Harry found Olivander early the next morning and practised much of the day, finding he could create some weaker versions of spells he knew but lacked the power he’d in the books.
Susan had left the night before after they had talked about the plan. She was concerned about the missing information but couldn’t think of a better solution, and was going to see if she could trigger any of Death’s memories. “This is a big risk, so I can’t say don’t do anything risky but don’t do anything stupid… or too brave… just come back.” After she had left, he started wondering what life could be like after this and realised he’d never thought of the future before. Was this what it was like being human? Eventually he fell asleep, and dreamed for the first time. It was a private dream, and not what you think.
“Is everyone as prepared as they can be?” Gandalf had called a kind of huddle before they set off through the Wardrobe. No one answered, which he took as a yes. “Batman has supplied us with these inner ear things so we can keep in contact during the mission.”
Batman handed out the devices, and then demonstrated how they worked. “Now we can monitor how each team is doing via these comms,” he said.
“They work well. I can hear you clearly for the first time.” Gandalf smiled, and a few of the audience laughed. Batman ignored them. “When we step through the wardrobe, we will appear in an alleyway, take a moment and then we’ll make our way to the front and rear of the shop to begin our search. We can’t face him until the book is secure and we find the totems.”
“I’m hoping you can find something in the book to break the connection between them and Smedley,” Lilith spoke to the group. Batman handed her a com device. “I’ll be listening. Just be careful, escape with the book if you can’t find the Totems, but don’t take risks.”
“I think all of this is a little risky, Madam Lilith,” Huck was smiling and winked at her. A tiny wry smile appeared on her lips.
“Yes, you are right. Just don’t take unnecessary risks,” She turned and looked directly at Huck this time, and smiled warmly at him. “It was hard enough to find a group brave enough to do this from the characters he has summoned. Without your ‘real’ powers, bravado is soon separated from bravery, and you are the bravest we have.” Her voice tailed off a little. Gandalf placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Very good, very good, let’s all make our way into the wardrobe, Batman, you first!”
“Sorry, but it will have to be me first. I understand how to steer the bloody thing.” Lucy was standing in front of the Wardrobe, hands on hips.
“Ah yes, of course, you, then Batman, then Gimli and I, and then you 3”, Gandalf replied.
“I’ll have to come as well,” a voice came from across the room, followed by rapid hoof steps.
“But you aren’t in the plan, Mr Tumnus,” Lilith spoke with authority but not without kindness.
“But Lucy, we work the Wardrobe together! And I need to protect her.” He sounded worried.
“I don’t think your fists will count for much if it all goes wrong,” Lucy spoke kindly to the fawn. “I know you mean well, and I appreciate it, but they need you here. If I die…” Mr Tumnus went to interrupt, “If I die,” she said more forcefully, “you will be able to recall the Wardrobe. You will be able to stop Smedley getting hold of it.” She took his hand. “Only you can do that, Tummi.”
He went to speak again but instead picked her up and hugged her. She didn’t resist and hugged him back.
“Ok, I have to go now. This lot are useless without an 8-year-old to cart them about”. He put her down, and she opened the wardrobe doors wide, taking a moment to wipe something from her eyes. “So I’m going to step through, make sure you don’t let the doors close until everyone’s inside.” She stepped in.
Without a sound or a hesitation, Batman followed her, pushing between the coats, then went with Gimli, Gandalf, Harry, Cinderella and Huck. As Huck stepped inside, the doors closed, and it disappeared. Mr Tumnus pulled up a chair and sat down near where the Wardrobe once was. Lilith pulled up a second chair and sat beside him, taking his hand.
———————————————————————————
When Harry stepped out of the wardrobe, the Alleyway was dark, and everyone was huddled together. Batman stepped out of the shadows, making Harry jump. “It’s all clear, no cameras.” Came a voice in everyone’s ear. “I’ve disabled the alarms and unlocked both the front and back entrances. The windows on the second floor are blacked out. There’s a glow behind the loft windows. He may be sleeping in there.”
“We’ll go in the back way.” Gandalf said, pointing to himself and Gimli, “You go in the front, and we all meet at the stairs. Look around, see what you see.” And with that he began down the alley towards the shop, Gimli in tow.
