Next Chapter! Also, check out my avatar. I photoshopped in Harry, Ron and Hermione standing next to Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy in Narnian armor. It cuts off Ron and Hermione, though, so that made me sad. Still, Harry's there with Peter!
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The air was biting and rough, cold and cruel. It ruffled through Hermione's hair and made her shiver. Her eyes opened and the same grief descended upon her again. She lifted her head from Aslan's shoulder, blinking away a tear. Susan and Lucy also sat up.
"We should go," Susan murmured.
"I'm so cold," said Lucy in misery. Hermione said nothing. There was nothing to be said. The three of them got down and began walking away, Susan's arm around Lucy's shoulder. Lucy looked back at Aslan's body laying on the table one last time, then turned away. As Hermione's foot hit the first stair, there was thunder. A fiery rumble that shook the air and stone, followed by a loud crack.
"Susan! Hermione!" said Lucy, looking back. The two of them turned and looked, and instantly their eyes widened in wonder.
The stone table lay in two pieces, laying haphazardly at two different angles, split cleanly down the middle, and Aslan's body was gone. They rushed forward.
"What is this?" Susan asked frantically, staring at it. "More magic?" Hermione stared. The air seemed to crackle with a strange powerful energy, an excitement and wonder in the air that she couldn't quite place or describe. Suddenly there was a sunrise between the two pillars, and everything around her changed. A warm yet gentle wind blew in from the sea, and everything seemed to look up in hope as the figure of a once-dead savior eclipsed the sun, his mane glowing with its light.
"Aslan!" All three of them cried in a fit of unbelievable joy, and ran around the stone table to get to his hide. They all three slammed into him in an embrace of gladness, all of them laughing, Aslan loudest of all.
"What happened?" Susan asked. "H-how?"
"The Witch claimed she knew the Deep Magic," said Aslan, beginning to walk, the three girls next to him. "but there is a magic deeper still which she did not know, and yet it was right in front of her, written in the stone, that if one who has committed no treachery is slain in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack…and death itself will turn backwards."
"Almost like Harry," said Hermione in an awed voice. Aslan smiled.
"Very much like, yes," he said.
"But the boys have all gone to war without you," said Susan.
"We have to help them," said Lucy valiantly, pulling out her knife. Aslan chuckled, pleased with her bravery.
"We will, dear one," he said warmly. "But we can do more than just us. Climb on my back, you three, and you may want to cover your ears!" Aslan opened his mouth in a snarl and let out his first roar of his resurrection, and it echoed round the whole world, from Archenland to Ettinsmoor, from Lantern Waste to the Castle of the Four Thrones, a cry of triumph, of joy- of victory.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Harry blinked several times and lifted his head off the rock he had slammed his head into. He felt the back of his head and felt a bump already forming, and there was a bit of blood on his fingers when he looked at them. Voldemort stood directly over him, his wand pointed at Harry's heart, and the death eaters stood all around him, staring at him hungrily. Harry looked up into the Dark Lord's cold, cruel face with disgust and dropped what remained of his wand.
"Farewell, Harry Potter," said Voldemort in his quietest voice. "You have been a most lucky and most pathetic adversary." Harry gave Voldemort the most hateful and defiant look he could muster, and Voldemort raised his wand.
"No!" came a voice. Harry looked to his left to find Ron rushing toward them, his wand pointed at Voldemort. "Stupefy!" Voldemort easily knocked Ron's spell away, and, with another flick of his wand, slammed him up against the same rock which Harry now lay against, and he was unable to move.
"There's no point in missing a little pleasure, is there?" He whispered with an evil smile. "Beg for death, Potter! Crucio!" Harry flinched as Voldemort's wand descended and the spell hit him. Then he quietly realized that nothing was happening- no stabbing pains, no uncontrollable screams of agony.
He opened his eyes and looked up at Voldemort. Voldemort looked thunderstruck, pointlessly directing his wand at Harry and nothing happening. Harry smiled.
