."

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."

Just then, Percy walked back in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his knitted top.

"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."

It was a wonder how he got up and ready for the day so early in the morning. You may have awoken earlier than him, but you were by no means ready to start the day. Your hair was quite a mess, and you were still in your knitted sweater and comfy pajamas. Most often, you would be able to start your day early. But today was not one of those days. Rather, any day at The Burrow was not one of those days.

He sat down in the only remaining chair but lept up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, grey feather duster – at least, that was what the pair of you (Bowie and yourself. . . plus Harry) thought it was until you saw that it was breathing.

"Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally – he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."

He carried Errol to a perch by the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so you cringed as the thud echoed loudly in the silence, and despite Bowie's defiance, you went to pick the poor creature up and balance it on its two left feet. The bloody creature had no sense of balance left — well, if it had any to begin with. Laying him on the draining board, you overheard Ron muttering, "Pathetic," in much dismay.

Meanwhile, from over by the dining area, Harry admired your care for the rugged creature. He couldn't contain the small smile that erupted his expression, admiring the gentleness of your gaze despite telling the poor creature off.

Whilst he paid attention to you, Ron made haste, ripping open Hermione's letter, its contents spilling out, and read her long-awaited message aloud:

Dear Ron, [Y/N], and Harry if you're there,

I hope everything went all right and that Harry is OK and that you both didn't do anything illegal to get him out, [Y/N], Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. You both know how often [Y/N] gets injured, especially on the ventures that lack my assistance.

The majority, if not all your days as a first-year (that was an exaggeration, but it certainly felt like it) were spent wallowing (healing) on the second bed of the dull, cramped, sullen hospital wing. (Okay, that was yet again an exaggeration. It was clean and spacious enough, and well-kept, and Madam Pomfrey ensured it to remain as such. But by Godric's beard, did it get tiring — its four walls became your home at some point or another. But at least, the madam was a good gossip, keeping you entertained during your stays.)

There was that one time a troll had knocked you against the bathroom wall, that "so-so" injury you sustained during that one quidditch match ("A broken arm is by no means mediocre, Ms. Black-Lupin!" you could hear Minnie's yells echoing from a distant memory), those boils you'd gained from that one Potions class, that one encounter with Lord Volde— You cringed at the growing list.

Nonetheless, I've been really worried, and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, might I suggest Hermes, or perhaps Hedwig, because I think another delivery might finish this one off.

I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course – "How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on holiday!" – and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?

Let me know what's happening as soon as you can, love from Hermione.

"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"

. . .

Remus had been looking forward to this day from the moment he waved you goodbye. It had been a quiet two weeks without your company, and he knew that it would be an even lengthier rest of the year with you off at Hogwarts.

There was something in his gut telling him that this year would be much unlike the last. Not in the sense that he would never see you again, but that. . . his yearning for you, his only daughter, would be strengthened twice fold. That something peculiar, even beyond Lord Voldemort's reappearance the previous year, would occur.

Thus, he wished to make the most of the little time you had left before the school year began and planned to make it as memorable — if not more — than the last.

If only your (other) father were here to help him with that. After all, despite everything that went wrong, it was undeniable that Sirius Black loved his daughter endlessly. Once, the man compared it (his love) to the galaxy. Infinite and unmistakably immense. Neverending.

Your father always said he "loved you all the way from the moon, and to Saturn." Always, he would say he loved you even more than that, but, like Saturn's rings, his love for you orbited his entire world. It was his entire world.

But then again, if that truly was the case, why did he leave? Why did he betray their friends? Although, Remus always made sure to leave that bit out of your bedtime tales.

Every night, as you grew up, unlike most parents who read their kids fairy tales and books, he would recount the stories that consumed his youth. He would recall his days at Hogwarts, the escapades that filled the four marauders' nights, and the laughter that filled their halls by day.

As much as he despised the love of his life for betraying you both as he did, for depriving your childhood of any sense of normalcy, he couldn't bear to tell you such a thing. That your father, who claimed to love you so, had left you behind to serve the dark lord. That in his madness, he got himself sentenced to life in Azkaban, never to be seen again. Or so he could only hope.

His secrecy did little to shield you from the rest of the world, however. It was inevitable that you learn of what happened (or what was said to have happened), just as it was inevitable to recognize the fear, pity, and distaste in some passerby's eyes. But you were strong. You did not let that deter you, if not for your own sake, then for your father's, who worked tirelessly to provide for you both.

Remus, righteous as he was, was always too ashamed to take anything from the Black family vault, nor from Sirius's own savings (which contained more than enough, mind you). Although, he did allow himself to use some of the latter to send you to school. He at least owed you that.

The rest, however, and all that you both spent as you walked the cobblestone path of Diagon Alley, he took from his own pocket. He enjoyed spending — so long as it meant seeing those light blue streaks highlight your head of hair.

He grinned as you shared a cup of butterbeer brittle from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, (though, thanks to his familiarity with the owner, received it with a discount), sniggered as you nearly tripped, having stepped on a cracked stone, and hid a scowl as you joyously greeted one of the subjects of a pile of your letters home from the previous year.

Cedric Diggory knew not what he did to receive a strained handshake from your father, but he shook it off with a nervous smile as you waved him goodbye.

Striding down the rest of Diagonal Alley with an occasional smile, wink, and wave (you were quite popular amongst your peers, you learned the previous year), you caught a glimpse of a shop or two that caught your fancy. There was Ollivander's Wand Shop, where you'd received your wand (the old man noted it a peculiarity, albeit you hadn't a clue why), then there was Quality Quidditch Supplies, where you made your rounds, though exited empty-handed. You were beyond content knowing your Nimbus 2000 awaited you at home.

