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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 the Pevensies' shoes while they wandered through the Highgate Wood ─ located between East Finchley and Muswell Hill. The woodland of North London couldn't compare with the ethereal beauty of the Narnian forests, but as the rays of sunshine fell through the thick foliage above their heads, it came quite close. The light fell in golden specks on the leaf-covered ground and the fresh air of earth and oak trees elevated the siblings' hearts.

June Pevensie, who was roughly twelve minutes older than her twin brother Peter, carried the picnic basket filled with sandwiches and fresh fruit whereas Edmund pressed the patterned blanket tightly under his arm.

Though the War had wiped away big parts of their town, the forest had endured it without much damage. The siblings knew their time in Narnia had long passed, but June, Peter, Edmund and Lucy liked to retreat to the woods and parks scattered across London whenever their life became too hectic, to reminisce old memories.

Susan, however, had distanced herself more and more from her siblings, as if their magical adventures had never happened; she had chosen to forget.

'I think this is a good spot,' Lucy spoke up when they came across a meadow.

The grass leaves were still covered with the morning dewdrops, making it seem as if hundreds of diamonds were hidden between the yellow dandelions. In the middle of the open spot stood a massive oak tree, its many twisting and turning branches reaching far into the sky and its leaves rustled softly in the wind.

June's brown eyes lit up like dark golden jewellery dancing in sunlight when she focussed upon the oak tree. Its magnificence definitely reminded her of the living trees of Narnia.

'I think that as well, Lucy,' she said in awe.

The siblings' laughter carried far through the air as they walked over to the oak and put up the picnic in the cool shadow.

It wasn't midday yet, but the summer sun started to heat up the earth already and the dewdrops vaporized in the warm air, causing the area around them to shimmer like a mirage.

June sat down on the blanket and stroked the wrinkles out of the light green fabric of her dress before opening the basket and handing both Edmund and Lucy a sandwich.

'Peter?' June asked when her twin was nowhere to be seen, her heart already skipping a beat from worry.

'Over here,' Peter answered. He appeared from behind the oak, one of his hands placed on the gnarled trunk as he tried to gaze up towards the tip of the tree between the branches.

'Don't you think it is strange we have never come across this place before?' he continued, sitting down next to June and accepting the sandwich.

'Well,' Edmund started, 'we have never taken these paths before so no, I do not think it is that strange.'

Lucy chuckled while Peter shot him an annoyed look.

'But we have never walked past it from another side as well. That seems highly unlikely,' Peter tried again.

Edmund groaned. 'You sound like Susan,' he said before he could stop himself and a painful silence descended on the meadow.

'Tell us about the battle with the sea serpent again,' June said, quickly changing the subject and Lucy gladly took the opportunity.

'We sailed with the Dawn Treader onto the waters of the Dark Island,' Lucy started, putting up her best story-telling voice, and June closed her eyes to imagine it as vividly as she could.

'Lord Rhoop warns us not to think of our worst fears since the Dark Island will bring them to life. So, despite the warning, Edmund thinks of his worst fear,' Lucy laughed.

June opened her eyes again to see Edmund's offended expression.

'That is not fair,' he said. 'If I tell you now not to think of an elephant, what are you thinking about?'

'An elephant,' June admitted and Peter shrugged as well.

'My point exactly,' Edmund huffed.

'Anyway,' Lucy started again, but her voice faded away when an unexpected sound reached their ears.

All of the siblings' heads snapped towards the tree as it seemed to be coming from that direction.

A wordless tune traveled through the air, the melody reminding them of waves washing over a shore. For a moment the Pevensies thought they were imagining it, but then the sound increased. The anthem was no longer like gentle waves, but a clattering waterfall colliding with a lake.

The siblings rose up from the ground and walked towards the oak, their minds lightheaded as if they were inside a dream.

A silver light shone through the cracks of the tree's bark, growing stronger with every passing second as if there was a star trapped inside, desperately trying to get out.

They squinted their eyes in attempt to see beyond the light, but their hands instinctively flew towards their ears when a lion's roar ripped the air apart.