"Tolith Mordo at!" he cried, punching upward with both fists. The golden light flew up from the ground in a column and blasted Voldemort into Voldemort's chest. Voldemort screamed as he was blasted backwards, flying just as far as he had flung Harry. The Death Eaters yelled in surprise as well and ran back to stand behind him. Harry jumped to his feet and the Deep Magic flowed into flaming orbs at his fists.
Peter and the Witch continued their furious fight, the Witch deflecting everything that Peter threw at her. Suddenly Harry saw her slap his sword away and made a clean thrust to his chest-
And the sword was deflected by a force unseen by all except Harry. To others, the sword simply was forced to the side; but to Harry, the golden light of the deep magic came from Peter himself, a protection from his own body. Harry's eyes widened. That looked like something exactly like what happened to him when Quirrell grabbed his wrist- he couldn't be touched by evil. Why did Peter have that power? Ron suddenly rose to his feet as well, freed by Voldemort's spell in the same way Peter was protected, the Deep Magic emanated from his heart.
Suddenly Harry remembered Voldemort. He raised a threatening hand.
"Leave now and take your Death Eaters with you," he said. Voldemort's eyes were full of fear and confusion, but suddenly hatred replaced it and he flicked his wand.
A wall of fire erupted and went straight for Harry. Harry didn't even have to request anything. Ron was shoved out of the way, and the fire redirected and spun around him like a cyclone, then dissipated. Harry whirled in a circle and flicked out his empty hand, and the Deep Magic sent lightning from his fingers. Voldemort only just blocked it in time. Harry didn't give him any time for leverage, whirling and attacking again, this time with a beam of pure light. It struck Voldemort in the chest and he was blasted off his feet, flipping three times before slamming into the cliff behind him and falling into a heap on the ground. He shakily rose to his feet.
"-how…?" he stammered.
"With a power you'll never understand, or ever have," said Harry.
"Voldemort!" came the Witch's voice, who was having even more trouble with Peter- she had landed two more death strikes and still she hadn't killed him. "Kill this filth!"
"Do it!" cried Voldemort to the Death Eaters, not willing to allow Harry another hit. "And Lucius, take out this Weasley filth. Avery lifted into the air on a black cloud and zoomed straight at them. In response Harry raised his arms straight into the air, calling to heaven, and spoke another incantation.
"Turma en Vanimo!" A thundering wall erupted from the earth, rising hundreds of feet in the air, Protecting Peter from the Witch and Ron from the Death Eaters. Lighting blasted from the barrier and slammed into Avery, and he fell tumbling to the ground, instantly dead. Harry turned for a single moment, distracted by the loud noise caused by the lightning, and suddenly Voldemort struck. Harry screamed as he was rent open from stomach to collarbone, hit with a single stroke from a dark spell. He fell onto his back, coughing and crying, blood spilling over his slashed Narnian tabard. It was over. The Deep Magic had left him. It wasn't strong enough to help him now.
No, Harry, came a gentle voice. Blackness swirled through Harry's vision, and suddenly he felt power rising within him. Something had happened- something too wonderful to believe.
"Aslan?" Harry asked. And there was a roar from above that shook the earth, quaking with a call of vengeance. Harry looked to it and found Aslan standing atop the cliff, staring down to the Witch, who stared up at him in fear. As the roar concluded, another full-scale army appeared on either side of Aslan, streaming over the cliff in more numbers than can be counted. Suddenly Harry felt no pain, and looked down at his chest to find it not slashed and bleeding, as though it had never happened. Harry stood again, and Voldemort was staring at Aslan and Harry in fear.
"How is this possible?!" he screeched.
"By the magic you hate, Voldemort!" Harry answered. "The magic of love, of sacrifice, of goodness and light which will always triumph over evil and darkness!" And Harry lashed out once more with both hands, and purging fire was unleashed from his palms. Voldemort screamed and launched into the air, the Death Eaters following him with yells of fear, heading into the west, back to the Wardrobe. The Witch, seeing Voldemort's flight and terrified at the arrival of the one she had killed herself, she lashed out at Peter again, knocking him over onto his back and placing her blade on his neck, ready to slit it. There was another roar, and she looked up to find Aslan leaping through the air towards her.