Harry looked at Huck and Cinderella. They nodded, and he followed them in near silence. Batman stood by silently watching them. “Liquorice?” Lucy said, holding out a small paper bag, offering it to Batman. He hesitated for a moment, took one and smiled.
———————————————————————————
The shop had double bay windows with an entrance between them, Victorian style with a colourful banner across the top reading;
Axion Fudge: Comics, Gizmos and Games
It reminded Harry of the Willy Wonka film he’d seen, all colourful, bold and flowing. It was surrounded by banners and stars, and probably looked good when lit up, but in the dark it looked menacing, like an abandoned fairground banner in a horror movie. Below it, the windows were filled with posters, books and figures all dimly lit up by fairy lights. It was the kind of shop Harry would normally be happy spending some time browsing at the books and knick-knacks, but tonight he didn’t want to be here.
He stepped into the doorway and pushed the door. It was open, and no alarms sounded. Harry exhaled a sigh of relief, as did Huck and Cinderella behind him. ‘Nice work, Batman,’ thought Harry. They entered the shop single file, heads turning from side to side. Harry pulled out his wand and whispered, “Lumos,” and the tip of his wand flared, filling the room with a gentle light. The figures and displays cast peculiar shadows on the walls and bookcases. “There are 2 doorways ahead. You go through the one on the right.” He turned to face them. “damn you’ve got no light.”
Huck pulled his hand from his pocket and produced a lighter and flicked it. “We do, Mr Potter.”
A torch flicked on. “Comes with the outfit,” said Cinderella. You couldn’t see her face because of the light, but she sounded pleased. Huck smiled and put away the lighter. “One will be the way through, the other a storeroom, perhaps?”
“Yes, so whoever finds the way into the back stays there and waits for the others.” They nodded and set off.
Harry stepped to the left doorway to find a nook filled with books on either side placed on old shelves that bowed under the weight. At the end was a geometric pattern that he realised was a tapestry. He pushed it to one side and found a door. He pressed his earpiece. “I’ve found a door in here,” He tried to open it. “It’s locked.”
“Well, we have found the stairs going up, so it might be a storeroom.” Replied Gandalf. “See if you can find a key or open the lock somehow. We’re going up to the next floor.”
“OK.” Harry stepped out of the nook and went over to the counter. He looked around the till, under the counter and in some drawers under it. Nothing. He went back to the door and pointed at the lock with his wand, “Alohomora”. He whispered, nothing. He tried again, concentrating hard. There was a slight tremble, but the lock did not budge. “Bugger,” he said under his breath and felt in his pockets out of desperation, knowing he hadn’t got anything useful, or had he? He found the knife Susan gave him. He pulled the blade from the scabbard. It seemed sturdy. ‘Maybe I can force the lock,’ he thought and slipped the blade between the door and the doorframe. There was a cutting, and for a moment the smell of scorched wood. The knife had cut cleanly through the lock, and the door moved freely in the frame, with nothing restraining it. He opened it wide. “I’m in,” he said on the comms. Lifting his wand again, he whispered, “Lumos.”
“What is it, Harry?” It was Cinderella.
“Looks like a cellar. I’m going down.”
———————————————————————————
The cellar stairs went down deeper than you’d expect. They were spiral and felt old as well. ‘These were here before the shop,’ thought Harry. He’d heard in the earpiece that Gandalf and Gimli had gone up to the next floor, but Cinderella and Huck had stayed on the shop floor for now, at the bottom of the stairs, in case they were needed either way. They were going to do a little searching while they waited.
“We have found the Totems, Harry.” It was Gimli. “Gandalf is studying them now. He can’t see or sense how they connect to Smedley yet.”
Harry reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into a room. No, not a room, a cave. It wasn’t wide, more like a hallway, but it was long and corridor-like, and the ceiling was high, more than twice Harry’s height. Something was glowing at the opposite end. Purple, green and blue lights played on the walls. Getting closer, Harry could see it was a fire burning in some sort of stove. The flames licked through the grate containing them, but there was no heat.
“I’ve found something, a stove or maybe a furnace. The flames are cold.” Harry said into the earpiece.
“Green.. Purple..?” Came Gandalf’s voice.