The light reached its peak, becoming too blinding for mortal eyes and as they shut them tightly, they knew in their hearts they would see something else once they opened them again. . .

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐍 the students' left side seemed to grow darker as they observed it curiously.

'Maybe the map is wrong,' Fernrose said, shaking some red hair out of her face. She didn't understand why the Weasley twins made such a fuss about a corridor. They were, after all, inside a castle.

'The map is never wrong,' Fred, George and Harry all said at the same time, but Ron frowned.

'That is not true, though,' he started, ignoring the looks his brothers gave him. 'Hermione said the Room of Requirement doesn't appear on it. Maybe this is a secret passageway your father didn't know about, no offense, Harry.'

Harry eyed the corridor, all sorts of thoughts swimming in his green eyes. 'Perhaps,' he said, but as he tried to take a step further to the corridor, Daisy quickly grabbed his hand. She just had him back.

The twins grinned by the idea of having discovered a new path.

'Where do you think it leads to, Fred?'

'I don't know, George, but I suggest we find out.'

Vittoria, however, had concerns. 'Wait,' she called out, her voice sharp and high-pitched, and the twins glanced over their shoulders.

Both had one of their feet hovering over the threshold that divided this unknown corridor from the one they stood on now.

'What if it's a boobytrap from the Death Eaters?'

Fred and George quickly retreated their feet with an equal fearful expression.

Elodie stepped around Ella and Oliver to get a better view and cocked her head a bit to the side, her auburn hair slightly dancing around her shoulders.

The edges of the walls didn't seem crumbled as they would've been if an explosion had uncovered the secret passageway. The corners merged perfectly into one another, as if the corridor had always been there.

Elodie hummed thoughtfully, pointing her wand in the direction of the corridor. 'Revelio,' she said, and a gust of wind shot out of the wand.

As the group waited for something to happen, an excited voice traveled through the air as well.

'Why are you all standing here as if a ghost just hid all of your cotton candy?'

Ella turned around to see Willa skipping their way, closely followed by Wanda, Nevada, Phoenix and Giulia, but Ella wasn't sure how to answer Willa's question.

Willa snickered at her own comparison and slid to a halt next to Ella, jumping up and down in an attempt to see over all the others who were taller than she was.

Elodie gasped for air when something far in the distance suddenly shimmered, and she reached for whoever nearest to her, shaking excitedly at their arm.

'Merlin's beard, El,' Mina said, 'you're going to rip off my arm if you keep doing that.'

'Sorry,' Elodie apologized, quickly dropping Mina's arm. 'But do you see that? It looks. . .'

She squinted her eyes. 'It looks like a snowy forest!'

As soon as the words left her lips, though, the marble floor underneath all of their feet started to roll, forcing the group of wizards and witches into the corridor.

The walls shot past them in a terrifying speed and Willa screamed as if she saw her life flashing in front of her eyes.

Giulia grabbed Phoenix' arm in an attempt to keep her balance, but alas, the Ravenclaw didn't stand too steady on his own feet as well, and with a grunt they fell in a tangled mess upon each other.

Elodie tried to think of a counter spell, to stop the floor from moving, but her mind was empty as the forest at the end of the corridor grew taller and taller. She realized they looked over the treetops and an involuntary yelp left her mouth when the floor ended, causing the whole group to tip over the edge.

They soared through the air, the cold wind engulfing them in a whirlwind and branches scraped their skin as they fell through the pine trees.

With a thud softer than they had expected, they landed in a heap of snow. . .

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𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓:

𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒆 𝒃𝒚 IRIS-123roosje
𝑭𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒙𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒚 dash-of-clarity
𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒚 𝑾𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 (𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚) 𝒃𝒚 ttomriddle
𝑽𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑭𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒚 gracelikeaWave-
𝑬𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒚 @ 𝒎𝒆
𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈 𝒃𝒚 -MoonlightRose-
𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒃𝒚 regulusslocket
𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 (𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚) 𝒃𝒚 athenawinchester_x
𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒆 (𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚) 𝒃𝒚 roaringsuns
𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑻𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒚 Avengers14
𝑮𝒊𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝑨𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒚 GwynethStarks
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𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝑩𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒚 RockingGirl06

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