He tackled her and the two of them rolled over and over, Aslan ending up on top. He growled hatefully and she looked up at him in a kind of blank stare, and suddenly his maw opened and devoured her. In another instant the Narnian army sprinted through, annihilating the enemy, for none could be even touched by an evil blade or arrow. Aslan rose up from the Witch's corpse, Harry walked over beside peter. Aslan moved over to the two of them, a fire still in his eyes.
"It is finished," he said.
"Edmund!" came two voices. Susan and Lucy appeared over the cliff and began running.
"Oh no," said Peter- he had almost forgotten, so lost was he in his rage. They all ran to where Edmund lay. A black dwarf was clumsily rising and preparing his bow to shoot Edmund, and Susan swiftly drew her own arrow and let it loose. The Dwarf fell with a cry as the arrow pierced his chest and he fell over.
Lucy immediately ran to Edmund's side and opened a red bottle at her waistband, opening Edmund's mouth and letting a single drop fall in. Edmund was still. All of them had tears in their eyes. Had the magic failed? Had they not gotten to him in time?
Edmund coughed, and then began moving. Susan helped him up. They all laughed joyfully.
"Why can't you just do as you're told?" Peter said, now crying happy tears. They all hugged Edmund, and then Aslan came up behind them. Edmund's eyes widened in shock.
"…Aslan?" Edmund whispered. The lion smiled.
"Well done, my son," he said gratefully. Aslan then turned and breathed on a statue of a satyr, and, with a sudden ruffling of the satyr's fur, color returned to its face and air returned to its lungs. Seeing what Aslan meant, Lucy immediately took her bottle of healing cordial and began running to every injured Narnian and dropped one drop in each one's mouth. Cheers were going up among the victors, and Harry found tears in his eyes again. They had made it. They had won. Harry found the pieces of his wand, and reverently placed them back together, voicing one last request:
"Eless nin macil." There was a flash of gentle light, and his wand was whole again.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Cair Paravel was as grand inside as outside. Pillars of marble lined the Great Hall, and there was an ornate glass roof. There were open-air balconies on either side, and the cool ocean breeze freely blew through the chamber. Everyone was dressed in the finest Narnian clothes, but, unlike the fancy clothes of our world, nice clothes in Narnia are also the most comfortable ones. At the furthest end was the dais, and there stood the legendary Four Thrones. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood to one side of the thrones, each dressed in flowing robes of red, gold, and white. Centaurs lined the pathway to the dais, pikes raised in a salute.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, and in strode Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy, Aslan at the center. They slowly walked up the aisle created by the centaurs, making their way to the dais. Harry smiled at the four of them as they walked up the steps to the Dais, and they smiled back before they turned around. Aslan turned and faced the crowd, a look of somberness on his majestic face.
"To the Glistening Eastern Sea, I give you Queen Lucy, the Valiant." The beavers stepped forward, bearing a silver circlet that looked as though it were made of vines, and, as Lucy kneeled, they placed it on her head. She rose, a look of wonder on her face. "To the Great Western Wood, I give you King Edmund, the Just." A silver crown was placed upon his head as well. "To the Radiant Southern Sun, I give you Queen Susan the Fair. Susan rose, a golden circlet on her own head, and she looked to Hermione and smiled. "And to the Clear Northern Sky, I give you King Peter- the Magnificent!" Peter rose to his full height, bearing the golden crown of High King.
"LONG LIVE KING PETER!" The assembly shouted. "LONG LIVE QUEEN SUSAN! LONG LIVE KING EDMUND! LONG LIVE QUEEN LUCY!" Everyone erupted into cheers and clapping. Aslan turned and smiled at them warmly.
"Once a King or Queen in Narnia, always a King or Queen," he said. "May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The sounds of dancing and laughing and revelry sounded behind them as they who would be known as the Seven Saviors stood on the balcony that faced the south, looking at the sunset that glittered upon the gentle surf.
