Hermione's Journey

Chapter Three

As I walked back to the entry hall to retrieve my trunk, I heard the Pevensies conversing and wondering aloud about it.

"What do you suppose is in it?" the younger girl, Lucy, asked.

"I don't know," I heard Peter say.

"It's locked and it's none of our business," Susan said shortly, and I heard a small clang.

"Hey!" Edmund exclaimed, "The armor in the hallway has a sword!"

"Ed!" Susan chastised, and I had to try very hard not to laugh.

I decided to make my reentry then and was immediately met with the siblings trying to appear inconspicuous and uninterested. I smiled to myself and walked over to my trunk.

"So, your name's Hermione?" Lucy asked, pushing some of her short brown hair behind her ear.

"Yes," I answered, not elaborating. I grabbed the handle of my trunk and pulled. I was so tempted to just grab my wand and use magic, but the Ministry of Magic was hanging by a thread and I probably would never see the light of day ever again if I, a muggle-born, were caught doing magic in front of Muggles.

I could barely get it to move an inch, and the Pevensies just stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do. A little help would be nice, I thought to myself, and almost instantly both Edmund and Peter stepped forward.

"Where is your room?" Peter asked.

"The Macready is using it as a sewing room, so I'm going to be sharing with you two," I glanced over at Susan and Lucy nervously, "As long as you are okay with that."

"The Macready?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. Oops. I hadn't meant to say that.

"That's perfect," Edmund laughed. I blushed and looked down at my white sneakers. I had nicknamed Mrs. Macready, the Macready, she didn't seem fully human, just some cross between a woman and a... I didn't even know what to compare her to. Needless to say, she didn't like me very much.

"It does have a nice ring to it," Susan smiled. I returned her smile hesitantly. Maybe we would be friends. She didn't seem as high strung as Uncle Digory had made her out to be.

"The girls' room is this way," Peter grinned as he grasped a handle. I was about to lift the other end when Edmund stopped me.

"I can do it," he gripped our end of the trunk.

"You must be very brave," I eyed him, trying to sound mysterious.

"Why?" Edmund's eyes kept flickering to the trunk nervously. I nearly burst out laughing.

"You helped carry it in and you still want to drag it around?" I chuckled. Edmund's face showed relief and his brown eyes stopped jumping from in between me and my trunk.

"Oh," was all he said, and he and Peter heaved my trunk up, moving it much faster than when it had been carried by me and Edmund. Susan led the way with Peter and Edmund behind her and Lucy fell into step next to me. Our troop marched up the stairs and after weaving our way through halls, we stopped at a door that looked like every other door in the house.

"This is our room," Susan announced as she swung the door open and walked in. Peter and Edmund were right behind her and Lucy and I right behind them.