“Yes,” said Harry, “and some blue. Looks like fire but no heat.” Harry replied
“That is the portal where characters are pulled through,” Gandalf said, “Not really a Chaos Engine or Machine, more of a Chaos Forge where characters can be woven into existence.” A moment passed, but Harry felt there was more to come. “Is there anything else down there, maybe concealed in a wall?”
“I don’t see anything. Let me look.” He hadn’t really explored anything else, but looked around. He could see patterns on the wall, writing of some sort that he didn’t recognise. “I think I’ve found the Grimoire. It’s on a shelf cut into the wall.”
“See if you can pick it up, Harry, carefully,” Gandalf replied.
Harry went to pick up the book, but his access was blocked by an invisible barrier. He poked it with his wand and tried a few spells, none of which had an effect. ‘Wonder if the knife would work,’ he thought. He unsheathed it again and prodded it with the tip of the blade. The barrier fizzed and popped. He tried a little more pressure and could feel it give a little, so he stabbed it hard. There was a loud crack, and it seemed to shatter like glass, with a burst of energy around its edges. He reached forward and picked up the Grimoire. “I have the Grimoire, but I can’t open it. There was a barrier, but somehow my knife breached it.” He told Gandalf.
“You broke the barrier! Oh, you foolish…”
“You can’t break the connection to the totems, Gandalf.” Harry could hear a voice through the earpiece he didn’t recognise. He guessed it was Smedley’s. ‘Breaking the barrier must have set off some kind of alarm’, he thought. He heard Gandal shout, “Gimli No!” There was a crack like the sound of thunder, and the comms went dead.
Harry made for the winding stairwell, carrying the Grimoire under his arm. He was taking the steps 2 at a time, which was tricky, and he fell to his knees a few times when some of the steps were uneven.
Finally, he got to the top. All the lights were on in the shop. He sped through the other door to find Huck and Cinderella both at the bottom of the stairs. Cinderella had her guns drawn. “Oh God, Harry, I think Gimli is dead, and Gandalf is… I don’t know… he shouted to stay here and get you out with the Grimoire.”
Harry pushed the Grimoire into Huck’s hands. “Take this, get it back to the Wardrobe, go now, both of you.” With that, he shot up the stairs.
As he turned the corner halfway up, he could see Gandalf, hand in flames and Staff blocking the energy Smedley was throwing at him. Harry was astonished at his power, but it was not going well for the Wizard, and it was having no effect on Smedley. When Harry got to the top of the stairs, he could see a small man encased in a ball of energy shooting what looked like electrical bolts at Gandalf, who somehow was parrying them.
“Harry! What a surprise!” Smedley’s attention turned to him for a moment. “Ohh, you feel different. Not the same as these paper dolls, more… human?” Harry could feel the power in Smedley’s voice.
Harry reached for his wand and then picked the knife instead, throwing it at Smedley, not really knowing how to throw a knife. It hit the barrier, sparked and fell to the floor. Smedley casually bent over and picked it up.
“This knife… where did you get it, Harry? It feels… otherworldly.” He studied the blade.
Harry realised what he had done, gifting Smedley the knife. He reached instinctively for his wand and shouted, “AXIO!” To his surprise, the knife flew into his hand. Gandalf, now aware of Harry, turned to him and shouted.
“Run, you fool,” and with that struck his ring with his staff, causing a massive explosion throwing Harry partway down the stairs.
Catching his balance, he looked up but could no longer see Gandalf, just a flaming staff defying gravity, standing upright where Gandalf had stood. Harry froze. “Fuck! My books, my beautiful books are burning!” Smedley’s voice broke the trance, and Harry started to run down the stairs, straight out of the shop and towards the Wardrobe where he could see Lucy waving him on.
“Harry, come on!”Lucy was shouting. “Run!” Her voice changed, “Oh fuck! RUN HARRY RUN!” He did not look back but could hear snarling and barking behind him. He pushed himself to run harder, but as he reached the Wardrobe door he felt something hot snap at his heel, sharp like teeth, causing him to lose his balance. He fell forwards between the wardrobe doors and turned over to see Batman crash feet first into what looked like a flaming hound. It landed hard against the Alley wall, but it was back up almost immediately.
In that moment, Batman had grabbed Harry, bundled him through the Wardrobe doors and was back on his feet. “Arghhh.” Cried Lucy. Batman threw something. There was an explosion, smoke filled the space, and the doors slammed shut.