Finally, you reached Flourish and Blotts, where you were immediately tackled into a hug.

Hermione Granger, hair bushy as ever, had weaved through the crowd to greet you after a summer away from one another. You missed each other greatly, yes, but you seem to have underestimated just how much.

"Oh, [Y/N], how I missed you!" Exhibit A.

"'Mione, oh, love of my life! You haven't a clue how I missed you! In fact, the parchments of my notebook are drowning in inked sonnets of just how much!" Exhibit B.

"You're exaggerating," she hid a grin behind a shake of her head.

"Oh, but I'm really not," you blinked innocently in reply. Indeed, you really weren't.

In your trunk was a notebook filled with little things you had noticed about your best friend — how her eyes set alight when she reached certain parts of her books, how she straightened in her seat and furrowed her brows upon a particularly page-turning plot twist. You noticed it all, and being the poet daughter of a Black and Remus Lupin, you turned these simple moments into words, etching them along the pages of your notebook, and on occasion, annotating them by particularly relevant lines of your books.

Truth be told, there was once a time you mistook your affections for her to be beyond platonic. You thought, at some point or another, that Hermione Granger would be the person you would love silently for the rest of your life. But of course, you were only twelve. What could you have known about love?

Not far later, you traded those faux butterflies with the realization and contentment of a sister. That was what you were to Hermione Granger, and what you learned, she truly was to you.

That didn't stop you from admiring the beauty in her simplicity, however. Rather, you carried on, albeit, now also noticing the others that composed her background. You would smile wider upon Blaise and Theo's bickering, giggle (though you despised the word) more heartily at the tickle of Bowie's movements, and drown in grief, albeit momentarily, as professors spoke of your likeness to your fathers, once believing you to be out of earshot.

But that was nothing. You would shrug it off after a moment or two. You were strong — enough to withstand the thought of that man, the same one who chose to have his soul sucked continuously than to care for his family. You were strong — and that was nothing. If there were a word lesser than nothing, then that would be exactly what it was to you! (That's a lie.) But, you never could seem to find a more suitable word.

Like then, you went on with the remainder of the day. After a short reunion with your friends, Blaise and Theo, as well as a mini meet-and-greet with your father's favorite schoolmate (he wished to strangle the man in his place), you ran into a bit of trouble with your not-so-distant relatives, the Malfoys.

Lucius was pretentious as ever, taunting Arthur Weasley and your father for their blood and financial status, while his spawn, Draco, was unbearable as the previous year. He, like his father, simply had to taunt Harry with every waking moment, and in doing so, only managed to piss off the rest of his company, and in particular, a temperamental metamorphmagus.

In later retellings and biographies of your life, some would state that it was accidental magic on your part that dropped a particularly heavy book atop Malfoy Senior's head. Meanwhile, others would say you knew exactly what you were doing, and performed some degree of wandless magic or that you had simply thrown it with your fantastic, Quidditch Chaser aim.

You couldn't be bothered to correct any of them.

It wasn't long before dusk made its return, the sun slowly setting to signify the day's end. Exchanging brief promises of "see you later"s and meetings at the train, you eventually parted ways, gripping your father's hand as you headed in the direction you first came.

Not long after, you disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind a proud set of twins, a starstruck Ginny, a content Ron and Hermione, and a wistful Harry.

The boy was smiling to himself again, staring at the grounds you once stood. It was a strange, dopey-looking smile that left Hermione amusedly rolling her eyes at her friend.

"A sickle for your thoughts?" she asked him, breaking him out of his [Y/N]-induced daze.

"What?" he could only stammer in response, blinking up at Hermione in confusion.

"I see the way you look at her, Harry," Her tone was almost teasing as she smiled at him. "Don't worry though. You have plenty of time to win her over."

"I'm sure of it."

He couldn't be bothered to deny her insinuations. After all, it was useless to argue against Hermione — she wasn't even wrong to begin with. She never was.

Harry took comfort in her words. She was right. He had more than enough time to win over your affections. It couldn't be that difficult — if Cedric Diggory and Oliver Wood could do it within a year, why couldn't he? And he had, at the very least, six more!

What could possibly prevent two best friends from becoming more than that?

. . .

Meanwhile, as night came upon London, a young boy of the name Edmund Pevensie, gazed out his windowsill in contemplation.

Earlier that day, he had overheard his parents speaking of sending him, alongside his siblings to a family friend — some professor, if he remembers correctly. He recalls his mother fretting, expressing her worries about the four of them, when they heard a distant creek along the wooden floor.

They retreated into their room, and somehow, Edmund couldn't make out a sound.

The rest of the night, he was left to worry, silently and to himself, of whatever was to await them in the coming days.

LONG STORY SHORT !

fun fact: i'm planning on basing much of the golden era on hotd 🤭

bonus headcanon: mc enjoys annotating her books, although it irks her father incredibly.

extra headcanon: edmund pevensie and mc enjoy sneaking out at night, and simply making rounds about the castle. they escape to make their nightly cups of hot chocolate, go on horseback on occasion, and simply sit by the beach, at times even falling asleep there.

hey everyone! i hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

i know that i haven't updated in quite a while, and i'm truly sorry about that. although, i haven't had the time to update in a while.

i'm really looking forward to updating this story though!! after recent sparks of inspo, especially for the golden era, i'm, daresay, excited to get to that point ^^

let me know what you thought of the chapter! drink water, rest well, and i hope you all have a great rest of your day/night!!

xx, celine