"It's still hard to believe all that's happened," said Ron thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Edmund. "Who would've thought that we, four kids from Finchley and three from…wherever you're from would end up being the Four Kings and the three Mages?" All of them laughed, enjoying each other's company and a little bit of nostalgia as they reminisced, though silently, about all that they had gone through from the moment they stepped through that enchanted wardrobe so long ago.
"What are you going to do now?" Peter asked Harry.
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "When we left Hogwarts, we were under an attack from Voldemort. Who knows what's happened now? We've been here what, a month?"
"Wait…you don't know?" said Lucy, leaning over the rail in order to see them properly.
"Know what?" Hermione asked.
"Time here is different," said Lucy. "I went here and came back twice before we came here for the long run," said Lucy. "Whenever I came back to England, only a second had gone by." Harry laughed in wonderment.
"So, that means that when we go back, Voldemort won't have walked three feet," he said with a grin.
"Yes," came a familiar voice. "And the time for you to return is ripe." All seven of them turned.
"It is?" Edmund asked. Aslan nodded.
"Why?" Susan asked.
"It is not over for them- not yet," said the lion quietly. "They still have business to attend to." They all looked at each other.
"Will we ever see them again?" Peter asked. Aslan smiled.
"You will all return together when the time comes and you are needed," said Aslan. Edmund looked at Ron.
"Yes, but we come from nineteen-forty, and you come from the future," he said with a small laugh. Susan gave a sad smile, and they all hugged each other, knowing from the tone in Aslan's voice that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be leaving soon.
"Thank you – for all you've done for Narnia, and for us," said Peter, embracing Harry.
"We'll never forget you," said Harry quietly. There was a moment of silence when they all looked at each other, not wanting this moment to end, then Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked to Aslan.
"We're ready," said Harry. Aslan nodded. Then, some inhibition in Harry broke away and he rushed forward, hugging Aslan 'round the neck as tight as he could.
"Thank you for coming back," said Harry, breaking away after a few seconds. Aslan smiled warmly at him one last time.
"I will never leave you," he murmured, then he breathed on the three of them, ruffling their hair with his sweet breath." Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy faded away, as did Cair Paravel and the rest of the creatures celebrating, Aslan fading away last of all into a sea of whiteness.
I will never leave you.
The whiteness faded into sunlight, and soon trees appeared, the sunlight filtering through the trees. Before the three of them stood the lamppost, the first thing they had seen when they began their adventure in Narnia. The three of them looked at it for a long while, thinking about what had happened, and how the three of them had all changed- but it was a change for the better.
Without a word, the three of them turned and began walking through the trees, taking the same path back. Soon, in a break between the branches, they could see the glow of the room beyond, back in England. Not slowing, the three of them stepped through the coats and back into the room where the Wardrobe stood, where the windows were streaked with rain. As soon as Harry set foot on the wooden floor and was out of the Wardrobe, the sounds of war immediately began again.
"Come on!" said Harry. Immediately the three ran to the door and Harry threw it open, spilling them into the hallway. Immediately Harry saw Voldemort and the Death Eaters turning the corner on the left corridor. Harry sprinted after them, Ron and Hermione following. They turned and chased Voldemort into the Great Hall, and immediately more spells began to fly. Voldemort raised his wand and a great silence suddenly occurred.
"Harry Potter is dead!" He announced, unaware that Harry was standing twenty feet behind him . "I mercifully killed him and disposed of his body! Now, as your savior is no more, any who now surrender will be treated with lenience! Fight, and you shall meet death worse than Potter's!"
"Really? What was that like?" Harry yelled with a grin. Voldemort jumped and turned around swiftly. Instantly murmuring erupted from all of the teachers. Suddenly Dumbledore burst out from the same corridor as Harry, moving to stand next to him, his wand raised.
"Get back, Harry," he said forcefully.
"Not necessary, Professor," said Harry. Harry closed his eyes, not sure how it would work, but he felt its call all the same.
