Hearing His Call

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter. I just dabble in their realities.

~o*o~

Hermione cherished her copy of the Chronicles of Narnia. It was an original set that her daddy gave her for her fifth birthday. He said that his mummy gave him these very books for his fifth birthday. Daddy said that he grew up with Narnia and Aslan so Hermione should as well. Each night after her birthday, Daddy would tuck her into bed and read to her for half-an-hour. She fell asleep dreaming of Cair Paravel, Mr. Tumnus, and the Dawn Treader. When the next day rolled around, Hermione could not wait until the evening so she could hear more about Narnia.

One night, she noticed that someone had scribbled on the title page in the beginning of the book. Her daddy told her that the scribble was actually an autograph. CS Lewis signed the book especially for her daddy. He laughed at her disbelief, explained that Mr. Lewis and Daddy's mummy were friends. Daddy's mummy, her Gran, met Mr. Lewis shortly after Gran's family died. Daddy even claimed that Gran helped to inspire Mr. Lewis. Gran was so amazing! More importantly, Daddy said that when he finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia to her that they would visit his mummy and she would tell Hermione some of the unwritten tales of Narnia.

It was Christmas time and she, Mummy, and Daddy were visiting Gran for the weekend. Gran lived out in the country in this beautiful house. Daddy said Gran stayed there when she was a child. She and her siblings were sent there to stay safe during the Second World War. It had snowed earlier in the week, and in Hermione's mind, it looked as if the hundred year winter surrounded the house. Gran cheerfully invited them in from the cold and told Hermione to explore. Hermione spent the better part of an hour running all over the house when she found It. It was a small room tucked into the back of house and contained only one piece of furniture and many, many pictures. A lone wardrobe stood among colorful pictures depicting a world Hermione thought only existed in books. There were portraits of people (Mr. Tumnus, Reepicheep, Caspian X, and Oreius to name a few) and landscapes of Cair Paravel, the Lantern Waste, the Lone Islands, and other stunning places. As Hermione spun around, one other portrait caught her eye. In fact, it caused her to still all movements and stare in awe. It was the Lion, the son of the Emperor from across the Seas, Aslan. His eyes stared out at her; those eyes were filled with knowledge, power, and unconditional love. Hermione took a step forward and reached out a hand to touch Aslan's portrait when she heard the door open. She spun and there in the doorway stood her Gran.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to touch the painting! Please don't be mad at me Gran," begged Hermione. Her Gran just laughed and shook her head. "I know child. It is fine; the painting makes everyone want to reach for it. It's Aslan's portrait, you know."

"His portrait? You mean this is what Aslan looks like?"

"Yes. It is quite an accurate portrayal of Him. My younger sister created it when she was still alive."

"Your sister? Wait, does that mean you have met Him? When did you meet Him and can I meet Him too?"

Gran chuckled. "Yes, my sister and yes I have met Him. I first met Aslan when I was a girl and a few times after that. I don't know if you will meet Aslan because that is your story, not mine. He is not a tame Lion to come at the beck and call of people everywhere but He is Good and Kind. You will probably meet Him at some point – maybe not even in the way you expect. As long as you believe and have Faith, He will come. He is always there for Daughters of Eve, Sons of Adam, and all other creatures."

"Could you tell me more tales of Aslan, Gran? Pretty please? I want to know more about Him and Narnia. I want to be one of His," pleaded Hermione.

"You already are, dear heart. From the moment of your birth, you have been one of Aslan's. He is just waiting for you to turn around and find him," Gran paused. Her voice took on a distant tone while her eyes seemed to be seeing something far away. "He is standing right around the corner with a heart filled with love and forgiveness. He is ready to forgive any wrongs; you only truly hurt Him when you turn away from Him. Even then, He is there waiting to forgive you and bring you home."

"Gran?" Hermione tugged on her Gran's dress. Gran came back to the present and smiled softly. The distant, regal bearing Gran had disappeared and she became simply Gran once more, full of love and gentleness.

"Come, my little messenger. Let's go to the kitchen and I will tell you tales of Narnia."

~o*o~

As she sat down in the kitchen with her granddaughter and talked about Narnia, she felt more like her old self. She became more than Susan Pevensie-Granger; she was Queen Susan the Gentle once more. Susan could almost hear Aslan's roar of approval when she taught Hermione to love Aslan as much as Susan once had. It appeared that by guiding Hermione to Aslan that Susan found herself surrounded in His loving presence. When Susan said good-bye to her granddaughter at the end of the weekend, she gave Hermione a present. Hermione carried home with her Lucy's portrait of Aslan to hang up in her bedroom. Once more, the newest generation of the Pevensie family would be protected by the Great Lion. He would be there for her granddaughter and guide her on her way.

~o*o~

A/N: I originally was not planning on writing a second chapter but the wonderful Happy Caramel reviewed my story less than half-an-hour after I posted my oneshot. Happy Caramel asked how Hermione got to know Aslan and this chapter was born. This is pretty much it (for now at least) for this universe. I have another oneshot/chapter that I may or may not write. It would have to deal with the Golden Trio after the Deathly Hallows but before the epilogue, but I am nowhere close to writing that oneshot. If you have a suggestion or prompt that would fit in this AU you are welcome to either PM the prompt and I will try to incorporate it or PM the story you created based on this fanfic. I do not care if you base any fanfictions after this idea as long as you give me credit and email me the link to your story. I will want to read it.

A quick note on Hermione in this chapter: to me at least, she seems to waver between sounding very mature and a child. I think that at this age Hermione would try to sound or think like an adult but her youth would often leak through. Also, strangely enough, the meaning of Hermione is messenger. In this chapter, Hermione is the like a messenger that was sent by Aslan to bring Susan back into the fold.

Review, please?