"Beith hon!" Harry asked. The Deep Magic answered. White fire leapt from his eyes and his chest and shot at Voldemort and the Death Eaters in a wave. The Death Eaters jumped out of the way, but Voldemort didn't react in time. The fire slammed into him and he flipped backwards, flying out the doors and onto the lawn, landing in a heap. Everyone stared at Voldemort's body, then at Harry. Dumbledore lowered his wand with a shaking hand.
"Harry," said Dumbledore in shock. "…where did you learn magic like that?"
"It's a long story," said Harry. But something was wrong. Black fog rose from Voldemort's body, and he was slowly drawn up like a string puppet and set back on his feet. His eyes, which had been devoid of life, suddenly snapped forward and he smiled.
"It's a wonderful secret, Harry, but I cannot be killed." He laughed, high, cold, and cruel. Harry's eyes widened in shock. He had forgotten-Aslan had told him that Voldemort was immortal, but he didn't think even the Deep Magic would fail him. The Death Eaters rejoined him outside, and they lined up, their wands pointed at the castle. Harry found himself walking outside, everyone else following him. Harry walked out and turned to the right, facing Voldemort, their gazes parallel to the entrance to the castle. There was a moment of silence, and Voldemort flicked his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Time slowed to almost nothing, the green jet of light coming directly at Harry. Harry closed his eyes and found himself completely relaxed, a familiar phrase coming to his lips.
"Wrong Will be Right, When Aslan Comes in Sight." Harry heard Ron and Hermione's voices join his. "At the Sound of His Roar, Sorrows Will be No More. When He Bares His Teeth, Winter Meets its Death." Another voice, greater than all the rest, joined them. "And When He Shakes His Mane, We Shall Have Spring Again." Harry opened his eyes, and Voldemort's spell resumed.
It never reached its target. The green energy was spearheaded by a lion's forehead, and the spell suddenly dissipated. Voldemort's wand arm was shaking.
"No," he whispered. "Why won't you leave me?" Aslan slowly began walking forward.
"I shall always be here," he said in a powerful voice. "Even death could not hold me down." Voldemort began backing away.
"N-no." Suddenly Aslan roared, in a voice mightier than anything ever heard on earth. Voldemort's arms were thrown apart and he screamed. Five shadows suddenly flew overhead from all directions and were thrown violently into the ground.
"Now, Harry," said Aslan, looking back. Harry raised his wand, and the tip flashed.
"Raus Galad!" Lightning flew from the tip of Harry's wand and erupted in a wave of fire, and screams of pain erupted, the longest and highest Voldemort. Brilliant light shone, blinding all there, and when the light faded, nothing remained.
Cheering erupted, cheers of happiness that hadn't been matched in fourteen years. Everyone hugged each other, then remembered who had appeared. He stood before them, more majestic than anything anyone had ever seen. One by one, all kneeled before him. He walked forward.
"Well done, Harry," he said. "I thank you."
"When will I see you again?" Harry asked. Aslan smiled.
"Soon." Aslan touched his nose to Harry's forehead in a loving kiss, then disappeared.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The next weeks were the happiest of Harry's life. He went through his O. faster than anyone else, flooring Hermione, and Sirius was cleared of all charges and accusations, clarified by Dumbledore, now that Fudge was dead and people listened to him. The headlines of the Daily Prophet the next day read, HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED DEFEATED. WORLD LOOKS TO POTTER, HERO. When the year ended, any who had been involved with the Order of the Phoenix came to Grimmauld Place and held a party that lasted all day and all night. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, though many questions were asked them, did not tell anyone about Narnia, however. All of their thoughts rested on when they would be going back.
The next morning Harry went out with Ron and Hermione and walked to the nearest telephone booth. Looking carefully through the phone book, Harry found a very important name and dialed the number specified. Harry smiled to himself as the phone rang.
"Peter Pevensie?" He asked when a voice answered. He grinned even more. "This is Harry Potter."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV